National Data Buoy Programme is designed particularly for long-term monitoring of surface meteorological and oceanographic parameters in the coastal and deep waters of the Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal and Indian Ocean. The objective of the programme is to make available the data to the users in Research and Operational sectors such as National Institute of Oceanography, India Meteorological Department, Oil & Natural Gas Commission, Shipping, Ports, etc. The project is being implemented with partial finanacial assistance from Norwegian Agency for Development and Co-operation (NORAD). A set of 15 buoys would be procured from M/s. OCEANOR, Norway, out of which 8 will be moored in the coastal waters and 4 in the off-shore waters. All the buoys will be equipped with the state-of-the-art sensors for measurement of various meteorological and oceanographic parameters viz. winds, atmospheric temperature, atmospheric pressure, waves, sea surface temperature, salinity and currents. The buoys to be deployed in the near shore waters, in addition, be equipped with water quality sensors to measure chlorophyll, radioactivity, turbidity, hydrocarbons, nutrientsand dissolved oxygen. The data would be transmitted on-line from the buoys to the shore stations using INMARSAT/INSAT.

The project costing about Rs. 37 crores, was approved and an agreement between the Department and M/s. OCEANOR, Norway, for the supply of Data Buoy Systems, and an agreement between Govt. of India and the Govt. of the Royal Kingdom of Norway for partial financial assistance for this programme through NORAD were signed on 13.12.1996 and 16.12.1996, respectively. Preparatory steps have been initiated to establish a National Data Buoy Centre at Madras.