PM Modi speaks about India's Deep Ocean Mission; Here is what it is

On the occasion of the 75th Independence day, PM Modi in his Independence Day Speech from Red Fort, Delhi, spoke about India expanding the Deep Ocean Mission and Space Mission, while Indian Space Missions gets a lot of coverage, let us find out what the Indian Deep Ocean Mission or Samudrayaan mission is all about.

Deep-sea exploration refers to the scientific or commercial study of physical, chemical, and biological conditions under the sea. Comparatively to other areas of geophysical research, deep-sea exploration is a relatively new human activity, since the depths of the sea have only recently been explored. Despite being one of the deepest parts of the planet, the oceans remain largely unexplored.

Last year in June 2021 the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, approved the 'Deep Ocea Mission' proposal of the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES). The mission is aimed at exploring the deep ocean for resources and developing deep-sea technologies for sustainable use of ocean resources. The mission will also focus on the development of ocean climate change advisory services to support coastal tourism, off-shore energy development, exploration and conservation of deep-sea biodiversity, and an advanced marine station for ocean biology.

Cost to the exchequer

The estimated cost of the Deep Ocean Mission will be Rs. 4077 crores for a period of 5 years to be implemented in a phase-wise manner. The estimated cost for the first phase for the 3 years (2021-2024) would be Rs.2823.4 crore. The mission would focus on the development of technologies for deep-sea mining and manned submersible which will be developed to carry three people to a depth of 6,000 metres in the ocean with a suite of scientific sensors and tools. At present, only a very few countries have acquired this capability. An integrated mining system will be also developed for mining polymetallic nodules from 6,000-metre depth in the central Indian Ocean.

India is covered by the deep sea from three sides and has a 7,517 kilometres long coastline and 1,382 islands. The country has been allocated a site of 75,000 km2 in the Central Indian Ocean Basin by the International Seabed Authority for the exploration of polymetallic nodules from the seabed.

The Deep Ocean Mission consists of the following six major components:

The technologies required for deep sea mining have strategic implications and are not commercially available. Hence, attempts will be made to indigenise technologies by collaborating with leading institutes and private industries. A research vessel for deep ocean exploration would be built in an Indian shipyard which would create employment opportunities. This mission is also directed toward capacity development in Marine Biology, which will provide job opportunities in Indian industries. In addition, the design, development and fabrication of specialised equipment, ships and setting up of required infrastructure are expected to spur the growth of the Indian industry, especially the MSME and Startups.

The United Nations (UN) has declared the decade, 2021-2030 as the Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development and India has a unique maritime position. 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.