The Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) and National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT), in association with EY and NITI Aayog, hosted an Industry Outreach Workshop on "Deep Sea Mining - Business Opportunities and Strategic Importance" in New Delhi on September 8, 2026. The workshop brought together global and domestic policymakers, regulators, technology developers, research institutions, and financial leaders to advance India's Blue Economy initiatives.
Deep sea mining is strategically vital for India's economic and geopolitical security as clean energy technologies, advanced manufacturing, high-computing systems, and electric mobility depend heavily on critical minerals including nickel, cobalt, copper, and manganese. India holds an exclusive International Seabed Authority (ISA) exploration contract over 75,000 square kilometers in the Central Indian Ocean Basin, which is estimated to contain 366 to 380 million tonnes of polymetallic nodules. Additionally, India is the first nation to hold two exploration contracts for polymetallic sulphides, including a recent agreement for the Carlsberg Ridge.
Under the ₹4,077 crore national Deep Ocean Mission, NIOT has successfully demonstrated indigenous deep-sea mining crawler systems at depths exceeding 5,000 meters in the Indian Ocean, proving critical subsea engineering capabilities. The transition from exploration to commercial capability aims to create an integrated "mine-to-metal" ecosystem that would open commercial opportunities across offshore engineering, marine robotics, shipbuilding, metallurgy, and downstream battery manufacturing.
The workshop served as a strategic investment platform to bridge scientific capabilities with private sector participation, laying groundwork for upcoming policy frameworks, bankable project roadmaps, and a forthcoming White Paper on Deep Sea Mining to guide India's industrial integration. However, commercial mining of nodules in international waters can commence only after the Exploitation Code is issued by the International Seabed Authority.