Which of the following statements with regard to India's Deep Ocean Mission is/are correct? 1. It was launched by the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Government of India. 2. Matsya-6000 has been designed to carry 3 people for deep sea exploration. 3. Samudrayaan is a project under this mission. Select the answer using the code given below :

Correct Answer: Option B (2 and 3 only)

Why the correct options are correct:

• Statement 2 is correct: The Matsya-6000 is an indigenously developed manned submersible designed specifically to safely carry a crew of three personnel (aquanauts) to a depth of 6,000 meters for deep-sea exploration. Developed by the National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT), Chennai, it features a 2.1-meter titanium alloy personnel sphere and has a normal operational endurance of 12 hours (with a 96-hour emergency life support capability).
• Statement 3 is correct: Samudrayaan is India's first manned deep-ocean mission. It is the flagship sub-project operating under the umbrella of the broader Deep Ocean Mission. Its primary objective is to send human beings to the deep sea to study marine biodiversity and explore valuable deep-ocean resources such as polymetallic nodules (which are rich in critical minerals like cobalt, nickel, copper, and manganese).

Why the wrong option is incorrect:

• Statement 1 is incorrect: The Deep Ocean Mission was officially launched in September 2021 by the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), not the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways. It is a ₹4,077 crore national initiative aimed at developing technologies to harness ocean resources sustainably and support India's Blue Economy policy.

Takeaway Mnemonic: Remember MES for deep-sea exploration: The Ministry of Earth Sciences oversees the Matsya-6000 submersible under the Samudrayaan project!