Lok Sabha Question No. 4267 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-03-26
Subject: Deep-Sea Exploration
Ministry: EARTH SCIENCES
Asked by: Shri Haribhai Patel

## MINISTRY OF EARTH SCIENCES

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4267 TO BE ANSWERED ON WEDNESDAY, 26 TH  MARCH, 2025

## DEEP-SEA EXPLORATION

## 4267.   SHRI HARIBHAI PATEL:

Will the Minister of Earth Sciences be pleased to state:

- (a) the  details  on  the  progress  of  the  country's  first  manned  submersible  for  deep-sea exploration;
- (b) the contribution and achievement of the aforementioned Mission in harnessing untapped marine resources for sustainable development;
- (c) the details of the technological innovations being developed under the aforementioned Mission;
- (d) the measures taken/being taken by the Government to ensure that Indian scientists and engineers receive the necessary training for deep-sea exploration;
- (e) the  steps  taken by  the  Government to encourage indigenous development of deep-sea exploration equipment; and
- (f) whether the Government has any data on the aforementioned Mission's contribution in job creation and skill development in the marine and blue economy sector and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) FOR MINISTRY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY AND EARTH SCIENCES (DR. JITENDRA SINGH)

- (a) The Government of India launched the Deep Ocean Mission in September 2021, as a part  of  which  the  National  Institute  of  Ocean  Technology  (NIOT)  has  developed  a human submersible (named Matsya-6000 ) capable of carrying three crew to a depth of 6000 meters. Matsya-6000 has been successfully designed and integrated indigenously. It has a 2.1-meter diameter Titanium alloy personnel sphere that can bear up to 720 bars of external pressure, maintaining an inside pressure of 1 atmosphere. It is designed for operations of up to 12 hours, with an emergency endurance of up to 96 hours, supported by  a  certified  Human  Support  and  Safety  System.  It  is  equipped  with  an  Underwater Acoustic  Telephone  that  has  been  operated  and  tested  for  operations  up  to  10,000 meters  depth,  in  addition  to  a  sub-phone  rated  for  500-meter  depth  operations.It  has completed wet/harbour trials demonstrating functionality (including floatation, vehicle stability,  manoeuvrability,  power,  communication,  and  control  devices)  and  human support and safety systems.
- (b) Matsya-6000 is the country's flagship manned submersible enabling in situ observations of deep ocean resources through viewports and collection of samples through manipulator robotic arms to enhance India's deep-sea exploration and scientific research capabilities.
- (c) Matsya-6000 is a fourth-generation human submersible for deep-sea scientific exploration designed  with  technological innovations  such as  a  triple-redundancy  drop weight mechanism, emergency release buoy with recovery mechanism, state-of-the-art high-density  Lithium  Polymer  batteries,  digital  twin  at  the  mission  control  centre  to support the pilot during the emergency scenarios, bio-vest for three humans to monitor health parameters, and an ergonomically designed internal space for the crew.
- (d) Indian scientists and engineers receive the necessary training for deep-sea exploration as part of collaboration with the Institute of Naval Medicine under the Indian Navy.
- (e) The Titanium alloy personnel sphere for Matsya 6000 meters operations is developed indigenously  in  collaboration  with  ISRO.  The  bio-vest  for  the  submersible  crew members  and  select  underwater  applications  are  developed  with  DRDO.  Further, collaborative  research  projects  have  been  initiated  with  leading  national  government and academic institutes to complement the activities of the mission.
- (f) Deep  Ocean  Mission  (DOM)  created  employment  of  about  70  staff,  and  skill development  in  the  marine  sciences  at  national  institutes  and  universities  has  been achieved by employing about 150 research scholars. The activities  of the  mission are aligned to enable deep-sea exploration and sustainable harnessing of ocean resources to thereby strengthen the Blue Economy.

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