Is climate research hampered by local devices?

Story so far:

Released this week, the Mega Science Vision-2035 report on climate research is a plan prepared by the Indian Climate Research Community with the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru as the nodal institution and submitted to the Office of the Principal Science Adviser (PSA) to the Government of India.

What is its central message?

The central message of the report is that India has effectively lost the ability to build its own scientific instruments. “Virtually no company in India today makes quality scientific instruments for climate research,” it said, adding that “billions of rupees have been and continue to be spent on purchasing instruments made elsewhere.” Worse, imported instruments are often used “without knowledge of the principle of operation, built-in assumptions… and their limitations” and are left uncalibrated for years – producing “incorrect data reported in national and international journals, often raising questions about the credibility of Indian science,” the report said.

What is the Mega Science Vision exercise?

The Mega Science Vision exercise, historically used to plan large, long-term projects in nuclear and high-energy physics, was extended for the first time to climate, ecology and astronomy research and facilitated by the PSA office under the leadership of Prof. Ajay K. Sooda. The working group chaired by prof. SK Satheesh, with former Indian National Center for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) Director Dr. SSC Shenoi, as member-secretary, has consulted with more than 3,000 researchers. Crucially, the document calls itself a “climate research community document” of “hopes and aspirations” whose projects are “indicative” – it is neither a mandatory prescription nor a statement of government policy or funding.

Has India not built any climate instruments of its own?

They build prototypes, but rarely products. The report states that Indian engineers can design and demonstrate tools “some of which have already been successfully demonstrated” but “are not often translated into final industrial products”. Examples include the automatic profiling floats developed at the National Institute of Ocean Technology for ocean observations and the automatic weather stations of the Indian Meteorological Department and ISRO. Although they have been transferred to industry, “most of them have not yet reached the market”. It is clear that the first phase of the proposed sensor program is an audit to determine why such technologies are not being scaled up to production. The proposed remedy – mandating that most instruments be made in India, with support for assured procurement and pricing – is inconsistent with recent experience: the Government e-Marketplace (GeM) portal, which is mandatory to support domestic vendors, was canceled for scientific institutions in June 2025 after scientists found it was preventing access to customized, high-quality equipment.

Why study uncontrolled renewables?

Although renewable energy appears to be the right solution to replace polluting sources, the report warns that studies are needed to assess the long-term effects of uncontrolled extraction of natural resources – although it insists that renewable energy must remain a priority to maintain the current momentum. India, which has committed to 500 GW of non-fossil capacity by 2030, will surpass half of installed capacity by 2025. The report also calls for scientific methods to estimate the social cost of carbon, a “polluter pays” mechanism to prevent the atmosphere from becoming a landfill, and measures to balance the burden of carbon taxation on the poor.

What else is important in the message?

The report proposes an all-India climate and health observatory as part of a major project on adaptation and resilience, reflecting how poorly India tracks climate-related health impacts. It outlines eight mega projects involving observation networks, indigenous sensors, satellites, two strands of climate modelling, field campaigns, carbon neutrality research and adaptation science, which will be overseen by a high-level summit committee. When it comes to science, it treads contested ground, supporting a dense network of black carbon observatories despite disputed claims about its relative role in global warming. It points to India’s thin paleoclimate networks as a gap in understanding the monsoon’s deep past and the risk of tipping points such as ice sheet collapse and shifts in ocean circulation. It also warns of limited trained manpower, including environmental epidemiology.

Published – 04 Jun 2026 08:30 IST