AI and the Future of Geospatial: Transformation, Not Replacement

Summary of Keynote Talk by Peter Rabley, CEO, Open Geospatial Consortium: “Will AI Eat Geospatial?” With the advent of Generative AI, a question that intrigues the mind of the Geospatial community across the globe is “Will AI eat geospatial?” With rapid advances in this ‘more than disruptive’ technology that is artificial intelligence, many wonder whether […]

Integrating Spatial Analytics and Routing Algorithms for Flood Response: The FIRS Approach

Every monsoon, India braces itself for one of its most persistent natural hazards: flooding. It is driven by intense monsoons, cyclones, tsunamis, or earthquake-damaged dams failure causing extensive loss of life, infrastructure damage, and long term economic disruption. According to the National Flood Commission (1980), about 0.4 million km² of India’s area is affected by […]

Breaking Data Silos: How GDI is Transforming Access to Geospatial Information in India

For years, some of India’s most valuable geospatial datasets remained scattered across government departments, research institutes, or private organizations. They held immense potential to transform logistics, strengthen climate resilience, and support smarter urban planning, but they remained difficult to access, buried in different formats and lacking interoperability. Recognizing this challenge, the Government of India through […]

GDI federated node: Smarter way of sharing your data without giving it away!

Introduction Traditionally, data exchanges have relied on a centralized architecture — where both the control plane (responsible for cataloging, authorization, and access management) and data plane (where the datasets are stored and served) are hosted centrally. While functional, this model faces challenges of scalability, data governance, and security risks, especially as data volumes and contributors […]

An Overview of the GDI Python SDK

The GDI Python SDK is a command-line toolkit designed to streamline interaction with the Integrated Geospatial Data Sharing Interface (GDI), accessible at https://catalogue.geospatial.org.in. Built to support a wide range of geospatial workflows, the SDK enables users to efficiently access, process, and manage both vector and raster data within a unified, scriptable environment. With support for […]

Landslide Damage Assessment, Wayanad, Kerala

India is experiencing various forms of natural hazards including, earthquakes, landslides, floods, forest fires, cyclones, and drought etc. Among these, landslides are one of the more prominent and devastating natural hazards especially in the hilly areas of the country. The eastern part of Kerala state (Western Ghats) in southern India is highly prone to landslides […]

Assessment of Urban Heat Island (UHI) in Bengaluru Using Earth Observation Datasets.

Rapid urbanisation causes several issues, including the Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect, where urban areas experience significantly higher temperatures than their rural surroundings. This is due to several factors associated with urbanisation, including the replacement of vegetation with buildings, roads, and other impermeable surfaces that absorb and retain heat. Additionally, heat emissions from industries and […]

Modelling Agricultural Land Suitability based on Soil Properties

Suitability studies in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) play a vital role in spatial planning and resource management by assessing the appropriateness of a given area for specific land uses based on various criteria. These studies integrate multiple datasets and analytical techniques to evaluate how well certain locations meet predefined requirements, thus guiding decision-making in sectors […]