India’s National Center for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) is working to provide real-time tsunami warnings and forecasts for the entire Indian Ocean region by commissioning its new high-performance computer ‘Tarang’, Director TM Balakrishnan Nair said on Monday.
Powered by artificial intelligence and machine learning (ML), the flagship system will improve sustained and uninterrupted operational services, provide high-resolution forecasting and enable 24/7 real-time modeling in the Indian Ocean, he said during the 27th foundation day celebrations held at the INCOIS campus in Pragatinagar.
The institute under the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) has also completed a web-based ocean forecasting advisory platform designed to support maritime security and coastal communities, the director said.
Dr. Emphasizing that last-mile science service delivery is people-centric, Nair said that along with improved tsunami warning and early warning systems through a common application forecasting framework, INCOIS is focused on forecasting low-profile but high-impact hazards such as surges and high waves that have caused loss of life in Kerala and Tamil Nadu in recent years.
Potential Fishing Zone (PFZ) alerts continue to benefit coastal communities and work is underway to make these alerts species specific. The institute has also strengthened global capacity building by training nearly 7,000 participants from 100 countries in various programmes.
ISRO Space Applications Center (SAC) Director Nilesh M. Desai announced that around one million fishing boats shorter than 20 meters will soon be equipped with transponders to help fishermen identify potential fishing areas, high waves, tsunami warnings and maritime boundaries. This information will be disseminated daily between 3:00 PM and 5:00 PM in 13 Indian languages.
SAC is working with INCOIS to develop sensors for ocean observations, Mr. Desai said, noting that combining satellite imagery with in situ observations greatly improves forecast accuracy. The upcoming launch of the Oceansat-3A satellite equipped with temperature, humidity and other sensors will further enhance ocean monitoring and ongoing research in areas such as ocean mixing, monsoon and the Deep Ocean Mission.
ISRO Chairman V. Narayanan appreciated the work of INCOIS and urged the scientists to prepare a 25-year vision document. Taking the recent launch vehicle failures as a lesson to improve systems, it also unveiled a new INCOIS logo and launched three user-centric ocean services: the Jellyfish Aggregation Information Interactive Portal, the SAMUDRA 2.0 mobile application and the Surge Vulnerability Advisory System for Kerala. UK Met Office science manager Gill Martin, Plymouth Marine Laboratory scientist Subha Sathyendranath and MoES financial adviser Yatinder Prasad also addressed the gathering.
INCOIS signed MoUs with SAC, Kerala Institute for Climate Change Studies and Association of Indian Women Entrepreneurs (ALEAP) to mark the occasion to enhance collaboration in satellite applications, ocean and climate services, research, innovation and capacity building.
Published – 09 Feb 2026 23:21 IST
