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India To Prioritise Data For Development At G20

Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the G20 Leader’s Summit in Bali in November 2022 pledged that the principle of “data for development” will be integral to India’s G20 presidency.

The first side event of the G20 Development Working Group under the Indian presidency, held in Mumbai addressed the theme “Data for development: The role of the G20 in advancing the 2030 Agenda”.

Amitabh Kant, India’s G20 Sherpa, emphasised that the country’s strategic use of data for governance and public service delivery in its aspirational districts has, in three years, wrought a transformation that would otherwise have taken six decades. Data has also powered India’s pandemic response, innovations in education, health care, and food security, and enabled digital financial inclusion at a near-population scale.

ISRO JOIN HANDS WITH START-UP INCUBATION NETWORK TO ADVANCE INNOVATION

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and Social Alpha signed a Memorandum of Understanding to launch SpaceTech Innovation Network (SpIN), India’s first dedicated platform for innovation curation and venture development for the burgeoning space entrepreneurial ecosystem.

This novel partnership is a significant step forward in providing further stimulus to India’s recent space reform policies and will work towards identifying and unleashing the market potential of the most promising space tech innovators and entrepreneurs in India.

SpIN will primarily focus on facilitating space tech entrepreneurs in three distinct innovation categories: Geospatial Technologies and Downstream Applications; Enabling Technologies for Space& Mobility; and Aerospace Materials, Sensors, and Avionics. The selected start-ups and innovators will be able to access both Social Alpha’s and ISRO’s infrastructure and resources as per the prevailing guidelines. They will be provided active handholding in critical areas including access to product design, testing and validation infrastructure, intellectual property management, go-to-market strategy, and access to long-term patient capital.

GOA’S NEW DRONE POLICY EMPHASIZES ON EFFECTIVE GOVERNANCE

The Drone Policy 2022 which was launched by the Goa government suggested that its departments consider the use of unmanned aerial vehicles for efficient and effective governance.

Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Monday launched the Drone Policy 2022, as per which the government will engage with technical institutes and academia to design drone-related courses for use in sectors like agriculture, horticulture, forestry, healthcare, mining and others.

The policy also stated that the government will help in establishing drone schools that offer various courses in drone operations and pilot certification and will encourage the setting up of centres of excellence within higher academic institutions to promote research and development.

The policy also mentions that drones offer tremendous benefits to almost every sector of the economy, including but not limited to agriculture, infrastructure, emergency response, transportation, geospatial mapping, media, entertainment, law enforcement and others.

ISRO, MICROSOFT COLLABORATE TO SUPPORT SPACE START-UPS IN INDIA

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and Microsoft signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to fuel the growth of space-tech startups in India.

The MoU seeks to empower space tech startups across the country with technology tools and platforms, go-to-market support and mentoring to help them scale and become enterprise ready.

The collaboration seeks to strengthen ISRO’s vision of harnessing the market potential of the most promising space tech innovators and entrepreneurs in India. Through this tie-up, the space-tech startups identified by ISRO will be on boarded onto the Microsoft for Startups

Founders Hub platform which supports startups at every stage of their journey from idea to unicorn.

Microsoft will also provide mentoring support to space tech entrepreneurs in areas ranging from space engineering to cloud technologies, product and design, fundraising and sales and marketing. In addition, founders will have access to Microsoft Learn for tailored start up centric training content and programs to help them build connections with the industry and potential customers.

Garuda Aerospace Signs Mou With Rallis India

Garuda Aerospace, India’s leading drone manufacturing company signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Rallis India Limited, a subsidiary of Tata Chemicals and, a leading player in the agriculture industry.

Rallis will supply pesticides and crop nutrients to Garuda Aerospace for a pilot demonstration and spraying of pesticides on fields through drones mainly in the state of Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh.

This partnership will help leverage the key strengths of both parties. While Garuda Aerospace is known to provide the best drone solution in the Agriculture sector, Rallis India is known for its penetrative distribution network.

The drone pilots will conduct demonstrations on approximately 1000 acres of land on crops such as Paddy, Onion, Bengal Gram, Wheat and Vegetables.

This drone-based solution will also enable businesses to achieve their sustainability goals by helping drive the efficient use of resources.

GEOSPATIAL HACKATHON LAUNCHED TO PROMOTE START-UPS

Union Minister Jitendra Singh launched Geospatial Hackathon to encourage interaction between public and private stakeholders as well as promote start-ups in the Geospatial sector of India.

The Hackathon includes two sets of challenges – the Research Challenge and Start-Up Challenge – that will determine four winners for ‘best solutions’ to the geospatial sector. He invited the nation’s youth to participate and contribute towards the building of the nation’s geospatial economy.

The union minister said that the Indian government urgently needs accurate geospatial information for efficient project management and operations, programme creation, and policy development in order to meet the Sustainable Development Goals.

Mr Singh further said the Hackathon platform will serve as a formal Launchpad for India’s geospatial strategy and policy. He also appreciated all the partnering agencies, academia, research institutions, industries, and think tanks who have joined the noble mission on the auspicious occasion of Makar Sankranti, celebrated across India with different names and rituals.

ESRI INDIA LAUNCHES POLICY MAPS & SETS UP GEOSPATIAL EXCELLENCE CENTRE AT ISM, DHANBAD

Esri India, country’s leading Geographic Information System (GIS) Software & Solutions provider unveiled Policy Maps to facilitate data-driven policymaking in India. The announcement was made during Esri India’s annual flagship event, the User Conference.

The objective of developing Esri India Policy Maps is to foster data-driven decision-making in policymaking. The Policy Maps have been designed to provide meaningful insights for various government functions with a special focus on Sustainable

Development Goals (SDGs).

They also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with TEXMiN Foundation to set up a Geospatial Excellence Centre at the Indian Institute of Technology (Indian School of Mines), Dhanbad. The focus will be on research and innovation in spatial analytics & remote sensing for mining and exploration.

As a result of this collaboration, Esri India will enable Technology Innovation in Exploration & Mining Foundation (TEXMiN) with GIS technology for establishing the Geospatial Excellence Centre.

AIRTEL, TECH MAHINDRA JOIN HANDS FOR 5G-ENABLED AUTO MANUFACTURING

Bharti Airtel and Tech Mahindra announced a partnership for developing India’s first 5G-enabled auto manufacturing facility. Both companies will work together to deploy 5G for Enterprise solutions at Mahindra’s Chakan manufacturing unit.

Earlier, Tech Mahindra had deployed ‘5G for Business’ solution at the Chakan manufacturing facility that reportedly enhanced network connectivity resulting in enhanced speed for software flashing, a crucial component in vehicle dispatches.

According to Airtel, it is testing the use cases and spectrum delivery of its 5G for business solution at multiple locations and services. Airtel Business Director and CEO Ajay Chitkara said that 5G solutions will enhance and transform manufacturing operations and business in the country.

As the industry shifts to 4.0, reliable data networks will prove to be a key differentiator in factory and manufacturing outcomes, according to Chitkara. The partnership between both companies is in line with Tech Mahindra’s NXT.NOWTM framework, which aims to enhance Human Centric Experience by investing in emerging technologies to streamline solutions and enable digital transformation.