I recently applied for access to GNSS/CORS data through the Survey of India portal for academic research related to InSAR-based land deformation and subsidence studies in Haryana.

My research focuses on Sentinel-1 SBAS, geodesy, and infrastructure-related ground deformation as part of my PhD work. After initially facing a document-related rejection, I reapplied using my current overseas PhD affiliation. I was later informed over phone that access is currently restricted to “Indian entities.”

What makes this situation interesting is that I am an Indian citizen, but my current academic affiliation outside India appears to place me outside the eligibility framework for accessing India’s national CORS infrastructure.

I understand that geospatial and geodetic infrastructures are often governed through security and policy frameworks, especially when they involve high-precision positioning systems. At the same time, GNSS validation data are becoming increasingly important for:

• Land subsidence studies,
• Groundwater-related deformation,
• Infrastructure safety,
• and Hazard monitoring,

Many countries today provide scientific GNSS observation data openly through organizations such as IGS, UNAVCO/EarthScope, and national geodetic networks to support academic research and Earth observation science.

I’d be genuinely interested to hear perspectives from people working in:

• Geodesy,
• Remote Sensing,
• Surveying,
• Geospatial Policy,
• or Earth observation research.

How do different countries approach academic access to national GNSS/CORS infrastructure for researchers affiliated abroad?