Availability of maps in India has always been the biggest debate in national and international forums. Primary reason being the Mapping Policy and the scrutinising agency Ministry of Defence (MOD) as the GIS community refers to, map data was not always easy to get. However, the Map Policy 2005 has brought out two series of Maps Defence Series Maps(DSMs) and Open Series Maps (OSMs), and the latter being the preferred choice for general public which excludes the civil and military Vulnerable Areas and Vulnerable Points (VA’s/VP’s). But the most obvious features went missing from these maps are details like contours and content undergoing dilution of accuracy. In one way, the maps are still controlled by these agencies which are funded by public money. After 2005, the National Mapping Agency SOI has started to bring out the OSMs, however this project is still not complete for the whole country till date. Read More
