National Geospatial Policy, 2022 A Guiding Light for Implementation of Geospatial Regulations in India Introduction: The National Geospatial Policy of India (“ NGP ”) was notified on 29th December 2022 by the Department of Science and Technology (" DST "). Geospatial data includes location-specific data, and information on terrestrial and sub-terrestrial features, weather patterns, statistics on mobility, natural phenomenon etc., and is a valuable resource to both public and private sector entities. A precursor to the NGP were the Guidelines for acquiring and producing Geospatial Data and Geospatial Data Services including Maps (“ Guidelines ”) dated February 15, 2021, also issued by the DST. Prior to the introduction of the Guidelines, geospatial data was governed largely by the Survey of India (" SoI "), the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Finance. These regulatory authorities placed several restrictions on the access, use and dissemination of geospatial
Press Release: Private Equity - Venture Capital (PE-VC) firms investments in India fell by 29% in 2022 compared to the record highs of 2021. PE-VC firms invested $46 Billion (across 1,261 deals) in Indian companies in 2022, compared to $65 Billion (across 1,362 deals) in the previous year, reports Venture Intelligence , a research service focused on private company financials, transactions, and their valuations. (Note: These figures include Venture Capital type investments, but exclude PE investments in Real Estate). India minted a total of 21 " Unicorn" companies (VC-funded startups valued at $1 Billion or more) in 2022, 18 of them during the first six months of 2022 and less than half the 44 Unicorns minted in 2021. In fact, the final quarter of 2022 did not see any new unicorns being created. SaaS companies accounted for 29% of all the new unicorns in 2022,