KOCHI, 15 November 2026: The Government of India is prioritising scientific research and technological innovation to develop practical solutions for communities affected by climate change, particularly coastal and marginalised populations, Union Secretary of the Ministry of Earth Sciences Dr T Srinivasa Kumar has said.
Addressing the valedictory session of a three-day international symposium on fisheries and remote sensing at the ICAR-Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI), he highlighted the government's initiatives in deep ocean exploration, climate services and the blue economy.
Kumar said the Deep Ocean Mission aims to explore deep-sea resources, develop indigenous technologies and strengthen ocean observation services. He also highlighted PRITHvi Vigyan (PRITHVI), an integrated Earth system science programme covering the atmosphere, oceans, cryosphere and solid Earth to improve weather, climate, ocean and hazard services.
He said Mission Mausam seeks to make India a weather-ready and climate-smart nation by strengthening observation networks, weather modelling, high-performance computing and artificial intelligence-based forecasting. The initiative is expected to improve forecast accuracy and provide timely early warnings for monsoons, cyclones and extreme weather events.
The Ministry is also working on a Blue Economy framework to ensure that ocean observation, scientific research and related services support sustainable fisheries, coastal livelihoods and marine conservation while protecting ocean health.
Kumar also moderated a panel discussion on the use of emerging technologies, including drones and artificial intelligence, for sustainable fisheries.
Kochi Declaration calls for global ocean monitoring system
The international symposium adopted the Kochi Declaration, calling for a coordinated multinational ocean observation system and free, open and timely access to marine data to strengthen climate resilience and sustainable management of ocean resources.
The declaration was handed over to the Union Secretary for consideration and policy-level action. It also proposed treating ocean data as a shared global resource and called for the preservation and proper curation of historical datasets.
The three-day symposium was jointly organised by the Trevor Platt Science Foundation, the Department of Chemical Oceanography at the Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT), CMFRI and the Marine Biological Association of India.
The event featured around 250 scientific presentations and brought together more than 300 delegates from 30 countries.
CUSAT Vice-Chancellor Dr Junaid M Bushiri, CMFRI Director Dr Grinson George, Prof. Shubha Sathyendranath, Dr Nandini Menon and Dr Eldho Varghese also addressed the gathering.
