Ministry of Earth Sciences press release · 19 March 2026 · pibtracker filter

PARLIAMENT QUESTION: DEEP-SEA MINING

PRID2242364 MinistryMinistry of Earth Sciences Released19 March 2026 Reading7 min

Posted On: 19 MAR 2026 12:55PM by PIB Delhi MATSYA-6000 has been successfully designed and completed wet/harbour trials demonstrating functionality (including floatation, vehicle stability, manoeuvrability, power, communication, and control devices) and human support and safety systems in January-February 2025. The 500-meter shallow-water dive requires the realisation and integration of several components, including a critical component: custom-designed syntactic foam. This foam is being designed by India and developed by a designated firm in Europe. Unfortunately, this component is not yet ready due to some manufacturing defect. It is expected to arrive in India by the end of May. After the integration and testing of this material, the shallow-water dive is scheduled to be executed in the last quarter. The Ministry of Earth Sciences, through the National Institute of Ocean Technology in Chennai, has developed a seabed mining system to collect and crush polymetallic nodules. The mobility and system-powering trials for this system were conducted at a depth of 5,270 m in 2021 in the Central Indian Ocean. Therefore, no deep-sea mining system trials have been conducted at 5,270 m in 2025. Further, commercial mining is governed by the Exploitation Code, which has not yet been developed by the International Seabed Authority, entrusted with this mandate. The Ministry is actively engaged in promoting private sector participation in the sustainable development of “Blue Economy” resources. To achieve this goal, the ministry employs a variety of methods, one of which is tendering. This information was submitted by Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Earth Sciences and Science & Technology, Dr. Jitendra Singh in Rajya Sabha on 19 March 2026. ***** NKR/JKP (Release ID: 2242364) Visitor Counter : 643 Read this release in: Urdu , हिन्दी , Telugu Ministry of Earth Sciences PARLIAMENT QUESTION: DEEP-SEA MINING Posted On: 19 MAR 2026 12:55PM by PIB Delhi MATSYA-6000 has been successfully designed and completed wet/harbour trials demonstrating functionality (including floatation, vehicle stability, manoeuvrability, power, communication, and control devices) and human support and safety systems in January-February 2025. The 500-meter shallow-water dive requires the realisation and integration of several components, including a critical component: custom-designed syntactic foam. This foam is being designed by India and developed by a designated firm in Europe. Unfortunately, this component is not yet ready due to some manufacturing defect. It is expected to arrive in India by the end of May. After the integration and testing of this material, the shallow-water dive is scheduled to be executed in the last quarter. The Ministry of Earth Sciences, through the National Institute of Ocean Technology in Chennai, has developed a seabed mining system to collect and crush polymetallic nodules. The mobility and system-powering trials for this system were conducted at a depth of 5,270 m in 2021 in the Central Indian Ocean. Therefore, no deep-sea mining system trials have been conducted at 5,270 m in 2025. Further, commercial mining is governed by the Exploitation Code, which has not yet been developed by the International Seabed Authority, entrusted with this mandate. The Ministry is actively engaged in promoting private sector participation in the sustainable development of “Blue Economy” resources. To achieve this goal, the ministry employs a variety of methods, one of which is tendering. This information was submitted by Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Earth Sciences and Science & Technology, Dr. Jitendra Singh in Rajya Sabha on 19 March 2026. ***** NKR/JKP (Release ID: 2242364) MATSYA-6000 has been successfully designed and completed wet/harbour trials demonstrating functionality (including floatation, vehicle stability, manoeuvrability, power, communication, and control devices) and human support and safety systems in January-February 2025. The 500-meter shallow-water dive requires the realisation and integration of several components, including a critical component: custom-designed syntactic foam. This foam is being designed by India and developed by a designated firm in Europe. Unfortunately, this component is not yet ready due to some manufacturing defect. It is expected to arrive in India by the end of May. After the integration and testing of this material, the shallow-water dive is scheduled to be executed in the last quarter. The Ministry of Earth Sciences, through the National Institute of Ocean Technology in Chennai, has developed a seabed mining system to collect and crush polymetallic nodules. The mobility and system-powering trials for this system were conducted at a depth of 5,270 m in 2021 in the Central Indian Ocean. Therefore, no deep-sea mining system trials have been conducted at 5,270 m in 2025. Further, commercial mining is governed by the Exploitation Code, which has not yet been developed by the International Seabed Authority, entrusted with this mandate. The Ministry is actively engaged in promoting private sector participation in the sustainable development of “Blue Economy” resources. To achieve this goal, the ministry employs a variety of methods, one of which is tendering. This information was submitted by Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Earth Sciences and Science & Technology, Dr. Jitendra Singh in Rajya Sabha on 19 March 2026. ***** NKR/JKP " /> var mPlayer = document.getElementById("background_music"); var mPlayAction = document.getElementById("playbutton"); var isPlaying = false; function playAudio() { mPlayer.play(); isPlaying = true; document.getElementById('stopA').style.display = "block"; document.getElementById('playA').style.display = "none"; } function pauseAudio() { mPlayer.pause(); isPlaying = false; document.getElementById('playA').style.display = "block"; document.getElementById('stopA').style.display = "none"; } //function HandleAudio() { // if (isPlaying == true) { // //Playing already Pause it // pauseAudio(); // } else { // //Play the music // playAudio(); // } //} var synth = window.speechSynthesis; function CleanHtml(html) { html = html.replace(/ /gi, ''); return html; } function stripHtml(html) { let tmp = document.createElement("DIV"); 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font-weight: 600 !important; } } /* === Film Roll Badge Styling(IFFI2025 countdown) === */ .film-roll-badge { position: absolute; top:82%; right: 20px; width: 230px; height: 70px; background: repeating-linear-gradient( to right, #9a2375 0px, #9a2375 18px, #6e2b8b 18px, #6e2b8b 36px ); border-top: 8px solid #9a2375; border-bottom: 8px solid #9a2375; border-radius: 8px; overflow: hidden; box-shadow: 0 4px 12px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.4); animation: moveFilm 8s linear infinite; z-index: 10; } /* film sprocket holes */ .film-roll-badge::before, .film-roll-badge::after { content: ""; position: absolute; width: 100%; height: 10px; background: repeating-linear-gradient( to right, #9a2375 0px, #9a2375 10px, #fff 10px, #fff 20px ); left: 0; z-index: 2; } .film-roll-badge::before { top: -4px; } .film-roll-badge::after { bottom: -4px; } .film-roll-inner { position: relative; height: 100%; display: flex; align-items: center; justify-content: center; animation: flicker 2s infinite ease-in-out; } .countdown-text { font-size: 1.3rem; font-weight: 700; color: #fff; text-shadow: 0 0 6px rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.4), 0 0 10px #000; white-space: nowrap; } /* === Animations === */ @keyframes moveFilm { 0% { background-position: 0 0; } 100% { background-position: 120px 0; } } @keyframes flicker { 0%, 100% { opacity: 1; } 50% { opacity: 0.9; } 25% { opacity: 0.95; } 75% { opacity: 0.85; } } /* === Responsive Adjustments === */ @media (max-width: 1500px) { .film-roll-badge { top: 68%; right: 18px; /* width: 220px; */ height: 65px; font-size: 0.85rem; } .press-section { margin-top: 35px; } } @media (max-width: 992px) { .film-roll-badge { top: 52%; right: 10px; width: 200px; height: 60px; } } @media (max-width: 768px) { .film-roll-badge { top: 56%; right: 10px; width: 124px; height: 55px; } .countdown-text { font-size: 0.9rem; } } @media (max-width: 576px) { .film-roll-badge { top: 59%; right: 5px; /* width: 160px; */ height: 50px; } .countdown-text { font-size: 0.85rem; } } const festivalStart = new Date("2025-11-20T00:00:00").getTime(); const festivalEnd = new Date("2025-11-28T23:59:59").getTime(); const countdownElement = document.getElementById("countdown"); const interval = setInterval(() => { const now = new Date().getTime(); // BEFORE FESTIVAL — show days + hours left if (now = festivalStart && now el.style.width = "350px"); clearInterval(interval); } }, 1000); //

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PARLIAMENT QUESTION: DEEP-SEA MINING

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