By Saurabh Rai

Reflecting on 2024, the geospatial sector has witnessed transformative advancements, driven by innovations that integrate GIS, AI, and IoT into critical domains. The development of the Ayodhya Sustainability Index as a milestone in leveraging geospatial intelligence for sustainable urban planning, environmental conservation, and heritage preservation. This initiative has set a global benchmark, showcasing how technology can balance growth with cultural preservation. 

The year also saw India embracing national initiatives like Naksha, Bhuvan, and SVAMITVA, which propelled sustainable development, urban planning, and disaster management using geospatial solutions. These programs reflect the sector’s growing influence in addressing complex challenges.

Looking ahead to 2025, the integration of geospatial technologies with AI, IoT, and big data is poised to transform industries such as agriculture, logistics, and renewable energy. 

The focus will be on leveraging these technologies to tackle global issues like climate change, rapid urbanization, and resource management. With data-driven tools at the core, the industry aims to drive impactful and sustainable change, fostering innovation and supporting national priorities. 

With precise data-driven insights, industries can make informed decisions, optimise resource allocation and implement sustainable practices.

In agriculture, for instance, geospatial tools combined with AI can enhance crop monitoring, predict yield and manage water resources effectively. In logistics, they streamline operations by providing real-time data on traffic, weather and optimal routes. Renewable energy sectors can benefit by identifying ideal locations for solar and wind energy projects, thus accelerating India’s transition to cleaner energy sources.

The integration of geospatial technologies aligns with India’s national priorities, such as building resilient infrastructure and achieving sustainable development goals. 

As geospatial intelligence continues to evolve, it promises to play a critical role in shaping a more sustainable, resilient, and technologically empowered future.

Saurabh Rai is the CEO of Arahas, a provider of Geospatial, AI, and Sustainability Technology services. The opinions expressed by the author do not necessarily reflect the views of CIO Dimension.

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By Ankit Kumar

2024 has been transformative for India’s drone industry, showcasing Bharat’s immense potential as a land of opportunities. Drones are rapidly transitioning from niche applications to becoming an integral part of mainstream operations in India. With remarkable advancements in policy, innovation, and sector-wide adoption, the industry has grown exponentially, impacting logistics, agriculture, healthcare, and infrastructure. 

There are many examples of how India is leading the trend. In a groundbreaking development, Gurugram became the first metropolitan in the world to adopt drone-based delivery in daily life, enabling residents to receive anything and everything within minutes. As one of the fastest hyperlocal delivery services, Skye Air completed over 1.5 lakh deliveries in the city during December alone. 

Milestones like drone-based mail delivery in Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, and AIIMS medical supply chains further highlight the sector’s ability to enhance accessibility and efficiency.

As we move into 2025, the momentum will only grow stronger, with drones becoming increasingly integrated into mainstream operations. The focus on scaling networks, boosting payload capacities, and driving cost efficiencies will unlock new opportunities in quick-commerce, urban air mobility, and sustainability. 

The government’s proactive measures, such as the PM GatiShakti National Master Plan, have laid a robust foundation for the drone ecosystem. This ambitious initiative integrates various economic zones and infrastructure projects, enabling seamless logistics and enhancing operational efficiencies.

Initiatives like this, coupled with continued investments in R&D and skill development will further solidify India’s ambition to become a global drone hub by 2030. 

The future holds incredible promise. Drones are proving to be indispensable in addressing real-world challenges. They are reducing urban congestion by offering alternative delivery solutions, minimizing carbon footprints through energy-efficient logistics, and facilitating disaster management and agricultural monitoring. These advancements will propel “Bharat toward a technology-driven, sustainable tomorrow.

Ankit Kumar is the CEO of Sky Air. The opinions expressed by the author do not necessarily reflect the views of CIO Dimension

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By Ashish Sahay

As we step into 2025, the IoT ecosystem in India is witnessing exponential growth, fueled by the country’s ambition to become a $1 trillion digital economy by 2026. With over 2 billion IoT-connected devices projected to be deployed in India by 2025, the need for scalable, resilient, and cost-effective connectivity solutions has never been more pressing.

At Wirepas, we see this as a pivotal moment to drive innovation and adoption of decentralized mesh technology that addresses India’s unique challenges. Our technology already enables connectivity for over 4 million smart meters under the Advanced Metering Initiative (AMI), contributing significantly to India’s energy transition goals and ensuring accurate, uninterrupted data collection even in remote rural areas.

The Indian smart metering market alone is expected to grow at a CAGR of 10.2%, with over 250 million smart meters targeted for deployment by 2030. This presents a tremendous opportunity for solutions like ours, which are designed to be highly scalable, reliable, and adaptable to diverse environments.

Furthermore, as India invests heavily in its smart cities mission—set to reach $28.7 billion by 2027—IoT solutions are becoming the backbone of initiatives aimed at improving urban infrastructure, energy management, and logistics. Technologies like Wirepas Mesh and NR+ will be instrumental in supporting these projects by delivering decentralized, energy-efficient, and cost-effective connectivity at scale.

The convergence of IoT, AI, and big data analytics is also unlocking immense possibilities in predictive decision-making, particularly in energy management. For example, smarter insights into consumption patterns can help utilities reduce distribution losses, a critical issue for India, which currently sees an average of 20% loss in electricity distribution.

Wirepas remains deeply committed to India’s vision of a sustainable, interconnected future. By delivering innovative solutions that enable industries to optimize their operations, reduce costs, and achieve sustainability goals, we aim to play a key role in shaping India’s IoT revolution. As 2025 unfolds, we look forward to continuing our partnership with Indian enterprises and contributing to the country’s journey toward becoming a global leader in IoT adoption.

Ashish Sahay is the Country Manager & Sales Director for SEA at Wirepas. The opinions expressed by the author do not necessarily reflect the views of CIO Dimension

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