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'. Institutions (UG/AICTE/Union/State Government recognized) that have adopted the National Education Policy 2020 and are using Open Source GIS tools in their teaching-learning and research initiatives are strongly encouraged to apply.

Important dates:

• The nomination window opens on March 01, 2025, @15:00 IST
• Last date for submitting nominations: March 25, 2025, @23:59 IST
• The awarding ceremony on May 06, 2025, @IIT Bombay [alongside the Open Source GIS Day celebrations, Industry-Academia Connect, and Panel Discussion]

Nominations are open for the following categories:

1. National Geospatial Faculty Fellow (Open for Faculty members currently working in Universities and Colleges across India)
2. National Geospatial Professional Fellow (Open for Industry Professionals working in Industries and MNCs in the Geospatial domain)
3. The National Geospatial Skill Development Award (Open for skill development bodies)
4. Best University Award/Best Emerging University Award (State-Wise) (Open to all UGC-recognized Universities (Central/ State/Universities) in India and its campuses abroad)
5. Best College Award/Best Emerging College Award (State-Wise) (Open for all Colleges in India)
6. Best Geospatial Enabler Award [Jury Award] (Open only to Central or State Government Institutions/ Organizations)
7. Best Geospatial Practitioner Award [Jury Award](Open only for Centrally funded Research Organizations)
8. Best Geospatial Startup Award [Jury Award] (National) (Open to all registered start-ups in India working in the Geospatial domain).
9. Best Open Source Based Geospatial Lab/ Campus Award(National) (Open to all Institutions and Research Labs in India).
10. Best Geospatial/GIS Curriculum Award[Jury Award](Open to all Universities and Autonomous Colleges in India.(Alignment with the (Indian) National Geospatial Policy 2022 is recommended)
11. Best Spoken Tutorial Institution Award - promoting Geospatial Technology (Open to all the ‘Spoken Tutorial’ subscribed Colleges in India)

NOTE:

• The National Geospatial Awards 2024 is "OPEN TO ALL ELIGIBLE INDIAN CITIZENS".
• Please choose your nomination category correctly.
• The organizing team shall not be responsible for typo errors made by the applicant. Factual errors if found during verification/ scrutiny, shall lead to the disqualification of the application or even at a later stage.
• The application window for the 'National Geospatial Awards 2025' opens on March 01, 2025, and closes on March 25, 2025 (there won't be a change in the deadline).
• The selected awardees will be informed in advance.
• The main awarding ceremony is tentatively planned to happen at IIT Bombay on May 06, 2025, as a part of the 'Open Source GIS Industry-Academia Connect' and panel discussion.
• Nominations must be submitted only through the official medium; any other mode of submission of nominations might not be accepted.
• The organizing team reserves the right to add/ modify/ remove any award category.
• The decision of the organizing committee shall be final and non-appealable.

For any queries related to the 'National Geospatial Awards 2025' and 'Open Source GIS Industry-Academia Connect' at IIT Bombay, please write to mohamedkasim@iitb.ac.in
 
The awardees will get...

• The category-specific award.
• Category-specific 'National GIS Award' Certificate (E-Certificate through Email and Hard-Copy* of the certificate if the awardee wants to receive it in person on September 15, 2024, at IIT Bombay during the 'Open Source GIS Day' celebrations).
• Digital citation - The details of awardees will be listed on the FOSSEE project, IIT Bombay's website.
• The certificate will come with a verifiable QR code.

About the main organizer of the National Geospatial Awards 2025 (Edition 02):

The second edition of the National Geospatial Awards 2025 is organized by the GIS vertical of the FOSSEE project, IIT Bombay, which promotes the usage of Free/ Libre Open Source Software in academia and industry across India. The main objective of IIT Bombay FOSSEE GIS is to spread awareness of Open Source-based Geospatial Software, promote Indian satellite data (ISRO - NRSC’s Bhuvan, Vedas, MOSDAC, Bhoonidhi Portals), and indigenous Indian technologies like NavIC (ISRO-SATNAV), etc. The FOSSEE GIS project, IIT Bombay (since 2020) has conceptualized and initiated dozens of nationally coveted, flagship activities which include but are not limited to, the IIT Bombay FOSSEE Geospatial Mapathon (the world’s biggest geospatial mapping challenge), National Geospatial Internship, National Geospatial Research Fellowship, National Geospatial Awards, domain-specific (medicine, agriculture, maritime) GIS Hackathons, National GIS Case Studies, etc, all of which aligns with the National Education Policy 2020 (NEP2020), the National Geospatial Policy 2022 (NGP2022), the Indian Space Policy 2023 (ISP2023). The niche open-source geospatial offerings by FOSSEE GIS, in Medical GIS (One Health), Artificial Intelligence, Green Energy and Sustainability (Electric Vehicle), Under Ocean Exploration, Waste to Wealth, and Rural Development are inspired by various interdisciplinary national missions and programs.

FOSSEE GIS (NMEICT) provides unrestricted access to institutions that have implemented NEP2020, with a plethora of opportunities with multiple entry/ exit options in the internship (for eligible candidates), open source geospatial curriculum design, faculty development, technical support in setting up an Open Source GIS lab, etc. All that the institution has to do is to subscribe and become  FOSSEE’s Open Source Geospatial Knowledge Centre (OSGKC), More details are given below. The FOSSEE GIS project, IIT Bombay, aims to create better opportunities for everyone (students, faculty, administrators, policymakers, etc) from diverse educational backgrounds interested in the field of geospatial science and technology.To know more about IIT Bombay FOSSEE GIS activities for the calendar year 2025, please visit https://www.iitb.ac.in/iit-bombay-fossee-gis-activities-calendar-year-2…

NGA2025 Website: https://fossee.in/gis/awards

Email: mohamedkasim@iitb.ac.in; info@fossee.in

Phone: +91 (022) 2576 4111