In 1952, Dr. Sudhangshu Kumar Banerji, former Director General of the India Meteorological Department, achieved something extraordinary—he created India’s first artificial rainfall using hydrogen-filled balloons instead of expensive aircraft.
Despite little funding and being told his research was a “waste of money,” he spent years experimenting with silver iodide, dry ice, and balloon-based cloud seeding. The results were so successful that people began calling him “Megh Banerji” because rainfall often followed his experiments.
More than 70 years later, as India explores cloud seeding to tackle droughts, heatwaves, and water scarcity, Dr. Banerji’s story reminds us that groundbreaking innovations begin with curiosity, persistence, and the courage to challenge conventional thinking.
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