Uttarakhand@25: Surveyor general Makwana maps India's future on geospatial tech revolution
In a special episode of Uttarakhand@25, a series by The Times of India celebrating 25 years of the state's journey, IAS officer Hitesh Kumar S Makwana, the surveyor general of India, sheds light on how geospatial technology is shaping India's present and future, with Uttarakhand playing a central role in that mission.
Makwana, a 1995-batch IAS officer with an academic background in Civil Engineering, Economics, and Public Policy, brings over three decades of experience across urban governance, disaster management, border security, and housing.
He currently heads the Survey of India, the country's national mapping agency.
Dehradun's historic role in India's mapping legacy
Makwana explained that while the Survey of India was initially established by the British in Kolkata in 1767, the headquarters eventually moved to Dehradun in 1951.
The city's climate proved ideal for archiving sensitive mapping materials, and its proximity to institutions like IIT Roorkee provided skilled manpower.
"Dehradun's role in the evolution of Indian cartography is immense. Even the original copies of the Constitution of India were printed in our Dehradun press,' he shared. The presence of more than 3,000 Survey of India employees in Dehradun during its peak also made the organisation one of the major employment generators in the region.
by Taboola
by Taboola
Sponsored Links
Sponsored Links
Promoted Links
Promoted Links
You May Like
How Much Does a Bali Vacation Really Cost?
Liseer
Learn More
Undo
From traditional maps to real-time data
Tracing the evolution of the Survey of India, Makwana described the shift from using manual tools like theodolites and chains to modern technologies such as remote sensing, LiDAR, and drones.
Where earlier it took 70–80 years to complete a national map, now, with advanced geospatial tools, large-scale maps can be created in under a decade. These high-resolution maps — from a scale of 1:250,000 down to 1:2,000 — are transforming not just planning but also disaster management and urban development.
Makwana highlighted the newly announced National Geospatial Mission, which aims to bring all of this data infrastructure together in a unified system, with Survey of India playing a leading role.
Uttarakhand-specific projects: From Char Dham to land reforms
When asked about Uttarakhand-specific work, Makwana emphasised several projects. The Survey of India had developed trekking maps of the Char Dham route as far back as the 1950s. In recent times, it has carried out aerial surveys of the Ganga basin for flood modelling under the National Hydrology Project and created comprehensive land-use maps for the National Mission for Clean Ganga.
Additionally, under the Swamitva scheme, a drone-based survey was conducted in 7,000 villages of Uttarakhand to help residents receive digital land ownership records. This work is being extended to urban areas through the NAXA project, where four towns in the state have been selected for detailed geospatial surveys.
Supporting urban planning and disaster preparedness
Makwana explained how Survey of India data supports vital decision-making for roads, flood prevention, satellite launches, and more.
'Even ISRO needs to come to us to determine true north before launching a satellite,' he noted.
The same data is now being used to predict landslides, monitor land subsidence, and address urban flooding by identifying vulnerable low-lying zones. This allows planners to design better drainage and locate green spaces strategically.
Training the next generation
To build future capacity, the Survey of India is training Uttarakhand's government staff, while collaborating with institutes like the Indian Institute of Remote Sensing in Dehradun.
A certification programme for private citizens is also in the pipeline.
Makwana stressed that the role of AI and Machine Learning in analysing massive geospatial datasets is set to expand — but the real challenge lies in training personnel to use these tools effectively.
Message to the youth of Uttarakhand
Speaking directly to Uttarakhand's youth, Makwana said, 'Sky is the limit. Geospatial technology is a booming sector. With Dehradun being the headquarters of Survey of India, local youth have a golden opportunity to lead the country in this space.'
He closed with a call to action: 'Just as India has become a global leader in software, it is now time for us to become global leaders in geospatial technology — and Uttarakhand can be at the heart of that journey.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hindustan Times
10 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Isro-Nasa satellite Nisar takes flight
The Indian and US space agencies on Wednesday launched a powerful satellite that will keep a close eye on Earth and track even minuscule changes on its surface, arming scientists, researchers and disaster response teams with crucial data to help better forecast natural calamities. TOPSHOT - This handout photograph taken and released on July 30 by Isro shows launch vehicle GSLV-F16 carrying the Nisar earth observation satellite lifting off from the launch pad at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota in India's Andhra Pradesh state.(AFP) The Nasa-Isro Synthetic Aperture Radar satellite, or Nisar, lifted off from the Indian Space Research Organisation's Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota at 5.40pm, aboard the agency's GSLV-F16 rocket, in collaboration with Nasa. Roughly the size of a large SUV, Nisar was injected into orbit at 5.58pm. Over the next few days, the 2,393kg will begin to unfold itself, extending its 30-foot boom and opening the 39-foot diameter (12-meter) reflector, made of gold-plated wire mesh. Science operations should begin by the end of October. For the next five years, the $1.5 billion satellite will map virtually all of Earth's terrain multiple times from its vantage point 743km above Earth. Its two radars — one from the US and the other from India — will operate constantly, scanning the planet in granular detail twice every 12 days. Experts said the satellite can track changes as small as a centimetre. Data from the landmark effort will transform the way scientists study a rapidly evolving planet and climate. The satellite will push out accurate insights on melting glaciers and polar ice sheets; shifting groundwater supplies; motion and stress of land surfaces prompting landslides and earthquakes; and forest and wetland disruptions boosting carbon dioxide and methane emissions. Union minister Jitendra Singh called the joint-launch India's 'scientific handshake with the world'. 'Its capacity to penetrate through fogs, dense clouds, ice layers, etc, makes it a pathbreaking enabler for the aviation and shipping sectors,' he said on X. Isro chief V Narayanan confirmed that the launch was on expected lines and that the satellite was performing within its required parameters. 'All the vehicle system performance is quite normal as expected and predicted. Today we achieved the intended orbit. We have placed it in orbit less than 3km, within the permissible level of 20km,' he said. Casey Swails, deputy associate administrator of Nasa, who attended the launch, said, 'It has been just an incredible decade culminating in this moment from this technical collaboration, the cultural understanding, getting to know each other, building that team across continents, across time zones, missing weekends with families, holidays.' Nisar will be the world's first Earth-observing satellite equipped with two radars to sharpen its data gathering – an S-band and an L-band. The S-band radar, built by Isro, allows accurate readings of small plants, bushes and shrubs. The L-band, built by Nasa, helps sense taller vegetation like trees. Isro and Nasa's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) shared the workload, each building their own components, before integrating and testing the spacecraft at the former's Satellite Integration & Testing Establishment in Bengaluru. Data from the L-band instrument will be available at the Alaska Satellite Facility (ASF) and from the S-Band will be available on Bhoonidhi at the National Remote Sensing Centre in Hyderabad.
Time of India
2 hours ago
- Time of India
3I/ATLAS Interstellar Comet or Alien Spacecraft? Here's complete truth
3I/ATLAS Interstellar Comet or Alien Spacecraft? Let's find out. In July 2025, astronomers identified a new object passing through the solar system. Named 3I/ATLAS, this interstellar object became the subject of global attention. While it is officially classified as a comet, one team of researchers has introduced a controversial idea: Could it be an alien spacecraft? The debate raises questions about what we know about space and what may lie beyond. 3I/ATLAS NASA Statement 3I/ATLAS was first observed in July 2025 by a telescope in Chile that is part of NASA's Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS). The telescope initially detected what appeared to be an unknown asteroid. The discovery was reported to the Minor Planet Center. Explore courses from Top Institutes in Please select course: Select a Course Category Artificial Intelligence MBA Technology Degree others Finance Leadership CXO Digital Marketing Cybersecurity Product Management Data Science Healthcare MCA Project Management Public Policy Data Analytics Design Thinking Others healthcare PGDM Data Science Management Operations Management Skills you'll gain: Duration: 7 Months S P Jain Institute of Management and Research CERT-SPJIMR Exec Cert Prog in AI for Biz India Starts on undefined Get Details Follow-up observations confirmed the object was a comet, later named 3I/ATLAS. Scientists established that it had interstellar origins, making it the third known object to enter the solar system from beyond. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Play War Thunder now for free War Thunder Play Now Undo Also Read: Denise Richards Aaron Phypers Ugly Court Battle: Star accuses estranged husband of… Here's what she said 3I/ATLAS Interstellar Comet or Alien Spacecraft? NASA estimates that 3I/ATLAS is more than 12 miles wide. It is traveling at 37 miles per second relative to the Sun. On October 30, 2025, it will come within about 130 million miles of Earth. Live Events Most scientists agree that 3I/ATLAS has the features of a typical icy comet. These include a trajectory and speed consistent with other known interstellar objects. Harvard Astrophysicist Avi Loeb Proposes Alien Technology Theory Harvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb and two other researchers recently released a paper suggesting an alternate possibility. Published on July 16, 2025, on the preprint server arXiv, the paper questions whether 3I/ATLAS could be alien technology. Loeb is known for encouraging scientists to consider extraterrestrial explanations. He co-founded the Galileo Project, which focuses on scientifically searching for alien artifacts. In a blog post, Loeb described the paper as a 'pedagogical exercise.' He explained that it explores the unusual trajectory of the object and does not claim a definitive conclusion. He also noted that the hypothesis suggests that intelligent civilizations might avoid detection to protect themselves from cosmic threats. 3I/ATLAS Interstellar Comet or Alien Spacecraft? Scientific Community Responds with Skepticism Many experts have dismissed the theory. Chris Lintott, an Oxford University astronomer involved in tracing 3I/ATLAS's origin, called the alien theory 'nonsense' in a statement to Live Science. He emphasized that it distracts from ongoing research. Loeb himself admitted that the object is most likely a natural comet. However, he believes that exploring different possibilities can lead to scientific discovery. Also Read: Leagues Cup 2025 New Format Explained: Start, end date, teams, structure, grouping, rules, points system, ranking, tickets, how to watch and stream online Avi Loeb's Previous Claims About Interstellar Objects This is not the first time Loeb has made such claims. In 2017, he suggested that the interstellar object Oumuamua could be alien technology. The object had a strange shape and accelerated near the Sun. Loeb proposed that it moved like a light sail, a method that could be used by intelligent beings. In 2023, Loeb recovered fragments from a meteor labeled IM1 that struck Earth in 2014. He claimed the metallic spherules found off Papua New Guinea were interstellar and unmatched by known solar system alloys. The origin—natural or artificial—remains unclear. Interstellar Visitors in Past Before 3I/ATLAS, only two other interstellar objects had been confirmed. Oumuamua was detected in 2017. Comet Borisov passed through in 2019. Both sparked discussions among scientists about what they could tell us about other star systems. FAQs What is 3I/ATLAS and why is it important? 3I/ATLAS is an interstellar comet observed in 2025. It is only the third known object to enter our solar system from beyond, raising questions about cosmic activity. Did scientists confirm 3I/ATLAS is an alien spacecraft? No. Most scientists believe it is a comet. One theory by Avi Loeb explores the idea of alien origin but is not backed by evidence or peer-reviewed.
Time of India
2 hours ago
- Time of India
PhD scholars briefed on relevance ofchoosing research topic in humanities
Lucknow: The regional campus of English and Foreign Languages University (EFLU) organized a two-day Young Researchers' Conference on 'studies in humanities: trends in language, literature, and English language education' on Wednesday The event brought together vibrant voices from among the Ph.D. scholars, who presented research paper on contemporary issues across disciplines such as sociolinguistics, multilingualism, National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, translation studies, postcolonial and indigenous literatures, digital humanities, pedagogy, and subaltern studies. Prof RP Singh from Lucknow University's department of English and Modern European Languages University, who is also the director of the international cell at LU, was the chief guest. He offered deep insights into the mechanisms and relevance of choosing a research topic in the humanities. He urged scholars to select topics that are anchored in local socio-cultural realities, reminding them that meaningful research is one that arises from the specific ethos of the researcher's community and context. He emphasized that the act of topic selection is not just procedural but philosophical, requiring reflection on the why, how, and for whom of research. According to EFLU officials, the conference aimed to explore evolving research paradigms in the humanities and reflect on their practical, cultural, and theoretical implications within the Indian context.
