India, Feb. 1 -- The project will cover deep ocean exploration and conservation of biodiversity

The Indian government wants to understand the oceans better, both as a resource and for the conservation of marine bio diversity - two research areas that could become conflicting in nature.

In her budget speech on February 1, 2021 finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced, "Our oceans are a storehouse of living and non-living resources. To better understand this realm, we will launch a deep ocean mission with a budget outlay of more than Rs 4,000 crores, over five years. This mission will cover deep ocean survey exploration and projects for the conservation of deep sea bio-diversity."

The second objective is commendable since globally o...