Lok Sabha Question No. 2955 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-12-17
Subject: Technology Development for Disaster Management and Climate Resilience
Ministry: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Asked by: Shri Anup Sanjay Dhotre

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2955 ANSWERED ON 17/12/2025

## TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT FOR DISASTER MANAGEMENT AND CLIMATE RESILIENCE

## 2955.   SHRI ANUP SANJAY DHOTRE:

Will the Minister of SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government is leveraging science and technology to address health, agriculture, and environmental challenges and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) whether technologies are being developed for disaster management and climate resilience and if so, the details thereof;
- (c) the manner in which innovations are translated into affordable products and solutions for rural areas;
- (d) the details of the role of Government in promoting Sustainable Development Goals through technology; and
- (e) the details of outreach programs to increase public awareness
- of scientific advances?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) OF THE MINISTRY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY AND EARTH SCIENCES (DR. JITENDRA SINGH)

- (a)      Government has launched nine (9) National Missions under the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) for leveraging Science and  Technology  to  address  health,  agriculture  and  environmental challenges.  The  NAPCC  provides  an  overarching  framework  for  all climate  actions  through  the  implementation  of  different  National missions  in  specific  thematic  areas,  including  Solar  energy,  Energy efficiency, Water, Sustainable agriculture,  Himalayan  ecosystem, Sustainable  Habitat,  Green  India,  Strategic  knowledge  for  Climate Change and Health.

Under  NAPCC,  the  Department  of  Science  and  Technology  (DST)  is implementing  two  (2)  National  Missions, viz.  National  Mission  for Sustaining the Himalayan Ecosystem (NMSHE) and National Mission of Strategic Knowledge  for Climate Change  (NMSKCC),  which  are dedicated  to  promote  scientific  research  &  other  developmental activities in different thematic areas.

Under NMSKCC, Centres of Excellence (CoEs) have been established at International  Crops  Research  Institute  for  the  Semi-Arid  Tropics (ICRISAT), Hyderabad; Banaras Hindu University (BHU), Varanasi; Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU), Coimbatore and Indian Council of Medical Research - National Institute of Malaria Research (ICMR-NIMR), New  Delhi  for  coordinated  research  on  Agriculture,  Health,  Climate adaptation and Resilience. Furthermore, a Task Force project has been also supported to carry out research on Himalayan Agriculture under the  NMSHE.  In  addition,  the  Department  of  Biotechnology  (DBT)  is supporting research for improving the crops and human health.

- (b)         A  number  of  technologies  are  being  developed  for  Disaster management and Climate resilience with Government support. DST and the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) have supported research on Early Warning Systems for cyclones, floods, landslides, heatwaves, lightning, drought,  and  Glacial  Lake  Outburst  floods  (GLOFs).  DST  has  also supported the bilateral (India-Dutch) collaborative  projects focused on Floods and Drought extremities in both India and the Netherlands for the  development  of  Digital  Twins  for  Adaptive  Urban  Resilience  to Water Extremities, Low-cost Disaster Emergency Services for Communities and AI enabled smart forecasting systems. Moreover, DST has established a dedicated CoE on Disaster Risk Reduction at Indian Institute of Technology, (IIT) Roorkee. Besides this, the Indian Council of  Agricultural  Research  (ICAR)  is  promoting  'smart  technologies', precision farming, remote sensing, Geospatial tools, digital agriculture, and automation to make  farming more efficient, resilient, and sustainable.  Further,  DST  and  DBT  have  also  supported  research projects for the development of Climate-Resilient varieties of rice and chickpea.
- (c)       Through various initiatives of the Government, innovations are being translated into affordable and accessible products for rural areas. DST and DBT promotes grassroot innovations into community solutions for Sanitation, Water, Energy, agriculture, and small-scale livelihoods to foster inclusive and sustainable rural development through society based programs. The Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser (PSA), implements an initiative, the Rural Technology Action Group (RuTAG) to adapt  and  deploy  technologies  tailored for rural needs  e.g., affordable  Water  purifiers,  Energy-efficient  devices  and  Agricultural tools.

Besides this, the Government also supports startups and entrepreneurship through incubation networks under its various flagship  programmes  such  as  National  Initiative  for  Developing  and Harnessing Innovations (NIDHI), Atal Innovation Mission, S&T

Entrepreneurship Development initiatives, and Common Facility Centres.

- (d)       DST promotes Research in different sectors for improvement in livelihoods  of  weaker  sections,  expanding  access  to  Water,  Clean energy, Sanitation, infrastructure, and skills through technology intervention, which directly support multiple Sustainable Development Goals  (SDGs).  Another  initiative  'Global  Pilot  Programme  on  STI (Science, Technology and Innovation) for SDGs' launched by the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser (PSA), aims to prepare national and state-level roadmaps to drive SDG targets, prioritise key technologies for integration into planning.
- (e)           The  Government  of  India  has  several  outreach  programs  to increase  public  awareness  of  scientific  advances.  DST's  National Missions  on  Climate  Change,  i.e.,  NMSHE  and  NMSKCC,  have  a dedicated mandate for capacity building and public awareness on the impact of climate change and related issues. Under these missions, State  Climate  Change  Cells  (SCCCs)  have  been  established  in  30 States/UTs to improve outreach and community awareness. Additionally,  DST's  CoEs  on  Climate  Change  are  also  mandated  to conduct public awareness programs. Further, the National Council for Science & Technology Communication (NCSTC) of DST also implement programs  to  increase  public  awareness  for  scientific  advancement through mass media, digital content, training of science communicators, and grassroot science-communication.

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