Mobile application launched for geo-tagging by Ministry of Jal Shakti

Context

On 21 October, the Union Minister for Jal Shakti and Social Justice & Empowerment Sh. Rattan Lal Kataria has launched a mobile application for geotagging of the components of projects under Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana-Accelerated Irrigation Benefits Programme (PMKSY-AIBP).

Key highlights

• The mobile application has been developed with the help of the Bhaskaracharya National Institute of Space Applications & Geo-informatics (BISAG-N), which is an autonomous scientific society registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860. 
• It comes under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.
• On 21 October, the Application was launched through Video Conferencing from Panchkula.
• The mobile application can be operated in both online & offline mode depending on the availability of the network in the region.
• 99 ongoing Major/ Medium Irrigation (MMI) Projects in the country are prioritized by the Union Govt, in consultation with States, for completion in phases under PMKSY-AIBP.
• The completion of these projects will ensure the creation of additional irrigation potential all over the country, resulting in protective irrigation and bringing much desired rural prosperity.
• The Ministry with the help of Bhaskaracharya National Institute of Space Applications & Geo-informatics (BISAG-N) has developed and launched the mobile app in order to track the pace of work and the actual status of the projects.
• Advanced technology and the latest techniques have been implemented in the monitoring of these projects as a part of the Digital India campaign in order to keep track of their progress and bottlenecks in implementation.
• An online Management Information System (MIS) has been designed to review the progress of works in projects from time to time.
• In order to assess the cropped area in the command area of the prioritized projects the Remote Sensing techniques are also used.
• Mobile Application can be used by monitoring team/ project authorities to capture the image of project component along with other details such as location, type of canal/ structure, completion status, etc. and this captured information can be submitted on the GIS portal by the user for geo-tagging.
  • A GIS is a framework for gathering, managing, and analyzing geography related data.
• The launch of the app is a step forward in the Jal Shakti Ministry's efforts to realise the vision of the Honorable Prime Minister of "Doubling the Farmers Income."

Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana

• PMKSY is a centrally funded scheme.
• PMKSY was introduced in 2015 under the slogan of "Har Khet Ko Paani"
• PMSKY was formulated by amalgamating following schemes:
  • Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme
  • Integrated Watershed Management Programme
  • Integrated Watershed Management Programme
• The objective of the PMKSY is to expand cultivated areas with assured irrigation, reduce wastage of water and improve water use efficiency i.e. Per drop-More crop.
• It also focuses on creating protective irrigation by harnessing rainwater at micro level through "Jal Sanchay" and "Jal Sinchan".
• PMSKY also aims to increase recharge of aquifers and introduce sustainable water conservation practices by exploring the feasibility of reusing treated municipal based water for peri-urban agriculture and attracting greater private investment in a precision irrigation system.