Mapping the Future: NAKSHA Phase II Charts a New Course for Urban Land Surveys

Key Highlights

The Ministry of Rural Development's Department of Land Resources (DoLR) has released the announcement for the roll-out of the second phase of the NAKSHA (National geospatial Knowledge-based land Survey of urban Habitations) Capacity Building Programme from June 2, 2025.

It will be implemented in five National Centres of Excellence and will cover 304 Urban Local Body (ULB) and district officers of 157 ULBs across the country.

Programme Insights

The Phase II training will be conducted virtually by Shri Manoj Joshi, Secretary, DoLR, at 10:00 AM on 2nd June.

Officer trainees will undergo one-week hands-on training in emerging geospatial technologies such as GNSS and ETS-based surveying, Web-GIS applications, mapping of land parcels, and legal-administrative features of land surveys.

The program has the goal of empowering ULB officials and field personnel with hands-on expertise to manage high-precision city land surveys so that land records are transparent, verifiable, and accessible.

Strategic Significance

India's urban population is expected to exceed 600 million by 2031, and the need for credible and digital land records has never been more imperative.

NAKSHA is a technology-enabled pioneering pilot program launched in association with the Survey of India, NICSI, MPSeDC, and five Centres of Excellence.

Phase I, completed during May 2025, trained 160 master trainers from states and UTs participating, to pave the way for wider outreach in phase II. 

Looking Forward

The second phase represents a major advancement towards digitalisation in urban land management in line with India's vision of transparent government and sustainable urban growth. 

Sources: Press Information Bureau, Department of Land Resources