New Delhi, India: Air Marshal P.K.Barbora, PVSM VM ADC, Vice Chief of Air Staff, Indian Air Force, called on the armed forces to use geospatial technologies to curb the activities of non-state actors who are terrorising the country and the citizens.
Inaugurating the two-day GeoIntelligence India 2009 here today, Barbora said that today more than wars between nations, non-state actors are proliferating terror and geospatial technology need to be used to take on this. He equated geospatial technology to an eagle, can focus clearly something on the ground while flying high, analyse and precisely target its prey. He further mentioned that having raw data without the power of analysis is of no use. One has to sift through the data and analyse it appropriately to suit the need. He said it is important to reduce the sensor-to-shooter time so that the security forces can nab the extremist before he does something nasty. He highlighted nuclear proliferation and rogue states as the areas of concern. Air Marshal PK Barbora then declared the GeoIntelligence India 2009 open.
Earlier, the session began with a welcome address by Dr M.P. Narayanan, Chairman GIS Development India. Dr Narayanan spoke about the use of geospatial technology in the government and private sector. He mentioned that the military, security, government, industry and consultants should come together for defence and home land security.
The first guest speaker, Dr Ramchandran from National technical research Organisation, talked about the security issues and the role played by geospatial technologies. He further mentioned that the security issues are not limited to boundaries only.
Lt Gen. Rtd. P.P.S. Bhandari PVSM AVSM, Rolta Thales shared his experience about the 26 November incident of Mumbai . According to him, there is lack of coherent intelliggence in the country today and exhorted the government, industry and the armed forces to come together for a systematic approach to fight terror so that the citizen doesn't suffer.
Dr Christopher Tucker, consultant from USA , presented his views on a geospatial enabled internet and communications security. He mentioned that the proliferation of IP - enablement of everything has led to new troubling dimension to discussion of cyber security and cyber defence. He discussed space-time hacking and measures to survive this.
The inauguration ceremony concluded with the vote of thanks by Prashant Joshi, Regional Manager, South Asia, Middle East and Africa, GIS Development, India. He thanked the dignitaries, sponsors, co-sponsors , delegates and exhibitors for their support and participation. The conference was attended by several delegates and dignitaries from the armed forces, paramilitary and internal security forces, apart from several government organisations and the industry.
Source: www.gisdevelopment.net
