MOP SIGNS MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING WITH DRDO FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF EWS

Alok Kumar, Secretary, MoP and Dr. Samir V. Kamat, Secretary, Department of Defence (R&D) & Chairman, DRDO during the MoU signing ceremony…

The Ministry of Power (MoP) has recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO), Ministry of Defence for implementation of Early Warning System (EWS) for vulnerable hydro projects/power stations. The MoU was signed by Alok Kumar, Secretary, MoP and Dr. Samir V. Kamat, Secretary, Department of Defence (R&D) & Chairman, DRDO. The DRDO is the premier agency under the Department of Defence Research and Development in Ministry of Defence of the Government of India, charged with the military’s research and development.

MoP and DRDO will jointly work towards developing suitable mitigation measures against avalanches, landslides, glaciers, glacial lakes and other geo-hazards. The expertise of DRDO will also be utilized in developing comprehensive Early Warning System for vulnerable hydro projects/ power stations in hilly regions. Separate and specific tasks will be formulated between DRDO & respective project developer(s) in agreement with broad understanding developed through this MoU.

Under the visionary leadership of Union Minister of Power & NRE, R. K. Singh, MoP has taken the initiative of implementing EWS in the Hydro Power Projects – especially  those located in upper reaches of Hilly regions. EWS is an integrated system of hazard monitoring, forecasting and prediction, disaster risk assessment, communication and preparedness for timely action to reduce disaster risks in advance of hazardous events. Ministry of Power has already signed MoUs with CSIR-NGRI, IMD, WIHG and NRSC-ISRO for implementation of EWS.

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