"Debate Grows Over India's Deep-Sea Mining Ambitions"
International Seabed Authority (ISA)
UN body regulating mineral activity in international seabed areas under UNCLOS.
Common heritage of mankind
principle that resources beyond national jurisdiction belong to all humanity, not one state.
The deep seabed lying beyond any country's national jurisdiction is legally classified as the "Area" under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), and is governed by the principle of the common heritage of mankind. Mineral exploration and, eventually, exploitation in this Area is regulated by the International Seabed Authority (ISA), an autonomous body created under UNCLOS, not by any generic global environmental body. India currently holds three ISA exploration contracts, covering roughly 95,000 sq km across the Central Indian Ocean Basin, the Central Indian Ridge and the Carlsberg Ridge. These surveys have identified large deposits of polymetallic nodules containing nickel, copper, cobalt and manganese, and related seabed formations elsewhere are also known to carry trace rare earth elements.
India's own technological push in this space comes through the Deep Ocean Mission, run by the Ministry of Earth Sciences. Its Samudrayaan project has produced the MATSYA-6000, a submersible designed to carry three crew members to depths of about 6,000 metres, while the National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) has already tested a seabed mining machine at depths beyond 5,000 metres. Biodiversity surveys across numerous seamounts have documented over a thousand deep-sea organisms, several never recorded before. This combination, real mineral wealth, working technology, and a still-incomplete map of deep-sea life, is what has pushed the ethical question of whether to mine at all into public debate.
An ISA exploration contract is not the same as a licence to mine. Exploration allows a country to survey, sample and study a seabed block; exploitation, which requires a separate approval under a still-evolving ISA "mining code", would involve physically disturbing the seabed at scale. This distinction matters because deep-sea ecosystems, cold, dark, high-pressure, and slow to recover from disturbance, are poorly understood even by scientists actively studying them. Nodule fields and seamounts often host organisms found nowhere else, and the environmental impact of large-scale nodule harvesting (sediment plumes, habitat destruction, unknown effects on food webs) cannot be reliably modelled with current data. …
Which of the following statements with regard to India's Deep Ocean Mission is/are correct?
1.It was launched by the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Government of India.
2.Matsya-6000 has been designed to carry 3 people for deep sea exploration.
3.Samudrayaan is a project under this mission.
Select the answer using the code given below:
Consider the following statements:
1.The Global Ocean Commission grants licences for seabed exploration and mining in international waters.
2.India has received licences for seabed mineral exploration in international waters.
3.'Rare earth minerals' are present on the seafloor in international waters.
Which of the statements given above are correct?
Consider the following statements regarding deep-sea mineral governance:
1.The International Seabed Authority regulates mineral exploration and exploitation in areas beyond national jurisdiction under the principle of the common heritage of mankind.
2.India currently holds exploration contracts for polymetallic nodules in the Central Indian Ocean Basin.
3.An ISA exploration contract automatically confers the right to commercial mining of seabed minerals.
How many of the above statements are correct?
With reference to India's deep-sea mineral exploration, consider the following statements:
1.Polymetallic nodules found in the Central Indian Ocean Basin primarily contain nickel, copper, cobalt and manganese.
2.The MATSYA-6000 submersible is designed to carry three crew members to a depth of about 6,000 metres.
3.The Deep Ocean Mission is implemented by the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways.
Which of the statements given above are correct?
Match the following institutions with their role in India's deep-ocean programme:
List I:
1.International Seabed Authority
2.Ministry of Earth Sciences
3.National Institute of Ocean Technology
List II:
A.Nodal ministry for the Deep Ocean Mission
B.Regulates seabed mineral activity in international waters
C.Tested a seabed mining machine at great depth
Select the correct match:
The 'precautionary principle' in environmental governance is best described as which of the following?
Mission LiFE (Lifestyle for Environment), referenced in discussions on reducing dependence on resource extraction, primarily promotes which of the following approaches?
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