✓ Security, strategic dimensions, and international engagement: MDA needs to be strengthened by

integrating national geo-intelligence framework and space applications along with international
partnerships with key partner countries.
Placer deposit
Significance of Blue Economy • It is an accumulation of valuable minerals formed
by gravity separation from a specific source rock
• Economic Growth- Indian Ocean Region is of during sedimentary processes.
strategic importance to India’s economic growth as • India is rich in Placer minerals like nickel, uranium,
the most of the country’s oil, and gas is imported copper, thorium, titanium, poly metallic sulphides,
through the sea. Further, this dependency is poly metallic manganese nodules, coastal ilmenite,
expected to rise by 2025 exponentially. garnet and zircon etc.
o India’s Exclusive Economic Zone of over 2 • Polymetallic nodules and polymetallic massive
million square kilometers has a huge living and sulphides are the two mineral resources of
non-living resources with significant commercial interest to developers in the Indian
Ocean.
recoverable resources such as crude oil and
o Typically found at 4 to 5 km in water depth,
natural gas.
polymetallic nodules are golf-to-tennis ball-
• Harnessing Ocean Wealth- Mining of polymetallic sized nodules containing nickel, cobalt, iron,
nodules present in the seabed in the Central Indian and manganese that form over millions of years
Ocean Basin can help India improve availability of on the sediment of the seafloor.
nickel, copper, cobalt and manganese. Through an
agreement with the International Seabed Authority, India has a right to explore and mine polymetallic
nodules over 750,000 square km.
• Trade potential- The Indian Ocean Region presents tremendous trade potential for the country. The countries
in the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) exhibited significant dynamism in the past few years as the trade
in the region increased by over four
times.
• Fisheries and Aquaculture- India
has a National Fisheries policy for
promoting 'Blue Growth Initiative'
which focus on sustainable
utilization of fisheries wealth from
the marine and other aquatic
resources.
• Sustainable Development- The
Ocean-based Blue Economy is the
next sunrise issue for
development experts. Blue
Economy is based on the idea to
use locally available resources and employ renewable inputs, for example, ‘ocean-as-a-resource’ that
addresses the problems of resource scarcity and enables sustainable development.
✓ This marine based economic development will reduce environmental risks and mitigate ecological
challenges. As a result, the optimized and responsible resource utilization will enable to achieve balanced
socio-economic development.
Way Forward
• Encourage emerging industries: There are other emerging industries such as aquaculture, marine
biotechnology, ocean energy and sea-bed mining that have the potential to create jobs and spur worldwide
economic growth.
• Inclusive Framework: Indian Ocean region needs a sustainable and inclusive framework for international
partnerships. Countries in the region need to not only coordinate and manage the growing security challenges
in the region but also realize the substantial economic potential the Indian Ocean area presents.
• Cooperation: India’s commitment to strengthen its cooperation with the regional partners and build a
sustainable ocean economy aligns well with its domestic mega-modernisation projects that will enable the
nation to harness the full potential of the Ocean based Blue Economy.
• Economic incentives: The granting of economic incentives to small fishermen to adopt sustainable practices,
or the increase in protected maritime areas, to recover the habitats and productivity of the seas.
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