Aviation min developing tool to integrate air space, IMD data into Gati Shakti

New Delhi: The Gati Shakti portal will soon have airspace as well as meteorological data as the civil aviation ministry works on a plan to develop a tool aimed at improving infrastructure planning.

The aviation ministry is working with Gandhinagar-based Bhaskaracharya National Institute for Space Applications and Geo-informatics (BISAG- N) to develop the tool, two officials told Mint. 

The institute specializes in satellite communication, geo-informatics and Geo-spatial technology.

“This integration will add strength to infrastructure planning since air space management and meteorological data are increasingly becoming relevant, more so for aviation-related projects,” said the first person cited above, a senior government official who did not want to be identified.

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The official added that this integration will also help improve planning of infrastructure creation around airports.

In December 2023, a heavy-duty crane being used in the construction of an expressway caused interference with the signals of the instrument landing system (ILS), which led an incoming aircraft to make a deviated landing at IGI airport in Delhi. 

The aircraft landed 10-20 ft away from the centre line of the runway, sparking safety concerns. The crane which was being used by the National Highway Authority of India, had caused a “serious collision risk for low-flying aircraft.” 

The height of the crane—they can be up to 265 feet, or 80 metres—and its position near the path of the landing plane caused the interference. 

To be sure this was a one-off incident.

Landing safely

 An ILS helps pilots land safely in poor visibility and is an important navigation system during extreme weather conditions where visibility can drop to zero.

“This tool will also help address such problems that the sector faced last year,” the second official said, also on condition of anonymity.

Emails sent to the aviation ministry and BISAG- N did not elicit a response till print time.

Analysts believe a holistic approach is needed to integrate IMD and others.

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“This can be structured on the lines of the Weather Channel or the British Met Office, where weather as a service (WaaS) is sold on commercial terms. WaaS can be sold to Indian airlines and aircraft owners as the country’s total fleet strength is around 2,000. India, since the 1980s, has possessed the most advanced real-time satellite weather-gathering capabilities, and making it available for infrastructure planning is a good step," said Mark Martin, founder & CEO of Martin Consulting.

PM Gati Shakti is a digital platform that brings 16 ministries, including railways and roadways, together for integrated planning and coordinated implementation of infrastructure connectivity projects. This platform helps plan any infrastructure project and suggests alternatives that require minimal approvals.

The government is also working on a plan to provide the  Gati Shakti platform to the private sector, as well as to friendly countries in India’s neighbourhood in a move that could further help the platform’s acceptance.

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