Narendra Modi

India’s first-ever geospatial technology park will be set up in the state of Gujarat with a view to promoting research in space technology and surveying skills.

Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi made the announcement at the World Geospatial Forum held in Hyderabad last week.

Modi said that Gujarat, with its unique geography and natural resources, possessed immense potential for growth.

The Indian government will look to establish further parks around the country over the next few years.

The World Geospatial Forum was organised by the Science and Technology Department of the government in an effort to boost the sector.

Speaking at the event, M Shashidhar Reddy, vice-chairman of the nation’s National Disaster Management Authority, said India is in need of a geospatial revolution that could transform the country in the same way an IT revolution has done over the past 10 years.

"With Hyderabad and Andhra Pradesh having contributed a great deal to IT revolution, we now need to think of a geospatial revolution. Geospatial is a technology that permeates into all fields and helps them to work more profitably," he said.