the goan I network
PANAJI
Vice President Venkaiah Naidu pitched for the economic exploitation of the Indian Ocean for minerals and energy but also cautioned that sustainable techniques must be developed and the ecological health of the waters maintained.
Naidu was speaking to students, officials and others at the National Institute of Oceanography, an ocean research organisation under the aegis of the Science and Technology ministry of the Centre. Advocating research to develop technologies that will help exploit minerals from the ocean beds, Naidu however said emphasis should be laid on preventing degradation of the ocean’s ecosystem.
“India should tap the enormous potential of the blue economy and begin harnessing reserves,” Naidu said at the NIO in Dona Paula.
Naidu also drew attention to global warming, resource degradation and marine pollution and underscored the need for all, private and public sectors, to prevent “further degradation” of the ecosystem in deep waters.
He advised NIO to develop technology, such as robotics and underwater vehicles, to enable deep sea mining. He also urged the institution to take up research on drugs from sea, adding that India could be a global leader with focus on minerals and energy from the ocean.
Switching his attention to the students in the audience, Naidu said India’s cultural
