Industry Odisha Bureau, Oct 19: Over 96% of 50,510 planned weather sensors remain uninstalled. Private partners blame a land shortage and IMD rules on ground installation. The delay could weaken data used for crop insurance.
More than 96% of the sensors planned under India’s weather data programme remain uninstalled. The rollout is at least a year behind schedule, The Hindu reported. Completion rates are in single digits. A land shortage is crippling progress, according to the private firms carrying out the work.
They also allege the India Meteorological Department (IMD) is retrospectively demanding ground-level installations. The IMD wants sensors placed on the ground rather than on rooftops. Its officials say this is needed for accurate data.
The Weather Information Network and Data System (WINDS) aims to build a nationwide sensor network. It is meant to supply hyper-local, or highly localised, weather data. The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare runs it. The Mahalanobis National Crop Forecast Centre (MNCFC) executes it. States set up the network through appointed private partners.
The data are mainly meant for crop insurance. They help compute estimates and payouts under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY). PMFBY is the government’s main crop insurance scheme. Rainfall can vary sharply between neighbouring villages. Dense local readings help match claims to the weather farmers actually faced.
Three companies were collectively asked to install the equipment, The Hindu confirmed. They are Skymet Weather Services and Azista Industries. The third is Ingen Technologies Private Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Weather Risk Management Services. Their combined brief covers 1,197 automatic weather stations (AWSs). It also includes 49,313 automatic rain gauges (ARGs), making 50,510 sensors in all. Weather stations track several variables, while rain gauges measure rainfall alone. Deploying so many units across scattered rural sites is a major logistical task.
Site rules lie at the centre of the dispute. Rooftops can be easier to secure, especially in crowded villages and towns. Ground sites need suitable open land, which firms say is scarce. Each new site can add negotiation time and cost. IMD officials counter that ground placement ensures accurate readings. Rooftops can distort measurements through wind effects, heat and obstructions. Standard siting makes readings comparable across stations.
The delay carries costs beyond the project timeline. Without dense local data, insurance estimates may rest on sparser readings. That matters amid uneven monsoons, dry spells and extreme rainfall events. Farmers in varied terrain could gain most from granular data.
The delay is a setback for the agricultural ministry’s push to modernise farm data. It also exposes familiar strains in public-private projects. Technical standards, land access and coordination must align for work to move. The challenge is to speed installation without compromising data quality. Reliable readings, after all, are the network’s entire purpose.
