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UPSC CURRENT AFFAIRS | GOOGLE STREET VIEW, AND WHY IT’S BEEN LAUNCHED IN INDIA ONLY NOW | 29TH JULY | INDIAN EXPRESS

/ July, 2022, UPSC Daily Current Affairs

SYLLABUS SECTION: GS III (SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY)

WHY IN NEWS?

Google street view is finally available for 10 cities in India and is expect to roll out in about 50 more cities by the end of the year.

  • The 360-degree interactive panorama feature of Google Maps has available in cities spread over100 countries since 2007.

KEY DETAILS:

  • In India, unlike in other markets, Google Street View powered by images from third party’s,
  • Asper the National Geospatial Policy, 2021.
  • Google Street View is an immersive 360-degree view of a location capture using special cameras mounts on vehicles or on backpacks by data collectors moving around the city streets.
  • The images are then patch together to createa360-degree view which users can swipe through to get a detail view of the location.
  • It is available to view on Android and iOS using the app, or as a web view

DELAYED INDIA LAUNCH

  • The National Geospatial Policy, 2021 lets Indian companies collect map data and license it to others
  • Google has tied up with Tech Mahindra and Mumbai-based Genesys International to enable Street View for 10 Indian cities initially.
  • This is the first time Google is working with partner data to enable this feature. In India, the data will be collective and own by these partners
LIMITATIONS IN INDIA:
  • Street View in India is not allowed for restricted areas like government properties, deffence establishments and military areas.
  • This means in a place like Delhi, the cantonment area will be out of bounds for Street View.
BENEFITS & ISSUES:
  • While Google Maps gives users the ability top lot a route and see the satellite view of the same, often this does not give a clear idea of the road conditions.
  • With Street View, users will be able to see exactly how a new destination looks like, and even explore local businesses before going there.
  • Privacy issues have like car number plates and house numbers, being captured by the camera and being misused in different ways.
  • Security concerns related to sensitive locations.
  • Along with India, Google has had issues with the local authorities in countries like Austria, Australia and Germany, though it has come back in most of these locations.

Read more: UPSC CURRENT AFFAIRS

SOURCE: INDIAN EXPRESS