Bhuvan

Topic: Remote Sensing, GIS and GNSS · NCERT: Class 11, Ch 1 "Introduction to Maps"; Class 12, Ch 4 "Spatial Information Technology"

Meaning

Bhuvan is India's own geoportal (a website where people can see, search and download maps and satellite data). It was launched in 2009 by the NRSC (National Remote Sensing Centre, Hyderabad), which is part of ISRO. It shows Indian satellite imagery, thematic maps and online map services.

It matters because it gives officials and citizens free access to India's own satellite data. Welfare schemes such as MGNREGA also use it to check on the ground that public assets really exist.

Explanation

What Bhuvan offers

• Indian satellite imagery: pictures taken by Indian satellites, such as the IRS series that began with IRS-1A (1988).
• Thematic maps: maps that show one theme, such as land use, wasteland or floods.
• Online geospatial services: people can view, search and download data. Geospatial data is any data linked to a place on Earth.
• Who runs it: NRSC, Hyderabad (ISRO). It is not a Survey of India portal and not a BISAG-N portal.
• For students: NCERT web links on remote sensing and spatial information technology send students to Bhuvan and to IIRS (Indian Institute of Remote Sensing, Dehradun).

How it fits the history of remote sensing

Each step built on the one before:

• Aerial photography came first. Cameras were carried on aircraft.
• Landsat (USA, 1972) started civilian remote sensing from satellites.
• IRS-1A (1988) gave India its own imaging satellites.
• Bhuvan (2009) lets ordinary users see these Indian images online.
• NavIC (India's regional navigation satellite system) gives the position data. Bhuvan gives the picture.

How geotagging on Bhuvan works

• Geotagging means attaching GPS coordinates (latitude and longitude) and a photograph to a physical asset, such as a pond, a house or a road.
• Step 1: A field worker photographs the asset with a mobile app.
• Step 2: The app records the exact location and the time.
• Step 3: The geotag then shows up on Bhuvan, on top of a satellite image.
• Result: Officials and citizens can check that the asset really stands at that spot.
• This makes "ghost" assets (work that exists only on paper) harder to hide.

Its place in India's geospatial system

• NSDI (National Spatial Data Infrastructure, 2006) came before Bhuvan.
• It set shared standards and a national geoportal so that government agencies could share spatial data.

• Its goal is interoperable data (data that different systems can read and combine), which cuts duplicated mapping.

• Bhuvan's maker, NRSC, also makes drought and flood maps, landslide maps and wasteland and land-use/land-cover atlases. It also runs the NDEM (National Database for Emergency Management), a GIS database used during disasters.

Where it occurs

• Operator and base: NRSC, Hyderabad, under ISRO. Launched in 2009. It covers all of India.
• MGNREGA: assets such as ponds and roads have been geotagged on Bhuvan since 2016.
• PMAY-G (Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana–Gramin): rural houses are photographed and geotagged at each stage of building.
• Amrit Sarovars: ponds built or revived in each district are geotagged.
• Joshimath (Chamoli, Uttarakhand), January 2023:
• The land was sinking, and cracks were opening in houses.

• NRSC released satellite images that showed how fast the ground was sinking.

• Land change tracking: NRSC's wasteland and land-use atlases are made from repeated satellite images. They show degraded land, farmland turning into towns and loss of forest.

Don't confuse with

• NSDI (2006): a national framework of data standards for sharing data between agencies. Bhuvan (2009) is ISRO's portal that shows satellite imagery and thematic maps.
• PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan (October 2021): a GIS platform for infrastructure built by BISAG-N. It joins the plans of 16 key ministries [2]. Bhuvan is run by NRSC (ISRO).
• NavIC: a navigation system that tells you where you are. Bhuvan is a portal that shows what is there, using satellite images.
• Digital Sky: the online map for drone permissions under the Drone Rules 2021, with green, yellow and red zones. It is not a satellite imagery portal.

Prelims Hooks

• Bhuvan: launched in 2009 by NRSC, Hyderabad (ISRO). Trap: it is not run by Survey of India or BISAG-N.
• MGNREGA asset geotagging on Bhuvan began in 2016. PMAY-G houses and Amrit Sarovars are also geotagged.
• Correct order: Landsat (1972) → IRS-1A (1988) → NSDI (2006) → Bhuvan (2009) → Gati Shakti (October 2021) → National Geospatial Policy (December 2022).
• Geotag = GPS coordinates + photograph + time, recorded with a mobile app and shown on a satellite image.
• NRSC runs NDEM and released the satellite images of Joshimath (Chamoli, Uttarakhand) sinking in January 2023.
• Match the institution: Bhuvan → NRSC; Gati Shakti GIS → BISAG-N; FASAL crop forecasts → MNCFC, New Delhi; remote sensing training → IIRS, Dehradun.

Mains Points

• Transparency in welfare (GS-II/GS-III):
• Geotagging MGNREGA, PMAY-G and Amrit Sarovar assets on Bhuvan lets anyone check that an asset exists at its claimed spot.

• This cuts leakages and "ghost" assets, and makes social audits easier.

• Disaster management and land planning (GS-III):

• NRSC's flood, drought and landslide maps, NDEM and the Joshimath subsidence images (January 2023) support early warning and rebuilding.

• Wasteland and land-use atlases track land degradation, urban spread and forest loss.

• Self-reliance and concerns (GS-III):

• Bhuvan uses India's own IRS data, which reduces dependence on foreign map providers. It fits the move to open data under the National Geospatial Policy 2022, where data made with public funds is treated as a public good [2].
• Concerns:
  • High-resolution images raise privacy questions.
  • Open data can clash with national security.
  • Many states and panchayats lack trained staff to use GIS tools well.

Related concepts

• Geotagging
• National Spatial Data Infrastructure
• Geospatial guidelines 2021
• Drone Rules 2021
• SVAMITVA scheme
• National Geospatial Policy 2022
• FASAL

Read more

• India's geospatial ecosystem: Bhuvan, policies and governance uses