ABSTRACT
The Indian National Geospatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI) was launched at a workshop held in New Delhi on 5 and 6 February 2001. The implementation of an NSDI initiative is also a process of organisational change management. Despite this the need for capacity building initiatives to be developed in parallel to the processes of NSDI implementation is often underestimated. The creation of an integrated national digital database is also likely to be a very expensive task that takes place over a relatively long period of time. The proposed National Geospatial Data Infrastructure is a major step forward for India. Its implementation will require the active involvement of all the geographic information stakeholders. Useful antidote to official compilations can also be found in critical appraisals of national experiences such as the report prepared by the US National Academy of Public Administration, which views the US NSDI from a very different perspective to that of the Federal Geographic Data Committee.
