India’s Deep Ocean Mission received a significant boost with a Rs 600 crore allocation for the Samudrayaan project in the Union Budget 2025-26 presented on February 1.

• India plans to send a manned-submersible, developed by the Chennai-based National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT), up to a depth of 500 metres in the ocean later this year, and gradually explore the seabed at the depth of 6,000 meters next year.
• The Ministry of Earth Sciences, which is steering the Deep Ocean Mission, got an allocation of around Rs 3,650 crore in the Union Budget.
• Sitharaman also allocated Rs 1,329 crore for Mission Mausam to improve weather forecasting capabilities.

Deep Ocean Mission

• The Ministry of Earth Sciences launched the Deep Ocean Mission in September 2021 to explore deep-sea living and  non-living resources to support the blue economy and for the sustainable harnessing of ocean resources. 
• The Deep Ocean Mission was launched as a Central Sector Scheme.
• Objectives of the Mission are intended for a better understanding of the deep sea resources of the Indian Ocean, thereby aiding efforts to expand the blue economy.