Monsoon Forecast

Monsoon Forecast

            The Long Range Forecast for the Southwest Monsoon indicates somewhat below normal rainfall for this year.  Briefing newspersons on the issue the Minister of Science & Technology and Earth Sciences Dr. Harsh Vardhan said the monsoon seasonal rainfall is likely to be 93% of the Long Period Average (LPA) with a possible error of plus or minus five percent (+5%). If the range in terms of percentage of the Long Period Average LPA is between 90 and 96, it is considered as ‘Below Normal’ rainfall forecast. Dr Harsh Vardhan had said that various higher authorities of the Central and State Governments have been informed of details of such forecast.  He said the forecast probability of a normal rainfall is only 28%.


            The Minister of State Shri Y.S Chowdary has that based on today’s forecast the Agricultural & Irrigation  and power departments will also give further advisories for farmers and hydel power projects.

            The Earth System Science Organization (ESSO) – India Meteorological Department makes the Southwest monsoon prediction in two stages and the 1st stage made today is a broad long range one which takes into consideration five predictors as follows:

S. No	Predictor	Period when measured
1	The   Sea Surface Temperature (SST) Gradient between North Atlantic  and  North Pacific	December + January
2	Equatorial South Indian Ocean SST	February
3	East Asia Mean Sea Level Pressure	February + March
4	Northwest Europe Land Surface Air Temperature	January
5	Equatorial Pacific Warm Water Volume	February + March

Details released with today’s forecast say that currently weak El Nino conditions are prevailing over the Pacific and these conditions are likely to persist during the Southwest monsoon season. El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) conditions over Pacific are known to have a strong influence on the Indian Summer Monsoon.  It says, IMD is carefully monitoring the sea surface conditions over the Pacific and Indian Ocean.

In the 2nd stage of forecast, ESSO- IMD year will update the forecast made today again in June this along with monthly forecasts for July and August,2015 for the whole country and separately for the four geographical regions of the country.

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Presence of hydroxyl and water molecules on the Moon

NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) spacecraft launched in June 2009 has detected the spectral signature of hydroxyl, a key indicator that water ice is present in the floor of the crater. The data from the LRO has also indicated that hydrogen bearing molecule deposits may be slightly more abundant on crater slopes in the southern hemisphere that face the lunar South Pole.

The data from the Moon Mineralogy Mapper onboard India’s Chandrayaan-1, launched on October 22, 2008 has indicated the presence of hydroxyl and water molecules on the lunar surface. Further, Mini-Synthetic Aperture Radar (Mini-SAR) instrument of Chandrayaan-1 has indicated existence of sub surface water-ice deposits in the base of the craters of permanent sun shadow region. A mass spectrometer based experiment on the Indian Moon Impact Probe (MIP) of Chandrayaan-1 also indicated presence of water molecules in the lunar exosphere.

It is concluded from the above results that hydroxyl and water molecules are present on the Moon. The molecules may be more prevalent beneath the lunar surface.

This information was given by MoS in the Prime Minister’s Office and Minister of State in the Ministry of Personnel, PG & Pensions, Dr Jitendra Singh in written reply to an unstarred question in the Lok Sabha today.


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Data collected from Remote Sensing satellites useful in various applications including mapping, monitoring and management of natural resources

The data collected from Remote Sensing satellites are used in various applications including mapping, monitoring and management of natural resources, urban planning, infrastructure development, rural development, management of natural disasters, weather and climate studies. The ways in which the remote sensing data are used include (i) Generation of thematic maps (such as land use/land cover, forest cover map, ground water prospect map, etc.,) in conjunction with conventional data (ii) Generation of value added products and advisory services such as potential fishing zones, agricultural advisories, etc., and (iii) Analysis/Modelling of data for Early warning of cyclones, Flood inundation mapping, land slide hazard zonation, etc.,

The beneficiaries/intended beneficiaries of remote sensing data include (i) Departments under Central Ministries dealing with Natural Resources Management& Infrastructure Development (such as Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Environment and Forest and Climate Change, Ministry of Water Resources, Ministry of Urban Development, etc.,), (ii) Various line Departments under State Governments, (iii) Local bodies including Gram Panchayat, (iv) Non Governmental Organisations, (v) Private / Public Sector establishments and Academia.

This information was given by MoS in the Prime Minister’s Office and Minister of State in the Ministry of Personnel, PG & Pensions, Dr Jitendra Singh in written reply to an unstarred question in the Lok Sabha today.

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Satellite Navigational System to benefit country in the areas of civil aviation, high sea and inland waterway navigation and other fields

In the area of satellite navigation, India has already established GPS Aided Geo Augmented Navigation (GAGAN) system primarily for the use by aviation sector. GAGAN provides improved position accuracy over the Indian region. This system is based on Global Positioning System (GPS) of USA.

Further, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has undertaken a project for developing an indigenous regional positioning system for India known as Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS). IRNSS consists of seven satellites in a constellation, three satellites in geostationary orbit (GEO) and four satellites in geosynchronous orbit (GSO). IRNSS will provide positioning and navigational services in Indian mainland and surrounding region upto 1500 Km. Out of the 7 satellites required in the constellation, four satellites namely, IRNSS-IA, 1B, 1C and 1D have already been successfully placed in the orbit.

GAGAN System has already been certified by Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to provide Non-Precision Approach services for “En-route Navigation” over Indian Airspace and it is expected to operationalise in the year 2015.

IRNSS is expected to operationalise in the year 2016.

The Satellite Navigational System will benefit the country in the areas of civil aviation, high sea and inland waterway navigation, rail transport, patrol services and vehicle tracking & fleet monitoring. The navigation system provides precise position & location information and accurate timing information to the users which will benefit the user by way of improved efficiency of operations, cost and time saving, enhanced safety of people, etc.

Australia, Japan, Republic of Korea and Russia have expressed interest for cooperation in satellite navigation and applications. The cooperation will be pursued on receiving specific proposals from these countries.

This information was given by MoS in the Prime Minister’s Office and Minister of State in the Ministry of Personnel, PG & Pensions, Dr Jitendra Singh in written reply to an unstarred question in the Lok Sabha today.

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 The National Implementation Committee on commemorations to hold its meeting tomorrow

The high level National Implementation Committee (NIC) on commemorations will hold its first meeting in New Delhi tomorrow to deliberate on the commemorations scheduled for this year. The meeting will be chaired by the Union Minister of Home Affairs, Shri Rajnath Singh.

The Government has approved a total of 11 new commemorations to be celebrated during the years 2015-16. Out of this six commemorations are due in 2015 for which a single National Implementation Committee has been formed under the chairmanship of the Home Minister.

These six commemorations are as under:-

1. Birth centenary of Rani Gaidinliu
2. 150th birth anniversary of Lala Lajpat Rai
3. 200th birth anniversary of Tatya Tope
4. 475th birth anniversary of Maharana Pratap
5. Birth centenary of Bhisham Sahni, and
6. 500 years of return of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu to Vrindavan

The members of the NIC include Shri Rajnath Singh, Home Minister as the Chairman. The E-officio members of the Committee include the Finance Minister, Shri Arun Jaitley, the Human Resource Development Minister, Smt. Smriti Zubin Irani, and Minister of State for Culture (Independent Charge), Tourism (Independent Charge) and Civil Aviation, Dr. Mahesh Sharma.

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Air Force Commanders’ Conference Concludes Today

The three-day Air Force Commanders' Conference concluded today at Air HQ, New Delhi. During the conference, the Air Force Commanders briefed the Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha on various issues relating to operational capability, maintenance and HR. Future plans for enhancing IAF's capability were also discussed. In his concluding address the Air Chief expressed satisfaction with the operational preparedness of the IAF to meet any challenge to National security. He also conveyed to the Commanders the Government's appreciation of the professionalism displayed by the IAF in execution of airlift of Indians from Yemen. He elaborated upon the fragile and tenuous situation in the neighbourhood and the importance of the IAF to remain ever prepared and vigilant and respond swiftly. In the end the CAS emphasised on mission accomplishment and mission safety as the cornerstone of IAF operations.

On the last day, representatives of Ordinance Factory Board (OFB), Bharat Dynamics Ltd (BDL)and Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) briefed the Air Chief in the presence of Secretary, Defence Production. The Air Chief expressed concerns over the delays in delivery schedules and their impact on operational readiness. He also expressed his concern on the effect of these delays on basic pilot training in the IAF. The OFB, BDL and HAL teams put on table the constraints on their side and both parties agreed to take the programmes forward through discussions and by working out mutually acceptable solutions.

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 Defence PRO in Chennai N Andavan Dies in A Road Accident

The Public Relation Officer of the Ministry of Defence in Chennai, Shri Natesan Andavan passed away this morning, succumbing to a grievous injury he had suffered in a road accident on Monday. He was 52.

Shri Andavan had joined the DPR set up of MoD in 2009 and in a very short time, he endeared himself to the media fraternity for his professionalism, amiable personality and an abiding interest in defence related issues.

During his tenure, he had travelled to almost all defence establishments in South India and provided publicity to their activities and achievements. He took active interest in Recruitment Rallies held at various locations in his area of responsibility and his contribution in generating enthusiasm among the youth for a career in the Armed Forces will be remembered for long. He also worked for the publicity of several editions of Aero India, held in Bengaluru, the premier aero show of Asia.

With an academic bent of mind, Shri Andavan had earned an M.Phil Degree in Mass Communication. He belonged to the 2009 batch of the prestigious Defence Correspondents’ Course conducted by the Directorate of Public Relations, Ministry of Defence. He was a regular contributor to the fortnightly Sainik Samachar, the oldest defence journal of the country. Before joining the DPR, he had worked with various media units of Ministry of I&B, including AIR, Doordarshan, DAVP, PIB and DFP.

Shri Andavan is survived by his wife Mrs S Joy, a News Editor with All India Radio, Chennai, a son and a daughter.

The Defence Minister Shri Manohar Parrikar has expressed shock and grief at the untimely demise of Shri Andavan. In a message, Shri Parrikar said, “Shri Andavan was a professional communicator who excelled in every aspect of journalism and public relations. He made a definite impact among the media fraternity. My heart goes out to the bereaved family at this critical moment in their lives.”

The Defence Secretary Shri RK Mathur and the Director General (Media and Communication), Shri Sitanshu Kar have offered condolences at the tragic passing away of Shri Andavan.

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