Govt launches rural connectivity GIS data in public domain

New Delhi: Stressing on the importance of government data, Union Rural Development Minister Giriraj Singh said on Tuesday that data is the new gold and Prime Minister Narendra Modi has instructed all departments to put their data in the public domain to promote start-ups and entrepreneurship in the country.

While referring to non-personal data that has no privacy and secrecy issues, he said that the government would ensure the availability of the data in the public domain.

While launching the rural connectivity geographic information system (GIS) data in the public domain, he said that the data has been gathered through the Pradhan Mantri Gram SadakYojana (PMGSY).

"Under this scheme from 2009 to 2014, 1.88 lakh kilometres of roads have been constructed and in the last six years, about three lakh kilometres of roads have been constructed," Singh said, adding that the NRIDA, which the nodal implementation agency of the PMGSY, signed up three GIS firms and collaborated with Gati Shakti for releasing the data.

"Gati Shakti is a national master plan and digital platform to plan and execute infrastructure projects to reduce logistics costs and enhance infrastructure," Singh said.