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The Natural Resources Data Management System (NRDMS) is an initiative of Department of Science and Technology of Government of India, conceived to help Policy makers and planners to formulate developmental strategy. In doing so, they have the advantage of the progress made in recent years in the methodologies designed to collect, archive and process the multidisciplinary ground data
This basic data on land, its people and the natural resources has been collected since several decades by multiple national and private organizations on varying scales. Initially, the size and data population was restricted only to major parameters but gradually with advancement of the science and development of methodologies in data collection, it was possible to gather a wealth of data over a large terrain for several parameters in a short time and store in a more convenient format for retrieval at a desired time, for use in governance or for research purposes.
This changed scenario, especially the support and application of computers and tools of Information Technology, with application of indigenously developed GIS package, Geo Referenced Area Management (GRAM++) on Windows 95/NT platform has enabled quicker data mining and its use. The development of spatial data management tools has further made the application and research in this field possible giving impetus to micro level, integrated panchayat and district level planning. India has been making tremendous inroads in the sphere of information technology and has been keeping pace with the developments being made internationally. It is rightly being considered to be one of the main sources, globally, of intellectual force behind the new developments taking place in this field.
Several governmental agencies such as:
- Survey of India (SOI),
- Geological Survey of India (GSI),
- Indian Bureau of Mines (IBM),
- Space Application Centre (SAC) of ISRO,
- Snow and Avalanche Study Establishment (SASE) of DRDO and its numerous laboratories,
- National Centre for Earth Science Studies (NCESS),
- Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology (WIHG),
- Indian Institute of Geomagnetism (IIG),
- Botanical Survey of India (BSI),
- Zoological Survey of India (ZSI),
- National Atlas & Thematic Mapping Organization (NMTMO),
- Central Ground Water Board (CGWB),
- National Institute of Hydrology (NIH),
- Census of India,
- Bureau of Soil Survey and Land Use Planning (NBSS & LUP),
- India Meteorological Department (IMD),
- Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM),
- National Medium Range Weather Forecasting (NMRWF) Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS),
- National Centre for Seismology (NCS), National Centre for Antarctic and Ocean Research (NCAOR),
- National Institute of Oceanography (NIO),
- Centre for Marine Living Resources and Ecology (CMLRE),
- Fishery Survey of India (FSI), Central Marine Fishery Research Institute (CMFRI),
- Wild Life Institute of India (WII), etc are engaged in collecting, updating and collating the database in the field of their respective expertise.
As a result of such concerted efforts, the nation has developed huge databases that cover nearly all important fields of living and non living natural resources, basic data on demographic details, socio-economics, agro-economy, rainfall and other met parameters as well as basic data on infrastructure with village/ district as the basic unit.
The SOI, for example, has prepared topographical maps of entire India on varying scales but more commonly on 1:50,000, which give information of infrastructure such as roads, railway lines, rivers, canals and all important structures that can be projected on that scale.
The lateral distances and vertical heights are depicted. The contours along with heights above mean sea level of some triangulation points help in linking the sites to such trigonometric positions. The use of aerial photography and photogrammetric tools has enabled SOI to map difficult Himalayan and other inaccessible terrains. These maps serve as a basic tool for plotting other detailed subject wise database and prepare hundreds of thematic maps such as soil and agronomic maps (Fig 1), satellite image maps (Fig 2), Seismic zonation map maps (Fig 3) and maps showing distribution of economic minerals. Geological maps, earthquake risk and coastal management maps etc. may be quoted in this line. The list is unending.
Fig 1. Soil map of Karnataka.
Fig. 2. Satellite Map of parts of Bengaluru (Roads and Buildings)
Fig.3. Seismic Zonation map of India
Applicability in Governance:
Most of the above information is linked to location of the site of data in 3-D form or in latitudes, longitudes and vertical height (the coordinate system) i.e. it is spatial. The integration of Geographical Information System (GIS) and Global Positioning System (GPS) into spatial datasets has increased the accuracy and ease of adoptability of the information for various governance purposes. Need for collating this vast data and information into a system that can be used by governmental and private bodies has given rise to the National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI).
This spatial information on natural resources, cultural and environmental aspects is available at the local/state and national levels for concerned authorities for putting to use in decision making towards formulation and execution of socio-economic/ developmental programs for communities. The spatial database will come handy for infra-structure development and disaster management, especially during natural calamities such as floods, droughts, landslides, earthquakes etc.
The proposed developments of “e-superhighways” and “going digital” movement of Government of India, have opened new vistas of data sharing. The fast way of sharing the data would greatly help in coordination and cooperation efforts between sister organizations and adjoining districts as well as between state and national Bodies, especially, for hazard mitigation activities.
To quote some examples: the mapping of active landslide areas, mapping of glacial lakes under threat of outburst (GLOF), preparation of microzonation maps of earthquake prone districts – installation of seismometers and activation of Tsunami prediction Centres, mapping of coastal regions, especially of Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Tamil Nadu likely to be inundated by cyclones and linkages of this and similar data with district/ state and central agencies demonstrates how the National Spatial Data Infrastructure can be of immense use to communities at ground level.
ISRO’s Annual Report for 2016-17 describes ‘the societal services offered by INSAT / GSAT satellites in the area of tele-education and telemedicine and that of the applications of Remote Sensing projects at National, State and Local levels through well-established multi-pronged implementation under NNRMS in the country. The Indian Remote Sensing Satellite constellation has helped in Agricultural Crops Inventory, Agricultural Drought, Forest Fire, Landslides and Earthquake Monitoring, Gas pipeline monitoring, Groundwater Prospects Mapping, Inventory, Monitoring of Glacial Lakes / Water Bodies and Satellite Aided Search & Rescue.’
Some of the societal programs where NRDMS / NSDI database is going to be developed for used by multiple agencies are :
- a) Development of village level geospatial information system, especially for health related issues,
- b) Revival of village ponds to store rain water to make up for water scarcity ,
- c) Ground water availability/ aquifer mapping in drought prone areas
- d) Water resource availability in different water sheds, or drinking and agricultural, purposes
- e) Geological and geotechnical mapping of vulnerable areas w .r .t. landslides in Uttarakhand and other Himalayan regions,
- f) Land records and land management
- g) Energy resource- thermal / hydro / solar
- h) Natural Disaster mitigation
- i) Identification and mapping of proglacial lakes that have potential of breaching.
Recent Posts
- In the Large States category (overall), Chhattisgarh ranks 1st, followed by Odisha and Telangana, whereas, towards the bottom are Maharashtra at 16th, Assam at 17th and Gujarat at 18th. Gujarat is one State that has seen startling performance ranking 5th in the PAI 2021 Index outperforming traditionally good performing States like Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, but ranks last in terms of Delta
- In the Small States category (overall), Nagaland tops, followed by Mizoram and Tripura. Towards the tail end of the overall Delta ranking is Uttarakhand (9th), Arunachal Pradesh (10th) and Meghalaya (11th). Nagaland despite being a poor performer in the PAI 2021 Index has come out to be the top performer in Delta, similarly, Mizoram’s performance in Delta is also reflected in it’s ranking in the PAI 2021 Index
- In terms of Equity, in the Large States category, Chhattisgarh has the best Delta rate on Equity indicators, this is also reflected in the performance of Chhattisgarh in the Equity Pillar where it ranks 4th. Following Chhattisgarh is Odisha ranking 2nd in Delta-Equity ranking, but ranks 17th in the Equity Pillar of PAI 2021. Telangana ranks 3rd in Delta-Equity ranking even though it is not a top performer in this Pillar in the overall PAI 2021 Index. Jharkhand (16th), Uttar Pradesh (17th) and Assam (18th) rank at the bottom with Uttar Pradesh’s performance in line with the PAI 2021 Index
- Odisha and Nagaland have shown the best year-on-year improvement under 12 Key Development indicators.
- In the 60:40 division States, the top three performers are Kerala, Goa and Tamil Nadu and, the bottom three performers are Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Bihar.
- In the 90:10 division States, the top three performers were Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim and Mizoram; and, the bottom three performers are Manipur, Assam and Meghalaya.
- Among the 60:40 division States, Orissa, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh are the top three performers and Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Delhi appear as the bottom three performers.
- Among the 90:10 division States, the top three performers are Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland; and, the bottom three performers are Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh
- Among the 60:40 division States, Goa, West Bengal and Delhi appear as the top three performers and Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Bihar appear as the bottom three performers.
- Among the 90:10 division States, Mizoram, Himachal Pradesh and Tripura were the top three performers and Jammu & Kashmir, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh were the bottom three performers
- West Bengal, Bihar and Tamil Nadu were the top three States amongst the 60:40 division States; while Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan appeared as the bottom three performers
- In the case of 90:10 division States, Mizoram, Assam and Tripura were the top three performers and Nagaland, Jammu & Kashmir and Uttarakhand featured as the bottom three
- Among the 60:40 division States, the top three performers are Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Orissa and the bottom three performers are Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and Goa
- In the 90:10 division States, the top three performers are Mizoram, Sikkim and Nagaland and the bottom three performers are Manipur and Assam
In a diverse country like India, where each State is socially, culturally, economically, and politically distinct, measuring Governance becomes increasingly tricky. The Public Affairs Index (PAI 2021) is a scientifically rigorous, data-based framework that measures the quality of governance at the Sub-national level and ranks the States and Union Territories (UTs) of India on a Composite Index (CI).
States are classified into two categories – Large and Small – using population as the criteria.
In PAI 2021, PAC defined three significant pillars that embody Governance – Growth, Equity, and Sustainability. Each of the three Pillars is circumscribed by five governance praxis Themes.
The themes include – Voice and Accountability, Government Effectiveness, Rule of Law, Regulatory Quality and Control of Corruption.
At the bottom of the pyramid, 43 component indicators are mapped to 14 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that are relevant to the States and UTs.
This forms the foundation of the conceptual framework of PAI 2021. The choice of the 43 indicators that go into the calculation of the CI were dictated by the objective of uncovering the complexity and multidimensional character of development governance
The Equity Principle
The Equity Pillar of the PAI 2021 Index analyses the inclusiveness impact at the Sub-national level in the country; inclusiveness in terms of the welfare of a society that depends primarily on establishing that all people feel that they have a say in the governance and are not excluded from the mainstream policy framework.
This requires all individuals and communities, but particularly the most vulnerable, to have an opportunity to improve or maintain their wellbeing. This chapter of PAI 2021 reflects the performance of States and UTs during the pandemic and questions the governance infrastructure in the country, analysing the effectiveness of schemes and the general livelihood of the people in terms of Equity.
Growth and its Discontents
Growth in its multidimensional form encompasses the essence of access to and the availability and optimal utilisation of resources. By resources, PAI 2021 refer to human resources, infrastructure and the budgetary allocations. Capacity building of an economy cannot take place if all the key players of growth do not drive development. The multiplier effects of better health care, improved educational outcomes, increased capital accumulation and lower unemployment levels contribute magnificently in the growth and development of the States.
The Pursuit Of Sustainability
The Sustainability Pillar analyses the access to and usage of resources that has an impact on environment, economy and humankind. The Pillar subsumes two themes and uses seven indicators to measure the effectiveness of government efforts with regards to Sustainability.
The Curious Case Of The Delta
The Delta Analysis presents the results on the State performance on year-on-year improvement. The rankings are measured as the Delta value over the last five to 10 years of data available for 12 Key Development Indicators (KDI). In PAI 2021, 12 indicators across the three Pillars of Equity (five indicators), Growth (five indicators) and Sustainability (two indicators). These KDIs are the outcome indicators crucial to assess Human Development. The Performance in the Delta Analysis is then compared to the Overall PAI 2021 Index.
Key Findings:-
In the Scheme of Things
The Scheme Analysis adds an additional dimension to ranking of the States on their governance. It attempts to complement the Governance Model by trying to understand the developmental activities undertaken by State Governments in the form of schemes. It also tries to understand whether better performance of States in schemes reflect in better governance.
The Centrally Sponsored schemes that were analysed are National Health Mission (NHM), Umbrella Integrated Child Development Services scheme (ICDS), Mahatma Gandh National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan (SmSA) and MidDay Meal Scheme (MDMS).
National Health Mission (NHM)
INTEGRATED CHILD DEVELOPMENT SERVICES (ICDS)
MID- DAY MEAL SCHEME (MDMS)
SAMAGRA SHIKSHA ABHIYAN (SMSA)
MAHATMA GANDHI NATIONAL RURAL EMPLOYMENT GUARANTEE SCHEME (MGNREGS)