Tirupati: Barely three months after reports came of the progress of China’s deep ocean mission for mining mineral deposits in the Indian and Pacific oceans, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday announced a Deep Ocean Mission to explore and mine the mineral wealth beneath the ocean floor. Inaugurating the 104th Indian Science Congress at Tirupati, Mr Modi said that the ministry of earth sciences is working to launch a Deep Ocean Mission that will harness the ocean’s resources in a “responsible way” and “could be a trans-formative step for the prosperity and security of the nation”.
Resources within the Exclusive Economic Zone allotted to India in international waters will be covered under the Deep Ocean Mission. Mr Modi said in his speech, “The oceans that surround the Indian peninsula have over 1,300 islands. They also give us seven and a half thousand kilometres of coastline and 2.4 million square km of Exclusive Economic Zone. They contain enormous opportunities in energy, food, medicine and a host of other natural resources. The ocean economy should be a significant dimension of our sustainable future.” Mr Modi also recognised the need for giving more freedom to scientific work.
