By Our Staff Reporter
Dehradun, 10 Nov: The 42nd International Congress of the Indian National Cartographic Association (INCA) is being held by the National Hydrographic Office (NHO), here from 9 to 11 November.
Governor Lt General Gurmit Singh (Retd) was the Chief Guest at the inaugural session on 9 November.
The Chief Hydrographer to the Government of India, Vice Admiral Adhir Arora, is the current President of INCA. The personnel of the Naval Hydrographic Department (NHD) have been active in the INCA since its inception in 1979 since they work on the cutting edge of cartography. It would be of interest to note that the 37 INCA Congress was conducted by the NHO at Dehradun from 1 to 3 November, 2017.
The Indian National Cartographic Association (INCA) was founded in 1979 and has evolved into one of the largest organisations in the field of cartography across the globe. Today, INCA is a professional body of more than 3000 life and institutional members. Organisations such as the National Hydrographic Office (NHO), Survey of India, Indian Space Research Organisation, National Thematic Map Organisation, numerous agencies with similar profession and Universities are part of this Association. The body has numerous branches functioning at different centres across the country to harmonise various aspects of cartography. It is to their credit that numerous cartographers, eminent scientists, planners and professionals have been participating in the Congress over the years.
The focal theme for the Congress during the 42d INCA Congress is ‘Digital Cartography to Harness Blue Economy’. The deliberation of the Congress has been divided into 7 sub-themes including Space Technologies for Mapping, Cartographic Applications for Sustainable Development, Geomatics in Disaster Management, Mapping for Environmental Planning & Management, Natural Resource Management and Mapping using RS and GIS, Hydrography for Resource Management and Land Resource Mapping and Surveying. The theme of the conference along with its various subthemes aims to encourage studies and address these aspects. All the subjects are of contemporary interest to the cartographer and scientific community. A large number of papers on the above subjects would be presented by eminent personnel in the field. The outcomes of the Congress would be for realising consequences in utilising cartography as a tool for developmental purposes.
The Congress is being attended by the Surveyor General, Sunil Kumar (Joint Secretary) DST, Joint Chief Hydrographer Rear Admiral Lochan Singh Pathania, Director, NATMO, and prominent scientists from ISRO, SERB, IIRS, NRSA, NATMO and Academicians from Chandigarh University, Shantiniketan University, Jadhavpur University, Banaras Hindu University, etc.
