[open-government] India's Remote Sensing Data Policy 2011

Tue Jul 5 19:40:23 UTC 2011

Dear all,
This policy might interest those on this list.  The follow-up 
conversation is at:
http://goo.gl/ft2Lx

Regards,
Pranesh

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: [datameet] Remote Sensing Data Policy 2011
Date: Tue, 05 Jul 2011 23:02:51 +0530
From: Pranesh Prakash <pranesh at cis-india.org>
Reply-To: datameet at googlegroups.com
Organization: Centre for Internet and Society
To: Datameet <datameet at googlegroups.com>

Dear all,
S&T Minister, Mr. Kapil's Sibal's come through (partially) on the 
promise he made in December 2010 to get a new remote sensing data policy 
that will allow for non-discriminatory flow in maps up to 1m resolution. 
  However, it will still be on a "as requested basis".  The 2001 policy 
tightly regulated data up to 5.8m resolution.

http://goo.gl/noecX

=========

Remote Sensing Data Policy (RSDP – 2011)
Recognising that Remote Sensing data provides much essential and 
critical information - which is an input for developmental activities at 
different levels, and is also of benefit to society;

Noting that a large number of users - both within and outside 
government, use Remote Sensing data from Indian and foreign remote 
sensing satellites for various developmental applications;

Taking into consideration the recent availability of very 
high-resolution images, from foreign and commercial remote sensing 
satellites, and noting the need for proper and better management of the 
data acquisition/ distribution from these satellites in India;

Recognising that national interest is paramount, and that security 
consideration of the country needs to be given utmost importance;

The Government of India adopts the Remote Sensing Data Policy (RSDP) - 
2011 containing modalities for managing and/ or permitting the 
acquisition/ dissemination of remote sensing data in support of 
developmental activities. Department of Space (DOS) of the Government of 
India shall be the nodal agency for all actions under this policy, 
unless otherwise stated.

1. For operating a remote sensing satellite from India, license and/ or 
permission of the Government, through the nodal agency, shall be necessary.
     a. As a national commitment and as a “public good”, Government 
assures a continuous and improved observing/ imaging capability from its 
own Indian Remote Sensing Satellites (IRS) programme.
     b. The Government, through the nodal agency, shall be the sole and 
exclusive owner of all data collected/ received from IRS. All users will 
be provided with only a license to use the said data, and add value to 
the satellite data.
     c. Government reserves the right to impose control over imaging 
tasks and distribution of data from IRS or any other Indian remote 
sensing satellite, when it is of the opinion that national security and/ 
or international obligations and/ or foreign policies of the Government 
so require.

2. For acquisition/ distribution of remote sensing data within India, 
license/ permission from the Government of India, through the nodal 
agency, shall be necessary.
     a. Government reserves the right to select and permit agencies to 
acquire/ distribute satellite remote sensing data in India. DOS shall be 
competent to decide on the procedure for granting license/ permission 
for dissemination of such data, and for the levy of necessary fees.
     b. To cater to the developmental needs of the country, the National 
Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) of the Indian Space Research Organisation 
(ISRO)/ DOS is vested with the authority to acquire and disseminate all 
satellite remote sensing data in India, both from Indian and foreign 
satellites.
         i. NRSC shall enter into appropriate arrangements with DOS for 
acquiring/ distributing data from IRS within the visibility circle of 
NRSC’s receiving station(s).
         ii. NRSC and/ or Antrix Corporation Ltd., shall be competent to 
enter into agreements with foreign satellite operator(s) for 
acquisition/distribution of foreign satellite data in India. However, 
NRSC will distribute the data as per terms agreed to with Antrix 
Corporation Ltd.
     c. NRSC shall maintain a systematic National Remote Sensing Data 
Archive, and a log of all acquisitions/ sales of data for all satellites.

3. For acquisition and distribution of IRS data for use in countries 
other than India, the Government of India, through the nodal agency, 
shall grant license to such bodies/ agencies of those countries as are 
interested in the acquisition/ distribution of IRS data, as per specific 
procedures.
     a. The Antrix Corporation Ltd. (of DOS) is vested with the 
authority for receiving the applications for grant of license for 
acquisition/ distribution of IRS data outside of India; to consider and 
decide on the granting of license within the policy considerations of 
the Government, and to enter into licensing agreements with the 
prospective users on behalf of the Government. Antrix Corporation Ltd. 
shall also be competent to levy such fees for granting licenses as may 
be considered appropriate by it. It shall also be responsible, where 
necessary, for rendering any further help/ guidance needed by the license.
     b. The Government reserves right to impose restrictions over 
imaging tasks and distribution of IRS data in any country when it is of 
the opinion that national security and/ or international obligations 
and/ or foreign policies of the Government so require.

4. The Government prescribes the following guidelines to be adopted for 
dissemination of satellite remote sensing data in India:
     a. All data of resolutions up to 1 m shall be distributed on a non- 
discriminatory basis and on “as requested basis”.
     b. With a view to protect national security interests, all data of 
better than 1 m resolution shall be screened and cleared by the 
appropriate agency prior to distribution; and the following procedure 
shall be followed:
         1. Government users namely, Ministries/ Departments/ Public 
Sector/ Autonomous Bodies/ Government R&D institutions/ Government 
Educational/ Academic Institutions, can obtain the data without any 
further clearance.
         2. Private sector agencies, recommended at least by one 
Government agency, for supporting development activities, can obtain the 
data without any further clearance.
         3. Other private, foreign and other users, including web based 
service providers, can obtain the data after further clearance from an 
inter- agency High Resolution Image Clearance Committee (HRC), already 
in place.
         4. Specific requests for data of sensitive areas, by any user, 
can be serviced only after obtaining clearance from the HRC.
         5. Specific sale/ non-disclosure agreements to be concluded 
between NRSC and other users for data of better than 1 m resolution.

5. This Policy (RSDP-2011) comes into effect immediately, and may be 
reviewed from time-to-time-by Government.

-- 
Pranesh Prakash
Programme Manager
Centre for Internet and Society
W: http://cis-india.org | T: +91 80 40926283

-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: signature.asc
Type: application/pgp-signature
Size: 262 bytes
Desc: OpenPGP digital signature
URL: <http://lists.okfn.org/pipermail/open-government/attachments/20110706/01ed5932/attachment.sig>