The Department of Energy has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) to implement an early warning system for vulnerable hydropower projects/power plants. The MoU was signed by the Secretary of the Department of Energy and Dr. Samir V Kamat, President of the DRDO under the Ministry of Defence.
The Department of Energy and the DRDO will work jointly to develop appropriate measures to counter avalanches, landslides, glaciers, glacial lakes and other geographic hazards. DRDO's expertise will also be used to develop comprehensive early warning systems for vulnerable hydropower projects and power plants in hilly areas. Separate and specific tasks will be formulated between DRDO and the project developers in accordance with the broad understanding developed by this MoU.
An early warning system (EWS) is an integrated system for monitoring, predicting and predicting hazards, disaster risk assessment, communication, and preparedness for timely action to mitigate disaster risks in advance of hazardous events. The Department of Energy has already signed MoUs with CSIR-NGRI, IMD, WIHG and NRSC-ISRO for the implementation of EWS.