| July 2007 |
| NEWSBRIEFS – GIS |
| Use of geographical data
promoted in Japan by new law |
Having recognized the great contribution
of applications derived from data obtained
through a combined use of GIS and
positioning systems for a lot of valuable
uses (cadastre, floods, spatial planning,
statistics on old buildings, criminality
rates etc.), the Japanese government
decided to draft a law for the use of
these data and to give guidance for
orientation of future needs as well as for
financial and human resources required.
This will help avoid fragmentation of
initiatives efficient use by different
Japanese ministries.
www.gmes.info |
| The SLA and NTU sign MoU |
The Singapore Land Authority (SLA)
and Nanyang Technological University’s
(NTU) School of Civil and Environmental
Engineering have signed a MOU to
conduct cooperative research and
development, and education in the area of
spatial information science and technology.
This collaboration will eventually
benefit industries such as real estate,
national security, transportation, logistics,
mapping and surveying.
www.sla.gov.sg |
| The OGC announces new
automated compliance tests |
The Open Geospatial Consortium
membership has adopted new test suites,
test scripts and reference implementations
for OpenGIS(R) Specifications. A new
TEAM Engine (Test, Evaluation, And
Measurement Engine) and Compliance
Test Language were adopted as the
OGC’s official new compliance testing
platform.
www.opengeospatial.org |
| Businesses get free
statistical information |
Businesses in New Zealand will soon
gain free access to a wealth of valuable
statistical information that will help them
identify growth opportunities and make
better decisions. The first products to be
released by Statistics New Zealand in
August this year - Digital Boundaries
and StreetLink - will enable businesses todevelop market profiles, research likely
sites and identify growth opportunities in
particular locations. www.scoop.co.nz |
| Ordnance Survey improves
rural mapping programme |
An improved programme to update the
most detailed mapping of rural Britain
has been announced by Ordnance Survey.
It shall improve a process called “cyclic
revision” in rural areas, which involved
systematic aerial photography “sweeps”
at intervals of either five or ten years.
The scheduling of sweeps will now move
away from a purely cyclic basis to one
led chiefly by intelligence on landscape
change. www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk |
| ROLTA raises USD 150 million
in international market |
| Rolta successfully raised USD 150 million
in the international markets through Zero
Coupon Foreign Currency Convertible
Bonds (FCCBs). These FCCBs have a
tenure of 5 years and 1 day, are convertible
at a conversion price of Rs. 737.40 per
share, representing a premium of 50 %
over the closing price as on 21st June
2007 on the National Stock Exchange. |
| Indian land record management
to integrate data on GIS |
Government of India to consider the
National Land Resource Management
Programme (NLRMP). The programme
aims at integrating satellite imagery,
Survey of India maps and the land records
on a GIS system. Although, construction
and building activities will not be covered
under the programme, once implemented,
it would be able to provide Records
of Rights (RoRs) with maps to scale.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com |
| Web based GIS project for urban
development in Tamil Nadu |
Work on the World Bank-funded Tamil
Nadu Urban Development Project-III, for
developing web-based GIS application
for five urban local bodies in Tamil Nadu
State of India, is likely to commence by
mid-August covering Tiruchi, Coimbatoreand Madurai Corporations and the
Gobichettipalayam and Rajapalayam
Municipalities. www.hindu.com |
| BISAG to set up
Geoinformatics academy |
The Bhaskaracharya Institute for Space
Applications and Geo-informatics
(BISAG) will set up an Academy of
Geoinformatics in its premises near
Gandhinagar in Gujarat, to promote and
carry out research, impart education
and training and also encourage the
development of advanced Geoinformatics
technology and applications. It will
be affiliated to Gujarat University and
the project will be funded by the State
Science and Technology Department. |
| First web-GIS based ‘Rural
Surveillance System’ in Nagaland |
The Nagaland government’s department
of planning and co-ordination (planning
branch) has implemented
a statewide web-
GIS-based “rural
surveillance
system”.The
system
will
help the
government
reassess its
priorities,while drawing
up policies
to tackle poverty, health, education,land use, literacy and promote allround
rural development. The facility
aims at making services like health
and education accessible to people in
rural areas. http://nagarealm.com |
 |
| Tax in Indonesia |
The Indonesian government plans
to use imagery from DigitalGlobe’s
QuickBird satellite to identify taxable
land. The imagery will provide a base
map for property tax surveys conducted
by the Indonesian Directorate of
Property Tax and Ministry of Finance.
http://media.digitalglobe.com |
| |
