The Indian Institute of Technology in Bombay (IIT-Bombay) is collaborating with the India Meteorological Department (IMD), under the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), to develop tech-enabled climate solutions for the stakeholders at the village, city, and district levels. The solutions include sensors and drone-based smart monitoring systems, climate-smart agriculture technology for water and food security, and intelligent and automated early warning systems.
The agreement will also develop smart power grind management, explore climate and health, and generate wind energy and heatwave forecasts. According to a government press release, the partnership is expected to yield:
- Climate forecast and information-based smart applications using artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) for agriculture, irrigation, and health sectors.
- Meteorological aviation, observational, and instrumentation applications.
- Climate change policy information and human resource development.
Climate change is an urgent challenge that needs significant strategic attention to develop solutions that are immediate, scalable, and cost-effective, the release stated. IIT-Bombay’s initiative with IMD is part of India’s efforts to have net-zero carbon emissions by 2070. The institute also aims to establish a centre of excellence (CoE) in climate services and solutions within the Interdisciplinary Programme in Climate Studies (IDPCS). It will leverage the expertise of its students and faculty members to conduct solution-oriented research that can help mitigate climate change, the release added. IDPCS at IIT-Bombay was set up in 2012 and receives major financial support from the Department of Science and Technology.
A recent report by the Council on Energy, Environment, and Water said that India needs cumulative investments of US$ 10 trillion to attain net-zero by 2070. This is in line with global assessments that the world needs more than US$100 trillion to address climate change. This is possible only through partnerships between governments and the private sector as well as international cooperation.
India is working with several countries to develop and speed up innovation in environmentally-friendly technologies. Earlier this year, India and Finland agreed to work together on carbon-neutral technology. Indian officials believed that Finland’s leading role in clean and green technologies will help India’s drive towards sustainable development.
India is also working with Australia and in February, the two sides signed a letter of intent (LoI) to drive down the cost of new and renewable energy technologies and scale up the manufacturing of ultra-low-cost solar and clean hydrogen. As OpenGov Asia reported, under the agreement, the two sides will work on energy efficiency technologies, grid management, and research and development collaboration on flue gas desulphurisation, biomass or hydrogen co-firing, water cycle optimisation, renewables integration, batteries, and electric mobility.
Officials stated that the partnership reflected each country’s respective strengths and the government’s commitment to working with like-minded partners on low emissions technologies. More than 90% of solar cells globally use Australian technology. Over the next ten years, India will be one of the largest adopters of solar technology in the world and Australian innovators are well-placed to tap into this market. Ultra-low-cost solar and clean hydrogen technologies are priorities under Australia’s Technology Investment Roadmap. The roadmap is expected to inform around $18 billion of government investment in the decade to 2030 and produce $70 billion of new investment in low emissions technologies.
