Over the past decade, India has witnessed a remarkable transformation in its urban infrastructure landscape. The Indian government embarked on an ambitious journey to transform the infrastructure of the country to foster growth in the economy, enhance connectivity, and improve the standard of living for its people. Accordingly, it undertook ambitious projects, such as the Delhi-Mumbai expressway, Central Vista, and Chenab Railway Bridge, showcasing the potential for innovative and sustainable infrastructure.
The National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP), which was launched with 6,835 projects and has expanded to capture over 9,288 projects with a total outlay of Rs 108.88 trillion between 2020-25, emphasises social and infrastructure projects in energy, roads, railways, and urban development. The PM Gati Shakti master plan complements NIP, focusing on improving India’s logistics network. The India Infrastructure Report 2023 on Urban Planning and Development, reiterates the Government of India’s commitment to higher investments in the infrastructure sector, with a particular focus on prioritising railways, roads, aviation, ports, industrial and urban development, especially in tier 2 and tier 3 cities. The Budget 2024 provided Rs 11,111.11 billion for capex, which is 3.4 per cent of the GDP. This will unlock the potential for infrastructure development in the country as a major part of this allocation will be used for various infrastructure upgrades and new projects.
The finance minister spoke about improving productivity in the agriculture sector and digital crop survey in 400 districts. GIS can be an important tool in these areas as well. The focus on rural land records, GIS mapping for urban land records, and the use of GIS for property tax collection also offers opportunities for the GIS industry. These will improve the income of cities which can be used to improve the quality of infrastructure in cities and to provide better living conditions to the citizens.
From the modernisation of railways and highways to the revitalisation of waterways and aviation, the government’s steadfast commitment to infrastructure development is fueling unprecedented growth and connectivity nationwide. This comprehensive overhaul is not only enhancing the quality of life for millions but also positioning India as a formidable player on the global stage, driving economic progress and fostering sustainable development. Public-private partnerships, and increased adoption of technologies such as GIS, BIM, and digital twins are emerging as crucial components of this growth story. The ‘Sangam: Digital Twin Initiative’ is one such unique initiative that aims to revolutionise infrastructure planning and design by leveraging digital twin technology to create precise, dynamic models of physical environments. The initiative by DoT offers a collaborative leap towards reshaping infrastructure planning and design, combining the prowess of 5G, IoT, AI, AR/VR, AI native 6G, digital twin’, and next-generation computational technologies.
GIS and Infrastructure Development
Today’s smart infrastructure projects necessarily warrant the usage of advanced technologies such as GIS, BIM, digital twins, etc. In large infrastructure projects, the cost overruns are usually in the 20 per cent to 60 per cent range. By using GIS and associated BIM technology, an average of 13 per cent in terms of cost savings can be realised. GIS plays a crucial role in assisting project teams in site selection and evaluation based on geographical, resource, and environmental factors. It enables building professionals to visualise the landscape, strategically plan structure placements, and harmonise the built environment with nature. This location-based approach proves to be valuable in planning roadways, railways, seaports, and airports, allowing planners to assess terrain and environmental variables along proposed routes for optimal and environmentally conscious decisions. Smart ports are increasingly turning to the power of information and a location intelligence strategy to inform better decision-making.
GIS provides rich geospatial context to architecture, engineering, construction, and facility management projects. By bringing GIS and BIM data together, users can incorporate and use data from multiple systems, access project data from a common experience, explore GIS and BIM data side by side, collaborate and share information with stakeholders, and minimise costly data conversions. AEC firms are also increasingly leveraging the idea of integrating GIS and digital twins for abstracting and modelling everything to enhance business processes, mitigate risk, optimise operational efficiencies, and boost decision-making. GIS helps in building geo-referenced digital twins of urban areas that help in addressing the issues of utility management, urban flooding, safety and security, etc, in a better way.
Conclusion
Infrastructure is a key focus area for India in the next 25 years as the country aims to emerge as a developed nation by 2047. Contextualised geo-intelligence delivered by modern GIS is the foundation for infrastructure that is intelligent, data-centric, and dynamic. Modern infrastructure projects are very complex, span over multiple years, and require very careful planning and execution. Very often this means access to large amounts of data in real time. Unfortunately, in the absence of an effective information management system, a huge amount of time is spent on locating and validating the data. This not only leads to poor communication but also cost overruns. Therefore, effective data and communication management is very important for not only saving on the direct costs of the projects but also for ensuring statutory compliances (e.g. environmental), timely completion, and avoiding associated penalties and levies. Engineering information systems benefit a lot by using GIS, and today, many projects leverage GIS over the whole lifecycle, planning, survey, construction, operations, and maintenance.