The 4th India-USA Space and Geospatial Business Summit, held on December 2 at the Hyderabad International Convention Centre, showcased the growing partnership between India and the United States in advancing the space and geospatial sectors. Organized by the Geospatial World Chamber of Commerce in collaboration with Geospatial World, the summit brought together key figures from government, industry, academia, and research to explore innovation, economic growth, and sustainability through geospatial and space technologies.
Pawan Goenka, Chairman of IN-SPACe, emphasized the importance of Indo-US collaboration in achieving India’s $44 billion space sector goal by 2035. He highlighted the upcoming Chandrayaan missions and noted that the India-US partnership would play a key role in realizing these ambitions. Dr. Rajeev Jyoti, Director (Technical) at IN-SPACe, pointed to the NASA-ISRO SAR (NISAR) Mission as a prime example of the synergy between the two countries, and also stressed the significance of India’s National Geospatial and Space Policies in driving industry growth.
Sanjay Kumar, CEO of Geospatial World, highlighted India’s strength in cost-effective geospatial solutions, valued at $1.92 billion, and the transformative potential of geospatial technologies. He noted that the COVID-19 pandemic had revealed the sector’s capability to drive innovation and foster collaboration across borders. Jennifer Larson, US Consul General in Hyderabad, spotlighted the city as a hub for geospatial data processing and underscored the critical role of the collaboration in addressing global challenges like climate change, disaster management, and food security. Larson also emphasized the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) with geospatial data to enable advanced analyses.
Srikant Sastri, Chairman of the Geospatial Data Promotion & Development Committee (GDPDC), discussed the National Geospatial Policy 2022, which empowers private companies to acquire, store, and process spatial data, further driving demand for geospatial products and services. This initiative plays a critical role in strengthening India-US bilateral trade, positioning geospatial technology as a key driver of economic and strategic collaboration.
The summit concluded with discussions on enhancing research partnerships, streamlining technology transfer, and strengthening networks connecting businesses, governments, and research institutions. These efforts are seen as crucial to reaching the target of $10 billion in bilateral trade by 2030. The event highlighted the importance of Indo-US collaboration in advancing space and geospatial technologies, addressing global challenges, and ensuring sustainability.
