Research programme to study earthquake precursors: Prez

India has launched a first-of-its- kind research programme to study changes that take place deep inside the earth before a quake.
Geologists are working towards setting up a mini-lab eight kilometres underground near the seismically active Koyna region in Maharashtra.
"Government is setting up a dedicated Seismological Research Laboratory and has launched a first-of-its-kind research programme in the earthquake-prone Koyna-Warna region of Maharastra to study precursor changes," President Pranab Mukherjee said in his address to Parliament.
The Koyna region, which is home to a large hydel project, is a highly active seismic zone and would provide scientists an opportunity to study earthquakes more closely in real-time.

Scientists believe that the seismicity associated with the Koyna reservoir was unique in the world as it is one of the few sites where earthquakes of magnitude greater than five on the Richter scale continue to occur even four decades after the initial spurt of activity in 1967.
Mukherjee also said the Indian tsunami early warning system was recognised as the Regional Tsunami Service Provider for the Indian Ocean region in October 2012.
He said India's third permanent station in Antarctica was commissioned in March 2012.