New Delhi,  Minister of State for Earth Sciences, Jitendra Singh, on Tuesday convened the first ever joint society meeting of autonomous institutes (IITM, INCOIS, NCESS, NCPOR, NIOT) under the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) and called for breaking the "silos" to work with integration and "whole of government" approach.

All the five autonomous bodies, including Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS), National Centre for Earth Science Studies (NCESS), National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR) and National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT), have been merged into a single society of MoES.

Singh said the move is in tune with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's directive to avoid duplication and working in silos and to aim for greater integration to achieve maximum output.

He said Prime Minister Modi not only has a natural predilection for science, but is also forthcoming in supporting and promoting science and technology-based initiatives and projects in the last 7-8 years.

Singh said that the Ministry of Earth Sciences has taken the notion of 'marine surveillance' to a new level, where space applications are also being deployed to share the valuable inputs with the security agencies.

The minister also informed that Oceansat will be launched on November 26, and installation of a NASA-ISRO radar system is at an advanced stage.