New Delhi: Union Minister of State for Earth Sciences, Dr. Jitendra Singh, recognized 21 international trainees nominated by the International Seabed Authority (ISA) at a ceremony held at the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) headquarters. The trainees, hailing from various developing countries, completed two months of specialized training in India on deep-sea mineral exploration of Polymetallic Nodules (PMN) and Polymetallic Sulphides (PMS) as part of India’s commitment to global capacity building and cooperation.
In his address, Dr. Singh praised the participants’ efforts, underscoring India’s dedication to sustainable exploration and conservation of deep-sea resources. He emphasized the importance of proactive regulations and international collaboration to promote responsible resource utilization, highlighting India’s role in facilitating advancements in deep-sea exploration.
The program, organized by two MoES autonomous institutions—the National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT), Chennai, and the National Centre for Ocean and Polar Research (NCPOR), Goa—provided hands-on training for participants from countries including Kenya, Ghana, Madagascar, Jamaica, Nigeria, Sri Lanka, and Tanzania. NIOT focused on at-sea PMN training, while NCPOR conducted on-land PMS exploration training. The trainees also gained insights from visits to additional MoES institutions, including the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (Hyderabad), National Centre for Earth System Sciences (Thiruvananthapuram), and the Centre for Marine Living Resources and Ecology (Kochi). Academic support for the program was provided by the National Institute of Oceanography (Goa) and the Institute of Minerals and Materials Technology (Bhubaneshwar), both part of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).
Dr. M. Ravichandram, Secretary of MoES, congratulated the trainees and commended the efforts of MoES institutions in successfully hosting the program. This initiative reflects India’s ongoing commitment to ISA’s mission under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) to regulate international seabed mineral exploration.
ISA, headquartered in Kingston, Jamaica, is an intergovernmental body established in 1994 to oversee mineral-related activities on the international seabed.