‘Samudrayaan Mission’ to be completed by the year 2026
- According to the Ministry of Earth Sciences, the Samudrayaan mission is expected to be completed by the year 2026.
- The objective of the mission is to send three men to a depth of 6000 meters in a vehicle named ‘Matsya 6000’ for deep sea exploration and search for rare mineral resources.
- The ‘Matsya 6000’ vehicle is being developed and designed by the National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT), Chennai, under the Ministry of Earth Sciences.
- Its capacity for human protection is 12 hours in normal conditions and 96 hours in emergency.
- This is India’s first unique manned ocean mission which is a part of Rs 6000 crore Deep Ocean Mission.
Significance:
- The manned submersible enables scientific personnel to see and understand unexplored areas of the deep sea through direct observation.
- It will also give a boost to the vision of the Union Government’s ‘New India’ programme, which highlights blue economy as one of the ten key dimensions of development.
- India has 7517 kms. It has a unique maritime setting with a long coastline that includes nine coastal states and 1,382 islands.
- India is surrounded by sea on three sides and about 30% of the country’s population lives in coastal areas and coastal regions, a major economic factor.
- It supports fisheries and aquaculture, tourism, livelihoods and ‘Blue Trade’.
Deep Ocean Mission:
- It was approved by the Ministry of Earth Sciences in June 2021. It aims to explore the deep sea for resources, develop deep sea technologies for sustainable use of ocean resources as well as support the blue economy initiatives of the Government of India.
- The estimated cost of this mission with a duration of five years is Rs 4,077 crore which will be implemented in a phased manner.
Source – PIB
