Sub-component A1 will improve the extent and reliability of water resources data through automated/digitized and real-time communication systems. The project will support installation of monitoring systems and civil works required to set up these systems. The systems could be for manual or automated measurements. Hydromet networks will encompass meteorological, hydrological (surface and groundwater) and water quality measurements. The emphasis will be on real-time data collection and telemetric transmission for use in water resources planning, reservoir operations and flood management. In order to upgrade existing system, technical audit and required systems will be supported as required. Surveys of erosion and sedimentation, aquifer properties and river geomorphology will be undertaken. This Sub-component will also improve local understanding of water resources through site specific surveys (including river cross-section surveys, groundwater / geophysical / hydrogeological surveys, water quality surveys, and erosion/sedimentation). It is expected that these activities will primarily be implemented through operational support for government agencies and consulting and non-consulting services.

In addition to real time data acquisition systems, some reservoirs, canal and groundwater operation systems will be equipped with the remote control systems (SCADA) that will allow the control of gates and operation from a control room or other remote areas and, hence, allow system responses on a real time basis during floods or any other emergency. This will require measurement of water levels in reservoirs and off-takes (spillways and canals).

The facilities for automated data collection, collation and processing at state and national levels would be established or upgraded. The project will support: (i) construction or upgrading of state and national Hydro-informatics (data) centers, primarily for new states, to serve as hubs for both real-time and long-term data management and operational control systems; (ii) information technology equipment and software to receive and process data; (iii) services to digitize historical data and records; (iv) facilities to test hydromet instrumentation and design, and to provide quality control over installations; and (v) data storage servers including cloud servers.