Towards National Digital Twin of India

routing causes a loss of efficiency in many businesses such as deliveries for e-commerce. Every eCommerce company is fighting the same problem on its own.

 Due to the lack of accurate land titling records, approximately 7.7 million people in India have been affected by land disputes on over 2.5 million hectares, causing a considerable threat to investments valued at more than Rs 14 lakh crore.

There can be a considerable scope of improvement in the property tax collection by providing better and more accurate visibility through 3D Digital Twin.

Infrastructure building requires accurate geospatial information and a Digital Twin for planning, implementation, O&M, and monitoring.

Accurate Geospatial data (2D and 3D) would unlock a signifi- cant GDP percentage. Genesys' vision is to provide this critical national digital infrastructure. All the above pain points are addressed well through Genesys’ 3D Digital Twin.

Why is Geospatial critical for the Digital India Mission?

Geospatial technology is critical to the Digital India mission by enabling geographic data collection, analysis, and visualization. This data can help in taking a wide range of informed decisions related to urban governance and planning, disaster management, and the delivery of public services, including Smart City Planning, Disaster Management, Agriculture and Rural Development, Health and Education, and Infrastructure Planning and Management.

The 3D Urban Spatial Digital Twins and its corresponding databases can be used to locate, identify, visualize and inspect the location of critical

3d

infrastructure such as roads, bridges, railway lines, hospitals, public amenities etc.

Government agencies can use this information to improve the delivery of public services by identifying areas where additional resources are needed and by monitoring the progress of development projects. Additionally, geospatial technology can also be used to support disaster management efforts by providing real-time information on the location and status of critical infrastructure and resources, as well as the location and movement of evacuees.

In urban planning, engineering-grade geospatial data can be used to create detailed 3D digital maps of cities and towns, which can be used to identify areas that need development and plan infrastructure projects such as transportation and housing.

Furthermore, this technology can also be used to improve the delivery of public services such as citizen safety and security, healthcare, and education. Upcoming infrastructure and projects can be digitally modeled and inserted into the existing city. Simulations can be run to understand how the proposed infrastructure interacts with and affects the current city and town infrastructure.

Overall, geospatial technology is critical to the Digital India Mission as it enables the collection, analysis, and visualization of geographic data, which can help in taking informed decisions and improve the delivery of government services. This directly ties in with the government’s vision of achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

How Digital Twin would serve/ contribute towards national mission mode projects with a particular focus on city management, infrastructure development, mobility, supply chain, defense, and security?

Digital twin technology has the potential to support a wide range of national projects in India. Some examples of how Digital Twin technology can be used to help Indian national projects include:

City management: Digital Twins can model and simulate different urban planning and development scenarios such as the impact of new buildings or transportation infrastructure on traffic and air quality. They can also be used to monitor and optimize the performance of existing city systems such as energy and water supply networks.

Infrastructure development : Digital Twins can be used to plan, design, and construct new infrastructure projects, such as bridges, roads, and airports, by simulating their performance and identifying potential issues before construction begins. They can also be used to monitor and maintain existing infrastructure, such as identifying structural defects or predicting equipment failures.

Mobility and supply chain: Digital Twins can be used to optimize logistics and transportation, such as simulating and optimizing delivery routes or identifying bottlenecks in the supply chain. They can also be used to improve the performance of transportation systems, such as optimizing traffic flow or reducing fuel consumption in fuel-powered and electric vehicles.

Defense and security: Digital Twins can be used to simulate and analyze military operations and scenarios, such as predicting the movements and actions of enemy forces. They can also be used to improve the performance of defense systems, such as predicting equipment failures or identifying vulnerabilities in communications networks.

Emergency management: Digital Twins can be used to model and simulate emergency scenarios, such as natural disasters, accidents, and terrorist attacks, to help emergency responders and city officials to prepare and respond effectively, as well as to optimize evacuation and rescue plans.

What’s your take on India’s recently released geospatial policy?

The contribution of the geospatial sector to the Indian economy, as per industry estimates, is around INR 20,000 crore, but the true potential hasn’t been realized yet.

The policy strengthens the Indian Geospatial industry to support the information economy by laying down a framework for developing a robust geospatial ecosystem is a landmark reform that will directly translate into the growth and expansion of the geospatial sector.

So far, there has been no clear policy, and the private sector needed clarification on what could and could not be done in the field. This policy has set out to rectify the uncertainties with a legal framework as it liberalizes the geospatial sector and democratization of data and encourages private-public partnerships.

It also establishes a National Geospatial Data Infrastructure (NGDI), which will be responsible for integrating and managing all geospatial data in the country, and a National GIS Council, which will formulate policies, standards, and guidelines for geospatial data management in India.

It is helping foster innovation, creation, and collaboration in the Geospatial field by bridging the geospatial data divide.

The policy looks forward to making India a ‘World Leader’ in the global geospatial space and identifies corresponding milestones with palpable objectives within a pragmatic timeline. This makes the strategy and approach of the policy towards geospatial infrastructure and frameworks promising, realistic, and achievable.

Hopefully, this will translate into an increase in the demand for Geospatial Solutions and Services in India in 2023 and beyond.

How do you plan to fund your mission of developing National Digital Twin, and is there a scope for PublicPrivate Partnerships?

Through internal resources. The revenue model is very similar to any content program which follows the licensing model.

It’s the need of the hour. This can lead to the rapid creation and adoption of this technology.

Let’s face it — government is the single largest user of this content — the private sector has the technology and the capital to support the country’s needs for the longterm success of the PPP model.

Interviewed by Sanjay Singh