A contract was signed with International Seabed Authority for Exploration of Polymetallic Sulphides in Indian Ocean on 26th September, 2016 in New Delhi. The contract provides India the exclusive rights of exploration in the area near the Rodridgues Tripple Junction in the southern part of Central India ridge and a part of South-West Indian ridge.
The plan for the survey and exploration along with the environmental baseline for the first five years includes the acquisition of multi-beam bathymetric data, seabed characterization, collection of sediment and rock samples, water column sampling followed by data processing, analysis and interpretation.
The ownership is a joint venture arrangement with International Seabed Authority on equity participation governed by Regulation 19 of International Seabed Authority to exploration of polymetallic sulphides. This information was given by Minister of State for Science & Technology and Earth Sciences, Shri Y.S.Chowdhary in a written reply in Lok Sabha.
Ministry of Earth Sciences
