The first workshop of the ILDC Workshop Series, titled “Land Administration Innovation through Technology and Structural Reform: Policy and Practice Implications and Impact,” was jointly organised by FLAME University and the Center for Land Governance on 27–28 March 2023 at FLAME University, Pune. The workshop brought together perspectives from government, academia, civil society, researchers and practitioners to develop a more nuanced and interdisciplinary understanding of the technological and institutional changes reshaping land administration in India. Discussions examined flagship programmes such as the Digital India Land Records Modernisation Programme, Bhu-Aadhaar, Matribhoomi and SVAMITVA, including their objectives, implementation strategies, monitoring frameworks, institutional innovations, citizen participation, dispute resolution mechanisms and early impacts.

Drawing on state experiences, the workshop explored how land-record digitisation and geospatial technologies had been adapted to diverse tenure contexts, as well as the institutional capacity, resources, coordination arrangements and implementation challenges involved.

 

Experts, researchers and practitioners also examined the wider public-policy implications of land formalisation, titling and digital land administration, combining global experience with academic and civil-society perspectives from India. The concluding discussions reflected on lessons from the sessions, considered opportunities for intersectoral collaboration and identified possible pathways for partnerships among policymakers, academics and practitioners to improve the relevance, design, implementation, inclusion and impact of land-administration reforms.