KOCHI: Union Minister for Science and Technology and Environment Dr Harshvardhan on Tuesday said that as part of the Rs 400-crore National Monsoon Mission, monsoon data at block level will be available across India. “We will use a dynamic model that will enable the scientists to demystify the erratic pattern of monsoon at local level so that farmers and others can benefit,” Dr Harshvardhan said while addressing the press after dedicating the world’s first and unique 205 MHz Stratos-phere-Troposphere (ST) Radar Centre at Cusat on Tuesday. Addressing a meeting later, Dr Harshvardhan told scientists to have social responsibility like Corporate Social Reasonability.
“You should go for inventions that benefit the common man and not limit yourselves to publishing papers,” he said. The minister also said that the labs of CSIR are being thrown open to students of Class IX and X in Kendriya Vidyalayas so that they are exposed to high-end experiments taking place in these labs. “They will be able to see beyond theories and such exposure can inculcate scientific temper and a passion for science,” Dr Harshvardhan said. He said that the ST- Radar facility at Cusat which is included in Prime Minister’s ‘Make in India’ project will bring a revolutionary change in atmospheric research. “This project is unique in terms of time resolution and height coverage (up to 20 km) to scientifically observe various climatic issues centred at Kochi,” he said and added that the state government will have to involve in the future funding of the project.
The unique location of the radar at Cochin, a region nestled between the Arabian Sea and Western Ghats, is best suited for the study of monsoon dynamics rather than any other location in the country. Prediction on heavy rainfall events, occurrence and evolution of thunderstorms, turbulence studies can be accurately done using this radar. The inaugural functional was attended by vice-chancellor Dr J. Letha, V.K. Ebrahim Kunju MLA and Dr K Mohan Kumar, among others.
