Examine the role of institutions like IITM Pune in strengthening India's indigenous climate science capacity.

Q. Examine the role of institutions like IITM Pune in strengthening India's indigenous climate science capacity. (15 marks, 250-350 words)

Indigenous climate science capacity means the ability to observe, model and project climate change through domestically owned systems rather than borrowed ones. The Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Pune — an autonomous institute under the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) [1] — illustrates both the achievements and the remaining gaps in this transition.

Building home-grown modelling capability - IITM's Centre for Climate Change Research developed the IITM Earth System Model (IITM-ESM), India's first Earth System Model, whose projections were contributed to the IPCC's Sixth Assessment Report — placing India among model-producing, not merely model-using, nations [2]. - The Bharat Forecast System, unveiled in 2025, is among the world's first indigenously developed high-resolution operational forecast systems [3]. - The Monsoon Mission improved seasonal forecasting and prediction of extremes such as cyclones and heavy precipitation, aiding disaster preparedness [4].

Generating original observational science - Using its rainwater-isotope network of nine sites, IITM produced India's first observational estimate of raindrop evaporation over the northern Western Ghats: about a quarter of monsoon rain mass evaporates mid-air, varying from 4% to 61% daily across June–September [5]. - This addresses the "evaporation deficit" — the poor parameterisation of sub-cloud processes in global circulation models — refining estimates of effective rainfall for hydrology, water budgeting and crop planning [5]. - The isotope technique is scalable from arid Rajasthan to the humid west coast, enabling future pan-India mapping [5].

Constraints that persist - Observational density remains thin; the evaporation finding is region-specific, not yet national [5]. - High-performance computing capacity, specialised manpower and translation of research into district-level advisories still lag behind research output.

India's climate capability has thus shifted from importing projections to producing them, with IITM anchoring the research end and IMD the operational end. Sustained investment in observation networks, computing and scientist retention — aligned with the National Action Plan on Climate Change and SDG 13 — will convert this scientific strength into climate-resilient governance.

(~325 words)

Sources: 1. Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Pune (official site) — IITM's status as an autonomous institute under the Ministry of Earth Sciences 2. PIB, "Indigenous Climate Forecasting System" (Ministry of Earth Sciences) — IITM-ESM as India's first Earth System Model; contribution to IPCC AR6 3. PIB, "Union Earth Sciences Minister Unveils Indigenously Developed High-Resolution 'Bharat Forecast System' by IITM" — indigenous high-resolution operational forecast system 4. IITM, Monsoon Mission (project page) — improved seasonal and extreme-event forecasting 5. Nimya et al., "Assessing raindrop evaporation over northern Western Ghats from stable isotope signature of rain and vapour", Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 2026 — isotope-based observational estimate of raindrop evaporation (~25% average; 4–61% range); sub-cloud process and evaporation-deficit context