Question
Which of the following statements with regard to India’s indigenous new high resolution weather model, the “Bharat Forecast System”, is/are correct?
1Its objective is to generate forecasts at the Panchayats cluster level.
2It was developed by IIT Delhi.
A1 only ✓
B2 only
CBoth 1 and 2
DNeither 1 nor 2
Each Statement — Verified from PIB / MoES Official Release
1
✓ Correct — panchayat cluster level confirmed
Its objective is to generate forecasts at the Panchayats cluster level
Confirmed from official PIB and MoES documentation. Multiple sources including Vajiram & Ravi, Khan Global Studies, and PIB-citing sources quote the official objective verbatim:“The BharatFS was developed with the objective of generating forecasts at the cluster of panchayats level and improving the prediction of extremes.”
The system achieves this through its 6 km × 6 km spatial resolution — the finest of any operational national weather model in the world. India is the only country to provide operational weather forecasts at this resolution. The 6 km grid allows forecasts to be generated for specific village clusters (panchayat clusters) rather than broad districts or districts, which was the limitation of the earlier 12 km model.
✓ Official objective: “Forecasts at the cluster of panchayats level”
6 km × 6 km resolution · World’s finest operational resolution · 64% better overall accuracy · 30% better extreme rainfall prediction · Village/panchayat level forecasting enabled
2
✗ Wrong — IITM Pune, NOT IIT Delhi
It was developed by IIT Delhi
Wrong institute. The Bharat Forecast System was developed by IITM Pune — Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Pune — under the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES). IIT Delhi has no involvement.The full development team:
• Lead developer: IITM Pune (Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology)
• Support: NCMRWF Noida (National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting)
• Operational adoption: IMD (India Meteorological Department)
• Ministry: Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES)
The system runs on supercomputers Arka (at IITM Pune, 11.77 petaflops) and Arunika (at NCMRWF Noida, 8.24 petaflops). Notably, the system was spearheaded by four women scientists from IITM Pune — highlighted by Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh at the launch.
✗ Developer: IITM Pune (NOT IIT Delhi) — completely different institution
IITM = Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Pune · Under Ministry of Earth Sciences · Supercomputer Arka (IITM) + Arunika (NCMRWF) · Four women scientists led development · Launched 26 May 2025
Bharat Forecast System — Complete Fact Sheet for UPSC
| Parameter | Detail |
| Full name | Bharat Forecast System (BharatFS / BFS) |
| Developer | IITM Pune (Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology) — NOT IIT Delhi · With NCMRWF Noida + IMD support |
| Ministry | Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) |
| Launched | 26 May 2025 — handed over to IMD by Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh |
| Testing period | Development and testing since 2022 (3 years before operational launch) |
| Objective (St.1) | Generate forecasts at the cluster of panchayats level + improve prediction of extremes ✓ |
| Resolution | 6 km × 6 km — World’s finest operational resolution (previous: 12 km) · India is the only country with this resolution in real time |
| Technology | Triangular Cubic Octahedral (TCo) dynamical grid · Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) model |
| Supercomputers | Arka (IITM Pune, 11.77 petaflops, 33 petabytes) · Arunika (NCMRWF Noida, 8.24 petaflops, 24 petabytes) |
| Accuracy | 64% better overall accuracy · 30% better extreme rainfall prediction · Arka reduces processing time from 10 hours to 4 hours |
| Coverage | Tropical region: 30°S to 30°N latitude |
| Limitation | Does not improve forecasts for sudden severe thunderstorms |
| Special note | Led by four women scientists from IITM Pune — highlighted as Nari Shakti initiative |
Memory Trick
🧠 BFS — Two Points to Lock In
IITM ≠ IIT: IIT Delhi is an engineering institute. IITM Pune = Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology — a dedicated atmospheric science research institution under MoES. It also hosts the IPCC Working Group I Technical Support Unit (India). IITM Pune is always the answer for weather-related research institutions.
6 km = panchayat cluster level: 6 km grid → village/panchayat cluster level forecasting. The earlier 12 km model could only forecast at district or sub-district level. At 6 km resolution, weather can be predicted for specific panchayat clusters — hence the stated objective of “cluster of panchayats level.”
The three institutions behind BFS: IITM Pune (developed) + NCMRWF Noida (support) + IMD (operational use). All three are under MoES. The supercomputers are Arka (IITM) and Arunika (NCMRWF). “ArkA = At Raga of Atmospheric science in Pune.”
