Open Source GIS Day & National Geospatial Awards 2025 (Edition 02)

About the Open Source GIS Day

The Open Source GIS Day is an initiative of the FOSSEE project, IIT Bombay, to celebrate the contribution made by the enablers, contributors, and practitioners (students, faculty, institutions, government organizations, industry professionals) of open source geospatial communities in India and across the world. The Open Source GIS Day is perceived to be an annual event observed on September 15th starting last (2024) year, which shall showcase key developments and achievements accomplished by different stakeholders of Open Source-based Geospatial communities. This year (2025), due to logistical reasons, the Open Source GIS Day celebrations were preponed to 17 July 2025. As a part of this year’s Open Source GIS Day celebrations, the FOSSEE GIS (NMEICT) project organized the distribution of awards for the winners of the National Geospatial Awards 2025 (Edition 02). There are 23 categories of awards. The National Award for Women of Excellence in Geospatial Science and Technology, National Geospatial Leadership Award, and Lifetime Achievement Award were initiated this year.

The FOSSEE project promotes the usage of various Free/Open Source Software in academia and industry, all in alignment with the National Education Policy 2020 (NEP2020). The GIS vertical of the FOSSEE project conducts activities like IIT Bombay FOSSEE Geospatial Mapathon (the world’s biggest geospatial mapping challenge), National Geospatial Internships & Summer Fellowships, GIS Summer/Winter Schools, GIS-based thematic Faculty Development Programs, Interdisciplinary Geospatial Hackathon(s), Brainstorming sessions, Open Source based GIS Product Development, GIS Case Studies, Designing Geospatial Curriculum, GIS-centric job-fair, Open Source Geospatial Knowledge Centres, Open Source GIS Cohorts, National Geospatial Awards to honor the best talent (Faculty, Students, Institution, Startup, Government agencies) in the geospatial field, etc. It is to be noted that all the initiatives (https://www.iitb.ac.in/iit-bombay-fossee-gis-activities-calendar-year-2025) of the FOSSEE GIS project mandate the use of Indian satellite data, solving India-specific problem statements, the use of Free/Open Source software, adherence to the National Geospatial Policy 2022, and the Indian Space Policy 2023, etc. The ultimate aim is to provide an opportunity for everyone with niche project offerings covering all the states and union territories of India.     

To date, more than 10,000+ qualified teams spanning 1,000+ UGC/ AICTE recognized institutions have participated in FOSSEE GIS’s flagship Geospatial Mapathon activity covering all states and union territories in India. All of them were encouraged to use data only from NRSC’s MOSDAC, Bhuvan, and VEDAS portals. The National Space Day (2024) event, organized by the FOSSEE GIS team, had 2000+ participants joining from Universities and Colleges across India. All of the FOSSEE GIS project activities are compliant with the National Educational Policy 2020 (NEP2020), the National Geospatial Policy (NGP) 2022, and the Indian Space Policy 2023 (NRSC-ISRO).

About the Organisers

The FOSSEE (https://fossee.in) project, based at IIT Bombay, is fully funded through the National Mission on Education through ICT (NMEICT), Ministry of Education, Government of India. The Rural Data Research and Analysis (RuDRA) Lab, IIT Bombay, is the technical partner for all the initiatives of FOSSEE GIS. The multi-award-winning Spoken Tutorial project is the knowledge partner. The FOSSEE project is headed by Prof. Kannan Moudgalya (Principal Investigator); Prof. Pennan Chinnasamy (Co.P.I.) leads the GIS vertical of the project; Mohamed Kasim Khan M (National Coordinator - FOSSEE(GIS) & Senior Research Scientist coordinates the overall strategic planning, partnership, and implementation of all the IIT Bombay-FOSSEE-GIS activities. Public sector agencies, Skill Development bodies, and Educational institutions (UGC/ AICTE/ AIU recognized Universities, Colleges, etc), Industries specialized in GIS domain seeking collaboration can write to <mohamedkasim@iitb.ac.in> and help us spread awareness on the IIT Bombay FOSSEE GIS team’s national level initiatives for the benefit of teaching fraternity, industry professionals, student community present at large.

About the National Geospatial Awards 2025 (Edition 02)

The National Geospatial Awards 2025 (Edition 02) is an initiative of the FOSSEE GIS project, IIT Bombay, which is organized under the aegis of the National Mission on Education through ICT (NMEICT), Ministry of Education, Government of India. The key objectives of the 'National Geospatial Awards 2025' are to honor the enablers of Geospatial Technology in India, cutting across professions (Institutions, Faculty, Industry professionals, Individuals, etc), along with celebrating the spirit of Open Source Geospatial/GIS tools which has empowered stakeholders and policymakers to adopt the latest technologies that align with the 'National Geospatial Policy 2022', and the 'Indian Space Policy 2023'.

The main awarding ceremony happened on 17 July 2025, at Prof. B. Nag Auditorium, IIT Bombay. As a part of IIT Bombay FOSSEE GIS’s National Geospatial Awards 2025 (Edition 05), (i) jury awards, (ii) Category-wise awards, and (iii) Special awards will be announced and distributed. A separate category of awards will be given to the subscribed Universities and Colleges of the multi-award-winning Spoken Tutorial project, IIT Bombay. This year, around 100 eminent academicians, scientists, bureaucrats, and industry experts received the awards. Out of which 10 were IAS officers, 01 from Armed Forces, 17 eminent scientists from ISRO organizations, 05 Vice Chancellors, 60+ renowned faculty from prestigious Institutions across India. The core organizing committee of the event comprises Convenor: Prof. Kannan Moudgalya, Principal Investigator, FOSSEE, IIT Bombay; Co-Convenor: Prof. Pennan Chinnasamy, Co-Principal Investigator, FOSSEE, IIT Bombay; Organizing Secretary: Mohamed Kasim Khan M, National Coordinator - FOSSEE GIS (NMEICT), IIT Bombay; and Awards Function Coordination: Mrs. Madhulika Goyal, Senior Manager, FOSSEE, IIT Bombay.

To know more about the National Geospatial Awards 2025 (Edition 02), please visit https://www.iitb.ac.in/event/national-geospatial-awards-2025-edition-02

For any queries, please contact Mr. Mohamed Kasim Khan, National Coordinator - FOSSEE GIS (NMEICT), IIT Bombay <mohamedkasim@iitb.ac.in>

9:30 to 10:00 Registration
10:00 to 10:15 Welcome Address and Overview about the Open Source GIS Day & National Geospatial Awards 2025 (Edition 02) Mohamed Kasim Khan M
Organzing Secretary - National Geospatial Awards 2025 (Edition 02)
National Coordinator - FOSSEE GIS (NMEICT), IIT Bombay
10:15 to 10:30 Inaugural Address Prof. Kannan Moudgalya
Convenor - National Geospatial Awards 2025 (Edition 02)
Principal Investigator - FOSSEE project, IIT Bombay
10:30 to 10:45 About FOSSEE GIS Prof. Pennan Chinnasamy
Co-Convenor - National Geospatial Awards 2025 (Edition 02)
Co-Principal Investigator - FOSSEE project, IIT Bombay
10:45 to 11:00 Chief Guest Address Shri. Dr. Kiran Kumar
Former Chairman, Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), Former Secretary, Department of Space, Government of India
11:00 to 13:15 Awarding Ceremony Awards presented by Shri. Dr. Kiran Kumar
Former Chairman, Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), Former Secretary, Department of Space, Government of India
     

Recipient of National Jury Awards

National Geospatial Enabler Award

+ Indian Institute of Remote Sensing (IIRS-ISRO), Dehradun
Dr. R. P. Singh, Director, IIRS-ISRO (Received by Dr. Harish Karnatak, Dr. Poonam Seth Tiwari, Dr. Asfa Siddiqui)
+ Space Applications Centre (SAC-ISRO), Ahmedabad
Shri. Nilesh M. Desai (Received by Shri. Shashikant Sharma, Mrs. Swetha Mishra)
+ Forest Survey of India, Dehradun
Shri Anoop Singh, IFS, Director General (Received by Shri. Prakash Lakhchaura-DDG, Dr. Sunil Chandra-DD)
+ Geological Survey of India, Dehradun
Shri. Asit Saha, Director General (Received by Dr. Bibhas Sen, DDG; Shri. Megotsohe Chasie, Director, SU Maharashtra)
+ National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT), New Delhi
Prof. Dinesh Prasad Saklani, Director (Received by Prof. Aparna Pandey, DESS, NCERT)
+ Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC)
Shri. Harsha Madiraju, Associate Director, Member Success and Development, OGC.

Best Geospatial Practitioner Award

+ Assam State Space Application Centre, Government of Assam
Dr. P. L. N. Raju, Special Secretary, Government of Assam (Received by Dr. Prasanna Boruah, Senior Scientific Officer, ASSAC)
+ Indian National Center for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS - An autonomous body under the Ministry of Earth Science, Government of India)
Dr. Balakrishnan Nair, Director
+ ICAR-Central Inland Fisheries Research Institute (ICAR-CIFRI)
Dr. B. K. Das, Director
+ District Collectorate, Bhadradri Kothagudem District, Government of Telangana
Shri. Jitesh V. Patil, District Collector, Bhadradri Kothagudem, Government of Telangana
+ State Planning Commission, Government of Tamil Nadu
Smt. Sudha IFS, Member Secretary
+ Punjab Remote Sensing Centre (Department of Agriculture, Government of Punjab)
Dr. Brijendra Pateriya, Director (Received by Dr. Koyel Sur)
+ Water Resources Department, Government of Maharashtra
Dr. Sanjay Belsare, Secretary WRD, Shri. Pravin Kolhe, Deputy Secretary & Superintending Engineer
+ ICMR-National Institute of Epidemiology (ICMR-NIE)
Dr. Manoj Murhekar, Director (Received by Shri. Elangovan)
+ Indian Institute of Technology (ISM), Dhanbad

National Geospatial Leadership Award

+ Dr. Penumetcha Lakshmi Narasa Raju, Special Secretary to the Government of Assam and Director, Assam State Space Application Centre
+ Brig. Sareen Chander, Centre for Automated Military Survey, IHQ of Ministry of Defence (Army)
+ Shri. A. Nizamudeen IAS, Mission Director, Kerala Institute of Land Administration, Government of Kerala
+ Dr. Shailendra Kumar IAS, Principal Secretary, Department of Agriculture, Government of Jammu and Kashmir
+ Dr. Sushil Kumar Srivastav, Outstanding Scientist & Chief General Manager (Regional Centres), National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC-ISRO)
+ Shri. Jitesh V. Patil IAS, District Collector, Bhadradri Kothagudem, Government of Telangana
+ Shri. Shashikant A. Sharma, Space Application Centre (SAC-ISRO), Ahmedabad
+ Shri. Abdul Hakeem, Deputy Director, Bhuvan Geoportal & Web Services Area (BG&WSA), National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC-ISRO), Hyderabad
+ Dr. Rabi Narayan Sahoo, ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, Pusa Campus, New Delhi
+ Dr. K. Mruthyunjaya Reddy, Director, G P Birla Archaeological Astronomical And Scientific Research Institute (GPBAASRI), Hyderabad
+ Dr.Haroon Naik, Director of Research, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Science and Technology of Kashmir, Srinagar

National Award for Women of Excellence in Geospatial Science and Technology

+ Professor Aparna Pandey, National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT), New Delhi
+ Dr. Poonam Seth Tiwari, Indian Institute of Remote Sensing (IIRS-ISRO), Dehradun
+ Dr. Asfa Siddiqui, Indian Institute of Remote Sensing (IIRS-ISRO), Dehradun
+ Dr. Kamini J, National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC-ISRO), Hyderabad
+ Mrs. Shweta Mishra, Space Applications Centre (SAC-ISRO), Ahmedabad
+ Dr. Jonali Goswami, North Eastern Space Applications Centre (NESAC), Umiam, Meghalaya
+ Dr. Stutee Gupta, National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC-ISRO), Hyderabad
+ Dr. Koyel Sur, Punjab Remote Sensing Centre (Department of Agriculture), Punjab
+ Mrs.Dhanashree Shantanu Limaye, Water Resources Department, Government of Maharashtra

National Geospatial Professional Fellow

+ Dr. Harish Chandra Karnatak, Scientist/Engineer SG & HOD, GIT&DL, Indian Institute of Remote Sensing (IIRS-ISRO), Dehradun [ISRO]
+ Shri. M. Arulraj, Group Head, Bhuvan Geoportal & Web Services Area (BG&WSA), National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC-ISRO), Hyderabad [ISRO]
+ Dr. Srini Dharmapuri, Chief Scientist & Vice President, The Sanborn Map Company, Inc. [OCI/NRI]
+ Prof. Shaik Mohamed Zaffar Sadiq MOHAMED GHOUSE, Woolpert [OCI/NRI]
+ Dr. Elangovan Arumugam, ICMR-National Institute of Epidemiology (ICMR-NIE) [National Institute]
+ Shri. Sandeep Goyal, Government of Madhya Pradesh [State Government]
+ Shri. R. Nanda Kishore, Infomaps
+ Shri. Mohan Kumar, SAFETYNET

Excellence in Outreach Award

+ Dr. Christianna Singh, Director, School of Arts and Science, VMRF-DU
+ Prof. Mansoor Alam Siddiqui, Aligarh Muslim University
+ Dr. K. Veeranjaneyulu, Sri Konda Laxman Telangana Horticulture University
+ Ms. Akanksha Saini, National Coordinator, Spoken Tutorial project, IIT Bombay
+ Ms. Falguni Banerjee Naha, PRO, & Publications and Public Relations Office, IIT Bombay

Best Geospatial Platform Award

+ Bhuvan, National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC-ISRO), Hyderabad
+ Vedas, Space Applications Centre (SAC-ISRO), Ahmedabad

Best Geospatial Training Institute

+ National Institute of Geospatial Science and Technology, Hyderabad (Survey of India, DST, Government of India)

National Geospatial Faculty Fellow

+ Dr. Rajendra Prasad, IIT (BHU), Varanasi
+ Dr. Shahab Fazal, Chairperson, Department of Geography, Aligarh Muslim University
+ Dr. A.S. Raghubanshi, Senior Professor & Director, Institute of Environment & Sustainable Development, Banaras Hindu University
+ Dr. Atiqur Rahman, Department of Geography, Jamia Millia Islamia
Dr. Vijayalakshmi, Professor, Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Hyderabad
+ Dr. Ashok Kumar Lonawath, Osmania University
+ Dr. Vazeer Mahammood, Professor, Andhra University
+ Dr. Pawan Kumar Joshi, Professor, Jawaharlal Nehru University
+ Dr. Gnanappazham Lakshmanan, Professor, Indian Institute of Space Technology (IIST-ISRO)
+ Prof. Tarun Pratap Singh, Director, Symbiosis Institute of Geoinformatics
+ Dr. Vidhya, Director, IRS, Anna University
+ Dr. Kabir Mohan Sethy, Professor, Utkal University
+ Dr. Nagraj S. Patil, Professor, Visvesvaraya Technological University

National Geospatial Emerging Faculty Fellow

+ Prof. Dipankar Mandal, IIT Guwahati
+ Dr. Mrs. Manika Gupta, Delhi University
+ Dr. Ravindra Medhe, Savitribai Phule Pune University
+ Dr. Mohd Moiz Khan (Interdisciplinary), National Institute of Technology Srinagar
+ Dr. Sudarshan Prasad, Dr. Rajendra Prasad Central Agricultural University
+ Dr Kavita Toran, Telangana University
+ Dr. Ram Kumar Sahu, Dr. Rajendra Prasad Central Agricultural University
+ Dr. Ramrao (Interdisciplinary), Goa University
+ Dr Basavaraj Bagade, Rani Channamma University

Best University Awards

+ Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IIST), Trivandrum
+ Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi
+ Visvesvaraya Technological University, Karnataka
+ Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University Hyderabad, Telangana
+ Jamia Millia Islamia, Delhi
+ Pune University, Maharashtra
+ Andhra University, Andhra Pradesh
+ Goa University, Goa
+ Dr Rajendra Prasad Central Agricultural University, Bihar
+ National Institute of Technology Manipur, Manipur
+ Symbiosis International University, Maharashtra
+ Sri Konda Laxman Telangana Horticulture University, Telangana

Emerging University Award

+ Sangam University, Rajasthan
+ Rani Channamma University, Karnataka

Best Geospatial Use Case

+ Open Source GIS and IoT-enabled Smart Panchayat (Kattakada), Government of Kerala
+ India's first Open Source GIS Cohort, District Collector Office, Bhadradri Kothagudem, Government of Telangana

Best Geospatial Curriculum

+ Institute of Remote Sensing, Anna University

Best Geospatial Startup Award

+ Garudanylatics
+ GIS Kernel
+ Thazhal Geospatial Analytics

Special Awards

+ Spoken Tutorial Best State Technical Education Enabler Award: Gujarat Knowledge Society (GKS), Commissionerate of Technical Education
+ Spoken Tutorial Best State Higher Education Department Supporter Award: The Knowledge Consortium of Gujarat (KCG), Commissionerate of Higher Education, Gujarat
+ Spoken Tutorial Outstanding Higher Education Enabler Award: Commissionerate of Collegiate Education, Telangana
+ Spoken Tutorial Award for Innovation and Excellence by a State Technical Education Department: Directorate of Technical Education, Tamil Nadu
+ Spoken Tutorial Best State Department Support Award for ICT in Education: Directorate of Technical Education, Haryana
+ Spoken Tutorial Excellence in Technology-Driven Education Award: Department of Science, Technology and Technical Education, Bihar
+ Spoken Tutorial Digital Learning Visionary Award: State Board of Technical Education, Bihar
13:15 to 14:15  Lunch Break
14:15 to 14:45  Lightning talk by Award Winners
14:45 to 15:00 Summarizing FOSSEE GIS Activities for 2025
Vote of Thanks - Mrs. Madhulika Goyal, Senior Project Manager, IIT Bombay

Venue: Prof. B. Nag Main Auditorium, Victor Menezes Convention Centre, IIT Bombay, Mumbai.

Email: mohamedkasim@iitb.ac.in

 

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