Skip to content

Bhuvan โ€” India's National Geoportal

ISRO's comprehensive geoportal โ€” satellite imagery, thematic maps, and India-specific spatial datasets in one place.

Provider
ISRO / NRSC (National Remote Sensing Centre)
Website
bhuvan.nrsc.gov.in
Access Level
๐ŸŸก Free Registration Required
Formats Available
WMS, WFS, Shapefile, GeoTIFF, Basemap tiles
Coverage
All India โ€” National to Village Level
Satellite Data
Cartosat, ResourceSat, LISS-III/IV

What Is Bhuvan?

Bhuvan (Sanskrit: เคญเฅเคตเคจ, meaning "Earth") is ISRO's geospatial web platform โ€” India's answer to Google Earth. Developed by the National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) in Hyderabad, it provides:

  • Satellite imagery from Indian satellites (Cartosat, ResourceSat)
  • Thematic maps โ€” LULC, soil, groundwater, disaster risk
  • Administrative boundaries at all levels
  • Time-series imagery to track change over decades
  • OGC Web Services (WMS/WFS) for GIS integration
  • 3D terrain and elevation data

Bhuvan is free for all Indian citizens and students.

What Data Can You Access?

Layer Resolution Description
Cartosat-3 Imagery 0.25m High-res recent imagery of cities
Cartosat-1 DEM 30m Digital Elevation Model (terrain heights)
ResourceSat LISS-III 23.5m Multi-spectral regional imagery
LISS-IV Mono 5.8m High-resolution monochrome
Historical Archive Various Imagery from 2000 onwards
Theme Description Level
LULC 2005โ€“2023 Land use / Land cover maps District
Soil Maps Soil type and erosion State
Groundwater Depth to water table District
Wasteland Atlas Degraded land classification District
Urban Sprawl Urban growth maps City
Flood Inundation Historical flood events District
Boundary Level Format
State/UT Level 1 Shapefile / WFS
District Level 2 Shapefile / WFS
Sub-district/Taluka Level 3 Shapefile / WFS
Village Level 4 Shapefile / WFS
Revenue Village Level 5 Some states

How to Register and Access

Step 1: Register (Free)

  1. Go to https://bhuvan.nrsc.gov.in
  2. Click "Register" (top right)
  3. Fill in your details โ€” name, email, organization, purpose of use
  4. Verify email
  5. Login to Bhuvan

Step 2: Explore the Map Portal

  1. After login, click "Bhuvan 2D" to open the interactive map
  2. Use the Layer Manager panel on the left to add thematic layers
  3. Navigate to your area of interest
  4. Use the Measurement Tool to measure areas and distances

Step 3: Download Shapefiles

  1. In the Bhuvan portal, go to "Downloads" โ†’ "Thematic Data"
  2. Select category (e.g., "Administrative Boundaries")
  3. Select state and level of detail
  4. Download the shapefile ZIP
  5. Extract and open in QGIS

Step 4: Use as WMS in QGIS ๐Ÿ”ต

WMS URL (no login required for basemaps):
https://bhuvan-vec1.nrsc.gov.in/bhuvan/wms

Layer names:
- india3:IND_STATES     (State boundaries)
- india3:IND_DISTRICTS  (District boundaries)
- india3:LULC_2023     (Land use 2023)

In QGIS: 1. Layer โ†’ Add Layer โ†’ Add WMS/WMTS Layer 2. Click New โ†’ Paste the URL above 3. Connect โ†’ Select layers โ†’ Add

Bhuvan Apps and Special Portals

Bhuvan has several dedicated thematic portals:

Portal URL What It Has
Bhuvan Main bhuvan.nrsc.gov.in Satellite imagery, basemaps
Bhuvan LULC bhuvan.nrsc.gov.in/bhuvan2d Land use maps
Disasters bhuvan.nrsc.gov.in/disaster Flood, cyclone, earthquake data
Forest Monitoring bhuvan.nrsc.gov.in/forest Forest cover change
Urban bhuvan.nrsc.gov.in/urban Urban sprawl maps
Gram Panchayat bhuvan-panchayat.nrsc.gov.in Village-level data

โœ๏ธ Practice Exercise

Exercise 1.4 โ€” Load Bhuvan as a Basemap in QGIS

Goal: Add Bhuvan satellite imagery as a background to your QGIS project.

  1. Open QGIS โ†’ Start a new project
  2. Go to Layer โ†’ Add Layer โ†’ Add WMS/WMTS Layer
  3. Click New and set:
  4. Name: Bhuvan India
  5. URL: https://bhuvan-vec1.nrsc.gov.in/bhuvan/wms
  6. Click Connect โ†’ wait for layers to load
  7. Select india3:IND_DISTRICTS โ†’ Click Add
  8. Set CRS to EPSG:4326 when prompted

Questions: - [ ] Can you see district boundaries loading on the map? - [ ] Zoom into your home district. What level of detail appears? - [ ] Try adding india3:LULC_2023 โ€” what land use categories can you see?

Next Dataset: Election Commission Boundaries โ†’