|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
To encourage spatial planning by India’s village councils (gram panchayats), the Ministry of Panchayati Raj has introduced Gram Manchitra, a geographic information system (GIS) application. The tool enables and aids gram panchayats in undertaking planning at the local level using geospatial technology.
The application serves as a unified geospatial platform to better visualise and monitor the various developmental projects to be carried out across different sectors. It functions as a decision support system to formulate Gram Panchayat Development Plans (GPDP).
It offers various planning tools that use GIS technology to assist gram panchayat officials in formulating practical and attainable development plans. These features make up the decision support system during the development plan preparation, including tools for identifying potential project sites, tracking assets, estimating project costs, and assessing the potential impact of projects.
Moreover, the Ministry has introduced mActionSoft, a mobile-based solution designed to help capture photos with geo-tags (GPS coordinates) specifically for projects with tangible assets as output. The geo-tagging of assets occurs at three stages: before the commencement of work, during the work, and upon the completion of the work. This establishes a repository of information encompassing all projects and assets associated with natural resource management, water harvesting, drought-proofing, sanitation, agriculture, check dams, irrigation channels, and more.
Assets that are geo-tagged through the mActionSoft application are accessible on Gram Manchitra, contributing to improved visualisation of diverse developmental projects within the gram panchayats. The assets created under the Finance Commission are geotagged along with photographs by the panchayats. The GIS data of these geotagged assets on the panchayat map is accessible and visualisable through the Gram Manchitra application.
Agricultural activities play a significant role in boosting incomes for residents in villages nationwide. The government invested in modernising and digitising these operations, aiming to enhance productivity and promote sustainability.
Earlier this year, the government launched the Unified Portal for Agricultural Statistics (UPAg Portal) to optimise and improve data management. As OpenGov Asia reported, the portal standardises data related to prices, production, area, yield, and trade, consolidating it in a single location. This eliminates the necessity to compile data from multiple sources. The portal can also conduct advanced analytics, providing insights into production trends, trade correlations, and consumption patterns.
Meanwhile, scientists from the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (IIT-Madras) announced a portable, point-of-use device for identifying heavy metals in both soil and water. It delivers a user-friendly, non-technical read-out value of the soil quality index on a mobile phone-like application.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare has introduced an AI-based Chatbot for the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) Scheme, wherein Indian farmers receive annual income support of up to IN₹ 6,000 (US$ 72). This AI Chatbot aims to enhance the efficiency and outreach of PM-KISAN, providing farmers with prompt, transparent, and reliable responses to their queries.
Integrated into the PM-KISAN grievance management system, the chatbot is designed to empower farmers with a user-friendly and easily accessible platform. It assists farmers in obtaining information regarding their application status, payment details, eligibility status, and other updates related to the scheme. The government will make the Chatbot accessible in 22 languages spoken in the country soon.
