New Delhi: The hallmark of the upcoming four-day India International Science Festival, from December 6 to 9, will be a first-of-its-kind initiative by India to decentralise climate forecasting by making local climate data directly accessible to Panchayats
and village councils, marking a significant shift in how science is applied at the grassroots level.
The proposal, accessed by Millennium Post and discussed within the framework of the India International Science Festival (IISF), slated to be held at Panjab University in Chandigarh, aims to build a “Science for Society” model that delivers weather advisories, climate forecasts, and early warnings directly to rural communities through digital dashboards and participatory monitoring systems.
The new framework envisions a “Climate Services to Panchayats” mission, under which scientific data generated by national institutions will be repurposed for community-level planning.
This includes mapping rainfall, soil moisture, and temperature anomalies to guide agricultural advisories and disaster preparedness.
Officials involved in drafting the IISF concept note described it as “the most ambitious step yet to embed scientific data into local governance.”
In parallel, the IISF proposes the creation of a Citizen Science Corps, a nationwide network of students and volunteers trained to collect and validate field-level data on air quality, biodiversity, and soil health. This initiative could evolve into Asia’s most significant youth-led science movement, feeding verified observations into national research repositories.
The goal is to democratise science through participation, allowing citizens to become “data collaborators” rather than passive beneficiaries of research.
The underlying policy idea connects these community efforts to a broader economic and ecological framework, the National Science Circular Economy Blueprint.