African Delegation Studies India's Digital Land Governance Model
A high-level African delegation and UNDP engaged with India's Department of Land Resources to study DPI-led land governance reforms, including ULPIN and NAKSHA.
A high-level delegation comprising officials from the African Union Commission, six African nations, and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) visited the Department of Land Resources (DoLR) in New Delhi for a technical exchange on digital public infrastructure (DPI) in land governance.
The visiting team—representing Ethiopia, Malawi, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, and Zambia—focused on India's Digital India Land Records Modernisation Programme (DILRMP), the Unique Land Parcel Identification Number (ULPIN, or Bhu-Aadhaar), the National Generic Document Registration System (NGDRS), and the NAKSHA urban survey initiative.
Secretary of DoLR, Narendra Bhooshan, framed land as a foundational asset class, noting that without clear spatial titles, land remains "dead capital" for citizens. He described the Bharat Land Stack as a digital trust architecture that links georeferenced records, circle rates, registration data, and encumbrances into one interoperable layer, enabling formal credit access for rural landowners. He offered to share this architecture with partner nations in Africa.
Technical sessions highlighted key DILRMP milestones: 99.90% of textual Records of Rights computerised, 97.43% of cadastral maps digitised, and 76.16% of land parcels georeferenced. Over 40.58 crore parcels have been assigned Bhu-Aadhaar. Additionally, 98.96% of Sub-Registrar Offices are computerised, and 94.11% of revenue courts operate under the case management system.
Director Amit Kumar Singh detailed the Bharat Land Stack's federated, GIS-based architecture, which layers satellite and drone imagery, cadastral boundaries, zoning rules, litigation data, and circle rates into a single authoritative source.
Director Shyam Kumar presented the NAKSHA pilot for urban habitations, using drones equipped with nadir and oblique cameras and LiDAR sensors for centimetre-level accuracy. Aerial surveys have been completed across 145 of 150 Urban Local Bodies, with Urban Property (UrPro) Cards being issued.
Delegates praised India's scale and open architecture. UNDP representatives noted the model's relevance for African structural transformation, while African Union officials highlighted its fit with continental digital strategies. Discussions covered legal harmonisation, data privacy, and drone deployment.
The meeting concluded with a commitment to deepen South-South cooperation on transparent, resilient land governance.