GIS-based Geospatial Energy Map of India launched

Context

In a significant development, NITI Aayog launched a Geographic Information System (GIS)-based Energy Map of India.

What is GIS-based Energy Map of India?

• Developed by: NITI Aayog in collaboration with Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) with the support of Energy Ministries of Government of India.
• The GIS map provides a holistic picture of all energy resources of the country which enables visualisation of energy installations such as
  • conventional power plants
  • oil and gas wells, petroleum refineries
  • coal fields and coal blocks
  • district-wise data on renewable energy power plants
  • renewable energy resource potential through 27 thematic layers
• The map attempts to identify and locate all primary and secondary sources of energy and their transportation/transmission networks to provide a comprehensive view of energy production and distribution in a country.
  
  

Significance of the initiative

• Effective organization of scattered data: It aims to integrate energy data scattered across multiple organizations and present it in a consolidated, visually appealing graphical manner.
• Interactive and user-friendly: It leverages the latest advancements in web-GIS technology and open-source software to make it interactive and user friendly.
• Better policy formulation and decision making: The Geospatial Energy Map of India will be useful in planning and making investment decisions.
• Disaster Management: It will also aid in disaster management using available energy assets.