In collaboration with industry leaders and pioneering startups, we have identified preliminary problem statements across three core sectors, serving as a foundational framework for innovation. These indicative challenges highlight pressing issues and opportunities within designated districts, providing a strategic starting point for transformative solutions. However, we invite startups and corporate partners to venture beyond these initial problem statements, exploring additional needs and challenges within the same sectors and regions. This open approach aims to inspire a diversity of perspectives and groundbreaking ideas, fueling advancements that will drive meaningful change and sustainable development across sectors.
Agriculture
| Problem Statements identified during sectoral consultations | What geospatial data is required to solve this problem? | Which government agency is likely to have this data? | Likely benefit of solving this problem |
| Farmers & FPOs have limited information to help them plan their sowing, nutrition, harvesting and procurement more smartly | Frequent or near-real time availability of hyperlocal weather, soil, water-logging, drought and irrigation information | IMD, MoES, IARI, Agri Ministry, NRSC/ISRO | Higher yields and incomes for farmers |
| Farm credit and insurance is constrained today because farm boundaries have not been demarcated accurately | Accurate geo-tagging and plotting of farm boundaries | DoLR in some cases. For the rest, this will need to be done | Broader, deeper coverage of farm insurance. Higher credit disbursements |
| Aggregators of shrimp and fish farming are unable to monitor the quality and progress of the crop, or predict right time for harvesting, without access to high-resolution, hyperlocal satellite images at a frequency of 2-3 times/week | High-resolution, hyperlocal satellite images at a frequency of 2-3 times/week | NRSC/ISRO, or private companies, e.g. Pixxel (Indian), Planet (MNC) | Better-quality crop, and bank credit disbursal. Thereby giving a boost to quantum of exports |
Transportation & Infrastructure
| Problem Statements identified during sectoral consultations | What geospatial data is required to solve this problem? | Which government agency is likely to have this data? | Likely benefit of solving this problem |
| E-commerce & cab companies face delays due to incomplete and inaccurate information on maps | Accurate, updated ‘Addresses’ and mapping them to geo coordinates; Near-real time information regarding diversions & no-entry zones; Water-logging & flooding predictions in specific areas or addresses based on past history | Survey of India, Traffic Police, MoES | More efficient deliveries, and lower costs |
| None of the digital maps (Google, MapMyIndia) provide travel or navigation routes for trucks. This leads to logistics delays and inefficiencies (e.g. overweight trucks on bridges; big trucks stuck inside tunnels) | Location and attributes relating to bridges, tunnels & other choke points; Detailed attributes regarding width & condition of roads; Near-real time information regarding diversions and ‘no-entry’ | NHAI, MoRTH, PWD, Traffic Police | Faster transportation, and reduction in India’s logistics costs |
| NHAI is worried about high rate of road accidents and deaths in India | Anonymised mobile signal data to identify & analyse crowding and accident spots on highways; Integration of speed cameras & traffic signals with geospatial data | Government: NHAI, MoRTH | Fewer road accidents |
| EV users and fleets are hampered because availability and location of charging infrastructure is not visible | Location of charging stations to be integrated with GDI | Heterogeneous, fragmented charging infrastructure is being consolidated on a single portal (UEI-Unified Energy Infra) by a consortium of 5 companies | Reduction in ‘range anxiety’ will help grow EV sales in India |
Skilling/Livelihood
| Problem Statements identified during sectoral consultations | What geospatial data is required to solve this problem? | Which government agency is likely to have this data? | Likely benefit of solving this problem |
| There is no easy way for blue/grey/pink/white-collar job seekers in urban locations to get real-time information on availability of jobs within a 5-10 km radius. Conversely, employers do not have real-time visibility on availability of such talent | Real-time map that allows Job-seekers & job providers to see each other (similar to Zomato/Swiggy being a platform where food-seekers & food-providers see and find each other) | Job-seeker &skilling data: Ministry of Labour, NSDCJob-provider data: PM GatiShakti, RoC (MoCA), Trade bodies | Job-seekers will be able to see and apply for jobs on a real-time basis. Employers will have a fast way for hiring talent based on location and skills |
| Thousands of talented rural artisans & craftsmen/women have low incomes because their market access is limited | List of rural artisans; Geo-tagging of such village-level entrepreneurs;Adding this as a data layer on maps | Data: MoRD (NRLM & SRLM) Mapping: Survey of India, Google Maps, MapMyIndia, ESRI, Genesys | Customers will be able to discover these products & artisans easily. Artisans will also get better price without depending on middlemen |
| Rural population needs newer, more sources of livelihoods in view of limited income from traditional agriculture. How can they get connected with India’s economic growth and digital/tech boom to earn more income? | India has an already-large base of ‘Internet Saathis’ and the recently-launched ‘Namo Drone Didis’.They- plus others- can become ‘Village-level Entrepreneurs (VLEs)’ to perform several tasks that are required to create India’s geospatial infrastructure, e,g,mapping of farm plots, crops, and water tables. Mapping of forest & green cover | Namo Drone Didis: IARI (Min of Agriculture)Internet Saathi: Google, Tata Trust & Intel | Additional livelihood and income for rural entrepreneurs. More inclusive way of developing geospatial infrastructure and data by using VLEs as our crowd-sourcing strategy |
Corporate connect & on-boarding
Anchor partnerships are key to driving impactful geospatial innovation across Agriculture, Transport/Infrastructure, and Livelihoods/Skills sectors. Through strategic collaboration, leading corporations like ITC, Mahindra, DeHaat, Satsure, HDFC, Bajaj Alliance, etc. to work closely with our Geospatial Innovation Accelerators (GIAs) to implement sector-specific solutions in designated districts, leveraging geospatial data from the Geospatial Data Infrastructure (GDI) to tackle real-world challenges. These corporate allies bring essential industry expertise and resources, enabling knowledge exchange that accelerates startup growth and fosters regional development. Together, aim to build a thriving ecosystem where corporate partners not only solve sectoral challenges but also support long-term impact by mentoring and funding startups as they scale their solutions. We envision transformative partnerships that propel sustainable growth and harness the full potential of geospatial technology to address India’s critical needs.