Recently the government revealed that as a part of Samudrayaan
mission, a self-propelled manned submersible (MATSYA 6000) will
carry 3 persons to a depth of 6000 meters for exploration of deep-sea
resources.
Key Highlights:
MATSYA 6000 is being developed by National Institute of Ocean
Technology, Chennai.
It has an endurance of 12 hours (normal operation) and 96 hours
(in case of emergency).
It will facilitate direct observation and collection of samples
by humans at large depths.
It is being developed under Deep Ocean Mission (DOM) announced in
2021.
Other Benefits– underwater engineering innovations in asset
inspection, tourism and promotion of ocean literacy.
Deep Ocean Mission
DOM (MoES as nodal ministry) was approved in 2021 and will be
implemented over a period of 5 years.
Estimated cost of the DOM is ₹ 4077 crores for 2021-26.
DOM aims to explore the deep ocean for resources and develop deep sea
technologies for sustainable use of ocean resources.
It will be a mission mode project to support Blue Economy
initiatives.
Blue economy size in India is about 4% of the GDP.
6 Major components of DOM-
Development of Technologies for Deep Sea Mining, and Manned
Submersible.
Development of Ocean Climate Change Advisory Services.
Technological innovations for exploration and conservation of
deep-sea biodiversity.