At GeoSmart India 2025, the spotlight was firmly on India’s ambitious urban land modernisation programme, which aims to create accurate, high-precision digital maps across 1,000 cities within five years. National leaders and technical experts highlighted how unified geospatial layers are now critical for governance, infrastructure development, and the country’s billion-scale digital economy.
Manoj Joshi, IAS, Secretary, Department of Land Resources, confirmed that 157 cities will undergo high-precision surveys in the coming months, forming the foundation for the nationwide rollout. “All states are participating. Large states may pilot 10 cities, smaller ones 1–2, but the goal is uniform: updated, accurate urban land records across India,” he said.
Moving Away from Outdated Practices
Officials acknowledged that legacy methods still persist. In cities such as Darbhanga and Alwar, surveyors continue to rely on tape-based measurements rather than modern rover systems. Joshi urged a shift to latitude-longitude based digital sketches for property transactions, emphasising that revenue departments must modernise to match the pace of citizens.
“The private sector must guide us. If India is to build a strong GIS market, public and private collaboration is essential,” Joshi added.
The Economic Stakes of Accurate Land Records
Land and property documentation has significant economic implications. “Someone who bought a property for Rs. 50 lakh may now consider it worth Rs. 4 crore. Yet our record-keeping hasn’t kept pace,” Joshi said. Modern, transparent systems are needed to serve citizens better, reduce disputes, and ensure clarity in property ownership, he added.
Technical Advances Drive Transformation
Kunal Satyarthi, Joint Secretary, Department of Land Records, explained that India’s urban complexity requires advanced surveying tools. A pilot across 57 cities is integrating municipal tax records, registration deeds, and existing land documents into a single authoritative record called ‘ProCard’, mapping ownership down to individual apartments.
For the first time, India is using 5 cm accuracy aerial imagery via drones, airplanes, and helicopters. A survey that previously took a full day can now be completed in 10 minutes, allowing teams to map 200 properties per day.
Satyarthi also outlined challenges in hilly regions such as Kerala, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, and Jammu & Kashmir, where the government deploys LiDAR sensors and oblique multi-lens cameras to penetrate dense tree cover and extract accurate bare-earth terrain data.
“One Nation, One Map”: The Vision
Sanjay Kumar, CEO, Geospatial World, emphasised the transformative potential of unified digital mapping. “Location itself has become an economic asset. Whether ordering food, booking a cab, or navigating a city, live geospatial data drives value. India cannot afford fragmented maps where the same house appears in different locations across departments. One Nation, One Map is a necessity,” he said.
Kumar highlighted that India’s cities, agriculture, and infrastructure have changed dramatically over 25 years, making updated, unified geospatial layers indispensable. The challenge is no longer technological capability but data harmonisation across departments, from drones to cloud-based AI systems.
Coordinating for Nationwide Impact
Shyam Kumar, Director, Department of Land Resources, stressed structured coordination between states and central agencies. His presence reinforced the government’s commitment to ensuring technical, administrative, and operational aspects of urban land modernisation progress on schedule.
The session concluded with calls to accelerate the NAKSHA programme, develop multi-layer GIS-based software covering property, utilities, ownership, and buildings, and ensure satellite base maps with 30 cm accuracy for all cities until full surveys are complete.
Unlocking Economic and Social Benefits
Experts at the session stressed that India’s geospatial reforms go beyond technology. They are critical to ease of living, ease of doing business, property market clarity, and dispute reduction, unlocking trillions in potential economic value over the next decade.
With digital mapping, India is poised to transform urban planning, governance, and citizen services, positioning itself as a leader in geospatial intelligence and smart urban management.
