Chief of the Naval Staff, Admiral R. Hari Kumar on Friday met Union Minister of State Dr. Jitendra Singh to discuss the modalities of cooperation in “Deep Ocean Mission”.
What is the Deep Ocean Mission which is touted to be the torchbearer of India’s “Blue Economy”? Read this to learn more.
What is Deep Ocean Mission?
The Deep Ocean Mission is designed to explore India’s deep ocean for resources and develop deep-sea technologies for sustainable use of ocean resources.
It is a multi-ministerial, multi-disciplinary program with an emphasis on the development of deep-sea technology that includes the development of manned Submersible rated for 6000-meter water depth with technologies for deep-sea mining, exploration of deep-sea mineral resources and marine biodiversity, acquisition of a research vessel for ocean exploration, deep-sea observations, and capacity building in Marine Biology.
The Modi Government had approved the Deep Ocean Mission (DOM) in June 2021 to be implemented by the Ministry of Earth Sciences at a total budget of Rs. 4077 Crore for 5 years.
During his Independence Day address from Red Fort last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said that the “Deep Ocean” Mission will take India’s development to new heights in the 21st century. The Deep Ocean Mission is a mission mode project to support the Blue Economy initiatives of the Government of India.
Indian Navy and Deep Ocean Mission
Pertinent to mention that the Indian Navy is a member of the Deep Ocean Council and it will be involved in launching and recovery of Man submersible in deep water, which will be developed under the Deep Ocean Mission.
The Ministry of Earth Sciences and the Indian Navy are to soon sign an MoU for knowledge sharing in the areas of design and development of underwater vehicles.
Manned submersible MATSYA 6000
The preliminary design of the manned submersible MATSYA 6000 is completed and realization of the vehicle is started with the various organization including ISRO, IITM, and DRDO roped-in to support the development.
It is designed to carry 3 people to a depth of 6000 meters in the ocean with the suit of scientific sensors and tools.
Samundrayaan: India’s First Manned Ocean Mission
Dr. Jitendra Singh launched India’s First Manned Ocean Mission Samundrayaan at Chennai in October, last year and thus joined the elite club of nations such as the USA, Russia, Japan, France, and China to have such underwater vehicles for carrying out subsea activities.
The Minister informed that this niche technology shall facilitate the Ministry of Earth Sciences, MoES in carrying out deep ocean exploration of the non-living resources such as polymetallic manganese nodules, gas hydrates, hydro-thermal sulfides, and cobalt crusts, located at a depth between 1000 and 5500 meters.
