Got an incorrect map of India? Go to jail for 7 years and pay a fine of Rs 100 crore

The draft Geospatial Information Regulation Bill 2016 makes it a crime to publish in incorrect map of India, with a fine up to Rs 100 crore and up to seven years in jail.

According to the draft bill: "Whoever depicts, disseminates, publishes or distributes any wrong or false topographic information of India including international boundaries in contravention of section 6, shall be punished with a fine ranging from Rupees ten lac to Rupees one hundred crore and/or imprisonment for a period up to seven years."

The move is aimed to correct maps of India that show Kashmir and Arunachal Pradesh located out of India. A recent case in which a social networking site published a map that showed Jammu as being in Pakistan and Kashmir in China was corrected after protests from the Government of India, according to The Indian Express.

The bill also makes it mandatory to have permission from a government authority before acquiring, disseminating, publishing or distributing any geospatial information related to India.

"Whoever acquires any geospatial information of India in contravention of the law shall be punished with a fine ranging from Rs 1 crore to Rs 100 crore and/or imprisonment for a period up to seven years," says the draft Bill.

Geospatial information means data gathered from space or aerial platforms such as satellite, aircraft, airships, balloons, and unmanned aerial vehicles, including value addition or graphical or digital data depicting natural or man-made physical features, phenomenon or boundaries of the earth or any related information including surveys, charts, maps, terrestrial photos referenced to coordinate system and attributes.

According to the draft bill, "The central government shall constitute a security vetting authority of geospatial information of India in a time-bound manner and as per regulations framed by an apex committee. It shall consist of an officer of the rank of joint secretary to the Government of India or above as chairman and two members, one a technical expert and the other, a national security expert."

This means that platforms like Google Maps and Google Earth must have a licence to function in India.