Produced by: Tarun Mishra Designed by: Manoj Kumar
India has taken a significant step in advancing the blue economy by conducting a thorough survey of the Central Indian Ocean Basin to identify hidden elements in the deep sea.
Spearheaded by the National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT), the Deep Ocean Mission initiative is exploring the uncharted depths of the ocean to unveil its natural hidden treasures and potential resources.
Union Minister of Earth Sciences, Kiren Rijiju, has provided a detailed update on the mission's progress in a written response to the Lok Sabha.
Extensive survey and exploration activities have focused on the extraction of polymetallic nodules, rich deposits containing essential metals crucial for industries, including Nickel, Cobalt, Copper, and Manganese.
The mission has expanded its reach to the Central and South West Indian ridges, revealing promising locations indicative of hydrothermal activity and zones rich in sulphide mineralisation, containing valuable metals like Copper and Zinc.
The findings represent potential gateways to untapped resources that could have a significant impact on India's economy.
The Deep Ocean Mission has extended beyond resource extraction, encompassing goals such as understanding and preserving marine biodiversity, assessing environmental impacts, and developing latest technologies for deep-sea exploration.
India's ambitious Samudrayaan project, aligned with the Deep Ocean Mission, aims to explore the deep ocean and its resources, sending three personnel to a depth of 6000 meters in a submersible vehicle.
Designed and developed by the National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) in Chennai, the submersible vehicle 'MATSYA 6000' has boasted an endurance of 12 hours under normal operation and 96 hours in case of emergency for human safety.
The Samudrayaan project is anticipated for a launch by 2026, which would mark as a significant milestone in India's quest for deep-sea exploration and harnessing valuable resources from the ocean depths.