Kochi, 08 January(HS): Dr T M Balakrishnan Nair, a leading ocean scientist in the country, was awarded the Swadeshi Science Award instituted by Vigyan Bharati Kerala. Governor Rajendra Arlekar presented the award to Dr Nair at a simple but elegant programme held at Kozhikode as part of the inaugural ceremony of the 32nd Swadeshi Science Congress.

Dr Balakrishnan Nair is the director of the Indian National Center for Ocean Information Services, Hyderabad, a hub of the country’s ocean research programmes. He played a significant role in developing India’s Tsunami warning system which has emerged as a global early warning centre.

INCOIS issues a tsunami alert to all countries lying along the rim of the Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea. This system was developed on a war footing by the INCOIS immediately after the 2004 tsunami waves that struck the Indian coast claiming thousands of lives and destroying the livelihood of millions of people living along the Indian coastline.

Dr Nair also led the team of scientists and engineers in developing a mechanism based on ocean information data for the benefit of fishermen engaged in fishing in the Bay of Bengal and Indian Ocean. The GPS-based system installed in fishing boats alerts the fishermen when they go near the International Maritime Boundary Line between India and Sri Lanka. Indian fishermen crossing the IMBL for fishing in Sri Lankan waters was a major headache for the Indian Coast Guard and Sri Lankan Navy.

The alert system developed by INCOIS has brought down the number of such border violations over the years.

Under his leadership, INCOIS has become a world-class institution that serves the Blue Economy, shipping, fisheries, offshore energy and real time deep sea parameters that help in forecasting the speed of waves, wind, and height of waves which are all used by fishermen. Dr Nair and his team are involved in devising strategies to harness off shore and foreshore wind energy in a big way.

The Swadeshi Congress also honoured Dr Chandrabhas Narayana, former director, Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology, Thiruvananthapura,

though the Left-controlled Indian Science Congress lost its sheen and became defunct since 2016, the Swadeshi Science Movement, being held under the auspices of Vigyan Bharati has become a hope for researchers involved in the traditional Indian System of Knowledge.

Hindusthan Samachar / Manohar Yadavatti