India To launch Deep Ocean Mission

• Integrity Education, Delhi
• 17, Jun 2021

Aim: To explore deep ocean for resources and develop deep sea technologies for sustainable use of ocean resources. Ministry

Responsible: Ministry of Earth Sciences

Six Major components of Mission:

1. Development of Technologies for Deep Sea Mining, and Manned Submersible:
   1. A manned submersible will be developed to carry three people to a depth of 6000 metres in the ocean with suite of scientific sensors and tools.
   2. An Integrated Mining System will be also developed for mining Polymetallic Nodules from 6000 m depth in the central Indian Ocean
2. Development of Ocean Climate Change Advisory Services: To understand and provide future projections of important climate variables on seasonal to decadal time scales
3. Technological innovations for exploration and conservation of deep-sea biodiversity: For Bio-prospecting of deep sea flora and fauna including microbes and studies on sustainable utilization of deep sea bio-resources
4. Deep Ocean Survey and Exploration: To explore and identify potential sites of multi-metal Hydrothermal Sulphides mineralization along the Indian Ocean mid-oceanic ridges.
5. Energy and freshwater from the Ocean
6. Advanced Marine Station for Ocean Biology: To develop human capacity and enterprise in ocean biology and engineering.

Importance for India

• Around 30 percent of the country's population lives in coastal areas
• Ocean is a major economic factor supporting fisheries and aquaculture, tourism, livelihoods and blue trade.
• Oceans are also storehouse of food, energy, minerals, medicines, modulator of weather and climate and underpin life on Earth.
• United Nations has declared the decade, 2021-2030 as the Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development.
• The Government of India's Vision of New India by 2030 enunciated in February 2019 highlighted the Blue Economy as one of the ten core dimensions of growth.