Opportunities for marine industries, MSMEs and start-ups, says CECA
An Indian shipyard is to build a research vessel for deep ocean exploration as part of the Rs.4,077 crore Deep Ocean Mission. Industries also are expected to benefit from developing a Marine Biology centre as part of the Blue Economy Initiatives.
Additionally, local industries including MSMEs and start-ups will be involved in the design, development and fabrication of specialised equipment, ships and setting up of required infrastructure under a five-year proposal by the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) to undertake the Mission to explore ocean and develop technologies for sustain use of resources from deep ocean.
The first three-year phase (2021-2024) would cost about Rs.2,823.4 crore, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CECA) said on 16 June 2021 on giving approval for the Mission supporting the government’s Blue Economy Initiatives. The MoES will be the nodal Ministry implementing this multi-institutional ambitious mission.
The Deep Ocean Mission consists of the following six major components:
Development of Technologies for Deep Sea Mining, and Manned Submersible: A manned submersible will be developed to carry three people to a depth of 6,000 metres in the ocean with suite of scientific sensors and tools. Only a very few countries have acquired this capability. An Integrated Mining System will be also developed for mining Polymetallic Nodules from 6,000 m depth in the central Indian Ocean. The exploration studies of minerals will pave way for the commercial exploitation in the near future, as and when commercial exploitation code is evolved by the International Seabed Authority, an UN organization. This component will help the Blue Economy priority area of exploring and harnessing of deep sea minerals and energy.
Development of Ocean Climate Change Advisory Services: A suite of observations and models will be developed to understand and provide future projections of important climate variables on seasonal to decadal time scales under this proof of concept component. This component will support the Blue Economy priority area of coastal tourism.
Technological innovations for exploration and conservation of deep-sea biodiversity: Bio-prospecting of deep sea flora and fauna including microbes and studies on sustainable utilization of deep sea bio-resources will be the main focus. This component will support the Blue Economy priority area of Marine Fisheries and allied services.
Deep Ocean Survey and Exploration: The primary objective of this component is to explore and identify potential sites of multi-metal Hydrothermal Sulphides mineralization along the Indian Ocean mid-oceanic ridges. This component will additionally support the Blue Economy priority area of deep sea exploration of ocean resources.
Energy and freshwater from the Ocean: Studies and detailed engineering design for offshore Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) powered desalination plant are envisaged in this proof of concept proposal. This component will support the Blue Economy priority area of off-shore energy development.
Advanced Marine Station for Ocean Biology. This component is aimed as development of human capacity and enterprise in ocean biology and engineering. This component will translate research into industrial application and product development through on-site business incubator facilities. This component will support the Blue Economy priority area of Marine Biology, Blue trade and Blue manufacturing.
The technologies required for deep sea mining have strategic implications and are not commercially available. Hence, attempts will be made to indigenise technologies by collaborating with leading institutes and private industries.
“Oceans, which cover 70% of the globe, remain a key part of our life. About 95% of Deep Ocean remains unexplored,” CECA pointed out.
For India, with its three sides surrounded by the oceans and around 30% of the country’s population living in coastal areas, ocean is a major economic factor supporting fisheries and aquaculture, tourism, livelihoods and blue trade.
Oceans are also storehouse of food, energy, minerals, medicines, modulator of weather and climate and underpin life on Earth. Considering importance of the oceans on sustainability, the United Nations (UN) has declared the decade, 2021-2030, as the Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development.
India has a unique maritime position. Its 7,517-km long coastline is home to nine coastal states and 1,382 islands. The government’s Vision of New India by 2030 enunciated in February 2019 highlighted the Blue Economy as one of the 10 core dimensions of growth, said CECA. #technologies #investments #projects #ocean #marine #infrastructure /fiinews.com
