'Mission Mausam': In Bid To Boost Weather Forecasting, IMD Floats Global Tenders For 10 Wind Profilers

Last Updated:August 11, 2025, 08:00 IST

The IMD will set up the wind profilers in 10 locations – Amritsar, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Patna, Varanasi, Lucknow, Mohanbari, Bhubaneswar, Calicut, and Thiruvananthapuram

Once installed, the wind profilers will significantly boost India's atmospheric observation network, improving weather forecasting and climate monitoring capabilities nationwide. (Image for representation: Sourced)

Building on its ‘Mission Mausam’ to sharpen weather forecasts, the IMD has floated a global tender to procure, install and commission 10 wind profiler systems at multiple sites across India.

Wind profilers are like advanced doppler radars that provide the deepest coverage of the atmosphere, collecting data on wind speed, direction, and conditions at various levels above the ground. Each system is expected to last for at least 10 years.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has identified 10 locations for the installation – Amritsar, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Patna, Varanasi, Lucknow, Mohanbari (Assam), Bhubaneswar, Calicut, and Thiruvananthapuram spanning the length and breadth of the country.

Once installed, these wind profilers will significantly boost India’s atmospheric observation network, improving weather forecasting and climate monitoring capabilities nationwide. The data will also be useful for airline planning and detection of turbulence during flight. These typically work by transmitting electromagnetic waves along the device’s antenna systems.

BIDDING PROCESS

The tender valued at over Rs 6 crore requires all the 10 systems to be delivered, installed, accepted, and commissioned within 18 months from the date of issue of the contract agreement. 

In its pre-bid security requirements, the tender document – accessed by News18, mandates pre-dispatch inspections, adherence to technical specifications, and compliance with the Centre’s ‘Make in India’ policy. While the deal is open to both Indian and foreign manufacturers, preference will be given to local suppliers, micro and small enterprises as well as startups.

A pre-bid conference will be held at the IMD headquarters in New Delhi, with bid submissions to be made exclusively via the government’s e-procurement portals.

WHAT IS THE RS 2,000-CRORE ‘MISSION MAUSAM’?

Last September, the central government launched the Rs 2,000 crore ‘Mission Mausam’ to make India ‘weather ready’ and ‘climate smart’ in wake of increasing extreme events, which have made tropical weather far more erratic and harder to predict.

As part of the project, the IMD also outlined plans to add vertical wind profiles and radiometers at 15 locations, as well as increase the number of radiosondes from the existing 54. These instruments provide day and night data for wind direction, temperature, and humidity up to an altitude of 12 km, every 15 minutes.

According to IMD director-general Dr Mrityunjay Mohapatra, the mission will improve weather forecasting in cities and have better spatial resolution than the existing 12 km.

“This will also enable IMD to issue Nowcast warnings for rains an hour in advance – up from three hours at present," Mohapatra said.

Srishti Choudhary

Srishti Choudhary, Senior Assistant Editor at CNN-News18 specializes in science, environment, and climate change reporting. With over a decade of extensive field experience, she has brought incisive ground repo...Read More

Srishti Choudhary, Senior Assistant Editor at CNN-News18 specializes in science, environment, and climate change reporting. With over a decade of extensive field experience, she has brought incisive ground repo...

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August 11, 2025, 08:00 IST

News india 'Mission Mausam': In Bid To Boost Weather Forecasting, IMD Floats Global Tenders For 10 Wind Profilers

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