Finance
Officials say India plans to send three people to 6,000 meters below sea level as part of the Samudrayaan Mission, and that the mission heralds the beginning of an era of “Blue Economy,” which will play a significant role in building India’s overall economy in the coming years.
Jitendra Singh, Minister of State (Independent Charge) Earth Sciences, revealed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi mentioned the Deep Sea Mission in his Independence Day address in both 2021 and 2022.
He went on to say that the MATSYA vehicle will transport three people to a depth of 6,000 meters for the exploration of deep-sea resources such as minerals.
This mission, he said, should be completed within the next three years.
Singh went on to say that the MATSYA 6000 is being designed and developed by the Ministry of Earth Sciences’ National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT), Chennai.
“It has an endurance of 12 hours under normal operation and 96 hours in case of emergency for human safety.”
“The design of the vehicle is completed and the realisation of various components of the vehicle is in progress. Manned submersible facilitates the direct observation by humans in the deep ocean in exploring mineral resources rich in nickel, cobalt, rare earth, manganese, etc., and collection of samples, which can be used for analysis,” said the minister.
The minister added that, in addition to the benefits of scientific research and technological empowerment, the mission has immediate spin-offs in the form of underwater engineering innovations in asset inspection, tourism, and ocean literacy promotion.
“Development of 6,000m-depth rated Integrated Mining Machine and unmanned vehicles (tethered and automated) to explore deep-sea resources and biodiversity assessment,” Singh said.
The Deep Ocean Mission was given a five-year budget of Rs 4,077 crore by the Centre.
The first phase is expected to cost Rs 2,823.4 crore over three years (2021-2024).
India has a unique maritime position, with a 7,517-kilometer-long coastline that includes nine coastal states and 1,382 islands.
The mission’s goal is to support the Central Government’s vision of a “New India,” which includes the blue economy as one of the ten core dimensions of growth.
Source:IANS
