NEW DELHI — Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Earth Sciences and Science & Technology Dr. Jitendra Singh chaired the Second General Body Meeting of the Earth System Sciences Council (ESSC) on Tuesday, calling for a citizen-centric approach to science communication to make national research achievements accessible to the general public.
The meeting reviewed the annual performance, research outcomes, and financial reports for FY 2025–26 across five key autonomous institutions under the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), focusing on deep-sea exploration, climate modeling, and polar missions.
Progress on Deep Ocean Mission and Ocean Technology
The Council evaluated major developments under the Deep Ocean Mission and indigenous marine technologies:
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MATSYA-6000 Progress: Officials briefed the Minister on advancements in India’s human deep-sea submersible, MATSYA-6000, designed for depths up to 6,000 meters. The review highlighted successful trial dives reaching 4,025 meters and 5,002 meters conducted during a joint Indo-French expedition aboard the submersible Nautile.
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Indigenous Innovations: The National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) reported progress in key projects, including ocean thermal energy conversion, deep-sea mineral exploration, offshore fish cage farming, and desalination plants for the Lakshadweep islands.
Atmospheric Modeling, Ocean Services, and Polar Research
The Minister reviewed operational capabilities across atmospheric and polar research institutes:
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Mission Mausam and Forecasting: The Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) showcased developments under Mission Mausam and the PRITHVI program, including integration of artificial intelligence and machine learning into the Bharat Forecasting System to improve numerical weather predictions.
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Public Utility Services: The Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) presented updates on multilingual marine advisories, swell-surge inundation forecasts, and potential fishing zone alerts serving coastal communities and maritime sectors.
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Polar Expeditions: The National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR) detailed ongoing climate and environmental monitoring across the 45th Indian Antarctic Expedition, the 16th Indian Arctic Expedition, and Himalayan glacier tracking projects.
