12 March 2026·PIB

PARLIAMENT QUESTION: STATUS OF IMPLEMENTATION OF MISSION MAUSAM

In this note

1. At a Glance

Mission Mausam is a Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) flagship to make India "weather-ready and climate-smart" through next-gen forecasting, observation, modelling and AI/ML services [1][2].
Cabinet-approved outlay of ₹2,000 crore over two years (FY 2024-25 & 2025-26) with implementation phased till 2031 [2][4].
UPSC relevance: tests GS-III (S&T, disaster management) overlap with climate adaptation, SDG-13, and India's "Vishwa Bandhu" weather diplomacy.

Parliament Question reply (12 March 2026) by Ministry of Earth Sciences in Lok Sabha detailing status of implementation — confirmed commissioning of HPC systems and quantified forecast-accuracy gains [1].
PM-inaugurated HPC systems ARKA & ARUNIKA on 26 Sept 2024; mission formally launched by PM on 14 Jan 2025 (IMD's 150th Foundation Day) [1][5].

11 Sept 2024 — Union Cabinet approves Mission Mausam, outlay ₹2,000 cr / 2 yrs [2].
26 Sept 2024 — PM inaugurates HPC systems "ARKA" at IITM Pune and "ARUNIKA" at NCMRWF Noida [1].
14 Jan 2025 — PM launches Mission Mausam & releases IMD Vision-2047 at IMD's sesquicentennial [5].
12 Mar 2026 — Implementation status placed before Parliament [1].
Predecessor / parallel: Monsoon Mission (2012), High Performance Computing System (HPCS) Pratyush & Mihir (2018), IMD Modernisation Phase-III.

Nodal Ministry: Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) — NOT MoEFCC [2].
Lead implementing institutes (3): India Meteorological Department (IMD), Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM, Pune), National Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasting (NCMRWF, Noida) [2].
Outlay: ₹2,000 crore over two years (Phase-I FY25 & FY26); phased rollout up to 2031 [2][4].
HPC capacity post-commissioning: ARKA — 11.77 petaflops (IITM Pune); ARUNIKA — 8.24 petaflops (NCMRWF Noida); dedicated AI/ML system — 1.9 petaflops; total MoES HPC = 21.91 petaflops [1].
Beneficiary sectors: agriculture, disaster management, defence, aviation, water resources, power, tourism, shipping, transport, energy, health [2].
Key planned assets: expansion of Doppler Weather Radar network, wind profilers, radiosondes, ocean buoys, high-altitude balloons, mesonet observatories, urban testbeds, Cloud Chamber at IITM Pune (weather modification R&D) [4].

Scientific / Technological

Quantum jump in compute (≈3× over Pratyush+Mihir's 6.8 PF) enables higher-resolution global & regional models, ensemble forecasting, and AI/ML nowcasting [1].
IMD reports 30-40% improvement in severe-weather forecast accuracy over the past decade; significant leap in tropical cyclone track/intensity forecast in 2021-25 vs 2016-20 [1][3].

Administrative

Three-institute consortium model (IMD-IITM-NCMRWF) under single mission to avoid silos; phased till 2031 with annual milestones [1][2].

Environmental / Disaster Management

Directly feeds NDMA's CAP (Common Alerting Protocol) early-warning ecosystem; supports India's commitment to UN "Early Warnings for All" by 2027 [2].

Economic

Weather-sensitive sectors (agri, power, aviation, shipping) account for >50% of GDP; finer panchayat-level forecasts cut crop losses & power-grid risk [2].

Geopolitical / Strategic

Mission supports India's role as regional weather services provider under WMO for South Asia & IOR; bolsters "Vishwa Bandhu" climate diplomacy.

11 Sept 2024 — Cabinet approval [2].
26 Sept 2024 — ARKA & ARUNIKA HPC commissioned by PM [1].
14 Jan 2025 — Mission Mausam formally launched on IMD's 150th Foundation Day; IMD Vision-2047 released [5].
12 Mar 2026 — Lok Sabha Q&A: HPC operational, cyclone forecast skill improved 2021-25 vs 2016-20 [1].

Mission Mausam approved by Union Cabinet on 11 September 2024 [2].
Total outlay: ₹2,000 crore over 2 years [2].
Nodal ministry: Ministry of Earth Sciences (not MoEFCC, not MoST) [2].
Three implementing institutes: IMD, IITM-Pune, NCMRWF-Noida [2].
HPC "ARKA" sits at IITM Pune (11.77 PF); "ARUNIKA" at NCMRWF Noida (8.24 PF) [1].
Dedicated AI/ML HPC = 1.9 petaflops; total MoES compute = 21.91 petaflops [1].
HPC inaugurated on 26 September 2024 by PM (video-conferencing) [1].
Mission launched alongside IMD Vision-2047 on 14 January 2025 (IMD's 150th year) [5].
Severe-weather forecast accuracy improved 30-40% over past decade [3].
Cloud Chamber for weather modification research is being set up at IITM Pune [4].
Implementation phased till 2031 [3].

GS-III: "Science & Technology — indigenization & developments"; "Disaster management"; "Climate change."
GS-II: "Government policies/interventions" (welfare via early-warning).
Likely stems: 1. "Mission Mausam marks a paradigm shift from forecasting to weather management. Discuss its components and challenges." (15M) 2. "Examine the role of high-performance computing and AI/ML in transforming India's weather services." (10M) 3. "How does Mission Mausam strengthen India's disaster-preparedness architecture in the context of the UN 'Early Warnings for All' initiative?" (15M)

Monsoon Mission — predecessor seasonal-prediction programme by MoES.
IMD Vision-2047 — long-term roadmap released alongside.
Pratyush & Mihir supercomputers — earlier MoES HPC baseline.
PARAM Rudra / National Supercomputing Mission (MeitY-DST) — parallel HPC push [6].
NDMA & CAP-based early warning — downstream consumer.
Cyclone Mocha/Biparjoy/Remal forecasting case studies — to illustrate accuracy gains.
WMO & "Early Warnings for All" 2027 — global frame.
Cloud seeding / weather modification ethics — links to Cloud Chamber R&D.

Wrong ministry: it is MoES, not MoEFCC or DST.
Wrong outlay period: ₹2,000 cr is for 2 years, not 5; total mission phased till 2031.
Mixing HPCs: ARKA is at Pune (IITM), ARUNIKA at Noida (NCMRWF) — easy to swap.
Confusing with Monsoon Mission or National Supercomputing Mission (PARAM Rudra) — different ministries (MoES vs MeitY/DST).
Launch dates: Cabinet approval (11 Sept 2024) ≠ PM launch (14 Jan 2025) ≠ HPC inauguration (26 Sept 2024).