Needed: An underwater PM Gati Shakti

The oceans harbour vast untapped economic potential worth trillions of dollars, yet much of it remains undiscovered.

Not only does 94 per cent life exist underwater, oceans play a critical role in managing greenhouse gases. Earth's longest chain of mountains, the mid-ocean ridge, which spans 65,000 kms, is underwater, as are 3 million shipwrecks, each holding a treasure trove of stories. Surprisingly, oceans remain less explored than the surfaces of the Moon or Mars.

India's maritime domain, covering nearly the same area as its land territory, holds 80 per cent of her resources but contributes only 4 per cent to gross domestic product. As India marches to become the world's third-largest economy, the blue economy provides a shimmering opportunity. India can generate millions of jobs and trillions in revenue from fisheries, aquaculture, tourism, shipping, offshore energy, and minerals. Moreover, the high seas and deep seas have tremendous strategic implications as well. China has the world's biggest fleet engaged in highseas fishing, and India needs to catch up. Deep-sea minerals, including polymetallic nodules and rare earths, hold boundless value, with advancing technology making their sustainable extraction feasible in the near future. The nation quickest to harness the opportunities in open maritime territories may control the resources and territory in the long run.

The initiation of a blue economy strategy hinges on developing good underwater domain awareness (UDA), a subject largely overlooked. UDA first gained importance during the Cold War, with systems like SOSUS, a seabed hydrophone network set up in the Atlantic by the US Navy to track Russian submarines.

However, with technological advancement, UDA is of great economic significance as well. Underwater information is now captured using underwater and spacebased sensors. Space-based sensors are used to guide fishing-vessels to fish-rich areas and identify specific high-value fish.