New Delhi, Nov 10 (IANS) Union Minister of State for Science and Technology and Earth Sciences Dr. Jitendra Singh on Tuesday chaired the Second General Body Meeting of the Earth System Sciences Council (ESSC) and has called for greater citizen-centric communication of scientific achievements, stressing that research outcomes and technological innovations should be presented in simple language.
The statement from Ministry of Earth Sciences said Dr. Singh made the remarks while chairing the Second General Body Meeting of the Earth System Sciences Council (ESSC), where annual reports and audited accounts for FY26 of its five constituent institutions were reviewed.
The minister said India’s human deep-sea exploration programme is advancing with the development of MATSYA-6000, an indigenous human submersible designed for operations at depths of 6,000 metres, along with French collaboration.
Indian aquanauts completed dives to depths of 4,025 metres and 5,002 metres aboard the French submersible Nautile during an Indo-French expedition, marking a significant milestone in the country’s deep-sea exploration capabilities.
Dr Singh encouraged greater coordination among institutional communication teams, regular interaction with media professionals and the use of creative formats to communicate scientific achievements, technological applications and public services more effectively.
The statement also noted progress in indigenous ocean technologies, including desalination solutions for Lakshadweep, offshore fish cage technologies, oceanographic instrumentation, deep-sea mineral exploration and ocean thermal energy conversion. These initiatives strengthen India’s capabilities in ocean exploration, marine research and sustainable utilisation of ocean resources.
Dr. Singh reviewed scientific advances under Mission Mausam and the PRITHVI programme, including developments in the Bharat Forecasting System, advanced numerical weather prediction and atmospheric observation networks.
The minister reviewed INCOIS’s expanding ocean information and advisory services for fishing communities, coastal populations and maritime stakeholders. Its services include multilingual marine advisories, fishing-related information, swell-surge inundation forecasts and ocean observation products, strengthening the application of ocean science in public service delivery and coastal preparedness.
The meeting reviewed the annual reports and audited accounts for FY26 of the five constituent institutions of ESSC such as National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT), Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS), National Centre for Earth Science Studies (NCESS), Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) and National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR).
—IANS
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