GEMINI device launched by GOI to for advance disaster warning Admin LAW CRITIQUE Thu, Oct 10, 2019, at ,11:49 AM The Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS), an autonomous body under the Union Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), in collaboration with the Airport Authority of India (AAI), launched two marine information dissemination products on October 9, 2019, to enhance the livelihood of fishermen and increase their security from extreme weather conditions. The new system called GEMINI (GAGAN Enabled Mariner’s Instrument for Navigation and Information) has developed on this limitation by utilizing GAGAN (GPS Aided Geo Augmented Navigation) satellite systems of the AAI to transmit PFZ and disaster warnings to the fishermen. The data coverage of GEMINI covers the entire India Ocean full-time, which will help in information transmission to the fishermen far away from coastal areas. GEMINI is a portable device that receives data from the GAGAN satellites and sends it to the user’s cellphone. The GEMINI app on the cellphone decodes the signals from the GEMINI device and alerts the user on imminent threats like cyclones, high waves, and strong winds along with PFZ and search and rescue missions. The device only allows one-way communication — it can’t be used by fishermen to make calls, for instance. At ₹9,000 a device, it’s also relatively expensive for the average fisherman, say officials, but attempts are on to subsidize it by as much as 90%. “We are in talks to have an agreement with the National Fisheries Development Board to have the Centre pay 60%, the states 20% and the user 10% of the device cost,” said Balakrishnan Nair, head, information services, INCOIS. The satellite-based communication is the only suitable solution for the dissemination of such emergency information and an affordable satellite-based communication system should be made part of the dissemination chain to deal with cyclones, high waves, and tsunamis,” Union Science Minister Harsh Vardhan said at a press conference. INCOIS also launched a new PFZ forecast model which would help the fishermen in forecasting potential fishing zones.