The Silicon Review ^Asia

India has finally lifted its restrictions on collecting, generating, storing, and sharing the country’s geospatial data. Private firms will now no longer need a license or other permissions from the country’s Survey of India to access or collect geospatial data.

The Southeast Asian country has had a stiff stance on the collection and usage of geospatial data. For years, Google had tried to bring its Street View service to the country but to no avail. The relaxation is a significant step forward for India as this will allow the private firms to use the geospatial data to deliver premium services.

“The reforms will unlock tremendous opportunities for our country’s start-ups, private sector, public sector and research institutions to drive innovations and build scalable solutions. India’s farmers will also be benefited by leveraging the potential of geospatial & remote sensing data. Democratizing data will enable the rise of new technologies & platforms that will drive efficiencies in agriculture and allied sectors. These reforms demonstrate our commitment to improving ease of doing business in India by deregulation,” said Prime Minister Modi.

In his tweets, India's prime minister said that this was a landmark move for the country in his vision for an “Aatmanirbhar Bharat” (Self-reliant India).

The private players in the country have welcomed the relaxation of rules. The data unlocked could help the firms with local delivery of products and services, which require precise details of a locality.