In a move to streamline governance, get institutes to “talk” to one another and collectively address the scientific and humanitarian problems posed by the changing climate, erratic monsoons and melting polar regions, the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) has merged five of its autonomous institutes.
An official statement by the MoES on Monday said the “five institutes will now operate through a unified governance mechanism” under the Earth System Sciences Council (ESSC).
Pune-based Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), the National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR) in Goa, the National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) in Chennai, the National Centre for Earth Science Studies (NCESS) in Thiruvananthapuram, and the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information and Services (INCOIS) based in Hyderabad constitute the ESSC.
The MoES is a relatively new ministry and was established in July 2006. In addition to the five autonomous institutes, its Earth System Science Organisation comprises two sub-ordinate offices: the India Meteorological Department (IMD) and the National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting (NCMRWF), along with three attached offices – the Centre for Marine Living Resources and Ecology (CMLRE) in Kochi, the National Centre for Seismology (NCS) in New Delhi and the National Centre for Coastal Research in Chennai.
Exactly two years ago, 14 autonomous institutes under the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) were merged and brought under one umbrella body, which today is referred to as the Biotechnology Research and Innovation Council (BRIC). The DBT secretary is the director general of BRIC.
Around the same time, the consolidation of five autonomous MoES institutes was approved by the Union Cabinet, with the ESSC formally registered as a body in December 2023. It was decided that the MoES Secretary will head the ESSC and the minister for Earth Sciences will act as the ESSC president.
During the first ESSC meeting held in New Delhi on November 17, Union Minister for Earth Sciences Dr Jitendra Singh said, “The days of working in silos are over. This exercise is in the spirit of the ‘Whole of the government’ approach.”
Story continues below this ad
The official statement also noted that each institute will, however, retain its identity and continue to function within its established mandate.
Impact on functionary bodies
However, with the constitution of ESSC, each institute’s highest existing functionary bodies: the Governing Body (GB), Society, Finance Committee and Research Advisory Groups stand dissolved. Earlier, the GB, the Society and senior officials from the MoES would meet every six months and plan the operations or research of the respective institute. Urgent and pertinent decisions, if any to be made, would be addressed in other meetings as required.
Speaking to The Indian Express, M Rajeevan, former MoES Secretary, said, “Each institute has its own mandate and research areas identified, I don’t see any impact (on their functioning or research). All these institutes have been working together on multiple missions, like the Deep Ocean Mission or the Monsoon Mission. I think it is a good move.”
The statement further noted that the move to set up ESSC aimed to improve efficiency, reduce administrative overlap and enhance the visibility of earth system science initiatives.
Story continues below this ad
Reduced autonomy, more flexibility to share funds
But it has also been learnt from reliable sources that the autonomy and executive powers enjoyed by the institute’s heads, administration and finance departments will now be curtailed. As an umbrella body, ESSC will have more control over the financial management and operations of these institutes, multiple sources shared.
While inter-institute transfers were earlier limited to the scientific staff based on the vacancy and requirement, the setting up of ESSC could mean that regular and non-scientific staff could be transferred within these five institutes. Some positions, if found redundant, could be done away with permanently.
In addition to governance, another concern that the Union government had was the piling up of unspent funds with autonomous research institutes. With ESSC, this pendency could be reduced and funds could be easily liquified and utilised. It was observed that some autonomous institutes would expend their annual budgetary allocations within the stipulated financial year, while others were slow on spending. But over the past decade, institutes have been mandated to repay the unspent funds at the end of every financial year, thus being encouraged to maintain a zero monetary balance. For every new financial year, the institutes are allocated renewed funds.
“An added advantage with ESSC would be the flexibility for an institute to share its monetary funds with a sister institute which is in financial need,” another official said.
Story continues below this ad
Institutes constituting the Earth System Sciences Council (ESSC)
1) Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Pune
It was established as a unit of the India Meteorological Department (IMD) in 1962 to study the monsoons and atmosphere. In 1971, it was given the status of an autonomous organisation and was renamed as the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM). This institute has functioned under the Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation, and the Department of Science and Technology until it was brought under MoES in 2006.
2) National Centre for Earth Science Studies (NCESS), Thiruvananthapuram
Established as the Centre for Earth Science Studies in 1978, NCESS is mandated to undertake research on solid earth. This centre came under the aegis of the MoES in 2014.
3) National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT), Chennai
Established in 1993, this institute primarily works on developing reliable, indigenous technologies to solve the various engineering problems associated with the harvesting of non-living and living resources in the Indian Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
4) National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR), Goa
Story continues below this ad
This centre has been leading India’s polar research since its inception in 1998. It is the nodal agency for organising, coordinating and implementing the Indian Antarctic Programme along with conducting research in the Arctic and the Indian Himalayas.
5) Indian National Centre for Ocean Information and Services (INCOIS), Hyderabad
Established in 1999, the institute is mandated to provide ocean information and advisory services to society, industry, government agencies and the scientific community through sustained ocean observations.