Kolkata, Feb 11 (UNI) National Atlas & Thematic Mapping Organisation (NATMO), under Union Ministry of Science & Technology, is organising 3 days 40th INCA International Congress from Wednesday, in in the city.
Keeping in view the pandemic situations, this Congress is being held both in physical and virtual mode.
Inaugurating the Congress, Governor of West Bengal Jagdeep Dhankar praised the various activities taken by NATMO.
He highlighted various activities taken for differently-abled people. Indian National Cartographic Association (INCA), the only professional body of the cartographers and geo-spatial technologists, was founded on August 7, 1979, at Hyderabad. It has become one of the biggest organizations of its
kind in the world.
The focal theme of 40th INCA International Congress is ‘Digital Mapping Innovations in Make India Initiatives’.
About 500 experts from all over the country as well as from abroad are participating in this Congress
to deliver their research-oriented findings on the focal theme.
The integration of Science, Technology and Innovation goals into national policies helps achieve sustained economic and social development. Indian decision-makers, to escalate their focus on harnessing technology in various sectors, has made a clarion call to the stakeholders to pour in innovative ideas on crucial issues and segments like healthcare, food security, education and supply chain in the entire manufacturing space.
With the help of Digital mapping innovations like ‘Drone’, ‘Artificial Intelligence’ now large-scale maps can provide more accuracy (up to 10 cm) which means that two-pixel in the map will represent five cm on the ground. Such maps will help the administrators and planners for ground utility projects.
Dr. Tapati Banerjee, Director, NATMO and the President, INCA, presided over the inaugural programme.
She said, “Cartography or Science of map-making is as old as human civilization and it has been playing important role in the activities of mankind from the very beginning of the civilization. Cartography, like architecture, is the art, science and technology of map production and reproduction. It is one of the media of communication like graphicacy. It is a representation of any segment of spatial reality to communicate and message most effectively.”
The Surveyor General of India and the Director-General of Geological Survey of India Sri Nabin Tomar said that from the ancient time cartographers are making the maps which help traveller and excavation of minerals. But now their role is quite wide, they are also helping to chalk out the development plans.
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