In an effort to create India’s own knowledge base and generate data and services related to climate change, the Prime Minister’s Council on Climate Change, the government’s top-most advisory body on climate change on Tuesday gave in-principle approval to the National Mission on Strategic Knowledge. It is a Rs 2200-crore project aimed at promoting indigenous research and development and capacity-building in this field.

The mission on strategic knowledge is one of the eight missions launched by the government under its National Action Plan on Climate Change. It is the third — after the Solar Mission and the one on energy efficiency — to have been approved by the Council.

The mission aims to fill the big void that exists in indigenous knowledge on climate change. Most of the predictions relating to global warming on India are based on studies done by scientists and researchers in other countries and are not customised for India. The Mission on Strategic Knowledge seeks to correct this imbalance by promoting research that will produce more accurate data.

As Prime Minister Manmohan Singh himself stressed at the meeting, it was necessary to have the ability to prepare and read scientific data related to climate change. The meeting emphasised the importance of building a vibrant and dynamic knowledge system for effectively promoting ecologically sustainable development.

The Mission, therefore, is being envisaged as an overarching platform that will provide data and services to all the other missions so that they are able to move forward with a more focused approach.

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