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PARLIAMENT OF INDIA

RAJYA SABHA

DEPARTMENT-RELATED PARLIAMENTARY STANDING COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY, ENVIRONMENT &

FORESTS ONE HUNDRED SEVENTY-THIRD REPORT

ON DEMANDS FOR GRANTS (2007-2008)

OF THE MINISTRY OF EARTH SCIENCES (DEMAND NO. 29)

(PRESENTED TO THE RAJYA SABHA ON 26th APRIL, 2007) (LAID ON THE TABLE OF THE LOK SABHA ON 26th APRIL, 2007)

RAJYA SABHA SECRETARIAT NEW DELHI

APRIL, 2007/VAISAKHA, 1929 (SAKA) C O N T E N T S

1. COMPOSITION OF THE COMMITTEE 2. INTRODUCTION 3. REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE 4. SUMMARY OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS 5. ANNEXURE 6. MINUTES OF THE MEETINGS OF THE COMMITTEE

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7/16/2008http://10.21.217.2/book2/reports/science/173rdreport.htm

MEMBERS OF THE DEPARTMENT-RELATED PARLIAMENTARY STANDING COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY,

ENVIRONMENT & FORESTS ----------

1. Shri P.G. Narayanan –– Chairman

RAJYA SABHA

2. Dr.Prabha Thakur #3. Vacant

4. Shri Suryakantbhai Acharya 5. Shri Bhagirathi Majhi 6. Shri Kamal Akhtar 7. Shri Saman Pathak 8. Shri Jabir Husain 9. Shri Ravula Chandra Sekar Reddy 10. Dr. Barun Mukherjee

LOK SABHA

11. Shri Jashubhai Dhanabhai Barad 12. Dr. Sujan Chakraborty 13. Shri Thupstan Chhewang 14. Shri Pankaj Chaudhary 15. Shri Francis Fanthome 16. Shri Babubhai K. Katara 17. Shri A. Venkatesh Naik 18. Shri Brahmananda Panda 19. Smt. Neeta Pateriya 20. Shri Jaysingrao Gaikwad Patil 21. Shri Pratik Prakashbapu Patil 22. Shri Bachi Singh ‘Bachda’ Rawat 23. Shri K.C. Singh “Baba” 24. Shri Kirti Vardhan Singh 25. Shri Rakesh Singh 26. Shri Aruna Kumar Vundavalli 27. Smt. Jayaben B. Thakkar 28. Shri Akhilesh Yadav 29. Shri Mitrasen Yadav 30. Shri Sita Ram Yadav *31. Shri Rampal Singh

SECRETARIAT Shri N.C. Joshi, Additional Secretary Shri R.K. Singh, Officer on Special Duty Shri Alok Kumar Chatterjee, Deputy Secretary Shri Jagmohan Sundriyal, Under Secretary

Shri S. Rangarajan, Committee Officer INTRODUCTION

I, the Chairman of the Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science & Technology,Environment & Forests, having been authorised by the Committee to present the Report on its behalf, present this



One Hundred Seventy-third Report of the Committee. This Report deals with the detailed Demands for Grants(2007-2008) of the Ministry of Earth Sciences (Demand No.29). 2. In the meeting of the Committee held on 3rd April, 2007, the Secretary and other Officers of the Ministry ofEarth Sciences gave an overview of the various activities of the Ministry and the Members sought clarificationson various aspects of the performance of the Ministry to enable it to scrutinise the Demands for Grants. 3. The Committee expresses its thanks to the Officers of the Ministry for replying to the clarifications sought bythe Members and placing before it the required material to enable the Committee to scrutinise the Demands forGrants of the Ministry of Earth Sciences. 4. The Committee considered and adopted the Report at its meeting held on the 20th April, 2007.

NEW DELHI; April 20, 2007

P.G.NARAYANAN Chairman,

Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science &

Technology, Environment & Forests.



REPORT The Department of Ocean Development was created in July 1981 as a part of the CabinetSecretariat directly under the charge of the Prime Minister. From March 1982, it became a separateDepartment. In February 2006, it was notified as the Ministry of Ocean Development. The Ministry ofEarth Sciences has been created in July 2006 after merger of India Meteorological Department (IMD);National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting (NCMRWF); Indian Institute of TropicalMeteorology (IITM) and Earth Risk Evaluation Centre (EREC) with the then Ministry of OceanDevelopment. The Ministry’s mandate is to look after Atmospheric Sciences, Ocean Science & Technology and Seismology in an integrated manner. Ministry of Earth Sciences has been functioningas a nodal Ministry for organising, coordinating and promoting related Earth Sciences activities in thecountry. 2. OCEAN SCIENCE 2.1 The programmes pursued by the Ministry over the years have also kept pace with developments world over and addressed national needs and priorities, in line with the Ocean Policy Statement of 1982. 2.2 The programmes of the Ministry in the field of Ocean Science are directed towards:

• Technology Development Programmes for future applications with strategic, industrial and economic significance.

• Societal Programmes with direct/indirect benefit for the community by technology applicationsand pilot project demonstration with the participation of the community for their socio-economic prosperity, and for coastal area development/management through scientific tools and techniques

• Marine Resource Programmes for exploration of marine living and non-living resources, techno-economic studies to evolve strategies for sustainable exploration and utilisation, andresource enhancement.

• Multi-institutional and multi-disciplinary Polar Science Programmes and Antarctic Expeditionswith scientific and geo-political significance.

• Capacity Building Programme towards self-reliance through basic scientific research in ocean sector, human resource development and establishing Centres of Excellence in academic institutions.

• Creation of public awareness of ocean, its potential and uses. 3. The scientific research and technology development programmes are formulated, coordinatedand executed through three autonomous institutions supported by the Ministry and two Attached officesof the Ministry. These multi-disciplinary and multi-institutional programmes are assisted by NationalResearch Laboratories, academic institutions and industries. Further, Marine Research and CapacityBuilding is one of the key programme areas of the Ministry to promote basic research in marine science



and establish centres of excellence in academic institutions and for self-reliance.

3.1 The oceanographic programmes have national, regional and global importance. With theratification of the UN Convention on Law of the Sea, a new international order has been established forthe oceans. India is represented in almost all the important bodies on oceans. India will stand to benefitenormously by provisions of the convention, if we can build an integrated approach for scientificplanning, formulation, implementation and overall management of the programmes with acomprehensive organisational and institutional back up.

3.2 The Ministry is the nodal agency for international programmes in the ocean sector and representing the country in Inter-governmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO,Regional Committee of IOC in Coastal Indian Ocean (IOCINDIO), South Asian Regional SeasProgramme, Commission on the Limits of Continental Shelf (CLCS), International Sea-Bed Authority (ISBA) and the State Parties of the United National Convention on the Law of the Seas (UNCLOS), theAntarctic Treaty System (ATS) and its scientific and managerial organs – Commission on Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), Council of Managers of National AntarcticProgramme (COMNAP), Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR), etc. These activitieshave scientific, economic and geopolitical impacts. Hence, the activities of the Ministry addressScientific Research and Technology Development with orientation towards applications, capacitybuilding and human resource development for self-reliance, and international programmes arising out of International obligations and bilateral and multilateral cooperative ventures.

4. ATMOSPHERIC SCIENCE

4.1 The atmosphere plays a vital role in defining the overall environment in which all organisms live. It impacts almost all kinds of human activities in a major way. Society has evolved in harmonywith the existing variability of weather and climate and needs the support of forecasts to manage manyof its critical functions. Forecasting such a complex system as the atmosphere is a growing science andneeds to be supported. Weather services in general have very early origins in this country and currentlyengage the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the National Centre for Medium Range WeatherForecasting (NCMRWF) which is a specialized agency for developing medium range forecast capabilityin the country and the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) which carries out research inrequired areas.

4.2 Advancement of the science in recent years indicate that a combined approach involving land, oceanic and atmospheric processes holds the key to long and extended range of forecasting which canprovide a credible policy tool. On the other hand, intensive monitoring and analysis of cloud systemsusing Satellite and Radar technology can help us to accurately gauge the severity of an immediatelyimpending calamity thereby prompting the selection of appropriate measures. Monitoring of earthquakesissuing information about the location and intensity of the earthquakes and hazard microzonation of



highly seismic areas of the country constitute important activities of IMD.

4.3 Agro-meteorological advisories and monitoring of crop productivity in coordination with the State agricultural departments and agricultural Universities in the country is another important area ofactivity. The Ministry of Earth Sciences has taken positive steps to implement a comprehensivedevelopmental programe in these areas involving all the three agencies.



5. XIth Five Year Plan (2007-2012)

5.1 The Ministry has stated that the total budgetary allocation for the XIth Five Year Plan has not yet been finalized though, it has projected a requirement of Rs.12,009 crores to the Planning Commission. There are 29 programmes proposed to be carried out by the Ministry, which include 18 continuingprogrammes and 11 new programmes. It has also informed that it has successfully completed theprogrammes in the previous Five Year Plan. The new schemes/projects proposed for the XIth Five Year Plan are as follows:

Development of Manned submersible Installation of Multi-Channel Seismic (MCS) System Expedition to Arctic Desalination Project MLR: vessel requirement and Dedicated berthing and associated facilities National Oceanarium Demonstration of Shore Protection measures through Pilot project Integrated Ocean Drilling Programme (IODP) Ice class Research vessel Headquarter Building Modernisation of IMD (Communication, Observation, Cyclone warning, Forecasting,

Aviation Services, Instrumentation, Hydromet, infrastructural development)

6. TOTAL BUDGETARY DEMANDS FOR 2007-08 AND ALLOCATION OF FUNDS FORTHRUST AREAS 6.1 The total outlay for 2007-08 has been fixed at Rs. 887 crores (Rs. 690 crores for Plan and Rs. 197 crores for Non Plan expenditure) which is 411.25 crores more than the outlay for 2006-07. This reflects that the budget allocation has almost doubled since last year. However, it may be mentioned that“Meteorology” which has been transferred from the Department of Science & Technology and “Other Scientific Research” are new programmes for the Ministry of Earth Sciences, for which an amount of Rs. 213.75 crores and Rs. 38.45 crores respectively have been made at R.E. stage during the last year. The Ministry has informed that during the year 2007-08, the actual increase in outlay is of Rs. 144.70 crores and percentage increase in B.E. 2007-08 from B.E. 2006-07, which was Rs. 742.30 crores (Plan -Rs. 553.00 crores and Non Plan-Rs.189.30 crores) is about 19.5 %, though, Plan outlay for 2007-08 for Oceanographic Research has been fixed at Rs. 365 crores, which is Rs. 73 crores less than the outlay for2006-07. Howsoever, the total allocation for the Ministry of Earth Sciences is not reduced since the sum of outlays for Oceanographic Research (Rs. 365 crores), Meteorology (Rs.301 crores) and OtherScientific Research (Rs.24 crores), the actual outlay for the Ministry for 2007-08 is Rs.690 crores. Out of the allocation of Rs. 365 crores for Oceanographic Research, Rs. 100 crores has been earmarked forAcquisition of New Research Vessel so as to support the changing needs of the technology development



and related programmes while Rs. 10 crores is for Ministry’s campus in Central Delhi. 6.2 The budgetary allocation for the year 2007-08in the tabular form is given at Annexure. 6.3 It may be mentioned that the Ministry initially projected a budget requirement of Rs.2055 crores for the year 2007-08. Subsequently after having a series of meeting with the Planning Commission, anassessment has been made for minimum critical requirement of Rs. 1050 crores to carry out thecontinuing programmes and to initiate a certain new programmes. But the B.E. for the Ministry actuallyagreed by the Finance Ministry/Planning Commission for the year 2007-08 is Rs.690 crores. The Ministry of Earth Sciences is of the view that this would be barely sufficient to carry out its ongoingactivities envisaged for implementation during XIth Plan period. The Committee has been given to understand that the Ministry is proposing to carry out the essential ongoing schemes. With regard to new schemes, a token provision has been made with a view to just initiate the activities. However, efforts are underway to get the full allocation at the R.E stage to fill the gap between projected demandand actual allocation. 6.4 The head-wise quarterly statement as well as total expenditure of the Ministry for 2006-07 can be seen from the table below. The Ministry informed that the quarterly expenditure of the Ministry, ismore or less uniform during this year, except for the first quarter which is due to carry forward ofunspent balance available under some programmes to the current financial year.



(Rs. in crores)

6.5 While agreeing with the reasons furnished by the Ministry in respect of less expenditure during the first quarter, the Committee feels that Ministry must plan its programmes in such a manner that itmay utilize maximum percentage of allocated budget in the financial year itself so that there should beminimum carry forward of the unspent balance to the next financial year. Therefore, the Committeerecommends that there should be regular infusion of funds in various schemes/projects in all the quartersof the financial year and it should also evolve a suitable mechanism in this regard to avoid such situationin the XIth Five Year Plan.

7. MAJOR DISPROPORTIONATE VARIATIONS AND REASONS 7.1 The Ministry has informed that during the year 2006-07, the major variations, are in the following programmes:

Sl. No.

Scheme Quarter-1 Quarter-2 Quarter-3

1 Polar Science 5.24 0.00 28.36

2 Polymetallic Nodules Programme 0.29 0.88 17.05

3 Ocean Observations, and Information System OOIS)

2.90 1.50 0.73

4 Marine Research and Technology Development

1.43 4.21 2.84

5 National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT)

0.00 16.76 0.00

6 Coastal Research Vessels (CRV) 0.00 0.00 2.13

7 Delineation of Outer Limits of Continental Shelf

0.00 0.00 0.00

8 Comprehensive Swath Bathymetry of Indian EEZ

0.00 0.00 0.00

9 Gas Hydrates Exploration & Technology Development

0.00 0.00 0.00

10 Acquisition and Operation of New Research Vessels

0.00 35.00 0.00

11 Geophysical Study of Laxmi Basin 0.00 0.00 0.00

12 Information Technology 0.00 0.14 0.00

13 Data Buoy Programme 0.00 12.89 3.60

14 Early Tsunami Warning System 0.00 3.00 46.78

15 Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology

4.00 2.15 2.00

16 National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting

16.92 4.37 1.81

17 India Meteorological Department 48.04 35.85 44.05

TOTAL 78.82 116.75 149.35



i) Polymetallic Nodules Programme BE - Rs. 19 crores RE - Rs. 14.85 crores Due to non-availability of research vessel for shallow bed mining demonstration and teethingproblems at the ferro-silico manganese demonstration pilot plant at National Metallurgical Laboratory, Jamshedpur. ii) Ocean Observation and Information Services BE - Rs. 25 crores RE - Rs. 19 crores The postponement of proposed procurement of a High Performance Computing System due to time taken in finalizing the exact technical specifications resulted in savings. iii) Marine Living Resources (MLR) and Fisheries Oceanographic Research Vessel (FORV) BE - Rs. 8 crores RE - Rs. 6 crores The variation was mainly due to reallocation of priorities among the programmes.

iv) Gas Hydrate Exploration and Technology Development for Exploitation BE - Rs. 30 crores RE - Rs. 12 crores Non-availabilty of suitable collaboration partner for technology development of coring systemand non-availability of seismic vessel in market due to sudden spurt in hydrocarbon exploration, resultedin reduced expenditure.

v) Acquisition of new Research Vessel BE - Rs. 70 crores RE - Rs. 55 crores The savings is due to rescheduling of payment for acquiring the vessel in accordance with the finalized contract.

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vi) National Institute of Ocean technology (NIOT) BE - Rs. 87 crores RE - Rs. 47 crores The savings is due to delay in commissioning in operation of barge based desalination plantowing to unforeseen rough sea weather and delay in obtaining clearances for advance action proposalfor acquisition of land towards development of sea front facilities. vii) Comprehensive Swath Bathymetric Survey of Indian EEZ

BE - Rs. 9 crores RE - Rs. 4 crores Due to non-availability of Research Vessel, ship days were reduced leading to the reduction inanticipated expenditure. viii) Ocean Data Buoy Programme BE - Rs. 25 crores RE - Rs. 18 crores The variation was mainly due to reallocation of priorites among the programmes necessitatingdeferment of certain activities to the next financial year. ix) IT and Computers BE - Rs. 3 crores RE - Rs. 1.75 crores The savings is due to reduced requirement of grants for the IT component from the autonomous bodies of the Ministry. x) Tsunami and Storm Surge Warning System BE - Rs. 95 crores RE - Rs. 56 crores The savings is due to delay in finalization of hardware/software required for the programme. xi) India Meterological Department BE – Rs. 105.00 crores Actual – Rs. 85.54 crores 7.2. During the year expenditure shortfall was due to delay in procurement of DCWDS, approval for procurement and installation of High Performance Computing System, delay in procurement ofAutomatic Message Switching System (AMSS) systems and Telecom Facilities at field stations andapproval for procurement of Agromet Equipments. 7.3 The Committee expresses its dissatisfaction on the Ministry’s replies in providing same old excuses like delay in acquiring clearances, procurement and installation of technological systems, non-availability of research vessel and other such procedural delays for disproportionate variations in the utilisation of allocated funds under various programmes. This reflects the serious instances of bad planning and management on the part of Ministry. The Committee is of the view that Ministry should strategically plan all its activities to avoid such administrative delays in future as far as possible and should also aspire for timely implementation of all the major schemes/projects. 8. PHYSICAL AND FINANCIAL TARGETS AND ACHIEVEMENTS DURING Xth FIVE

YEAR PLAN 8.1 The Planning Commission approved an outlay of Rs. 1125 crores for the Xth Five Year Plan programmes of Ministry of Earth Sciences. The programmes of the Ministry in Xth Five Year Plan period were directed towards:



• Technology Development Programmes for future applications with strategic, industrial and economic significance

• Societal Programmes with direct/indirect benefit for the community by technology applications and pilot project demonstration with the participation of the community for their socio-economic prosperity, and for coastal area development/ management through scientific tools and techniques

• Marine Resources Programmes for exploration of marine living and non-living resources, techno-economic studies to evolve strategies for sustainable exploration and utilisation, and resource enhancement

• Multi-institutional and multi-disciplinary Polar Science Programmes and Antarctic Expeditions with scientific and geo-political significance

• Capacity Building Programme towards self-reliance through basic scientific research in ocean sector, human resource development and establishing Centres of Excellence in academic institutions

• Creation of public awareness of ocean, it’s potential and uses



8.2 The highlights of the achievements are as follows: • A site in Larsemann Hills selected for 3rd Indian Antarctic station, • Regular Indian Scientific Antarctic Expedition on yearly basis, • Special expedition to Southern Oceans, • An ice-core drilling laboratory established at NCAOR to conduct paleooceanographic study, • Development and demonstration of desalination technology to cater to the needs of freshwater in

coastal states and island territories of India, • The setting up of a desalination plant in Lakshadweep islands with a capacity of generating 1 lakh

litre freshwater per day based on technologies developed has brought direct benefits to the islander community and more than 1 crore litre of freshwater has been generated so far,

• Providing of Potential Fishing Advisories to fisherman, and Ocean State forecast for various stake holders, benefiting 7 million fishing community of the coastal states and island territories, by reducing search time and improving catch per unit effort up to 50 %

• Setting up an interim early tsunami & storm surge warning system, • Strengthening of ocean observing network by deployment of state-of-the-art technology data buoys

and Argo floats, to operational weather forecast and climate variability studies, • Indigenous development of buoys, tide gauges to meet the requirement of ocean observations, • Development and transfer of technology of lobster and crab fattening for the benefit of smaller

fisherman community, • Networking of institutions for conducting polar research, • Completion of geophysical surveys for delineation of Continental Shelf • Oceanographic surveys and analysis of data for claiming extended Legal Continental Shelf • Close grid surveys in the allotted area in the Central Indian Ocean Basin under polymetallic nodule

programme, • Establishment of Extractive metallurgical pilot plant for validation of process package to extract

Copper, nickel and cobalt from the nodules found at the seabed, • Design development and demonstration of Remotely Operable Vehicle at 200m depth, • Development and testing of shallow bed mining module at 451m depth, • Construction of Dyke at Haldia port leading to reduced cost of dredging, consultancy services to

Sethusamudram & Kalpasar projects, • Launch of clinical trials two potential drugs (antidiabetic and antihyperlipedemic) from the marine

organisms (Phase-I single dose clinical trials completed successfully), • Conducting multi-disciplinary studies to assess the Marine Living Resources in the Indian seas, and

to understand a large scale variation of fishery resources, • Development of shoreline management plans in selected coastal sensitive areas and establishment of

marine ecotoxicology labs and carrying out ecotoxicology study, • Continued systematic monitoring of coastal pollution to assess the health of the coastal seas of

India, • Strengthened basic research through setting up of a network of Ocean and Atmospheric Science &

Technology Cells and • Demonstration of leadership in the Indian Ocean region to address common issues of the countries

in the region 8.3 Regarding the mechanism that exist, in the Ministry to monitor and review the progress of itsongoing schemes/projects, the Committee was informed that the Ministry had been adopting a threelevel Monitoring Mechanism to oversee implementation of the programmes. For the formulation of XIth

Five Year Plan the Ministry has taken an advanced action for setting up a Group of Experts withmembers who are experts in Ocean Atmospheric Science & Technology prior to the constitution of a



Working Group of the Planning Commission. The Group of Experts had a brain storming session inOctober 2005, to review the existing programme and formulation of programmes for the future. Subsequently, a Working Group was also constituted as per the instructions of the Planning Commissionwhich met a couple of times to discuss and finalise the report of the Group of Experts. Accordingly, a Working Group Document has been prepared and submitted to the Steering Committee on Science &Technology under the Chairmanship of Dr. R. Chidambaram.

8.4 Towards monitoring the mission mode programme, like Tsunami project, two separate committees have been set up viz., Project Management Board and Steering Committee for periodicalreview and assessment of the programmes. Besides, each programme of the Ministry is having aseparate Monitoring Committee with Experts from the relevant specific evaluation of the projects. With regard to R&D projects, an internal mechanism exists for periodical review and consideration. The recommendations are put up to Steering Committee and Management Board for approval andmonitoring the projects. 8.5 The autonomous bodies have a two-level of separate monitoring mechanism, in addition to theSteering Committees for each of the programme being implemented with respect to the centre. These are the Finance Committee under the chairmanship of Financial Adviser of the Ministry and theGoverning Council under the chairmanship of Secretary, Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES). The day-to-day progress of the projects is also being reviewed through weekly meetings by the Secretary, MoES. It has been informed that on an half yearly basis, all the activities of the Ministry are being reviewed bythe Member, Planning Commission besides the annual review conducted by the Secretary, PlanningCommission. Performance of the Ministry will also be apprised to the Earth Commission. 8.6 The Ministry is going to abandon the project “Geophysical Studies of Laxmi Basin” launched during Xth Five Year Plan as work has been completed under the project. Another activity, which has been abandoned for the time being, is Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion, generating energy usingvertical temperature in the ocean, due to lack of technological infrastructure. 8.7 The Committee has observed that allocation of funds under the “Manpower Training” is negligible, in spite of the fact that imparting training to its manpower especially scientists/technologistshould be one of the major objective of the Ministry as unskilled or under-skilled manpower could not result in the high quality performance. A lot of strength in terms of manpower and the areas of strength are being slowly eroded. Moreover, in most of the institution, substitutions in terms of manpowerrequirements are not there. The Committee observes that there is a need to look at this aspect more so inthe context of the maintaining the classical strength of the sciences. The Committee, therefore, recommends the Ministry to evolve a well-planned mechanism in this regard and make sure that fundsallocation must be made as per its requirements. 8.8 The Committee during its interaction with the Secretary, Ministry of Earth Sciences had observed that there is stagnation in the scientific fields and there is lack of promotional avenues. TheCommittee strongly advocates the Ministry to initiate a comprehensive programme, which would have apositive impact on scientific fraternity and will keep them motivated to aspire for higher achievements. 9. POLAR SCIENCE/ANTARTIC RESEARCH 9.1 The Antartic Research programme has been designed to take advantage of the unique locationand environment of the icy continent for understanding the key global processes, which are manifestedand controlled by this Polar cap. The Antarctic is a pristine and natural laboratory, which enablesscientists to study, detect and monitor global phenomena, such as the atmospheric patterns and oceancirculations. Glaciological and geophysical research provides clue to the geological history andevolution of the earth. In addition, Antarctica provides a singular platform for conducting studies onsolar terrestrial interaction, adaptation of organisms, including human beings in the cold land isolated



conditions, Antarctic /Polar Research and Antarctic scientific expeditions to Antarctica would becontinued during the year 2007-08. 9.2 The Antarctic mission objectives of Ministry is to plan, promote, co-ordinate and execute the polar science and logistic activities of the country, in order to ensure a perceptible and influentialpresence of India in Antarctica. It also upholds nation’s strategic interests in the global framework of nations in the Antarctic continent and the southern oceans expressed through our Consultative status inthe Antarctic treaty. As a treaty obligation to demonstrate India’s sustained interest in Antarctica by conducting substantial scientific activities such as the establishment of a scientific station and thedispatch of annual scientific expeditions. Accordingly, a scientific work plan, which is dynamic and isaimed towards addressing issues pertinent to our national needs and those that have global relevance andis of international standard may be pursued. 9.3 On the occasion of 25th year of Indian presence in Antarctica, a special expedition to the Southern Ocean and Larsemann Hills of East Antarctica was launched onboard the Research VesselAkademik Boris Petrov on 25th January 2006 to carry out Swath Bathymetric Surveys in the approach tothe Larsemann Hills area where India has proposed its new station. Indian Antarctic Programme was organized by NCAOR at Goa, on May, 2006 after the debriefing of the 25th Indian Antarctic Expedition team. During the summer season of 2006-07, a team of 12 logistic and 13 scientific personnel was sent by flight from Cape Town, South Africa to Antarctica availing the Dornning Maud Land Air Link(DORMLAN) facilities, in November, 2006. Ice-core drilling for more than 70 m was done in the shelf in November-December, 2006. The research work carried out as planned includes (i) Meteorology and Atmospheric Sciences, (ii) Earth Science and Glaciology (iii) Biology and Environmental Sciences: 9.4 For Polar Science, the approved outlay is Rs. 20 crore, which would be given as Grants-in-aid to National Centre for Antarctic & Ocean Research (NCAOR) for launching the 27th Scientific Expedition to Antarctica, carrying out scientific experiments, initiating Southern Ocean cruise and project ongeological evolution of northern Indian Ocean; Rs. 1 crore towards collaborative research in Spitzbergen(Arctic research), and Rs.15 crore to NCAOR for the institutional and logistic activities related toestablishment of the Third permanent Indian Base in the Larsemann Ranges, maintenance of the permanent research station “Maitri” at Antarctica and infrastructure development, operation & manning of the NCAOR. This outlay is required to initiate new research in the fields of Southern OceanOceanography, Arctic studies, ice-core drilling, Antarctic lake studies, Antarctic Global Change Research and Polar Environment & Ecology. To venture into the frozen Antarctic an Ice-Class research vessel is needed for which an outlay of Rs. 1 crore is provided. To execute the seismic surveys there isneed to install a Multi-Channel Seismic (MCS) system onboard any of the Ministry’s research vessels for which an outlay of Rs.5 crore is provided. Also a provision of Rs. 4 crore is towards developing thescience plan for 3 significant sites, one each in Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal and western Andamansunder the Indian involvement in Integrated Ocean Drilling Programme. In addition to the two ongoing programmes, two new schemes i.e. Expedition to Arctic and Ice-class Research Vessel have been proposed in the XIth Five Year Plan and a token amount of Rs.2.00 crores is provided. The Ministry is of the view that the total allocation will be sufficient for the ongoing as well as new programmes. 9.5 The Committee appreciates the research work carried out by the Ministry in the Antarctica. TheCommittee feels that given the extremity of the prevailing situation in this continent, the Ministry hastaken the initiative for the scientific exploration in such extreme cold conditions. The Committee desiresthat Ministry should undertake every possible institutional and logistic activity in respect ofestablishment of the third permanent Indian Base in the Larsemann Ranges and it may also aspire foryielding positive results, as a substantial amount of fund has been approved towards National Centre forAntarctic & Ocean Research (NCAOR) for such activities. However, notwithstanding different surveysinvolved, some target date should be fixed for completing the task undertaken, as in the absence of any



time frame, the project may loose the importance and urgency that is called for. 9.6 Environmental change and variability are part of the natural pattern on Earth. However, environmental changes currently witnessed in the polar region are in many ways more pronounced thanchanges observed in the mid-latitudes or tropical regions. Some ice shelves in Antarctica are retreating and thinning, glaciers are shrinking and in turn it is bearing effect on ecosystems. The Committee wouldlike the Ministry to carry out research and studies regarding impact of such climatic changes on humanrace. The Committee would also like to know the Ministry’s plans about participation in International Polar Year (IPY) 2007-2008 as nations around the world are making plans to participate in it. 9.7 The Committee recommends that two new schemes, viz Expedition to Arctic and Ice-class Research Vessel, which have been proposed in the XIth Five Year Plan, should be pursued in a well-planned and strategic manner. 10. POLYMETALLIC NODULES PROGRAMME 10.1 The Polymetallic Nodules Programme (PMN) is a national programme with internationalcommitments. The programme consists of four components - Survey & Exploration of Polymetallic Nodules in the Central Indian Ocean Basin (CIOB), Environmental Impact Assessment studies at CIOB,Technology Development for mining of nodules and Technology Development for extraction of metalsfrom nodules. The programme is guided and reviewed by the PMN Board of Management. The major effort during the Tenth Five Year Plan has been to optimally utilise the capabilities & infrastructurealready created at different National Laboratories for scientific and technological development. A sustained effort has been made to implement this programme in a more focused and well-defined manner. 10.2 In the case of Polymetallic Nodules Programme, an outlay of Rs. 15 crores has been provided. Under this programme, the activities planned include, continuation of survey of nodules in the CIOBfirst generation mine site along the selected profiles for identifying and validating the trends of higherabundance of nodules; continuation of Environmental Impact Assessment of simulated sea beddisturbance; research to upgrade existing mining system in a phased manner with a view to ultimatelymine the nodules at 6000m depth; development and testing of unmanned submersible capable ofoperation upto water depth of 6000m; and designing of a remotely Operated Vehicle for underwaterexamination; with continuation of testing new process routes and undertaking techno-economic studies for extracting metals from the crust. 10.3 During the year 2007-08, a provision of Rs. 2 crore has been made for the Ocean Awarenessprogramme towards organisation of Seminars, Symposia, Exhibitions, etc. Further a token provision ofRs.0.95 crore is made towards initiating activities for establishing a National Oceanarium by the end ofXIth Five Year Plan. 10.4 It has been noticed that the budgetary allocation has been decreased as compared to last year’s B.E. allocation. During the year 2006-07, the B.E. allocation was Rs. 19.00 crores, which was reduced to Rs. 14.85 crores in R.E. stage and this year the allocation is kept at Rs. 15.00 crores. In response to this, the Ministry has informed that the lower RE during 2006-07 is mainly due to non-availability of research vessel for demonstration of shallow bed mining system and teething problems atcommissioning of Ferrow-Silico Manganese pilot plant at National Metallurgical Laboratory, Jamshedpur. The lower outlays during 2007-08 are mainly due to the fact that components such as Survey & Exploration and Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) study under Polymetallic Nodules(PMN) programme are nearing completion. Hence, the provision of Rs. 15.00 crores made for 2007-08 would be sufficient to meet the requirements of other components. 10.5 The reason furnished by the Ministry for reduction of allocation during the year 2006-07 in R.E. stage is mainly due to non-availability of research vessel for demonstration of shallow bed mining



system and teething problems at commissioning of Ferrow-Silico Manganese pilot plant at National Metallurgical Laboratory, Jamshedpur. In the last year’s report on demands for grants the Committee had recommended the Ministry to avoid such procedural delays which result in non-utilisation of budget in fruitful manner. Consequently, in its action taken notes on the above-mentioned report, the Ministry had stated that such delays would be avoided in future. However, the same reasons have been furnishedthis year also. This reflects the lackadaisical attitude adopted by the Ministry about fulfilling itscommitment. The Committee once again reiterates that Ministry must approach its projects in result-oriented method and should not rely on such excuses for non-performance and giving stero-type reply every year on one issue or the other. 11. NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF OCEAN TECHNOLOGY 11.1 NIOT was established in 1993, as a society, under the Ministry, for development of ocean related technologies. The activities of NIOT cover five missions, viz. Energy and Freshwater from the Sea,Deep Sea Technology and Ocean Mining, Coastal and Environmental Engineering, MarineInstrumentation and Ocean Science and Technology for Islands. NIOT is also the nodal agency fordeploying floats under the Indian ARGO programme, for implementing the National Data Buoyprogramme, and for running and maintenance of two Coastal Research Vessels. NIOT is entrusted withimplementing mining technology development work under Polymetallic Nodules programme,development of Submersibles, and with part of the work under Drugs from Sea scheme. It hascommissioned on May 25, 2005 a one lakh litres of drinking water/day capacity desalination plant atKavaratti, Lakshadweep and a floating, barge-based 10 MLD demonstration plant off Chennai/ Ennoreis being designed for main land requirement. 11.2 The main mission areas initially identified with the available expertise and facilities within NIOTare as follows: • Ocean Energy • Deep Sea Technology and Ocean Mining • Coastal and Environmental Engineering • Marine Instrumentation • Ocean Science and Technology for Islands 11.3 For National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) an outlay of Rs. 20 crore including forIsland Development programme, is provided to carry out various R&D activities/programmes on sea bedmining, coastal engineering, and marine instrumentation which will be continued during the year. TheMinistry entrusted the work to NIOT for development of seafront facilities & manned submersible and aprovision of Rs. 10 crores and Rs. 5 crores respectively have been made. As an advance action for 10MLD Desalination Plant project, a provision of Rs.10 crores has been made. Also Rs. 1 crore is towardsDemonstration of Shore Protection Measures to tackle the menace of coastal erosion by taking up pilotprojects in selected areas of Indian coast. 11.4 During the year 2006-07, the allocation for the NIOT was Rs. 87.00 crores in B.E. stage, which wsignificantly reduced to Rs. 47.00 crores in R.E. stage. This year also it has been reduced to Rs. 20crores. The Ministry has stated that the fund provision was made towards Mission Mode programmesNIOT and an advance action proposal for land acquisition towards creation of seafront facilities procurement of barge required for future offshore demonstration of desalination plant. The savings wdue to delay in commissioning and operation of a barge mounted desalination plant off Chennai owingunforeseen rough weather as well as delay in obtaining clearances for land acquisition for sea frfacilities. Due to budgetary constraints during 2007-08, a bare minimum fund has been kept for variactivities of NIOT. 11.5 The Ministry stated further that during 2007-08, programmes like development of seafront facility, desalination plant of higher capacity which were included in NIOT budget, have been shown



separately as continuing schemes during XIth Five Year Plan and fund allocation have been made separately. 11.6 The Committee commends the activities of the Ministry in creating the requisite infrastructurefor carrying out technology development in the island for the benefit of island community, monitoringthe health of seas and initiation of programmes such as mud crab farming, open sea cage culture oflobsters and usage of fish aggregation devices which resulted in the overall economic development ofisland and coastal community. It desires that Ministry should strive for developing technologies tofacilitate the dissemination of data /data products to user communities. 11.7 The Committee observes that developing technology for mining of manganese nodules from Central Indian Ocean Basin (CIOB) from depth of 6000 m and development and test of the underwatermining system for long-term operation by using Dynamic Positioning System are potential objectives for the Ministry under the National Institute of Ocean Technology programme. The Committee is of theview that the long-term planning and effective implementation methods may be devised by the Ministry in this direction and it must see that this should be one of the prioritized areas of the Ministry. 11.8 The Committee also desires that the 10 MLD barge mounted Desalination Plant off Chennai/Ennore should be commissioned and operationalised at the earliest for which a budgetaryallocation of Rs. 10 crores has been made in the year 2007-08. The Committee also recommends that the Ministry must work hard to make such plant cost effective so that more and more such plants could beinstalled, since in the long run, it will be major source of providing safe drinking water to thecommunities living around the coastal areas. 12. OCEAN OBSERVATION & INFORMATION SERVICES 12.1 The Ocean Observation & Information Services Programme is designed to acquire time-series data and develop a wide range of ocean atmospheric models. The data acquired through Argo floats, Drifters, XBTs, Current Meter Arrays from the sea around India are being used for various operationaland research purposes including forecasting of cyclones and understanding the climate variability,Besides, 122 ARGO profiling floats have also been deployed in the Indian Ocean so far, to acquire real-time measurements of temperature and salinity profiles up to a depth of 2000 m with a view to improveunderstanding the monsoon variability. Besides real-time dissemination of data to various users, a set of 12 Argo data products are being made available through Indian National Centre for Ocean InformationServices (INCOIS) website. The ocean modeling and dynamics projects being carried out by reputednational agencies would address basic issues on the ocean dynamic, climate variability, ocean stateforecast, sea level variations, ocean flux studies etc. Some models generated under the programme have already been made operational at INCOIS. 12.2 For the Ocean Observation & Information Services, an outlay of Rs. 15 crore has been providedto cater to the science programmes, viz,. the Argo programme, fishing advisories, and developingvarious forecast capabilities. The separate provision of Rs.35 crore to Indian National Centre for OceanInformation Services (INCOIS) is mainly required for strengthening the IT infrastructure facilities suchas High Performance Computer facility at Hyderabad and for generating other end-user oriented data products and services. However, the Committee has been informed that during the year 2006-07 reduction was made at R.E. stage due to proposal of postponement of procurement of high PerformanceComputing System for the next year. 12.3 The Committee feels that the Ministry did not put enough efforts to procure the HighPerformance Computing System as per schedule and its procurement has been postponed. TheCommittee also feels that Ministry should have planned its actions well in advance so as to avoid thisnon-utilsation of funds and it must also be aware of the fact that delay in procurement of system couldlead to cost escalation and project could fall prey to cost overrun. 12.4 The Committee has been informed by the Ministry that a substantial amount of Rs. 35 crores



have been earmarked for the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS). TheCommittee recommends that services from INCOIS may be optimally used to provide oceaninformation and advisory services to society, industry, government agencies and scientific communitythrough sustained ocean observations, information management, modeling and constant improvementsthrough systematic and focussed research. 13. TSUNAMI AND STORM SURGE WARNING SYSTEM 13.1 The objective of the project is to establish a warning system for the oceanogenic disasters causedby tsunami and storm surges. The project is being carried out with participation of other concerneddepartments such as Science and Technology (DST), Scientific and Industrial Research, Space over aperiod of 30 months. The project is expected to strengthen the 7 seismic observation station of DST,establishment of 8-10 DART Observation Network, Instillation of real time tide gauge monitoring stations, 24 hours monitoring of the systems for generation of timely warning, etc. An interim tsunami warning center has been set up at INCOIS Hyderabad and 17 tide gauges and 3 bottom pressurerecorders have been installed as a part of this programme. 13.2 An allocation of Rs. 35 crore has been earmarked for Tsunami and Storm Surge Warning Systemmainly for indigenous development of Deep Ocean Assessment and Reporting systems and setting up of INSAT DART & INSAT Met data Reception system at INCOIS. 13.3 The commissioning and operation of the National Early Warning System to take care of any exigencies an Interim Tsunami Warning Centre (ITWC) has been established at Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS), Hyderabad. This is operational round-the-clock with active support of India Meteorological Department (IMD), Japan Meteorological Agency and Pacific TsunamiWarning Centre, using the information from Japan Meteorological Agency and Pacific TsunamiWarning Centre within 30 minutes after the earthquake in Indian Ocean. 13.4 A set of 20 acoustic tide gauges have been installed with GSM link and ISRO, with a two way communication. Two Coastal Radars have been installed off Chennai. Data from two Bottom Pressure Recorders out of about 12 envisaged to be placed in the Indian Ocean (Bay of Bengal & Arabian Sea), is being received. Implementation is underway for strengthening of seismic network by establishing 17broadband inter connected seismic stations for near real time monitoring of Earthquakes A Central Receiving Station will be established at India Meteorological Department at New Delhi with parallelconnectivity at INCOIS, Hyderabad. Established V-SAT Communication at INCOIS for receiving realtime data from NIOT. At present real-time data is being received at INCOIS through V-SAT connectivity from tide gauges and Bottom pressure recorders. 13.5 The Committee would like the Ministry to put every possible efforts to see that the NationalEarly Warning System for tsunami and storm surge should be installed at Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS), in Hyderabad, as per its schedule i.e. September, 2007, sincethere is enough time to achieve the stipulated target and Ministry would be able to make use of thissystem to disseminate data to the concerned authorities as early as possible. 14. GAS HYDRATES & TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT FOR EXPLOITATION 14.1 During the year 2007-08, activities relating to the Exploration of Gas Hydrates with the aim ofidentification of areas in the seas around India and for coring system development with a budgetallocation of Rs.10 crore will be carried out. A programme of Comprehensive Swath Bathymetric survey with an allocation of Rs. 5 crore will be carried out with the aim to survey the ExclusiveEconomic Zone to support the activities relating to exploration of non-living resources in this area. 14.2 Last year the outlay was Rs. 30.00 crores. The Committee was given to understand that the lower outlay during 2007-08 is mainly due to non-availability of a specialized seismic vessel for chartering owing to unforeseen global spurt in hydrocarbon exploration. Under technology developmentcomponent, a Remotely Operated Submersible (ROSUB-2500) was developed. The system would be



qualified upto 2500 m water depths in phases. As a first phase, the system has been first tested at 250m water depth off Mangalore. A joint cruise was organized in November, 2006 on “Investigation of Gas Hydrates fields in Indian Ocean” between Russian Academy of Sciences, Russia and India. An Indo Russian seminar on gas hydrates was also organized at Chennai in February, 2007 to discuss the variousissues. 14.3 Efforts have been renewed for chartering suitable research vessel. Tender floated for charteringsuitable vessel for Gas hydrates considering high cost of charter hire. The Ministry is exploring possibilities to install MCS system on its research vessel for doing this job and overcome this difficultyin future. 14.4 Objectives of the programme for this year are as follows:

• Identification of favourable areas for Gas Hydrates occurrences. Selection of 3-4 suitable areas. • Application of state of art processing/modeling for resource evaluation. • Quantification of gas reserves through rock physics based modeling • To understand the genesis of hydrate formation • To ascertain the nature and distribution of gas hydrates • Recommendation of suitable sites for drilling; and

Ground truth validation (core drilling/logging) and technology development

14.5 The Committee is of the view that gas hydrates have the potential of providing total energysecurity to our nation. The Ministry in association with Centre for Scientific and Industrial Research andother laboratories, should focus on scientific research with special emphasis on resource evaluation andenvironmental impacts and development of technology for detection and qualification of gas hydrates insediments. 15. NEW RESEARCH VESSEL 15.1 During the year 2007-08, the allocation has been hiked to Rs. 100.00 crores as compared to last year’s Rs. 70.00 crores in B.E. stage, which was significantly reduced to Rs. 55.00 crores in R.E. stage.In response to a query raised in this regard, the Ministry has stated that the savings during the year 2006-07 is mainly due to reduced rescheduling of payment for acquiring the research vessel inaccordance with the finalized contract. The total fund requirement for acquisition of new vessel beingthe same, the allocation during 2007-08 has been enhanced to Rs. 100.00 crores to meet the commitment. The outlay during 2007-08 would be required for completion of the project as per scheduleby the end of 2007. 15.2 The Committee has been given to understand that the total fund requirement for acquisition of new research vessel has remained same as last year’s and the reasons furnished for the reduction in R.E.stage has been attributed to rescheduling of payment for acquisition of research vessel in accordancewith the finalized contract. In view of the above, the Committee would like the Ministry to state reasonsfor allocation of enhanced amount of Rs. 30 crores in place of Rs. 15 crores. The Committee would likethe Ministry to provide details in this regard. The Committee recommends that Ministry may work hardto launch the new research vessel in its stipulated time schedule i.e. by the end September, 2007 to avoidproject cost overrun. 16. MARINE RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT 16.1 The objectives of the programme are to foster the concept of stewardship through education,training and human resource development and increasing awareness at all levels. The activities proposedin the programme include promotion of research under the basic categories of marine ecology, marinebiology, marine microbiology, marine benthos, coastal marine culture systems, marinegeology/geophysics and ocean engineering & underwater robotics. Besides the ongoing programme ofaward of fellowships to students for pursuing higher studies in academic/educational institutions invarious disciplines of ocean science and technology, organizing exhibitions and fairs to create awarenessamong the public on the oceans would continue.



16.2 The Scientific Research and Technology Development programmes for exploration andsustainable use of the marine resources are multi-disciplinary and multi-institutional. Basic research and developments are required in a wide spectrum of areas to gain adequate knowledge and expertise. Required infrastructure and trained personnel are essential for successfully implementing differentprogrammes. There is need for effective interaction between R&D institutions, academicians andindustries. The sub-programmes under this programme are as under :

(i) Assessment of Marine Living Resources and FORV (ii) Drugs from Sea (iii) Assistance for Research Projects and Manpower Training (iv) Coastal Ocean Monitoring and Prediction System (COMAPS) (v) Ocean Awareness (Exhibitions & Fairs, Seminars/Symposia)

(vi) Integrated Coastal and Marine Area Management (ICMAM) (vii) Deep Sea Mineral Exploration

(viii) BENFAN – project related to Bay of Bengal (ix) Comprehensive Swath Bathymetry of Indian EEZ (x) Gas Hydrates Exploration & Technology Development for Exploitation

16.3 Under “Oceanographic Survey and Marine Living Resources”, the budget provisions are mainly for running operational and maintenance of Research Vessels- Fisheries Oceanographic Research Vessel (FORV) and Oceanographic Research Vessel (ORV) and Marine Living Resources programmes. Thereason for decline in B.E. in 2007-08 compared to 2006-07 is mainly due to additional expenditure incurred for ORV Sagar Kanya, which had undergone a major retrofitting/ dry-docking during the year 2005-06. Besides, due to reduced allocation for Ocean Development activities, the budget size of MLRprogramme has also been reduced. The Ministry has taken steps to expand further its MLR activitieswith more institutional participations during XI Plan period. However, during the First Supplementary stage efforts would be made for the additional fund requirement to meet the gap. 16.4 The FORV - Sagar Sampada has been exclusively used to meet the requirements towards implementation of Marine Living Resources programme. The vessel undertook 14 cruises including 2short calibration cruise, covering the Bay of Bengal (BOB), Arabian sea and Andaman waters, sailing atotal distance of 28,809 nm in 281 days of streaming and collecting data from 296 stations. 16.5 Trawl surveys were conducted in the depth range 200 - 1000 m at 41 stations covering the east and south west coast of India and recorded a total of 77 species of deep-sea fishes belonging to 51 families of shrimp, deep-sea lobsters. The private trawlers based at Mangalore have already startedexploiting these resources; 16.6 Towards the development of indigenous electronic tags for tracking tuna species, two tags with micro controller 16F88 containing special features such as low power consumption, built-in oscillator, low pin count, more program memory, etc. have been developed. These tags were fitted with light andpressure sensors and were experimentally tested for its performance in air. 16.7 The occurrences of algal blooms in the Indian EEZ were monitored. Benthic productivity studieswere carried out at 30 stations along 5 transects each in the continental slope of BOB region and theArabian Sea. 16.8 More than 500 oysters were collected under “Farming and Pearl Production in the Blacklip PearlOyster project, for brood stock development, nucleus implantation and studies on growth and fouling.Surgical implantation trials were carried out in more than 100 oysters. Presently 33 implanted oystersare in stock. 16.9 In addition, the Ministry has set up a Data and Referral Center at Centre for Marine Living Resources and Ecology (CMLRE) in Kochi. Phytoplankton, zooplankton, benthic organisms and deep-sea fish samples collected during FORV cruises 165-243 were sorted to genus level and preserved at the



Center in separate vials. 16.10 The Committee notes with satisfaction that Fishery Oceanographic Research Vessel (FORV)Sagar Sampada had been extensively used last year to meet the requirements of the Marine Living Resources programmes and undertook fourteen cruises and collected data from a large number of stations. The Committee, however, feels that scientific facilities on board FORV Sagar Sampada may beupgraded to international standards and must also be used to promote mass awareness of ocean relatedactivities. 16.11 The Committee observes that the Ministry in accordance with the Ocean Policy statement enunciated by the Government of India during 1982, must lay emphasis on training of skilled manpowerin the ocean sector for creating self-reliant technological base and encouraging participation ofscientists/technologists and engineers in the programmes of ocean development. It also feels thatMinistry should keep promoting basic and applied research in the area of ocean science and technology,in academic institutions as well as national research institutes/organizations. 17. Three meteorological institutions mainly devoted to Weather Modelling, viz India Meteorological Department (IMD), National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting (NCMRWF) and Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) have been transferred to the newlycreated Ministry of Earth Sciences since June, 2006. 18. INDIA METEOROLOGICAL DEPARTMENT 18.1 India Meteorological Department (IMD) is one of the oldest scientific institutions of the country. It is the national agency for providing weather forecast & cyclone warnings. It is also the nodal agencyfor monitoring seismic activities in the country. The main objectives of the Department lie in: Forecasting and provision of climatological statistics for operational planning in various field ofAgriculture, Aviation, Water Conservation, Oceanography, Industries, Astronomy etc. It maintains anetwork of large number of observatories for acquisition of surface and upper air weather data. Itspecifically issues weather forecast and timely disaster warning of severe weatherconditions/phenomena including cyclones; provides adequate aviation meteorological services forefficient air navigation as per mandatory requirements; provides inputs to Flood Forecasts andadvisories to Agricultural Planners, Fishermen, Mountaineers etc. 18.2 The IMD has a network for monitoring Seismic activity over the territory of India for locating intensity and centers of earthquakes and to understand their processes & mechanisms. It has a network for monitoring ozone, acid precipitation, atmospheric aerosol and Radiation which are all importantenvironmental indicators. 18.3 It has its own workshop for manufacturing equipments that are deployed in the basicobservational network and procures specialized equipment required for sophisticated monitoring andanalysis. It is the nodal agency in the country for calibration and standardizing of several types ofmeteorological equipment. It carries out and promotes research and development work in Atmosphericand Meteorological Sciences and imparts meteorological training to persons of developing countriesunder WMO programmes and to Departmental, State Government and Defense services personnel. 18.4 The total outlay for 2007-08 has been fixed at Rs 453.67 crores. Since India MeteorologicalDepartment (IMD) being the nodal Government agency in the country responsible for making systematic observations of weather and climate and providing weather related warnings/forecasts to allsectors of activity, it is proposed to upgrade/modernize the observational network and modelingcapability. 18.5 IMD prepared detailed Preliminary Feasibility Report which was submitted to PlanningCommission in August, 04. Planning Commission gave guide-lines for modernization of IMD and advised the newly created Ministry of Earth Sciences in May’2006 to review the whole proposal and take a holistic view of the plan by integrating the observational requirements for oceans as well. The



essential elements of the project are to. Replacement of old manual observation equipments. Networking of various observation systems to a Central Data Processing and Information System.

Integration of entire infrastructure & decision support system merging model output with synoptic reasoning Visualization & dissemination of processed information in real time to users. To undertake the above it is required to have the Super computing facility and continuous Human resource development.

18.6 The Committee feels that on one side the occurrence of cyclones is very frequent in coastalregions of India and on the other monsoon is not regular. Besides, monsoon droughts over the Indiansubcontinent produce calamitous impacts on agriculture and industry that cut across all sectors ofsociety. This requires setting up of a network of Doppler Weather Radars and upgradation of computersystem along the coasts for accurate weather and rainfall prediction. The Committee would appreciate ifthis is taken up on priority and is linked with the tsunami prediction mechanism, which is likely to beput in place in the near future. This would prove to be an effective solution to problems faced due toerratic weather phenomena. 18.7 The Committee desires that the assurances made by the Ministry of Earth Sciences, duringinteraction with the Committee regarding bringing India Meteorological Department (IMD) at par withworld-class weather forecasting network in next two- three years should be realized and not just remain an assurance.



19. INDIAN INSTITUTE OF TROPICAL METEOROLOGY 19.1 The Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Pune established in 1962 has been functioning as a national centre for basic and applied research in monsoon meteorology of the tropics ingeneral and with special reference to India and neighbourhood. Its broad objective is to enhance theknowledge in atmospheric sciences by identifying, planning and conducting research programmes onproblems of national and international importance. The Institute has made significant contributions inthe challenging areas of the Atmospheric Sciences like weather forecasting, climatology,hydrometeorology, monsoon, climate modelling, climate change, cloud physics, weather modification,atmospheric chemistry, atmospheric electricity, instrumentation for the observational studies and studiesrelating to land surface processes. The IITM provides its input to the India Meteorological Departmentfor the national forecast of seasonal monsoon rainfall of the country. The Institute has built upimportance and expertise for the study of atmospheric sciences in India and for application of theknowledge as a national resource in terms of weather, climate and related atmospheric processes. 19.2 An important national need is to have reliable extended range prediction of the monsoon and to establish India’s stand on a variety of issues related to global warming and climate change. While recognizing this need, it is also recognized that basic research is crucial for improving any predictioncapability. Keeping this national need in mind while nurturing some of the existing projects on basicresearch, a new programme on “Climate Dynamics and Extended Range Prediction of Monsoon” has been proposed in the XIth Five Plan of the Institute. Total Allocations for all schemes of IITM , Puneduring 2007-08 is Rs. 17 crores. 19.3 Proposed areas of research and schemes

A system for long range prediction of seasonal mean monsoon and extended range prediction of active/break spells is proposed to be developed.

• Estimation of monsoon climate under different climate change scenarios is proposed. A focused observational and modeling effort to improve understanding of clouds and its interaction with environment leading to precipitation is proposed. A large pool of trained manpower on specialized area is required for success of the above programmes. A multi pronged approach to build this manpower is proposed. An appropriate computing system with very high number of crunching capability and having large memory, automatic data storage and retrieval system with sufficient storage capacity is proposed.

19.4 The Committee observes that prediction of duration of Indian summer monsoon breaks is highly desirable. It is required by farming communities to plan water resource management, sowing andharvesting activities. It recommends that Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) has to widenits objectives and scope of research activities to meet the critical challenges and the national needs forproviding information relating to various aspects of atmosphere and the increasing concern among theGovernment and general public about a variety of environmental issues. 20. NATIONAL CENTRE FOR MEDIUM RANGE FORECASTING 20.1 The National Centre For Medium Range Forecasting (NCMRWF) was created as a mission mode project of the Government in 1988 and continues to function in the same mode. The mandate ofthe Centre was to provide medium range location specific forecasts to farmers through development ofAgro-Advisory Service for the 127 Agro-climatic zones(ACZ) of the country. In this regard theNCMRWF has established links with different Agricultural Universities and Indian Council ofAgricultural Research (ICAR) research centres spread across the country. 20.2 Noting the complex nature of the problem, to provide forecasts beyond a couple of days, an end-to-end Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) system based on a global Atmospheric General Circulation Model (AGCM) was implemented and made operational in June 1994. This involved use of voluminousglobal meteorological and oceanographic data, their assimilation to provide initial conditions, numericalmodels, and high end computing resources. The atmospheric data for the modeling activity is provided



by IMD, which it gets through the Global Telecommunication Hub of the World MeteorologicalOrganization. The NWP system generates forecasts up to seven days in advance. Over a period of timeAgromet Advisory Service (AAS) Units were started and until March 2006, 107 units have been opened.Presently forecasts in respect of meteorological parameters relevant for planning agricultural operationsare provided up to 4 days in advance twice a week to these units which formulate Agromet Advisoriesbased on these forecasts. Only 20 units remain to be opened for which sites have already been identifiedand efforts are on to make them functional. Forecasts over the country up to a week in advance are alsobeing provided to Crop Weather Watch Group in the Ministry of Agriculture. The project has fulfilledthe given mandate. 20.3 The Committee feels that the thrust of weather forecasting should be on its accuracy and there is a need to ensure higher degree of precision in our weather forecasting system. The Ministry should consider enhancing the accuracy of the forecasts by constantly upgrading the techniques and models of prediction with the use of available, reliable and accurate satellite data and techniques. 21. After considering the Demands for Grants of the Ministry of Earth Sciences and assessing the progress of various important programmes and projects administered by it, the Committee recommends that the budgetary allocation of Rs. 887 crores, as sought by the Ministry for the year 2007-08, under Demand No. 29, may be approved.

SUMMERY OF RECOMMENDATIONS

1. While agreeing with the reasons furnished by the Ministry in respect of less expenditure during the first quarter, the Committee feels that Ministry must plan its programmes in such a manner that itmay utilize maximum percentage of allocated budget in the financial year itself so that there should beminimum carry forward of the unspent balance to the next financial year. Therefore, the Committeerecommends that there should be regular infusion of funds in various schemes/projects in all the quartersof the financial year and it should also evolve a suitable mechanism in this regard to avoid such situationin the XIth Five Year Plan.(Para 6.5) 2. The Committee expresses its dissatisfaction on the Ministry’s replies in providing same old excuses like delay in acquiring clearances, procurement and installation of technological systems, non-availability of research vessel and other such procedural delays for disproportionate variations in the utilisation of allocated funds under various programmes. This reflects the serious instances of bad planning and management on the part of Ministry. The Committee is of the view that Ministry should strategically plan all its activities to avoid such administrative delays in future as far as possible and should also aspire for timely implementation of all the major schemes/projects. (Para 7.3) 3. The Committee has observed that allocation of funds under the “Manpower Training” is negligible, in spite of the fact that imparting training to its manpower especially scientists/technologistshould be one of the major objective of the Ministry as unskilled or under-skilled manpower could not result in the high quality performance. A lot of strength in terms of manpower and the areas of strength are being slowly eroded. Moreover, in most of the institution, substitutions in terms of manpowerrequirements are not there. The Committee observes that there is a need to look at this aspect more so inthe context of the maintaining the classical strength of the sciences. The Committee, therefore, recommends the Ministry to evolve a well-planned mechanism in this regard and make sure that fundsallocation must be made as per its requirements. (Para 8.7) 4. The Committee during its interaction with the Secretary, Ministry of Earth Sciences had observed that there is stagnation in the scientific fields and there is lack of promotional avenues. TheCommittee strongly advocates the Ministry to initiate a comprehensive programme, which would have apositive impact on scientific fraternity and will keep them motivated to aspire for higher achievements.

(Para 8.8)



5. The Committee appreciates the research work carried out by the Ministry in the Antarctica. TheCommittee feels that given the extremity of the prevailing situation in this continent, the Ministry hastaken the initiative for the scientific exploration in such extreme cold conditions. The Committee desiresthat Ministry should undertake every possible institutional and logistic activity in respect ofestablishment of the third permanent Indian Base in the Larsemann Ranges and it may also aspire foryielding positive results, as a substantial amount of fund has been approved towards National Centre forAntarctic & Ocean Research (NCAOR) for such activities. However, notwithstanding different surveysinvolved, some target date should be fixed for completing the task undertaken, as in the absence of anytime frame, the project may loose the importance and urgency that is called for.

(Para 9.5)6. Environmental change and variability are part of the natural pattern on Earth. However, environmental changes currently witnessed in the polar region are in many ways more pronounced thanchanges observed in the mid-latitudes or tropical regions. Some ice shelves in Antarctica are retreating and thinning, glaciers are shrinking and in turn it is bearing effect on ecosystems. The Committee wouldlike the Ministry to carry out research and studies regarding impact of such climatic changes on humanrace. The Committee would also like to know the Ministry’s plans about participation in International Polar Year (IPY) 2007-2008 as nations around the world are making plans to participate in it. (Para 9.6) 7. The Committee recommends that two new schemes, viz Expedition to Arctic and Ice-class Research Vessel, which have been proposed in the XIth Five Year Plan, should be pursued in a well-planned and strategic manner. (Para 9.7) 8. The reason furnished by the Ministry for reduction of allocation during the year 2006-07 in R.E. stage is mainly due to non-availability of research vessel for demonstration of shallow bed miningsystem and teething problems at commissioning of Ferrow-Silico Manganese pilot plant at National Metallurgical Laboratory, Jamshedpur. In the last year’s report on demands for grants the Committee had recommended the Ministry to avoid such procedural delays which result in non-utilisation of budget in fruitful manner. Consequently, in its action taken notes on the above-mentioned report, the Ministry had stated that such delays would be avoided in future. However, the same reasons have been furnishedthis year also. This reflects the lackadaisical attitude adopted by the Ministry about fulfilling itscommitment. The Committee once again reiterates that Ministry must approach its projects in result-oriented method and should not rely on such excuses for non-performance and giving stero-type reply every year on one issue or theother. (Para 10.5) 9. The Committee commends the activities of the Ministry in creating the requisite infrastructurefor carrying out technology development in the island for the benefit of island community, monitoringthe health of seas and initiation of programmes such as mud crab farming, open sea cage culture oflobsters and usage of fish aggregation devices which resulted in the overall economic development ofisland and coastal community. It desires that Ministry should strive for developing technologies tofacilitate the dissemination of data /data products to user communities. (Para 11.6) 10. The Committee observes that developing technology for mining of manganese nodules from Central Indian Ocean Basin (CIOB) from depth of 6000 m and development and test of the underwatermining system for long-term operation by using Dynamic Positioning System are potential objectives for the Ministry under the National Institute of Ocean Technology programme. The Committee is of theview that the long-term planning and effective implementation methods may be devised by the Ministry in this direction and it must see that this should be one of the prioritized areas of theMinistry. (Para 11.7) 11. The Committee also desires that the 10 MLD barge mounted Desalination Plant off Chennai/Ennore should be commissioned and operationalised at the earliest for which a budgetary



allocation of Rs. 10 crores has been made in the year 2007-08. The Committee also recommends that the Ministry must work hard to make such plant cost effective so that more and more such plants could beinstalled, since in the long run, it will be major source of providing safe drinking water to thecommunities living around the coastal areas. (Para 11.8) 12. The Committee feels that the Ministry did not put enough efforts to procure the HighPerformance Computing System as per schedule and its procurement has been postponed. TheCommittee also feels that Ministry should have planned its actions well in advance so as to avoid thisnon-utilsation of funds and it must also be aware of the fact that delay in procurement of system couldlead to cost escalation and project could fall prey to cost overrun. (Para 12.3) 13. The Committee has been informed by the Ministry that a substantial amount of Rs. 35 croreshave been earmarked for the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS). TheCommittee recommends that services from INCOIS may be optimally used to provide oceaninformation and advisory services to society, industry, government agencies and scientific communitythrough sustained ocean observations, information management, modeling and constant improvementsthrough systematic and focussed research. (Para 12.4) 14. The Committee would like the Ministry to put every possible efforts to see that the NationalEarly Warning System for tsunami and storm surge should be installed at Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS), in Hyderabad, as per its schedule i.e. September, 2007, sincethere is enough time to achieve the stipulated target and Ministry would be able to make use of thissystem to disseminate data to the concerned authorities as early as possible. (Para 13.5) 15. The Committee is of the view that gas hydrates have the potential of providing total energysecurity to our nation. The Ministry in association with Centre for Scientific and Industrial Research andother laboratories, should focus on scientific research with special emphasis on resource evaluation andenvironmental impacts and development of technology for detection and qualification of gas hydrates insediments. (Para 14.5) 16. The Committee has been given to understand that the total fund requirement for acquisition of new research vessel has remained same as last year’s and the reasons furnished for the reduction in R.E.stage has been attributed to rescheduling of payment for acquisition of research vessel in accordancewith the finalized contract. In view of the above, the Committee would like the Ministry to state reasonsfor allocation of enhanced amount of Rs. 30 crores in place of Rs. 15 crores. The Committee would likethe Ministry to provide details in this regard. The Committee recommends that Ministry may work hardto launch the new research vessel in its stipulated time schedule i.e. by the end September, 2007 to avoidproject cost overrun. (Para 15.2) 17. The Committee notes with satisfaction that Fishery Oceanographic Research Vessel (FORV)Sagar Sampada had been extensively used last year to meet the requirements of the Marine Living Resources programmes and undertook fourteen cruises and collected data from a large number of stations. The Committee, however, feels that scientific facilities on board FORV Sagar Sampada may beupgraded to international standards and must also be used to promote mass awareness of ocean relatedactivities. (Para 16.10) 18. The Committee observes that the Ministry in accordance with the Ocean Policy statement enunciated by the Government of India during 1982, must lay emphasis on training of skilled manpowerin the ocean sector for creating self-reliant technological base and encouraging participation ofscientists/technologists and engineers in the programmes of ocean development. It also feels thatMinistry should keep promoting basic and applied research in the area of ocean science and technology,in academic institutions as well as national research institutes/organizations. (Para 16.11) 19. The Committee feels that on one side the occurrence of cyclones is very frequent in coastalregions of India and on the other monsoon is not regular. Besides, monsoon droughts over the Indiansubcontinent produce calamitous impacts on agriculture and industry that cut across all sectors ofsociety. This requires setting up of a network of Doppler Weather Radars and upgradation of computer



system along the coasts for accurate weather and rainfall prediction. The Committee would appreciate ifthis is taken up on priority and is linked with the tsunami prediction mechanism, which is likely to beput in place in the near future. This would prove to be an effective solution to problems faced due toerratic weather phenomena. (Para 18.6) 20. The Committee desires that the assurances made by the Ministry of Earth Sciences, duringinteraction with the Committee regarding bringing India Meteorological Department (IMD) at par withworld-class weather forecasting network in next two- three years should be realized and not just remain an assurance. (Para 18.7) 21. The Committee observes that prediction of duration of Indian summer monsoon breaks is highly desirable. It is required by farming communities to plan water resource management, sowing andharvesting activities. It recommends that Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) has to widenits objectives and scope of research activities to meet the critical challenges and the national needs forproviding information relating to various aspects of atmosphere and the increasing concern among theGovernment and general public about a variety of environmental issues. (Para 19.4) 22. The Committee feels that the thrust of weather forecasting should be on its accuracy and there is a need to ensure higher degree of precision in our weather forecasting system. The Ministry should consider enhancing the accuracy of the forecasts by constantly upgrading the techniques and models of prediction with the use of available, reliable and accurate satellite data and techniques. (Para 20.3) 23. After considering the Demands for Grants of the Ministry of Earth Sciences and assessing the progress of various important programmes and projects administered by it, the Committee recommends that the budgetary allocation of Rs. 887 crores, as sought by the Ministry for the year 2007-08, under Demand No. 29, may be approved. (Para 21)

MINUTES XII

TWELFTH MEETING The Committee met at 11.00 a.m. on Tuesday, the 3rd April, 2007 in Room No. 139, First

Floor, Parliament House Annexe, New Delhi.

PRESENT 1. Shri P.G.Narayanan –– Chairman

RAJYA SABHA

2. Dr. Prabha Thakur 3. Shri Suryakanthbhai Acharya 4. Shri Bhagirathi Majhi 5. Shri Saman Pathak 6. Shri Jabir Husain 7. Dr. Barun Mukherjee

LOK SABHA

8. Dr. Sujan Chakraborty 9. Shri Thupstan Chhewang

10. Shri Francis Fanthome 11. Shri Babubhai K. Katara



12. Shri Brahmananda Panda 13. Smt. Neeta Pateriya 14. Shri Pratik Prakashbapu Patil 15. Shri Bachi Singh ‘Bachda’ Rawat 16. Shri K.C. Singh “Baba” 17. Smt. Jayaben B. Thakkar 18. Shri Mitrasen Yadav 19. Shri Sita Ram Yadav

Shri R.K.Singh, Officer on Special Duty Shri Alok Chatterjee, Deputy Secretary

Representatives of the Ministry of Earth Sciences

1. Dr. P.S. Goel, Secretary, 2. Shri Prakash Kumar, Joint Secretary (Admn.) 3. Shri S.K. Das, Scientist ‘G’ 4. Dr. B.R. Subramaniam, Scientist ‘G’ 5. Shri Rasik Ravindra, Director, NCAOR, Goa 6. Prof. B.N. Goswami, Director, IITM 7. Shri Dinesh Kumar, Director (F) 8. Shri R.C. Bhatia, DG, IMD 9. Shri Dr. S. Kathiroli, Director, NIOT, Chennai 10. Dr. Shailesh Nayak, Director, INCOIS, Hyderabad 11. Shri A.K. Bhatnagar, Addl. DG, IMD 12. Dr. A.K.Bohra, Director, NCMRWF 13. Dr. Swati Basu, Scientist ‘G’

* * *

2. The Chairman welcomed the Secretary and other officials of the Ministry of EarthSciences and requested the Secretary to make a presentation on Demands for Grants (2007-08)of the Ministry. Thereafter, the Secretary made a visual presentation regarding the major activities formulated for the year 2007-08 andachievements of the Ministry during the year 2006-07. He also mentioned about the budgetaryallocations under different heads as also the functioning of the Ministry. Thereafter, Memberssought clarifications on the points that emerged out of the presentation. The Secretary repliedto them. The officials then withdrew. 3. * * * 4. * * * A verbatim record of the proceedings was kept. 5. The Committee then adjourned at 05.30 p.m. to meet again at 11.00 a.m. on Wednesday,the 4th April, 2007. _______________________________________________________________________ *** Relate to other matters

SECRETARIAT



XIV FOURTEENTH MEETING

The Committee met at 11.00 a.m. on Friday, the 20th April, 2007 in Room No. ‘63’, FirstFloor, Parliament House, New Delhi. PRESENT

1. Shri P.G. Narayanan ----- Chairman RAJYA SABHA

2. Shri Kamal Akhtar 3. Shri Jabir Husain 4. Dr. Barun Mukherjee

LOK SABHA

5. Dr. Sujan Chakraborty 6. Shri Thupstan Chhewang 7. Shri Francis Fanthome 8. Shri Brahmananda Panda 9. Shri Pratik Prakashbapu Patil

10. Shri Bachi Singh ‘Bachda’ Rawat 11. Shri Aruna Kumar Vundavalli 12. Shri Mitrasen Yadav

SECRETARIAT Shri R.K. Singh, Officer on Special Duty Shri Alok Chatterjee, Deputy Secretary Shri S. Rangarajan, Committee Officer

2. The Committee took-up for consideration its draft ***, ***, ***, 173rd, ***, *** and *** Reports onthe Demands for Grants (2007-2008) pertaining to the ***, ***, ***, Ministries of Earth Sciences, ***, ***and *** respectively. The Committee adopted all the reports with some minor changes. 3. * * * 4. The Committee also decided to present all the seven reports (170th to 176th) on 26th

April, 2007 in both the Houses of Parliament. The Committee authorized its Chairman and inhis absence Dr. Barun Mukherjee to present the reports in Rajya Sabha and to lay the copies ofthe reports on the table of Lok Sabha by Dr. Sujan Chakraborty and in his absence by ShriThupstan Chhewang. 5. * * * 6. The Committee then adjourned at 12.05 p.m. ________________________________________________________________________ *** Relate to other matters.

# Smt.Viplove Thakur ceased to be a Member of the Committee w.e.f. 30th November, 2006

* Shri Rampal Singh Nominated to the Committee w.e.f. 8th December, 2006.



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