Context: India is planning to explore deep sea resources with its Samudrayaan mission which is expected to be realised by year 2026.

• The Indian Government launched the Samudrayaan mission in 2021. 

About Samudrayaan Mission

• India will send three personnel to 6,000 metre depth in a vehicle called Matsya 6000 for the exploration of deep-sea resources like minerals.

• MATSYA 6000 vehicle is being designed and developed by Chennai-based National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) which is an autonomous society under the Ministry of Earth Sciences.

• Few of the crucial components of manned submersibles are the development of Ti Alloy Personnel Spheres, Human Support and Safety Systems in Enclosed Space, Low-Density Buoyancy Modules, Ballast and Trim systems, and Low-Density Buoyancy Modules. 

Operation

• The vehicle has an endurance of 12 hours under normal operation and 96 hours in case of emergency for human safety.

Participation

• Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), IITM, and Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) will actively participate in this mission.

Cost

• The Centre had approved the Deep Ocean Mission (DOM) at a total budget of Rs 4,077 crore for five years. 

Elite club of nations

• India will be joining the elite club of nations such as the US, Russia, Japan, France, and China to have niche technology and vehicles to carry out subsea activities.

The Deep Ocean Mission

• It will run under the direction of the Ministry of Earth Sciences.

• It has a budget of USD 4,077 million over five years.

• Over the period of three years, the first phase is projected to cost Rs 2,823.4 crore (2021-2024). 

• The Deep Ocean Mission will be a mission-mode initiative to support the blue economy aspirations of the Indian government.

Sagarmala Project

• The Sagarmala project is the strategic initiative for port-led development through the extensive use of IT enabled services for modernization of ports.

Key Importance

• India has a unique maritime position: a 7517 km long coastline, which is home to nine coastal states and 1,382 islands.

• Blue Economy: The mission aims to boost the Central government's vision of New India that highlights the Blue Economy as one of the ten core dimensions of growth.

• It supports fisheries and aquaculture, tourism, livelihoods, and blue trade.

Significance of the mission 

• Exploring mineral resources: Manned submersible facilitates the direct observation by the human in deep ocean in exploring mineral resources rich in Nickel, Cobalt, Rare Earths, Manganese etc. and collection of samples, which can be used for analysis.

• Underwater engineering innovations: Mission has immediate spin-offs in the form of underwater engineering innovations in asset inspection, tourism and promotion of ocean literacy.