India
India has been collaborating with IIASA since the mid 1970's, some of the earliest collaborations were in food and energy research, development of a framework for agricultural policy, and modeling and providing assessments of energy demand in India. Collaborations today are broad and include energy security and sustainability, land management, air quality and carbon assessment; risk analysis, and climate change.
Key relationships and collaborations
- The Department of Science and Technology, Technology Information, Forecasting and Assessment Council (TIFAC), New Delhi
- The Energy Research Institute (TERI), New Delhi
- Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay
- Jadavpur University, Kolkata
- International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT)
- Institute for Economic Growth in Delhi
Select Research Highlights
Energy and climate change research:
- India is a significant partner in, and contributor to, the Global Energy Assessment (GEA). The GEA is a major initiative seeking to redefine the global energy policy agenda. India is well represented on the GEA providing one of the co-Chairs on the Executive Council. Four Indian researchers are Convening Lead Analysts for the GEA, with India holding several Lead Analyst positions.
- IIASA researchers have exploring the issues that affect household energy, the associated access to energy supplies and the link to poverty. India is also one of the countries involved in a global research project that is exploring the implications of demographic change for energy and emissions in India.
- With Lulea Tekniska Universitet (LUT) Sweden, IIASA recently completed an analysis across 40 million hectares of the factors affecting the proposed location of biodiesel plants in India.
Forestry and land management:
- IIASA with the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) India, and partner countries, Vietnam, Ethiopia, Kenya and South Africa, is assessing options for improving the productivity of agriculture in the rain-fed systems of the semi-arid tropics, thus helping to improve food security in these regions.
- TIFAC and IIASA completed an assessment of the Indian Forest sector, specifically to examine the economic, societal and environmental benefits provided by the Indian Forests. The study identified the actions needed to achieve sustainable development of the Indian forestry sector.
Air quality and GHG mitigation:
- IIASA serves on the steering committee of the Asian Modeling Comparison Project, which involves a number of national teams from India. In collaboration with local experts, the scenario and modeling activities also aim to achieve a better understanding of the climate mitigation potentials of the emerging economies in Asia, such as China and India.
- IIASA is collaborating with TERI in the development and application of GAINS-Asia, a scientific tool designed to identify the most viable and cost-effective methods of reducing air pollution and greenhouse gases emissions concurrently in Asia, without compromising economic development. IIASA has recently completed an assessment of the substantial co-benefits to health and the environment of reducing air pollutants in India.
Risk and adaptation:
- As part of the SAFELAND project, in 2010 IIASA will design and carry out communication and participatory risk management processes for landslide risks in India as well as four European countries.
- IIASA research, published in the World Bank’s World Development Report 2010 considers the financial vulnerability to extreme weather events of specific countries including India
Population studies:
- With the Asian Research Institute and the College of Population Studies, IIASA has evaluated the trends in population aging, fertility and education for India as part of its Asian megatrends study 2008.
Capacity Building
IIASA’s annual Young Scientists Summer Program (YSSP) funded primarily by NMOs, offers advanced level PhD candidates the opportunity to work with IIASA scientists over a 3-month period, with the explicit aim of refining or extending their research skills in the area of systems analysis. Since 1999, 20 Indian students have participated in this program.
As part of the IIASA Post Doctoral Program, Dr. Upasna Sharma (2009 - current) from School of Management at the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, is researching issues related to the communication of uncertainty associated with climate forecasts and climate hazard warnings, particularly how the target audience of these forecasts and warnings interpret, understand, and respond to uncertainty.
More information