interview!!!

Government industry solutions Unit (ISU)
TATA Consultancy Services

Considering the global recession, what is your perspective on the current scenario?
If we look at the scenario in India during these times of recession, I clearly see a trend of government IT spending actually increasing. The government is moving from vendor engagements to partner engagements, so we see more public-private partnerships. National Institute of Smart Governance and Ministry of Information Technology are encouraging these long-term outcome-oriented IT partnerships, which will definitely create an impact. For example, the first mission mode project done for the Ministry of Corporate Affairs has brought service delivery transformation of government, resulting in development of capability to offer 24X7 service at the door step. We are now busy constructing the passport seva programme, wherein upon police verification, you will get the passport within 72 hours. GIS implementation in India is at a very nascent stage as people do not understand the need for graphical/pictorial representation of data in decision-making. India can have the unique advantage of moving straight to the concurrence, as we have no legacy to replace. We can come straight to the 3D GIS arena. For example, services such as smart fishing wherein geospatial technology is used to track shoals of fishes in the sea can be deployed and they can drastically enhance productivity. Such real life examples can lead to greater absorption of geospatial technology.

Within TCS how important is GIS and what is its focus?
We have a GIS centre of excellence and GIS centres in Chennai, Delhi, and Hyderabad from where we are driving GIS business both for public and private sector. TCS is working for ordinance survey in the UK. Presently we have over 350 people working on GIS technology for customers, and our aim is to grow this more. We also aim at providing value added service to existing government customers and extend the next level of value to them through the induction of GIS technology. Finally, we have a very concerted and growth-oriented focus for GIS technology.

TCS has been doing great work in e-governance. Do you see integration of GIS in e-governance?
Absolutely, the next level of maturity in e-governance will be in graphical representation of government. The pictorial representation of government and governance is where the GIS technologies have come to, for example, we are developing property tax planning system for Calcutta Municipal Corporation, which will bring all property holdings on maps. Through colour coding, defaulters can be identified. In every sphere of e-governance, the next level of maturity I believe ultimately will culminate in graphical representation of government which is in the form of GIS.

What should be the perfect scenario for public private partnership?
I think the way to permeate GIS into government is to have more differentiated engagement models which are where we should ideally be partnering with governments, should invest in technology to offer a solution which can create an impact among the end users or stakeholders. We are discussing with various governments on this engagement model approach which can effectively bring impact of the use of GIS technology.

Your views on GIS in disaster management in India
This is another area of increasing awareness in India. We need to have an effective disaster management system, and Tsunami early warning system is one kind of facet of that. For example, we are discussing with some states like Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Orissa where the governments are beginning to discuss about emergency response. Tremendous use of GIS is required in creating a control room kind of environment to effectively react and respond to disasters. Presently, in India, it is in the awareness phase and requires effective collaboration between the ministries and the departments, otherwise we cannot have an effective disaster management system.

from: GEOSPATIAL TODAY