India's climate research hampered by lack of indigenous scientific instrumentation.
A Mega Science Vision-2035 report on Climate Research highlights India's critical deficiency in indigenous scientific instrumentation. The report states that India has lost the capacity to build quality scientific instruments, leading to heavy reliance on expensive imported equipment. These imported instruments are often used without proper understanding or calibration, resulting in questionable data and hindering credible research. While prototypes are developed, they rarely transition into industrial products. The report advocates for a pan-India Climate and Health Observatory and emphasizes indigenous instrument manufacturing, supported by assured procurement. It also calls for studies on renewable energy's long-term effects, social cost of carbon estimation, and addressing the shortage of trained manpower.
Key Points
- India's climate research is significantly hindered by its inability to produce indigenous scientific instruments.
- Reliance on imported instruments, often uncalibrated and poorly understood, leads to unreliable data and impacts research credibility.
- Despite successful prototype development, there's a failure to translate these into industrial products.
- The Mega Science Vision-2035 report proposes a pan-India Climate and Health Observatory and calls for indigenous manufacturing with assured procurement.
- The report also highlights the need to study renewable energy's long-term effects, estimate the social cost of carbon, and address manpower shortages.
Exam Facts
- The Mega Science Vision-2035 report on Climate Research was prepared with IISc, Bengaluru, as the nodal institution.
- The report was submitted to the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser (PSA).
- India has pledged 500 GW of non-fossil capacity by 2030.
- The Government e-Marketplace (GeM) portal's mandatory use for scientific institutions was rolled back in June 2025.
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