India's Rs 4,077 Crore Deep Ocean Mission For Exploration Of Oceanic Resources To Begin This Year

Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Earth Sciences Jitendra Singh on Tuesday (3 August) said that India's Deep Ocean Mission (DOM) will commence from this year.

The government has approved Deep Ocean Mission (DOM) to be implemented by Ministry of Earth Sciences at a total budget of Rs 4,077 crore for five years.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by PM Narendra Modi, approved the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) proposal on 'Deep Ocean Mission' to explore the deep ocean for resources and develop deep-sea technologies for sustainable use of ocean resources.

The estimated cost of the mission will be Rs 4077 crore for five years to be implemented in a phase-wise manner. The estimated cost for the first phase for three years (2021-2024) would be Rs 2823.4 crore.

In a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha, the Minister said the Deep Ocean Mission is a multi-ministerial, multi-disciplinary programme with emphasis on development of deep-sea technology that includes development of manned Submersible rated for 6,000 metre water depth along 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 Ministry of Earth Science said.

It is planned to develop a manned submarine to carry 3 people to a depth of 6000 metres in the ocean with suit of scientific sensors and tools. All the components of the mission will commence in 2021, the minister said.