Pariksha SaathiCabinet Secretary chairs NCMC meeting on preparedness for cyclonic storm 'ARNAB' in the Bay of Bengal
Cabinet Secretary Dr. T. V. Somanathan chaired a meeting of the National Crisis Management Committee (NCMC) on 26 October 2026 to review preparedness for the impending cyclone in the Bay of Bengal. The Director General of the India Meteorological Department (IMD) briefed the Committee that the deep depression over the Bay of Bengal had intensified into cyclonic storm 'ARNAB', which at 0530 hrs IST that day lay about 650 km east-southeast of Visakhapatnam and 590 km northwest of Sri Vijaya Puram (Andaman Islands). According to IMD's forecast, it is likely to cross the Andhra Pradesh and Yanam coasts between Bapatla and Visakhapatnam as a very severe cyclonic storm, with maximum sustained wind speed of 115-125 kmph gusting to 140 kmph, by the forenoon of 28 October 2026, and thereafter to affect districts in Telangana, Southern Odisha, South and Central Chhattisgarh as well as Eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Fishermen have been advised not to venture into the southwest and adjoining central Bay of Bengal or along and off the coasts of Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Yanam (Puducherry) from 26 to 29 October, and NDRF and SDRF teams have been kept on standby. The Cabinet Secretary said the objective should be zero loss of life and minimum damage to property and infrastructure.
Drafted with AI assistance from the official PIB release linked above and checked against it by a second AI pass. Not line-edited by a human.
Learning context
Tropical cyclones over the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea are named by RSMC New Delhi (IMD) from a list adopted by the WMO/ESCAP Panel on Tropical Cyclones in April 2020. All 13 member countries - Bangladesh, India, Iran, Maldives, Myanmar, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen - contributed 13 names each; the names are used sequentially column-wise and, once used, are not repeated. 'Arnab' is a name contributed by Bangladesh (column 3 of the list). RSMC New Delhi names a cyclone once its maximum wind speed is analysed at 34 knots or more.
Check yourself: which country contributed the name 'Arnab', and how many names did each of the 13 member countries contribute to the 2020 list?
Bangladesh; 13 names each.
Revision task: from this release, note who chaired the NCMC, where 'ARNAB' lay at 0530 hrs IST, where and when IMD forecast it to cross the coast, its forecast wind speed and the states alerted; from the note, which body adopted the names list and when, the 13 member countries and the wind speed at which a cyclone is named.
Test yourself
Who chaired the meeting of the National Crisis Management Committee (NCMC) held on 26 October 2026 to review preparedness for cyclonic storm 'ARNAB'?
Show the answer
Answer: The Cabinet Secretary
Cabinet Secretary Dr. T. V. Somanathan chaired the NCMC meeting; the Union Home Secretary and the Directors General of IMD and NDRF attended it. According to IMD's forecast, 'ARNAB' is likely to cross the Andhra Pradesh and Yanam coasts between Bapatla and Visakhapatnam as a very severe cyclonic storm by the forenoon of 28 October 2026.
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