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e d i t o r ' s n o t e T he demand for land has increased exponentially in recent times. It seems everybody wants a piece of land. The agriculture and farming sector are based on the availability of arable land, Ashok Prim Editor G I S R E S O U R C E S | M A R C H 2 0 2 1 0 5 Government wants land as it can sell it to generate vital revenue to fund several developmental and social obligations, the Industrial sector and Mining sector depend on the land and lately the real estate and housing sector are the latest groups who need land and their need is limitless. Hence, Land is now a vital resource for Agriculture, Dams, and Canals, Road network, Flora and Fauna, Industry (SEZs), Mining, other development activities, and their dependant livelihood. Managing land has become an important activity for the Government. Since Cadastre is a State subject, it is primarily the responsibility of the State to modernize its revenue records. Currently, revenue records are mostly analog, decades old, and in different stages of decay. The Government of India launched The Digital India Land Record Modernization Programme (DILRMP), previously known as the National Land Record Modernization Programme (NLRMP), in 2008 with the purpose to digitize and modernize land records and develop a centralized land record management system. The programme is far from complete after so many years and it has been extended up to 2020-21 at a total cost of Rs. 950 crores. Land is a limited resource. With no clear land titling system as yet, there is increased pressure on its ownership and use. In India, a large percentage of available land is used for Agriculture. However, the increased population has lead to a decrease in the size of individual land holding, causing inefficiencies in economies of agricultural produce. Ownership disputes clog the courts for years locking land that was needed for other use. Improper and unauthorized diversion of land use adversely affects flora and fauna, the environment, and maybe the food chain as well as the use of community land holdings. And life & livelihood is adversely affected. High-end Geospatial Technologies must be used to measure and fix the corners of an Individual land parcel with a high degree of accuracy in order to prevent uncertainties in the area of the individual landholding. This will ensure a high degree of measure when individual land holdings are aggregated to obtain village areas and higher-order administrative domains. States must move rapidly towards using sophisticated Geospatial Technologies that use high-resolution imaging technologies and software that puts land parcels in a framework to rapidly prepare a comprehensive Land Records Management System that will keep the Land Records updated in all aspects for immediate and future use.

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