Deep Ocean Mission important for India’s future: MoES secretary

Srinivasa Kumar Tumalla, Secretary, Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES).

Srinivasa Kumar Tumalla, Secretary, Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), has underscored the importance of the Deep Ocean Mission for India’s future, while seeking to allay concerns of coastal communities regarding potential impacts of deep-sea mining for seabed minerals on fishing and livelihoods.

Only exploratory surveys are progressing at the moment and that too, at a vast distance from the Indian coast, the MOeS Secretary told The Hindu on Friday on the sidelines of the 92nd annual meeting of the Indian Academy of Sciences (IASc) held at the National Centre for Earth Science Studies (NCESS).

“This is not done in the coastal area, but in the central Indian Ocean basin at water depths of about 5,000 metres. That’s very far from the coast., almost 2,500 km away. Fishers need not be worried about that kind of impact,” he said.

At the same time, the Deep Ocean Mission, of which deep-sea mining for minerals is one component, holds critical significance for the country, the reason why the Union government has taken it up on mission mode, he said. Dr. Tummala emphasised the importance of developing technologies for tapping deep-sea mineral resources.

As per information given in the Parliament by the Centre in December 2025, India has ongoing exploration contracts with the International Seabed Authority (ISA) for polymetallic nodules (PMN) and polymetallic sulphides. Polymetallic nodules present in the seafloor contain metals such as nickel, copper, cobalt and manganese. Polymetallic sulphides contain copper, zinc, lead, iron, silver, gold and platinum among others. These metals are important for a host of technologies including electric vehicles and power grids. ISA is an autonomous entity established under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

Dr. Tumalla pointed out that actual mining operations would take time as the mining code has to become operational, and other procedures including comprehensive assessments of environmental impacts are completed. “Right now what is being done is only exploratory activities,” he said. India has contracts with ISA for about 75,000 sq km area in the central Indian Ocean basin for exploration of polymetallic nodules. The country also has about 10,000 sq km contracted for the search of polymetallic sulphides.