India Observatory

26/11/2025

The post-monsoon well monitoring exercise has been extended till 30th November, 2025!
If you haven’t started mapping your village/town’s wells yet, this is your chance.
Thank you to everyone who has already contributed! With your support, water levels for thousands of wells across India are being recorded — helping communities take informed decisions to manage their groundwater.

The GWMT (Ground Water Monitoring Tool) app — version 3.5, available in 9 languages — makes it simple. Access User Guides directly from the Settings menu, and view past water-level reports for your village right inside the app.
Scan the QR code and join us to help measure India’s water levels.

19/11/2025

GIS Day 2025: How India Observatory is Powering Climate, Biodiversity, and Equity

What happens when geography stops being a backdrop and becomes the blueprint for survival? GIS is no longer about maps, it’s about meaning. It’s the architecture of resilience in a world under pressure.

Across the globe, spatial intelligence is shaping how we respond to the most pressing challenges of our time climate change, biodiversity loss, and resource inequity. It underpins the UN Sustainable Development Goals, informs COP commitments, and turns fragmented data into strategies for sustainability. Spatial thinking is no longer optional it is the lever that can change the outcome.

India is stepping boldly into this era. The National Geospatial Policy promises democratized data and a high-resolution Digital Elevation Model by 2030. Digital India and Bharat Maps are building end-to-end geospatial systems for governance. The National Geospatial Mission is modernising land records, urban planning, and infrastructure design by integrating GIS with AI for data-driven governance, while emphasising caution against AI hallucination and the importance of maintaining human involvement. These efforts align with India’s climate and biodiversity commitments.

But policies alone don’t transform landscapes. Action does. And this is where the India Observatory steps in.

India Observatory is not just a platform, it’s a movement. It operationalises the vision of spatial intelligence for people and planet. With more than 1,600 parameters visualised from village to national scale, IO turns maps into movements and data into decisions.

CLART doesn’t just plan watersheds; it rewrites migration stories by helping communities design soil and water conservation strategies. IBIS is not just a biodiversity database, it’s a pulse check for life on land, hosting 2.9 crore species records and enabling citizen science. IFMT brings forest governance to the fingertips of local institutions. GEET maps entitlement gaps so no household is left behind. And when crisis struck during COVID, CoAST India proved that GIS can save lives by visualising migrant distress in real time.

This GIS Day, as we celebrate the theme “Geo-Generalist Era: Where Spatial Meets Everything,” we invite you to look beyond technology and see its true power, the ability to connect ecology, economy, and equity. Spatial intelligence is not a choice anymore; it is the foundation of every solution for a sustainable and just future.

Explore India Observatory. Join the movement. Let’s make spatial intelligence the language of resilience and regeneration.

indiaobservatory.org.in

14/10/2025

The post-monsoon season campaign begins tomorrow!

The post-monsoon leg of the Napo Jal Bachao Kal campaign begins tomorrow!
Participate in the well monitoring exercise and contribute to the collection of granular groundwater data.

Join this nationwide initiative and help build a robust database to enhance evidence-based water management. Use the Groundwater Monitoring tool guides, available in 7 languages - Guides available in Marathi, Gujarati, Hindi, English, Odia, Telugu and Kannada
- for step-by-step support to monitor the well-water levels in your area. Let’s work together for a water-secure future.

Learn more about the Campaign here: https://www.indiaobservatory.org.in/groundwater-monitoring-campaign

14/10/2025

We are excited to share a new data visualisation platform for the Ground Water Monitoring Tool (GWMT) data!

This platform will help you explore and track groundwater status and trends from the village to the district level with ease. The tool covers 27,000 villages across 8 states, bringing together 5 years of data collected with the efforts of over 10,000 community members, supported by 140+ partners across the country under the campaign.

Built on ESRI’s Enterprise system, this platform makes groundwater data accessible, interactive, and actionable - to spark community dialogue, research, and policy engagement. Going forward, we aim to integrate data from the Jaldoot portal - expanding coverage to 450,000 villages.

Communities across the country have been stewarding water Commons in various ways - capacitating themselves on water governance through experiential games, collectively planning and undertaking rejuvenation efforts, and ensuring data collection of well water levels over the years. This platform is a step towards enhancing the shared groundwater database, enabling informed conversations around one of our most critical Commons.

Explore the portal here: https://arcg.is/15Xu8H0

India Observatory

07/10/2025

26/09/2025

Now, we're thrilled to unveil the winners of this year's challenge!

We’re excited to share the successful conclusion of the 2nd edition of Code4Nature, a unique coding challenge where technology meets ecology. This initiative brings together a vibrant mix of web developers, designers, data enthusiasts, and environmental changemakers to craft innovative solutions for conservation, sustainability, and climate resilience.

The Code4Nature contest is an initiative to reimagine how creativity and technology can power a more sustainable future.

For more details, please visit: https://www.indiaobservatory.org.in/code-for-nature-challenge-2025

We look forward to celebrating with you!

09/07/2025

30/06/2025

Registrations for the Code4Nature Challenge is now openhave been extended upto 10th July, 2025.
Apply now and join the challenge!

Calling all programmers, designers, analysts – if nature inspires your tech, this challenge is for you! Don’t miss your chance to dream, design and build solutions to environmental challenges.

12/06/2025

Measuring well-water levels means more than just collecting data – it means communities coming together to take informed decisions, and collective planning for shared resource management and water security for all.

Join the nationwide citizen science effort in mapping your village’s well now!

Deadline: 15 June

Measure at least 1 well in your village. (Remember to measure the same well every season.)
Use the GWM tool guide to submit your data.

Whether you’re a first-time user or working alongside your community, these easy guides help you collect well-water data with ease. Click on the link, pick your language, and join the movement for a water-secure India. https://tinyurl.com/mph72t7m

You Can Power Community Action, One Well at a Time: Measure. Submit. Safeguard.

Click here to learn more: https://www.indiaobservatory.org.in/groundwater-monitoring-campaign

India Observatory

10/06/2025

Calling all coders, developers, designers and changemakers!

The Code4Nature Challenge 2025 is now LIVE!

Join the nationwide movement where technology meets sustainability. Whether you're an experienced programmer or just starting out with a love for nature, this challenge offers a unique opportunity to create real change through technology.

Form your team, Pick your challenge, Build the future!

Why Join?
Drive real impact on environmental issues
Learn and collaborate with experts
Win exciting prizes and recognition
Be part of India's eco-tech movement

Click here to register TODAY!
https://tinyurl.com/3drz9wwx
Registrations close on 30th June 2025.

For more information, visit https://www.indiaobservatory.org.in/code-for-nature-challenge-2025 or reach out to [email protected] for enquiries.

Spread the word with your fellow changemakers and tag someone you know might be the perfect fit!