Latest news with #DeepOceanMission
Time of India
2 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
India calls for global ocean pact, outlines deep-sea and plastic action at UNOC3, ET Infra
Progress on Deep Ocean Mission, plastics treaty Advt Investments in Blue Economy and coastal restoration Advt By , ETInfra Join the community of 2M+ industry professionals Subscribe to our newsletter to get latest insights & analysis. Get updates on your preferred social platform Follow us for the latest news, insider access to events and more. At the third United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC3) in Nice, France, India called for urgent global cooperation on ocean health, with Union Minister of Earth Sciences (Independent Charge), Dr Jitendra Singh, urging nations to support a global ocean pact . India outlined its policy measures on deep-sea exploration, marine pollution , and sustainable fisheries , as part of its ongoing efforts to support ocean Jitendra Singh highlighted developments under the Deep Ocean Mission, including progress on India's first manned submersible, 'Samudrayaan', expected to be deployed by 2026. The submersible aims to reach depths of up to 6,000 metres. He also noted India's expansion of Marine Protected Areas , which now cover 6.6% of the country's Exclusive Economic reiterated its support for the ratification of the Agreement on Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) and called for the finalisation of a legally binding Global Plastics Treaty. A draft marine litter policy has been prepared, and clean-up efforts under the ' Swachh Sagar, Surakshit Sagar ' campaign have resulted in the removal of over 50,000 tonnes of plastic waste across 1,000 km of coastline since Singh also launched the 'SAHAV' portal, a digital platform for ocean data access, developed to improve ocean-related presentation included details on Blue Economy initiatives. Over 600 port-led infrastructure projects valued at $80 billion have been developed under the Sagarmala Programme. The fisheries sector has received investments of $2.5 billion under the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana, leading to a 10 per cent increase in fish production and the formation of more than 1,000 fish farmer producer reported the restoration of 10,000 hectares of mangroves and the adoption of shoreline management plans using nature-based approaches. The country has incorporated ocean-based climate measures into its Nationally Determined Contributions under the Paris also participated in high-level dialogues at UNOC3, including the India-Norway side session on Marine Spatial Planning, and co-led the 'Blue Talks' alongside France and Costa for the adoption of a 'Nice Ocean Action Plan', Dr Jitendra Singh said, 'The ocean is our shared heritage and responsibility,' and reaffirmed India's readiness to work with governments, the private sector, civil society, and indigenous communities.
Hans India
3 days ago
- Politics
- Hans India
India calls for global action on ocean health, showcases over $80 billion worth projects
New Delhi: India on Tuesday called for urgent global action on ocean health at the third United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC3) in Nice, France. At the conference, Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh pushed for global ocean pact and unveiled major strides in deep-sea exploration, marine plastic clean-up, and sustainable fisheries. Dr Singh highlighted progress on the Deep Ocean Mission's upcoming manned submersible, a nationwide single-use plastic ban, and over $80 billion worth of the 'Blue Economy' projects. India also backed the swift ratification of the BBNJ Agreement, advocated for a legally binding Global Plastics Treaty, and launched the 'SAHAV' digital ocean data portal, underscoring its growing leadership in global marine governance. Addressing the conference, which is co-hosted by France and Costa Rica, Dr Singh reaffirmed India's commitment to 'Sustainable Development Goal 14: Life Below Water'. He outlined how India's initiatives are aimed at reversing ocean degradation through science, innovation, and inclusive partnerships. A key highlight was the progress on the Deep Ocean Mission's 'Samudrayaan' project, which is expected to deploy India's first manned submersible by 2026. The project aims to explore ocean depths up to 6,000 metres and is seen as a major leap in India's scientific capability. Dr Singh also spoke of expanding India's Marine Protected Areas, which now cover 6.6 per cent of the Exclusive Economic Zone, contributing to global biodiversity goals. On marine pollution, the Minister pointed to tangible outcomes from the 'Swachh Sagar, Surakshit Sagar' campaign, which has cleaned over 1,000 km of India's coastline and removed more than 50,000 tonnes of plastic waste since 2022. The draft marine litter policy has been prepared, and India continues to support negotiations on a Global Plastics Treaty aimed at a legally binding international framework. India's Blue Economy efforts, led by the Sagarmala Programme and the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY), were also showcased. Emphasizing climate resilience, Dr. Singh noted the restoration of over 10,000 hectares of mangroves and the implementation of shoreline management plans using nature-based solutions. India has also integrated ocean-based climate actions into its Nationally Determined Contributions under the Paris Agreement.
The Hindu
03-05-2025
- Science
- The Hindu
Do public-funded R&D units innovate enough?
The story so far: The office of the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the Centre for Technology, Innovation, and Economic Research have released a detailed assessment of public-funded research and development in India. In all, 244 R&D organisations, affiliated to various ministries, participated in the study, 'Evaluation of Innovation Excellence Indicators of Public Funded R&D Organizations'. However, scientific institutions such as those belonging to defence research, space, and atomic energy research, which make up the dominant share of India's overall R&D spend, were excluded from the study, due to the 'sensitive nature' of their work. Academic institutions and universities also weren't part of the study. What was the purpose of this study? The survey was administered via an online questionnaire and was designed to capture the contributions of public-funded R&D organisations in areas critical to India's growth. The key question that the authors of the report sought to answer was whether these labs were largely engaged in curiosity-driven academic science, or geared towards developing products and new innovations that aligned with the demands of industry. The authors sought to 'capture and evaluate' innovation indicators of public-funded R&D labs/institutes. 'The analysis and recommendations in this report were meant to guide the public-funded R&D labs/institutes to increase their contributions meaningfully towards a number of Sustainable Development Goals and national priorities through their research capabilities, to help the nation navigate various challenges on the socio-economic front, from health challenges to ensuring a more diverse scientific base through opportunities for women scientists, and finally to contribute to skilling and creating meaningful employment by working alongside industry and startups,' the study noted. How was it conducted? These big-picture questions were broken down into 62 parameters. These included questions on the labs' annual spend on R&D, number of young scientists, patents filed, technologies developed, participation of women scientists and their contribution to 'national missions' such as the 'Deep Ocean Mission,' 'National Quantum Mission' etc. Labs/institutes self selected themselves as 'Basic, Applied or Services' or as 'hybrid' — a lab/institute whose research straddles more than one of the three research categories of basic, applied and services. All the data submitted by the labs/institutes were accompanied with the director's sign-off indicating that the submitted data was authentic and valid. What were the key findings? A significant finding was that only about 25% of the labs surveyed gave incubation support to startups and only 16% provided support to 'deep tech' startups. Only 15% collaborated with industry overseas and only half of them opened their facilities to researchers and students from outside. About half the labs/institutes contributed to national policies and developing technologies targeting the 'Make in India' initiative. The Skill India Mission was being targeted by around 35% of the organisations while around 30% of the organisations said they were targeting the Swachh Bharat Mission. A large number of labs/institutes reported a decrease in the number of permanent staff in 2022-23 compared to the previous year and an increased reliance — from 17,234 to 19,625 — on contractual staff. The median share of young researchers increased in 2022-23 to around 58% from 54% in the previous year. The combined budget of 155 labs/institutes increased from ₹9,924 crore in 2017-18 to ₹13,162 crore in 2022-23. The total number of scientific staff and the share of women scientists within scientific staff remained stagnant across 2021-2023. Does the report make recommendations? As part of its recommendations, the report advocates that every lab should be 'mandated to review their existing mandates' and align themselves to 'Viksit Bharat.' The mandate is to focus on 'critical technologies' as directed by the government, and that public-funded R&D organisations must adopt this strategy on a 'war footing'. They should work closely with industry, as well as each other. The report recommends setting up of Section 8 companies (non profit organisations registered under the Ministry of Corporate Affairs) to provide support to startups, opening research and testing facilities and, improving cross-linkages with higher educational institutes.
The Hindu
29-04-2025
- Science
- The Hindu
Insufficient support for deep tech, startups by public-funded R&D: Study
Only about one in four public-funded research and development organisations in India give incubation support to start-ups and only one in six provide support to 'deep tech' startups. Only 15% collaborated with industry overseas and only half of them opened their facilities to outside researchers and students, say the findings of a study commissioned by the Office of the Principal Scientific Advisor and executed by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the Centre for Technology, Innovation, and Economic Research. The study, via a detailed questionnaire, asked labs to rate themselves and supply data on 62 parameters such as their spend on R&D, number of young scientists, patents filed, technologies developed, participation of women scientists and their contribution to 'national missions' such as Deep Ocean Mission, National Quantum Mission, etc. Labs of the 'strategic sector' such as those belonging to defence research, space, atomic energy research — all of which constitute the lion's share of India's overall Research and Development (R&D) spend — were excluded from the study due to the 'sensitive nature of their work'. The labs studied were those affiliated to the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, the Department of Science and Technology, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, etc. The Central government expenditure on R&D was around ₹55,685 crore in 2020-21, the figure cited in the study and the latest available. Excluding the expenditure of the strategic departments like DRDO (Defence), DAE (Atomic energy) and DoS (Space), the spending by key scientific agencies and other Central government departments was ₹24,587 crore. Around 25% of the participating institutions reported spending between 75% and 100% of their budget on R&D. The organizations that reported less than the median share of spending on R&D and S&T (Science and Technology) in the overall budget were largely from ICAR (Agricultural research), CSIR, ICMR (Medical research), Ministry of AYUSH (Ayurveda and traditional medicine) and DST (Science and Technology). Staff strength down A large number of labs/institutes reported a decrease in the number of permanent staff in 2022-23 compared to the previous year and an increased reliance — from 17,234 to 19,625 — on contractual staff. The median share of young researchers increased in 2022-23 to around 58 per cent from 54 per cent in the previous year. In the previous exercise, for around 193 organisations that had participated, this number was around 63 per cent to 65 per cent for the period from 2017-18 to 2019-20. 'This is the second time that we have had such an analysis. What we intend is that the data from such a study be closely analysed by institutions so that they can identify areas of improvement,' said Dr. Ajay Sood, Principal Scientific Adviser, 'Overall, several researchers seem to have oriented themselves from being centres of scientific inquiry to innovation centres. I see that as a positive development. Academia and product innovation must go hand in hand.' As part of its recommendation, the report advocates that every lab should be 'mandated to review their existing mandates' and align themselves to Viksit Bharat goals. The mandate should focus on 'critical technologies' as directed by the government and be taken on a 'war footing' by public-funded R&D organisations. They should work closely with industry as well as with each other.
