Lok Sabha Question No. 2253 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-03-12
Subject: Weather and Agro Advisory Status
Ministry: EARTH SCIENCES
Asked by: Shri Parshottambhai Rupala

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF EARTH SCIENCES LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2253

## TO BE ANSWERED ON WEDNESDAY, 12 TH  MARCH, 2025

## WEATHER AND AGRO ADVISORY STATUS

## 2253.   SHRI PARSHOTTAMBHAI RUPALA:

Will the Minister of EARTH SCIENCES be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the  Government  has  recently  emphasised  about  weather  advisory  followed  by agro Advisory and if so, the details thereof; and
- (b) the manner in which the current system is working and the time by which local level, block level/village level advisory will be issued by using Village Panchayat?

## ANSWER

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

- (a)-(b)  The India Meteorological Department  (IMD)/Ministry  of Earth  Sciences  (MoES) provides operational Agrometeorological Advisory Services (AAS) viz., Gramin Krishi Mausam Sewa (GKMS) scheme specifically for the benefit of the farming community in the  country.  Under  the  scheme,  the  IMD  generates  medium-range  weather  forecasts (temperature, rainfall, wind, relative humidity and cloud amount) for the next 5 days at district and block levels and rainfall and temperature forecasts for the subsequent week at meteorological  sub-division  level.  Based  on  the  realized  rainfall  and  other  weather parameters  along  with  weather forecasts  issued  by  the  IMD,  130  Agromet  Field  Units (AMFUs)  located  at  State  Agricultural  Universities  (SAUs),  institutes  of  the  Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), and Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), etc., prepare  agro-met  advisories  on  every  Tuesday  and  Friday  for  the  districts  under  their jurisdiction and  communicate  to  the  farmers  to  take  the decision  on  day-to-day agricultural operations such as selection of type of crops and varieties, appropriate time for sowing, harvesting, irrigation, fertilizer application etc.

Along with the biweekly bulletins, daily weather forecasts and nowcast information are also  disseminated  to  the  farmers  by  the  Regional  Meteorological  Centers  (RMCs)  and Meteorological Centers (MCs) of IMD. Impact-based forecasts (IBFs) for agriculture are also  being  prepared  by  AMFUs  based  on  the  severe  weather  warnings  for  different districts  of  various  States  and  UTs  across  the  country  issued  by  National  Weather Forecasting Centre (NWFC), New Delhi and RMCs and MCs of IMD.

Agromet Advisories are disseminated to the farmers through multichannel dissemination systems  like  print  and  electronic  media,  Door  Darshan,  radio,  internet,  etc.,  including SMS using  mobile  phones  through  Kisan  Portal  and  through  private  companies  under Public  Private  Partnership  (PPP)  mode.  SMS-based  alerts  and  warnings,  along  with suitable remedial measures, are sent during extreme weather events like cyclones, deep depressions, etc., through the Kisan Portal.

Farmers  access  weather  information,  including  alerts  and  related  agromet  advisories specific  to  their  districts,  through  the  mobile  App  viz.,  'Meghdoot'  launched  by  the Ministry  of  Earth  Sciences,  Government  of  India.  These  weather  details  are  also accessible to farmers through the 'Mausam' App. To extend real-time weather updates to rural  farmers  for  making  appropriate  decisions  on  farm  operations,  AMFUs  also  use Social  media  platforms  like  'WhatsApp',  'Facebook',  'YouTube'  etc.,  to  disseminate weather forecasts, severe weather warnings, and agro-met advisories.

For enhancement of outreach of AAS, IMD has recently taken the initiative to integrate the service with the State Government IT platforms (Mobile apps/Websites). So far, the integration process has been completed for 16 State Governments, viz., Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Meghalaya, Nagaland,  Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan,  Tamil  Nadu,  Uttar  Pradesh and Uttarakhand and farmers of these States are accessing the information in English and regional languages from their State Government IT platforms.

The ministry recently launched the Gram  Panchayat Level Weather Forecasting (GPLWF)  initiative.  The  India  Meteorological  Department,  in  collaboration  with  the Ministry  of  Panchayati  Raj  (MoPR),  launched  the  GPLWF  for  nearly  all  Gram Panchayats  in  India  on  24th  October  2024.  These  forecasts  are  accessible  on  digital platforms such as e-Gramswaraj (https://egramswaraj.gov.in/), the Meri panchayat app, eManchitra of MoPR, and Mausamgram of IMD (https://mausamgram.imd.gov.in/).

To enhance the reach and effectiveness of the GKMS services, IMD is actively engaging with various stakeholders, including State agriculture departments, NGOs, and SAUs, to create  awareness  among  the  farming  community  by  organizing  Farmers'  Awareness Programs (FAPs) in collaboration with AMFUs across different regions of the country. Additionally,  IMD,  along  with  experts  from  AMFUs,  actively  participates  in  Kisan Melas,  Farmers'  Day  Programmes,  and  field  visits,  facilitating  direct  interaction  with farmers to promote the utilization of these weather-based agricultural advisory services, thereby maximizing their benefits for the farming community.

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