UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — PARLIAMENT QUESTION: BHARAT FORECAST SYSTEM

Q1. Consider the following statements comparing the Bharat Forecast System (BharatFS) with earlier and peer weather-prediction models: 1. BharatFS operates at a 6 km horizontal resolution, the highest at which any country runs a global model in real time. 2. Its predecessor, the GFS T1534, operated at a horizontal resolution of about 9 km. 3. Typical global operational weather-prediction models run at a horizontal resolution of about 9–14 km. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. BharatFS operates at a 6 km horizontal resolution, the highest at which any country runs a global model in real time.
  2. Its predecessor, the GFS T1534, operated at a horizontal resolution of about 9 km.
  3. Typical global operational weather-prediction models run at a horizontal resolution of about 9–14 km.
  • A. 1 and 2 only
  • B. 2 and 3 only
  • C. 1 and 3 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3

Q2. The Bharat Forecast System makes India the only country to operationally run a global numerical weather prediction model in real time at which horizontal resolution?

  • A. About 9 km
  • B. About 6 km
  • C. About 12 km
  • D. About 3 km

Q3. The development of the Bharat Forecast System at IITM-Pune was described as being spearheaded by a team of how many women scientists?

  • A. Three
  • B. Four
  • C. Five
  • D. Six

Q4. With reference to the institutional arrangement behind the Bharat Forecast System, consider the following: 1. The Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), located at Pune, was the lead developing institute. 2. The NCMRWF, located at Noida, provided support in its development. 3. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) is the agency that adopted and operationalised BharatFS for public forecasts. 4. BharatFS functions under the Ministry of Science and Technology. Which of the statements given above is/are correctly identified?

  1. The Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), located at Pune, was the lead developing institute.
  2. The NCMRWF, located at Noida, provided support in its development.
  3. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) is the agency that adopted and operationalised BharatFS for public forecasts.
  4. BharatFS functions under the Ministry of Science and Technology.
  • A. 1 and 3 only
  • B. 1, 2 and 3 only
  • C. 2 and 4 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 4 only

Q5. The Ministry of Earth Sciences' new high-performance computing systems Arka and Arunika were dedicated to the nation by the Prime Minister in September of which year?

  • A. 2018
  • B. 2020
  • C. 2024
  • D. 2016

Q6. In the context of the Ministry of Earth Sciences' upgraded computing infrastructure, 'Arka' is best described as which one of the following?

  • A. The HPC system installed at NCMRWF-Noida, rated at about 8.24 PetaFLOPS
  • B. The dedicated 1.9 PetaFLOPS Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning system
  • C. The HPC system installed at IITM-Pune, rated at about 11.77 PetaFLOPS
  • D. The sole supercomputer that powers every weather and climate model of MoES

Q7. Regarding the high-performance computing systems used for weather forecasting by the Ministry of Earth Sciences, consider the following: 1. Pratyush was hosted at IITM-Pune. 2. Mihir was hosted at NCMRWF-Noida. 3. Arka was installed at NCMRWF-Noida. 4. Pratyush and Mihir together provided a combined capacity of about 6.8 PetaFLOPS. Which of the statements given above is/are correctly identified?

  1. Pratyush was hosted at IITM-Pune.
  2. Mihir was hosted at NCMRWF-Noida.
  3. Arka was installed at NCMRWF-Noida.
  4. Pratyush and Mihir together provided a combined capacity of about 6.8 PetaFLOPS.
  • A. 1, 2 and 4 only
  • B. 1, 2 and 3 only
  • C. 2, 3 and 4 only
  • D. 1 and 3 only

Q8. India's earlier generation of weather-forecasting supercomputers, Pratyush and Mihir, were made operational in which year?

  • A. 2018
  • B. 2016
  • C. 2020
  • D. 2024

Q9. The Bharat Forecast System, unveiled by the Union Minister of Earth Sciences in May 2025, is best described as which one of the following?

  • A. A constellation of satellites dedicated to cyclone imaging over the Indian Ocean
  • B. An indigenously developed high-resolution Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) model
  • C. A national network of Doppler weather radars for nowcasting thunderstorms
  • D. An AI chatbot that delivers agro-meteorological advisories to farmers

Q10. At what spatial granularity does the Bharat Forecast System produce distinct forecasts across the country?

  • A. Only at the level of entire meteorological subdivisions
  • B. At the level of a cluster of panchayats/villages, roughly every 6 km
  • C. Only at the aggregate district level
  • D. At the level of every individual household

Q11. The upgraded high-performance computing infrastructure reduced the operational runtime of the Bharat Forecast System from about 12 hours to which range, making real-time use feasible?

  • A. 6–9 hours
  • B. 8–10 hours
  • C. 3–6 hours
  • D. 1–2 hours

Q12. Among the constituent bodies of the Ministry of Earth Sciences, which one is the nodal operational agency for issuing weather forecasts and warnings to the public in India?

  • A. National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting (NCMRWF)
  • B. Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Pune
  • C. Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS)
  • D. India Meteorological Department (IMD)