The inaccuracy of data related to land ownership causes huge losses to the private and public sector. Moreover, land ownership disputes account for majority of cases pending in the courts globally. In an interaction with Pratap Vikram Singh, David Hickman of Thomson Reuters talks about Aumentum, a GIS-based solution for land revenue management. Edited excerpts: H
Telecom regulatory authority of India (TRAI) has recommended that entire spectrum in the 700-MHz band should be put to auction. Keeping in mind the growing consumer base for internet and the government’s ambitious Bharat Net programme (aims to provide broadband connectivity to all panchayats in the country) the regulatory body has recommended putting entire 700-MHz band on auction, despit
With its urban population expected to reach 600 million by 2031, India is on the brink of an urban revolution, according to a United Nations (UN)-backed report. In such a scenario the country needs to increase its investment in infrastructure to ensure structured urban expansion. Here, geospatial technologies can play a major role in transforming the country. Bentley Systems CEO Greg Bentle
In 2004, a major technological push in the Indian electoral history took place when 1.5-million electronic voting machines (EVMs) replaced ballot boxes and papers for vote casting. The journey however wasn’t easy. “It took the election commission of India (ECI) more than 20 years to develop and introduce EVMs in the country after fulfilling all legal requirements and convinc
The government has tabled the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Bill, 2016, in the Lok Sabha. It seeks to give a legal basis for issuing Aadhaar, that is, the unique identity number for every person residing in India for at least half the number of days of a 12-month period immediately preceding the date on which he/she seeks enrolment under Aad
There’s something big afoot in the Bitcoin world. It’s important enough for the smooth and ruthless sharks of Wall Street to take notice and turn uneasy. Bitcoins have always been treated by the established monetary and financial world with healthy suspicion. Some of it was initially justified, especially when Bitcoin exchange Mount Gox wound up citing missing bitcoins that were &ls
The Haryana government on February 19 suspended mobile internet services in the districts affected by the agitation caused by the Jat community over reservation. The ban was imposed under section 144 of criminal procedure code (CrPC) to control the situation from being fanned by rumours or inflammatory messages.Similar ban was imposed in Gujarat last year during violent protests stirred by Hard
Don’t hang us before a proper trial and give us an opportunity to be heard,” says Ashok Chaddha, president of Ringing Bells Private Limited, the company which is offering a smartphone for just Rs 251. Ringing Bells indeed created a huge flutter in the world of smartphones with these dirt cheap rates. For days together, the firm is in the eye of storm and its offer has been ter
In 2011, India Electronics Semiconductor Association (IESA) forecasted that by 2020 India will consume $400 billion of electronics. At present, nearly 70 percent of it gets imported which is a significant drain on the foreign exchange. This brings us to the need for developing a local manufacturing system and the ecosystem that includes the entire supply chain that goes into electronic manu
A cheap broadband solution for the last mile connectivity is lying unutilised with the government, which so far has been reluctant to use. But with several successful pilots underway, ‘white space’ technology can soon emerge as one of the best solutions for cheap broadband connectivity for rural India, something that the national optical fibre network (NOFN) project initiated in 201
When the former telecom secretary Rakesh Garg at an event, held in January in New Delhi, mentioned that roughly 4,000 gram panchayats (GP) were connected via optical fibre cable (OFC) under its national optical fibre network (NOFN) programme it did not surprise anybody. In fact, according to the December 2015 data shared by the telecommunications department, the cable had barely reached 3
Imagine two onion farmers from Hissar district of Haryana. One goes to sell his produce in a mandi in Delhi and the other in a Haryana mandi. Though they have the same quality and quantity, the farmer who sells onions in Delhi, a different state, earns `5,000 more. How? He was fortunate in getting more options – of better prices or buyers. If the other farmer too had wider options, he too
It is not very often that government-led programmes actually enthuse the target groups. From that viewpoint, the Startup India event was indeed an applauding success. As chronicled by a multitude of attendees – journalists included – the enthusiasm was contagious. However, as the exuberance settles down, and as the 19-point action plan announced by the prime minister
Sunil Kumar Dhanda is an agricultural scientist at krishi vigyan kendra (KVK) in Sadalpur village of Hisar district, Haryana. He helps farmers increase their farm yield by providing valuable information during training programmes held at the block level. To reach out to a larger audience, Dhanda logs on to ministry of agriculture’s web portal – mkisan.gov.in – types out an adv
Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on Monday took stand for network neutrality and ruled out any content discrimination on the basis of differential pricing or speed by telecom and internet service provider. Exercising its power under section 3 of TRAI Act 1997, the regulator has disallowed content discrimination by service providers under the new regulation call
The Digital India initiative talks about creating a digital infrastructure for citizens to enable on-demand services and a connected society at large. The programme’s success largely depends on how well the government can ensure the availability of right information to the right audience (internal and external) at the right time. The key will be to digitise all existing information across
Digital revolution has impacted 33 percent of the global economy, according to a study conducted by Accenture. The annual study report Accenture Technology Vision 2016 says that 85 percent of the survey respondents believe that the pace of technology change will increase at a rapid or unprecedented rate over the next three years. The survey identifies five technolog
Optical fibres network, under government’s NOFN (National Optical Fibre Network) programme, may have reached more than 45,000 villages, but only 4,000 villages are linked to it as of now, says, telecom secretary Rakesh Garg. As per the programme, one lakh panchayats will be covered in phase one out of 2,50,000 total panchayats in the country. “The ducts
Soon the disabled will not have to carry piles of documents and certificates to government offices while applying for various benefits. The ministry of social justice and empowerment plans to issue a universal ID number to persons with disabilities and create a central database. Scheduled for launch in March, the department of empowerment of persons with disabilities (DEPwD), the ministry`s nod
The early January Pathankot terrorist attack in which seven soldiers lost their lives once again puts a question mark on the anti-terror preparedness of the Indian security establishment. A slew of measures were taken after the 26/11 Mumbai attacks in 2008, including putting in place a national counter-terrorism centre (NCTC) and creation of national intelligence grid (NATGRID). The government
