Potential for expansion of the "Memorandum of Understanding for Science Cooperation in the Areas of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences" was being discussed at space talks which began Monday in the southern Indian city of Bangalore, a government statement said.

The agreement could boost an Earth observation program and improve weather and climate forecasting in India, it said.

"Our countries face similar challenges in protecting our populations from the ravages of floods, drought and other weather disasters," said John Kelly, deputy undersecretary of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The NOAA is an agency of the US Department of Commerce.

"We are working together to find ways both nations can work together toward the same goal, which is to save lives and shield the economies," Kelly said in the statement issued by the department.

The NOAA and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration want to "strengthen" science cooperation with India, it said.

The memorandum, first signed in 1997 and extended in 2002 for five more years, provides for the near-real-time exchange of US and Indian geostationary and other satellite data under a cooperation program in the Earth and atmospheric sciences.

"This MOU and the data our respective scientists are receiving from satellites will strengthen their collective information base and give them better tools to understand how the global climate is changing," Kelly said.

The Bangalore meeting about senior officers from space agencies in the US and India would discuss collaborative projects ranging from research, development and deployment of satellite sensors to improvements in drought detection and mitigation, the statement said.

"Future cooperation between India and the United States in space science and applications" would also be discussed, NASA Deputy Administrator Frederick Gregory said in the statement.

Thirteen percent of India experiences drought every year, including widespread drought every 10 years. Floods and landslides, triggered by monsoon rains and tropical cyclones, pose deadly threats to the population.

"Having a sound Earth observation system is crucial," Kelly said. "This MOU and the data our respective scientists are receiving from satellites will strengthen their collective information base and give them better tools to understand how the global climate is changing."

Relations between India and the US have warmed dramatically in the past few years after Washington lifted sanctions slapped on India's nuclear and space programmes following New Delhi's nuclear test blasts in 1998.

The sanctions resulted in a freeze on exchanges in nuclear and other high-tech sectors such as "dual-use technology" which finds applications in both civilian and military use.

The Bangalore conference is a follow-up to a landmark meeting between former Indian prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and President Bush in November 2001.

Space cooperation between India and the US dates back to 1963 with an atmospheric experiment on a US-made rocket.

SPACE.WIRE