As a response to China’s growing deep sea mining industry, India announces plans to invest into the development of their mining industry over the period of five years, Hindustantimes.com reports.
The minister of state for science and technology Ashwini Kumar stated: “We will like our presence felt in deep sea mining”.
India wants to develop capabilities to conduct mining below the sea surface to extract rare minerals and oil. The few countries that have these capabilities presently are China, United States, Russia and South Korea.
The government also wants to search through 2,500 sq km of ocean bed in order to produce ocean thermal energy and discover new drugs and foods.
Kumar added that: “There is a lot we can get from the Oceans”.
The ministry of earth sciences has one vessel for ocean explorations. They will acquire an additional vessel in July, and another one is expected to arrive in a couple of years.
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Subsea World News Staff , July 05, 2012; Image: Nautilus Minerals