India is all set to buy an aircraft that would carry out experiments related to weather forecasts. The Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM-Pune) will buy the aircraft for Rs. 150 crore.
The aircraft will be used for carrying out experiments related to cloud and aerosol interaction, cloud observation and would study gases in the upper layers of the atmosphere, Press Trust of India reports. The tender for procuring the aircraft will be issued next month and the aircraft will be acquired by IITM in the next two years.
"The aircraft will have all the necessary equipment for carrying out experiments and accommodate 2-3 people. We are ready with the request for proposal document and a global tender will be floated by next month," Union Minister for Earth Sciences Harsh Vardhan was quoted as saying by the agency.
India will be the only nation in South East Asia that will have such an aircraft. However, it is still not clear which type of aircraft India would buy.
At present, the country leases aircraft for similar purposes from private parties, and this would purchase Indian scientists the chance to work on their own pace.
[1 lakh = 100,000 | 1 crore = 10 million | 100 crore = 1 billion]
