CURRENT AFFAIRS | MARCH 2026
Prelims: INCOIS, RSC location, ITEWC, tsunami statistics, sub-sea cable, Storm Marta geography
Mains: GS-III — Disaster Management, environmental conservation, climate change impact
Judicial Services Relevance: Disaster Management Act 2005 (NDMA powers and state obligations), environmental jurisprudence (precautionary principle), Article 48A (DPSP — environment protection), Article 21 (right to life includes disaster resilience)
INCOIS Regional Service Centre: First-of-Its-Kind in India
The Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) has proposed establishing a Regional Service Centre (RSC) at Vijaynagar, Swaraj Dweep in the Andaman & Nicobar Islands. This will be the first such centre in India, designed to enhance early warning capabilities for coastal communities in the Bay of Bengal region.
INCOIS currently operates the Indian Tsunami Early Warning Centre (ITEWC), which provides alerts for seismic tsunamis. The proposed RSC is specifically designed to detect non-seismic tsunamis — those triggered by submarine landslides, volcanic eruptions, or meteorological events — which represent a critical gap in current monitoring infrastructure.
• Location: Vijaynagar, Swaraj Dweep (Andaman & Nicobar Islands)
• Operating body: INCOIS (under Ministry of Earth Sciences)
• Existing system: ITEWC (Indian Tsunami Early Warning Centre)
• Capability: Detection of non-seismic tsunamis
• Infrastructure: 270-km sub-sea cable along the subduction zone
• Tsunami fact: 80% of tsunamis originate from undersea earthquakes
Sub-Sea Cable Infrastructure & Detection Mechanism
The centrepiece of the RSC’s detection capability is a 270-km sub-sea cable laid along the active subduction zone near the Andaman-Nicobar arc. This cable will employ advanced ocean-bottom pressure sensors capable of detecting minute changes in water column height, enabling real-time tsunami detection even in the absence of seismic triggers.
The 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami — which claimed over 2.3 lakh lives globally, including approximately 12,000 in India — demonstrated the catastrophic consequences of inadequate early warning systems. The proposed RSC addresses this vulnerability by extending detection capabilities beyond traditional seismograph-based systems.
– Disaster Management Act, 2005: Establishes NDMA (Section 3), SDMA (Section 14), and DDMA (Section 25)
– NDMA powers: Section 6 empowers NDMA to lay down policies, plans, and guidelines for disaster management
– State obligations: Section 22 mandates State Executive Committees to coordinate disaster response
– Judicial interpretation: In M.C. Mehta v. Union of India (Oleum Gas Leak Case), the Supreme Court established the principle of absolute liability for hazardous activities — analogous to state liability for inadequate disaster preparedness
Storm Marta: Climate Vulnerability of the Iberian Peninsula
Storm Marta struck Spain and Portugal on the Iberian Peninsula, bringing heavy rainfall and causing significant crop loss. The Iberian Peninsula is now recognized as the most climate-exposed region in Europe, facing intensifying weather events linked to Mediterranean warming patterns.
From an environmental law perspective, this highlights the growing relevance of the precautionary principle — a cornerstone of Indian environmental jurisprudence since Vellore Citizens Welfare Forum v. Union of India (1996) — in adapting national disaster frameworks to climate change realities.
T — Triggered: 80% by undersea earthquakes
S — Sub-sea cable: 270 km along subduction zone
U — Unique: First RSC in India
N — Non-seismic detection capability
A — A&N Islands: Vijaynagar, Swaraj Dweep
M — Managed by INCOIS
I — ITEWC: existing early warning centre
• Disaster Management Act, 2005 — NDMA powers, state duties, district-level coordination; directly tested in PCS-J (GS Paper)
• Precautionary principle — established in Vellore Citizens (1996), reaffirmed in A.P. Pollution Control Board v. Prof. M.V. Nayudu (1999)
• Article 48A (DPSP) — state’s duty to protect environment; read with Art 51A(g) (citizen’s duty)
• Article 21 — right to life expanded to include right to clean environment and disaster resilience (Subhash Kumar v. State of Bihar, 1991)
• Polluter pays principle — relevant to climate liability and cross-border environmental damage (Storm Marta context)
Source: UPSC Essentials, The Indian Express — March 2026
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