Focus on technology-based disaster and climate risk management
PIONEER NEWS SERVICE | Dehradun
Amidst the growing challenges of climate change and natural disasters, the third pre-summit of the World Summit on Disaster Management (WSDM) 2025 was jointly organised by the Uttarakhand State Council for Science and Technology (UCOST) and the Himalayan Academy of Science and Technology (HAST) at the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR) in Bengaluru. The summit witnessed participation from over 200 delegates from India and abroad.
The summit was inaugurated by the Karnataka governor Thawar Chand Gehlot, who emphasised the crucial role of technology in disaster management and the need for collaborative efforts among States. In his video message, Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhamicongratulated UCOST and the organisers for hosting the pre-summit and shared that the main summit would be held in Uttarakhand this November. Bharat Ratna recipient CNR Rao and Indumati Rao also joined the event virtually. Rao appreciated UCOST’s initiative in promoting scientific cooperation among the States, while Indumati Rao expressed concern over the accelerated melting of glaciers.
UCOST director general Durgesh Pant highlighted the cultural and social ties between Uttarakhand and Karnataka and proposed an indigenous disaster management model named the ‘Silkyara Framework’, which focuses on pre-disaster scientific preparedness.
Various sessions were held as part of the pre-summit event including a session on technology and disaster risk management chaired by Dinesh K Tyagi with key speakers including Rajendra Singh Bisht, Anshu Sharma, Kiran Rajshekaria, Geeta Priya, CNN Prabhu, and Rajendra Koppa Ramarao; a session on space-based observation systems
chaired by Vinod Sharma with key speakers including PK Joshi, Anil Gupta, GS Rawat, Santonu Goswami, Uttam Kumar; a session on expert insights and innovations chaired by Vinod Menon with key speakers including Kapil Joshi, Venkatesh Iyer, Rashmi Dixit, Shubham Tomar, HS Sudheera and Pradeep Motwani and a session on women in leadership roleschaired by Archana Pillai with key speakers including Manisha V Ramesh, Meena Gupta, Reema Pant, Preeti Rao, Suchi Vohra and Jayashree Bhatt.
