Context:

India will soon launch ‘’Deep Ocean Mission’’ which envisages the exploration of minerals, energy, and marine diversity of the underwater world.

About:

• The mission will give a boost to efforts to explore India’s vast Exclusive Economic Zone and Continental Shelf.
• The mission will also involve developing technologies for different deep ocean initiatives.  The multi-disciplinary work will be piloted by the Ministry of Earth Sciences and other government departments like the Defence Research and Development Organisation, Department of Biotechnology, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) will be stakeholders in this mission.
• Some of the technologies involved will be developed by organizations such as the ISRO and DRDO.

Exploration of the Indian Ocean

• India has been ear-marked nearly 1.5 lakh square kilometers of area in the central Indian Ocean for exploration.
• In September 2016, India signed a 15-year contract with the International Seabed Authority (ISA) for the exploration of Poly-Metallic Sulphides (PMS) in the Indian Ocean. Poly-Metallic Sulphides (PMS).
• The 15-year contract formalized India’s exclusive rights for exploration of PMS in the allotted area in the Indian Ocean.
• The ISA earlier approved 10,000 sq. km for India with a 15-year PMS exploration plan along the Central Indian Ridge (CIR) and Southwest Indian Ridge (SWIR) region of the Indian Ocean.
  • The ISA is an institution set up under the UN Convention on Law of the Sea to which India is a Party.

Poly-Metallic Sulphides (PMS)

• which contain iron, copper, zinc, silver, gold, platinum in variable constitutions, are precipitates of hot fl uids from upwelling hot magma from the deep interior of the oceanic crust, discharged through mineralized chimneys.
• PMS in the Ocean Ridges have attracted worldwide attention for their long-term commercial as well as strategic values.