Bihar Signs Landmark Tripartite MoU with ISRO’s SAC and Meteorological Service Center for Disaster Management

On January 11, 2025, a tripartite agreement (MoU) was signed in Ahmedabad between Bihar State Disaster Management Authority, Bihar Meteorological Service Center and Space Application Center (SAC), an institution of Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO). Secretary Md. Waris Khan (IAS) on behalf of the Authority, Director Dr. C.N. Prabhu on behalf of Meteorological Service Center and Director Mr. Nilesh M. Desai on behalf of 'SAC' signed the MoU. Hon'ble Vice Chairman of the Authority Dr. Uday Kant, Hon'ble Member Mr. P.N. Rai and Hon'ble Member E. Shri Narendra Kumar Singh witnessed this important moment through video conferencing from Patna.

Under this agreement, continuous monitoring of disasters like flood, drought, heat wave, cold wave, lightning and to some extent earthquake will be possible. Along with this, it will also help in early warning of many types of disasters. With the help of satellite images, the depth of rivers can be known and outcome assessment (water flow estimation) can be done to reduce the damage caused by floods in Bihar. Data obtained from satellite can be used to implement disaster management policies. Under the agreement, students of Bihar pursuing higher education will be able to go to SAC and ISRO for research and study. The data obtained from them can be used for research.

On this occasion, Director Shri Nilesh M. Desai on behalf of SAC said that remote sensing data is important not only in disaster management but also for every sector. Bihar understood its importance and it is among those few states which made aggressive efforts to partner with us. Shri Desai said that today Bihar has shed its 'BIMARU' image and the speed at which it is progressing under the visionary leadership of Honorable Chief Minister Shri Nitish Kumar is an example. He expressed hope that this agreement will prove helpful in saving many precious lives and preserving precious structures.

Honorable Vice President of the Authority Dr. Describing this agreement as a milestone in the history of disaster management in Bihar, Uday Kant said that this will significantly increase our existing ability to accurately predict disasters like flood, drought, heat wave, cold wave and lightning. He said that a large part of Bihar state, which is adjacent to Nepal, is in the most prone zones of earthquakes, four and five. The effect of the earthquake in Tibet on 9 January was also felt in Bihar. Experts have expressed the possibility of more earthquakes in the Hindukush region in the near future. In countries like China and America, a lot of work is being done on earthquake prediction through artificial intelligence. If the team of scientists of SAC also works in this direction for the authority, then it will be very beneficial in the context of Bihar. SAC agreed to this. The Honorable Vice President also suggested to SAC to study the strength of the embankments built along the rivers in the state. If there is information about where the condition of the embankment is weak, then these can be saved from breaking. The destruction caused by floods can be prevented. There was consensus on working on this subject as well. The Hon'ble Vice President said that many formulas for forecasting weather including earthquakes have been mentioned in Indian ancient literature. 'SAC' decided to work jointly with the Authority and the Weather Service Centre to test these formulas on the touchstone of the latest scientific resources available with them.