ResearchReading list

What the official record says is missing

We build to needs that public bodies have already written down. Parliament's committees, the Comptroller and Auditor General and ministry releases describe warnings that stop at the district, gauges that go dark, landslide bulletins that never reach the border, and drones that are now mostly stopped. A reading list, and what each finding asks of software.

21 Oct 2026Trinetra research desk8 min readOfficial sources, 2017 to 2026
Key points
  • In August 2026 the Rajya Sabha committee on Home Affairs asked for one interoperable early-warning platform and for warnings to reach villages and wards instead of stopping at the district.
  • In 2017 the CAG found 59% of the Central Water Commission's existing flood telemetry stations not working, and only 56 of a targeted 219 installed.
  • The Geological Survey issues landslide bulletins for 21 districts but runs them operationally in three; none cover Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir or Arunachal Pradesh.
  • The committee reports 3,798 heat deaths in 2018 to 2022, and lightning causing 2,887 of 8,060 natural-hazard deaths in 2022.
  • By late 2024, 55% of drone intrusions on Punjab's border were intercepted, up from about 3%.

Each section below gives a finding, its source, and what it asks of software. Where a finding rests on a media report rather than the document itself, we say "reported". The committee report we cite most is the Rajya Sabha Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs, Report 261, "Disaster Management", presented on 7 August 2026 (Report 261), referred to here as R261.

Warnings must reach the last mile

R261 asks for one interoperable early-warning platform joining IMD, CWC, INCOIS, NRSC and the states, and for warnings to reach villages and wards "in place of the existing district-level approach" (paragraphs 3.9.15 to 3.9.16). The national alert system, SACHET, covers all 36 states and union territories and has sent 134 billion SMS in more than 19 languages; cell broadcast has been added for tsunami, earthquake and lightning alerts (PIB, 30 Apr 2026). About 10,000 villages still lack 4G (PIB, 11 Feb 2026).

Asks of software: relay official alerts to border posts and villages without changing their meaning, record who acknowledged them, and flag places an alert may not reach. That is Sandesha, and Saathi for phones without signal.

Forecasts should be checked against what happened

R261 asks that forecast impacts be compared systematically with outcomes (paragraph 3.9.14) and that states report to the national disaster management information system (2.13.29). A CAG audit of disaster management in Karnataka, tabled in December 2025, found that system was not updated regularly (CAG).

Asks of software: keep every advisory with its time and source, and score it later against what occurred. The audit chain in Sakshi is built to hold such a record.

Sensors go dark without anyone noticing

In its 2017 audit of flood control and forecasting, the CAG found that against a target of 219 telemetry stations for 2012 to 2017, only 56 had been installed by August 2016, and 59% of the existing stations were not working, so real-time data was missing for those periods (PRS summary of the CAG report). The Karnataka audit found 49 of 100 water-level sensors in Bengaluru and 69 of 184 smart-city sensors down in December 2023.

Asks of software: show uptime for every sensor and put the last good reading on every alert. That is the fleet console in Prahari.

Rivers: a baseline exists, upstream data does not

CWC forecasts give up to 24 hours of lead time at identified stations, and its C-FLOOD system gives two-day inundation forecasts down to village level (PIB, 1 Apr 2026). R261 records more than 9,400 forecasts in 2025, over 95% of them accurate (4.3.5). Upstream, the hydrological data agreements with China for the Brahmaputra and the Sutlej lapsed in 2023 and 2020, as reported by the Deccan Herald.

Asks of software: treat CWC as the baseline and add value where it is thin, on ungauged border reaches and in crossing windows, and say plainly when no upstream data exists. That is Varuna, with Sarovara watching lakes upstream from orbit.

Mountains: landslides and earthquakes

The Geological Survey of India issues landslide bulletins for 21 districts, but they are operational only in Darjeeling, Kalimpong and the Nilgiris. Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir and Arunachal Pradesh get none, although 21%, 12% and 15% of their mapped terrain is rated highly susceptible (PIB, 20 Aug 2025). On earthquakes, the government told Parliament that "no proven system exists in the country to provide early earthquake warning" (PIB, 1 Apr 2026).

Asks of software: rainfall-threshold alerts for road segments in the passes, and fast triage of what lies inside the shaking area after a quake. That is Marga and Kampana.

People: heat and lightning

R261 backs the Sixteenth Finance Commission's recommendation to notify heat waves and lightning as disasters. It reports 3,798 heat deaths recorded by NCRB in 2018 to 2022 and lightning causing 2,887 of 8,060 natural-hazard deaths in 2022 (2.13.25 to 2.13.26), and notes that the Damini app warns of lightning about 40 minutes ahead (section 5.7). The Karnataka audit found that lightning deaths had not fallen over 2018 to 2023 and that district and state counts disagreed. The BSF runs operations for fog and summer heat, "Sard Hawa" and "Garam Hawa", as reported by ETV Bharat.

Asks of software: heat and lightning stand-down guidance for patrols, and visibility forecasts for the fog season. That is Raksha and Drishti. Our note Heat is a frontier hazard has the numbers for the western border.

Sea: transponders and drift models already exist

The vessel communication and support system has ₹364 crore to equip 1 lakh mechanised and motorised fishing vessels, with more than 49,000 transponders installed, offering boundary geofencing and two-way messaging (PIB, 10 Feb 2026). The search-and-rescue aid tool, SARAT, anchors a search on the last known position and exports search areas (PIB, 6 Feb 2025). Detentions continue: Pakistan's list of 1 July 2026 acknowledged 198 Indian fishermen in its custody (AIR, 1 Jul 2026).

Asks of software: integrate with what fishers already carry rather than duplicate it, and add sea-state go and no-go advice with a return-by time. That is Matsya, with Anvesha working alongside official drift tools. See Fishers and the line in the sea.

Drones: interception is up, certification is the gate

The Home Minister said at the BSF's raising day in December 2024 that 55% of drone intrusions on the Punjab border were being intercepted and neutralised, against about 3% earlier, and that the integrated border management pilot in Dhubri would be applied across the Pakistan and Bangladesh borders "after some improvements" (MHA press release). Counter-drone technology is certified by the Home Ministry's Anti Rogue Drone Technology Committee, chaired by the DG BSF (PIB, 1 Aug 2023).

Asks of software: test logs that a certification committee can read, and alerts that hand over cleanly to police checkpoints. That is Shyena. See Drones over Punjab.

What we looked for and did not find

  • No CAG audit of the integrated border management system, of border floodlighting, or of safety devices for fishers.
  • No published review of the Dhubri pilot itself.
  • No official count of heat, cold or high-altitude casualties among the central armed police forces.
  • No public figures on how many distress transmitters fishing boats carry.

Gaps in the record are findings too. If you know of a document that fills one, write to press@trinetra.in.

Sources

  1. Rajya Sabha Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs, Report 261, "Disaster Management", 7 Aug 2026. rajyasabha.digital
  2. Comptroller and Auditor General of India, Schemes for Flood Control and Flood Forecasting, submitted 21 Jul 2017; PRS Legislative Research summary. prsindia.org
  3. Comptroller and Auditor General of India, performance audit of disaster management in Karnataka, preface and executive summary, tabled Dec 2025. cag.gov.in mirror
  4. Press Information Bureau releases: SACHET and cell broadcast, 30 Apr 2026; villages without 4G, 11 Feb 2026; flood forecasting and earthquake warning, 1 Apr 2026; GSI landslide bulletins, 20 Aug 2025; vessel communication and support system, 10 Feb 2026; SARAT, 6 Feb 2025; Anti Rogue Drone Technology Committee, 1 Aug 2023. pib.gov.in
  5. Ministry of Home Affairs, press release on the BSF's 60th Raising Day, Dec 2024. amitshah.co.in
  6. All India Radio, "India and Pakistan exchange lists of prisoners", 1 Jul 2026. newsonair.gov.in
  7. Deccan Herald, on the lapse of river data-sharing agreements with China; ETV Bharat, on Operation Sard Hawa, Jan 2025. deccanherald.com, etvbharat.com
All research Corrections: press@trinetra.in