This is how drones are revolutionising the way India keeps land records

Imagine completing a work, which used to take up to 20 days, in just 40 minutes.

That is how drones are going to revolutionalise India's age-old system of keeping land records under an ambitious project that was recently launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The Government of India's Swamitva Yojana, which Modi unveiled on October 11, will create land records in India's 6.6 lakh villages, possibly empowering people with accurate data on their properties. Not just that it may help resolve property disputes faster, but will also help owners monetise their assets, enabling states to also increase their revenue.

Imagine this. A lot of Indians - nearly 80 lakh - spend much of their lifetime fighting property disputes that keep languishing for years in courts. It takes about 20 years to settle a property dispute in India, says a The Print report.

One of the biggest reasons for these cases to drag on is lack of accurate land records. A study by National Institute of Public Finance and Policy in Rajasthan showed that even though digital records were available, the land maps were not updated. In fact, in quarter of the land parcels there was a 10-20 percent difference between the area measured and the area on record.

All this could change now with the Swamitva Yojana, which banks on a drone's ability to map land faster and more accurately. In the process, the scheme has the potential to become the biggest opportunity for the drone industry, paving the path for wider use of the machines.

"The scheme is the biggest of its kind, as mapping 6.6 lakh villages is a mammoth task. In all, we estimate about 2,600 drones will be needed to complete the project," says Kruthi Aramanamada, who heads marketing at IdeaForge, one of the largest drone makers in the country.

The company, which was founded by IIT-Bombay alumni, claims to be the largest in the industry. It has over 800 drones currently in use. "We have a 90 percent share in the legit market of drones in India," adds  Aramanamada.

IdeaForge has won the tender to map villages in six states, in the first phase of the project.

The 'legit' qualification is important because the drones ecosystem continues to be largely unregulated, leading to a huge influx of imports, mainly from China.

Industry executives say up to 40,000 drones are being used in India that have no regulatory approval. Most of these are used in aerial photography, including in wedding, and for movie production.

Much may change once the Unmanned Aircraft System Rules, 2020, which are in draft stage, are implemented. As of now, aviation regulator DGCA controls the licensing and the use of drones in the country. While the regulatory change will help, the Swamvita Yojana will help push the case for easing restrictions, and encourage the use of drones.

"It is a huge project to be part of. Through this, the market for drones will open up further, and probably lead to more localisation of its parts too," says Nikhil Upadhyay, founder of CDSpace Robotics, a startup incubated at IIT-Kanpur.

The company has also joined the fray to participate in Swamvita Yojana, and is awaiting results of tenders.

Covering a village in 40 minutes

The mapping of land records is being carried out by Survey Of India, the state-owned mapping agency. It has come out with a list of SoPs and requirements that a drone should have, in terms of factors such as size and accuracy.

The agency has come out with two types of tenders - one for procurement of drones, and second for conducting the field work of mapping. While OEM companies like IdeaForge will supply the machines, there are several players who are bidding to do the field work. One of them is Schnell Informatics Pvt. Ltd, which has won the tender to do the mapping in six states.

"As per the protocol set by Survey of India, each state as of now has five separate teams to map the land. Each team consists of members who will pilot the drones, and also an expert," said Bhushan Khomane, Director, Schnell Informatics.

The mapping work is programmed into a drone, which surveys an area of about one square kilometer, which is equal to about 300 acres, or the size of an average Indian village, all in just 40 minutes.

Once the drone completes the survey of anything and everything, including agriculture fields, schools and wells in the village, the images are transferred into a laptop. "The transfer takes a few minutes. From here, officials of Survey of India take over, as they process the thousands of images to create a record," explains Khomane.

In another words, the drones will help do the whole work in about an hour, that would have earlier probably taken over a month. Aramanamada of IdeaForge points out that till now, mapping was either done manually on the ground, or through satellites. "But drones are more accurate than satellites and faster too," she adds.

As easy as the drone makes the task, it is also challenging.

"The team has to go from one village to the other, and each place has its own topography. So the drone will have to adjust to changes, like mountains, and sometimes weather makes things complicated," says Khomane. The critical factor, which also helps keep costs low, is to mobilise and plan the village visits in a way that will make the operation hassle-free.

Once the images are processed, and a central platform with all the land records is created, states across the country will be able to access them. "Later on, we hear, there is a proposal to give access to individuals. With just one click you will get all information on your land," adds an industry official.

It's not just disputes that will get resolved faster, but the accurate land records will also help identify a beneficiary of a government scheme. While experts have pointed out the complexities of this - including the possibility of those marginalised being left out -  an important step has been taken to find a solution to an age-old problem. Thanks to drones!