# India losing ability to build climate instruments, scientists warn 2026-08-20T22:15:34+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet India has nearly lost the capacity to build its own scientific instruments, leaving climate observations reliant on imported equipment that often goes uncalibrated for years, according to a report by leading climate scientists. This has led to incorrect data being published in national and international journals, raising questions about the credibility of Indian science. The warning comes in the Mega Science Vision-2035 report on Climate Research, submitted to the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser. The report also calls for long-term studies on the climate effects of the uncontrolled growth of renewable energy installations, noting that the impacts of large solar and wind plants remain poorly understood. It recommends devising a method to estimate the social cost of carbon and implementing a polluter-pays principle, while offsetting effects on the poor. However, it emphasises that renewables should be prioritised to sustain the momentum of the last five years. The report proposes eight mega projects costing Rs 795 crore to Rs 1,359 crore, including indigenous sensors, observatories, and an Earth System Model built from first principles. It flags gaps in clean energy research, integration of environmental and health data, and climate communication training. The document is a community roadmap, not a government policy statement. ## Indian Opinion Analysis The warning on instruments undercuts the government's atmanirbhar push, especially after the GeM procurement mandate for public scientific institutions was partially rolled back in June 2025 due to quality complaints. India crossed the halfway mark in non-fossil electricity capacity in 2025, but the report's caution on renewable energy impacts reflects a tension between rapid deployment and scientific oversight. The MSV report, typically used for nuclear and physics projects, was extended to climate research for the first time, signalling a shift in priority. The next step will be whether the PSA's office or the Earth Sciences ministry adopts any of the indicative projects for funding, with cost estimates already framed across three five-year blocks until 2035. ## Coverage - thehindu.com Leads with scientists' warning without endorsing or rebutting, attributes claims, includes government context and counterpoints This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above. Tags: Indian Institute of Science, Principal Scientific Adviser Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/india-losing-ability-to-build-climate-instruments-scientists-warn/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/india-losing-ability-to-build-climate-instruments-scientists-warn/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes. How this brief was made: an AI model read the report linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/