India exploring underwater mineral resources under Deep Ocean Mission: Centre
MoS for earth sciences Jitendra Singh said the first exploration contract, signed in 2002, covers polymetallic nodules in a 75,000 sq km block in the Central Indian Ocean Basin. Another, signed in 2016, involves polymetallic sulphides (PMS) exploration in a 10,000 sq km area along the Indian Ocean Ridge.
Polymetallic nodules contain metals such as copper, nickel and cobalt, while PMS deposits include copper, zinc, lead, iron, silver and gold. Singh said seabed mineral exploration is conducted strictly under ISA's approved work plans, which include survey and exploration, environmental impact assessment, technology development for mining, and metallurgical extraction.
At present, ISA regulations restrict activities to the exploration stage only. Singh highlighted India's recent advances, which include manned submersible technology development, demonstration of collecting over 100 kg of cobalt-rich polymetallic nodules from a depth of 1,173 metres in the Andaman Sea in 2024, and identification of two active hydrothermal vent fields in the Central Indian Ocean. Vulnerability maps for coastal areas facing climate change impacts have also been developed.
He was replying to questions by BJP MPs Manish Jaiswal, Sudheer Gupta and Chavan Ravindra Vasantrao on government measures to strengthen climate preparedness and explore ocean resources.
The minister said the Centre for Marine Living Resources and Ecology (CMLRE), Kochi, under the MoES, has undertaken six research cruises in the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal, surveying biodiversity across 19 seamounts. About 1,300 deep-sea organisms were collected, catalogued and studied, with genomic analysis of select specimens and the discovery of 23 species new to science.
Further, the National Centre of Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR), Goa, has carried out deep-ocean surveys in the Central and Southwest Indian Ridges. These led to the discovery of four active hydrothermal vent fields and two mineralised polymetallic sulphide zones.
Responding to a separate question on the status of India's first manned submersible project, Singh said the design and integration of the human-occupied vehicle MATSYA-6000 — capable of carrying three persons to a depth of 6,000 metres — has been completed by the National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT), Chennai, under MoES.
The vehicle underwent successful wet harbour trials in January–February 2025 at L&T Shipbuilding Facility in Katupalli, near Tamil Nadu. Singh said MATSYA-6000 will be equipped with scientific payloads aligned to India's research goals, including studies of biodiversity, mineral resources, and deep-sea ecosystems.
On August 15, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the National Deep Water Exploration Mission to address India's energy security needs. 'We are preparing to extract deep ocean resources such as reserves of oil and gas,' Modi said in his Independence Day address, describing the initiative as a 'Samudra Manthan' (mythical churning of the sea) to be executed in mission mode.
India is the world's third-largest consumer of crude oil after the US and China, importing 232.7 million tonnes worth $157.5 billion in 2024–25. The country meets over 88% of its crude oil demand through imports but also exports refined petroleum products.
Officials said the twin-track approach of mineral exploration and energy extraction will strengthen India's long-term resource security. While exploration remains tightly regulated by ISA, advances such as MATSYA-6000 and hydrothermal vent mapping provide India with technological readiness once deep-sea mining shifts to commercial operations.
The Deep Ocean Mission, integrated with the National Deep Water Exploration Mission, is expected to boost India's capabilities in both strategic resources and climate resilience. Singh said the government remains committed to aligning these initiatives with global best practices while ensuring environmental safeguards in fragile deep-sea ecosystems.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Indian Express
a day ago
- Indian Express
ISRO's spaceport at Kulasekarapattinam to be commissioned in 2026-2027, says Dr Jitendra Singh
The commissioning of India's second spaceport is targeted in the financial year 2026 – 2027, Dr Jitendra Singh, Minister of State in the Department of Space informed Lok Sabha Wednesday. The development of ISRO's second spaceport is currently underway in Kulasekarapattinam, Tamil Nadu. He was replying to the question on the status of the proposed spaceport posed by Kanimozhi Karunanidhi, Member of Parliament, DMK. At present, all space launches undertaken by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) are realised from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, or SHAR, located at Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh. In February 2024, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had laid the foundation stone of the spaceport which enjoys a geographical advantage along the coastal Tamil Nadu's Thoothukudi district. This spaceport, with a financial outlay of Rs. 985.96 crore, will be extensively and exclusively used for commercial, on-demand and small satellite launches in future. ' Post commissioning, the launches of the Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV) and equivalent vehicles from the non-government entities are planned to be carried out from Kulasekarapattinam,' the DoS minister stated. The SSLV missions are best suited for launching small-sized satellites, low on cost and the intended satellite insertion is done into the Low Earth Orbit. As they typically weigh anywhere between 10 to 500kg, the requirement of a short trajectory and the ability to accomplish the mission in limited fuel is essential. These requirements will be met once the new launch facility at Kulasekarapattinam will be operational as it will offer a direct south-bound and smaller launch trajectory. From the time since the commencement of the ground works at the site till July this year , a sum of Rs. 389.58 crore has been spent on the project development. The upcoming spaceport, Dr Singh said, will enhance the payload capability of satellite launch vehicles in the class of ISRO's Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV), while launching satellites to polar orbits.
Hindustan Times
2 days ago
- Hindustan Times
India exploring underwater mineral resources under Deep Ocean Mission: Centre
The ministry of earth sciences (MoES) has launched the Deep Ocean Mission (DoM) to explore the mineral wealth in the deep seabed beyond national jurisdiction through two exploration contracts with the International Seabed Authority (ISA) in the Indian Ocean, the government informed the Lok Sabha on Wednesday. Minister of state for earth sciences Jitendra Singh speaks in the Lok Sabha. (Sansad TV) MoS for earth sciences Jitendra Singh said the first exploration contract, signed in 2002, covers polymetallic nodules in a 75,000 sq km block in the Central Indian Ocean Basin. Another, signed in 2016, involves polymetallic sulphides (PMS) exploration in a 10,000 sq km area along the Indian Ocean Ridge. Polymetallic nodules contain metals such as copper, nickel and cobalt, while PMS deposits include copper, zinc, lead, iron, silver and gold. Singh said seabed mineral exploration is conducted strictly under ISA's approved work plans, which include survey and exploration, environmental impact assessment, technology development for mining, and metallurgical extraction. At present, ISA regulations restrict activities to the exploration stage only. Singh highlighted India's recent advances, which include manned submersible technology development, demonstration of collecting over 100 kg of cobalt-rich polymetallic nodules from a depth of 1,173 metres in the Andaman Sea in 2024, and identification of two active hydrothermal vent fields in the Central Indian Ocean. Vulnerability maps for coastal areas facing climate change impacts have also been developed. He was replying to questions by BJP MPs Manish Jaiswal, Sudheer Gupta and Chavan Ravindra Vasantrao on government measures to strengthen climate preparedness and explore ocean resources. The minister said the Centre for Marine Living Resources and Ecology (CMLRE), Kochi, under the MoES, has undertaken six research cruises in the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal, surveying biodiversity across 19 seamounts. About 1,300 deep-sea organisms were collected, catalogued and studied, with genomic analysis of select specimens and the discovery of 23 species new to science. Further, the National Centre of Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR), Goa, has carried out deep-ocean surveys in the Central and Southwest Indian Ridges. These led to the discovery of four active hydrothermal vent fields and two mineralised polymetallic sulphide zones. Responding to a separate question on the status of India's first manned submersible project, Singh said the design and integration of the human-occupied vehicle MATSYA-6000 — capable of carrying three persons to a depth of 6,000 metres — has been completed by the National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT), Chennai, under MoES. The vehicle underwent successful wet harbour trials in January–February 2025 at L&T Shipbuilding Facility in Katupalli, near Tamil Nadu. Singh said MATSYA-6000 will be equipped with scientific payloads aligned to India's research goals, including studies of biodiversity, mineral resources, and deep-sea ecosystems. On August 15, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the National Deep Water Exploration Mission to address India's energy security needs. 'We are preparing to extract deep ocean resources such as reserves of oil and gas,' Modi said in his Independence Day address, describing the initiative as a 'Samudra Manthan' (mythical churning of the sea) to be executed in mission mode. India is the world's third-largest consumer of crude oil after the US and China, importing 232.7 million tonnes worth $157.5 billion in 2024–25. The country meets over 88% of its crude oil demand through imports but also exports refined petroleum products. Officials said the twin-track approach of mineral exploration and energy extraction will strengthen India's long-term resource security. While exploration remains tightly regulated by ISA, advances such as MATSYA-6000 and hydrothermal vent mapping provide India with technological readiness once deep-sea mining shifts to commercial operations. The Deep Ocean Mission, integrated with the National Deep Water Exploration Mission, is expected to boost India's capabilities in both strategic resources and climate resilience. Singh said the government remains committed to aligning these initiatives with global best practices while ensuring environmental safeguards in fragile deep-sea ecosystems.
News18
2 days ago
- News18
India's Deep Sea Exploration Human Mission: Ahead Of Samudrayaan, Scientists Train In Atlantic Ocean
Indian scientists from National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT), Chennai participated in deep-ocean human scientific expeditions onboard the submersible NAUTILE Close on the heels of Prime Minister Narendra Modi announcing from Red Fort that India will carry out deep sea exploration mission for oil and minerals, India sent its scientists to France this month to get international experience of the same in the Atlantic Ocean. As part of the Indo-French partnership, Indian scientists from National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT), Chennai participated in deep-ocean human scientific expeditions onboard the submersible NAUTILE developed by the French marine institute IFREMER this month. This has helped our scientists gain operational experience at the deep sea up to 5000 meters depth in the Atlantic Ocean and functional operations. India has developed a human submersible (MATSYA-6000) which will soon carry three persons to a depth of 6000 meters, as part of the Deep Ocean Mission. MATSYA-6000 is designed to include scientific payloads to align with India's scientific exploration and observation activities for deep-sea living and non-living. Progress of the mission The wet harbour trials of MATSYA-6000 were successfully conducted in January-February 2025 at L&T Shipbuilding Facility in Katupalli, near Tamil Nadu. The technological innovations developed for MATSYA-6000 include a bio-vest for real-time crew monitoring, a cognitive digital twin to support during emergency scenarios, an underwater acoustic telephone, ballast management system capable of operating from the submersible as well as a ship, a welded titanium alloy exo-structure, an 80 mm thick electron beam welded titanium alloy personnel sphere with multi-ring configuration and hydrostatically stable and hydrodynamically efficient subsystems with high density Lithium-Polymer-based main power system for propulsion. The realisation of the titanium personnel sphere of MATSYA-6000 has been initiated as an indigenous effort with ISRO. Sub-components such as the base frame and pressure cases are developed with Indian industry partners. The inertial navigation systems and integration with Global Positioning Systems, Doppler Velocity Logs, Depth and Acoustic Positioning Systems and an underwater acoustic telephone are undertaken with DRDO. view comments First Published: News india India's Deep Sea Exploration Human Mission: Ahead Of Samudrayaan, Scientists Train In Atlantic Ocean Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Loading comments...
