Policy Pulse #13 | Diving Deep
In Focus: Samudrayaan aims for the deep seas
While the nation celebrates the various achievements of ISRO, away from the limelight, a little known Indian institute has quietly been working on taking humans to the depths of the Indian Ocean. Matsya 6000, under development at the National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT), Chennai, is India’s first self propelled deep sea manned submersible, capable of carrying three people to the depths of 6000 meters.
Initiated in October 2021, Mission Samudrayaan is planned to be launched in 2024. The submersible will be laden with a suite of scientific sensors and tools for deep ocean exploration, allowing personnel to observe and understand the unexplored deep sea areas via direct intervention. It will have an operational period of twelve hours, which can be stretched to 96 hours in case of emergency. The descent and ascent are expected to take four hours each, leaving four hours at the seabed for scientific exploration.
The core team developing the Matsya 6000 - named after the first avatar of Vishnu and the depths it aims to reach - is comprised of only ten scientists, with another eight developing the associated miner, Varaha-1. To withstand the enormous pressure faced at such depths while maintaining lightness, ISRO has developed a special titanium alloy personnel sphere for the mission. Incidentally, the Gaganyaan Mission, aiming to be India’s first manned mission in space, is also slated for launch in 2024. Convergence of the two launches is plausible.
The primary target of interest in the mission are polymetallic nodules found (in highest concentration) in the ocean at depths greater than 4000 meters. While these nodules are found roughly all across the ocean floor, three areas are of special interest to industrial explorers - the centre of the north central Pacific Ocean, the Peru Basin in the south-east Pacific Ocean and the centre of the north Indian Ocean. India signed a 15 year contract for exploration of polymetallic nodules in the Central Indian Ocean Basin (CIOB) with the International Seabed Authority in 2002, which was later further extended to 2022.
The CIOB, spread over an area 75000 sq. km of area in international waters, is estimated to have a resource potential of over 380 million tonnes of polymetallic nodules containing high grade nickel, copper and cobalt. All three metals are critical to the energy transition underway, with India (and the world) actively looking to develop supply chains for the same. While the economical feasibility of extraction remains distant, the Samudrayaan mission will prove to be a giant leap forward in developing and showcasing India’s technological viability for harnessing the resource.
For a more details, check out this in depth piece on the team developing Samudrayaan, this explainer on polymetallic nodules, and this government press release on India’s exclusive rights to explore polymetallic nodules in the CIOB.
Top Stories of the Week
Disney Star sub-licenses ICC TV rights to Zee
In a first for the industry, Disney Star has sub-licensed the TV broadcast rights to men’s events hosted by the International Cricket Council (ICC) for the next four years to rival broadcaster Zee. The digital media rights for the same events have been retained exclusively by Disney Star, which will stream ICC events on Disney Plus HotStar - India’s biggest OTT streaming service. Under the sub-licensing agreement, Zee will broadcast ICC men’s and under-19 tournaments in India from 2024-27. The rights - both TV and digital - to ICC women’s events for India - will remain with Star.
Only last week, the announcement of Disney’s winning bid for both TV and digital rights to ICC events unto 2027 had been announced. Disney had won the entire bid for about US$3 billion. This is the first time that two rival broadcasters have come to an agreement in a single market, although the ICC tender documents reveal that the winner would have the opportunity to sub-license. The agreement between Disney Star and Zee is pending approval from the ICC, subject to certain requisite guarantees to be provided by Star.
Pan-India meet maps the way forward on labour
The Union Labour Ministry held the ‘National Labour Conference’ on 25th-26th August, 2022, convening labour ministers and secretaries from across states for a discussion over key labour administrative matters.
PM Sri Narendra Modi delivered the inaugural address at the conference. His speech centered on India’s need to benefit from the fourth industrial revolution. It highlighted the opportunities, such as work-from-home and gig work, that India could capitalise on, as well as the risks inherent to our labour markets.
The conference took up various issues, including the linking of central and state databases on unorganised workers, the improvement of medical outcomes under ESI and the status of labour codes. The conference also discussed India’s labour-related goals over the ‘Amritkaal’. Under ‘Vision Shramev Jayate @2047’, it resolved to focus on a range of issues that it would target in the coming 25 years. The Ministry shall release a vision document, providing a roadmap on these themes.
For details on the conference, click here.
Amidst calamity, Pak might reconsider imports from India
During a press conference about the devastating floods in the country, Pakistan’s Finance Minister Miftah Ismail said that the Government was considering importing vegetables and other edible items from India, as supply of fruits and vegetables is most likely to be impacted by the flood and that Pakistan would have to open import of vegetables, even from India, should the need arise. According to Dawn (national newspaper in Pakistan), former security advisor Moeed Yousuf was working on some proposals regarding trade with India. The supply of vegetables from Balochistan, Singh and South Punjab has been badly affected because of the floods. The prices of tomatoes and onions, in particular, have skyrocketed, and it is likely that Pakistan will look to imports from India to bring down the prices.
Trade between India and Pakistan has been suspended since 2019, following the Pulwama terror attack and the abrogation of Article 370 of the Indian Constitution.
This Week in Policy
Economy and Taxation
Under a new expenditure management scheme, funds will be disbursed from the Consolidated Fund of India to agencies implementing schemes on a just-in-time basis. The measure is expected to help the Centre calibrate spending, and save up to INR 10,000 crore per annum in interest costs.
The Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council released the ‘Competitiveness Roadmap for India@100’, a strategic framework for India to become a high income country by the year 2047.
India’s GDP for the first quarter of Fiscal 2023 is estimated to have grown by 13.5% against the same quarter of the preceding year, according to the National Statistical Office. Meanwhile, GST collections in August 2022 have grown by 28% year-on-year.
Labour
The National Statistical Office releases the Periodic Labour Force Survey quarterly bulletin for April - June 2022. The quarter saw improvements in urban employment and women’s labour force participation against the preceding quarter, the report reveals.
The Labour Ministry declares three industries: (i) the manufacture of mineral oils and related products, (ii) manufacture of foodstuffs, and (iii) iron and steel, as ‘public utilities’. Under the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, public utilities are governed by a variety of special provisions - including a prohibition on strikes or lock-outs.
Agriculture and FMCG
Cabinet approves an amendment to export policy placing restriction on wheat flour exports to bring down record prices by curbing higher export pressures stemming from the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approves disposal of pulses to states and UTs at discounted rates, earmarking Rs. 1,200 crore for the implementation of this scheme.
Centre rolls out new scheme to promote all fertilizers under one brand - Bharat, to build trust among farmers and highlight the importance of Central subsidies to make them available at cheaper rates.
Healthcare
The Department of Biotechnology has announced scientific completion of India’s first locally made vaccine against cervical cancer. The vaccine targets the human papillomavirus, which causes a large majority of cervical cancer cases.
The Ministry of Civil Aviation plans to develop a helicopter emergency medical service, to provide speedy care to needy citizens.
The Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilisers has given in-principle approval for the establishment of a drug park in the East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh, and will contribute INR 1,000 crore for setting up the necessary infrastructure. Similar projects have been awarded to Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh.
Foreign affairs
India and France held consultations with each other on reformed multilateralism and the UN Security Council (UNSC) as both of them assume UNSC Presidency in September and December, respectively.
India’s External Affairs’ Minister, Dr. S. Jaishankar is currently visiting the UAE to co-chair the 14th India-UAE Joint Commission Meeting (JCM) and the 3rd India-UAE Strategic Dialogue with Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MOFAIC).
Technology, Media and Telecommunications
Draft data protection Bill to be released for consultations soon, aim to present before Parliament during Budget Session next year: Ashwini Vaishnaw.
The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has amended its Right of Way Rules, including the introduction of a single-window clearance system and doing away with consent requirements for infrastructure, to facilitate faster 5G rollout.
International trade and commerce
Canada-India FTA: fourth round of talks between both countries is set to begin in September. Negotiations were relaunched in March after a gap of nearly 10 years.
Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal is likely to chair a meeting of the Board of Trade (an advisory board on the foreign trade policy) next month, to discuss ways to boost India's exports. The new Foreign Trade Policy (2022-2027) is expected to come out next month.
Banking, Finance and Insurance
RBI in stakeholder consultation for setting up a ‘fraud registry’ to educate customers on emerging risks.
RBI fines eight more cooperative banks for regulatory lapses, weeks after fining eight banks and cancelling licenses of two NBFCs.
Manufacturing
The Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar has said that companies from the United States, Taiwan and some European countries have applied for setting up semiconductor manufacturing units in India.
32 companies have applied for Design-Led Incentive (DLI) and Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes to the Department of Telecommunications, according to official reports.
Retail and e-commerce
The National Payments Corporation of India is set to acquire 9-10% in the Open Network Digital Commerce, with an investment of around INR 10 crore. The National Securities Depository Limited and the Bank of India shall also acquire stakes in the network.
The Indian School of Business has released a report with policy suggestions on India’s e-commerce industry. The report’s recommendations revolve around simplifying foreign investment norms, promoting specific business models to enable growth, increasing transparency and awareness in searches and improving the applicable tax regime.
Logistics
The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) is set to launch a new digital dashboard through which industries may highlight, track and resolve logistics-related issues online.
Sustainability
Government open to increasing non-tax incentives for domestic solar module manufacturers.
Chhattisgarh releases its state EV policy 2022, which shall be operative for a period of ten years.
Assam Energy Development Agency launches an open-source geo-spatial platform for visualising the extent of energy access at Assam’s health, education, and livelihood infrastructures.
Upcoming Events
India Ideas Summit
September 6-7 | Taj Palace, New Delhi
USIBC is organising the 47th Annual General Meeting and India Ideas Summit on September 6-7 at the Taj Palace Hotel, New Delhi. The focus of the summit this time around will be on maximising the next 75 years of U.S.-India prosperity, revolving around themes of Indo-Pacific strategic landscape, the future of energy, digital economy, and social development. More Information | Registration Link.
Taming Inflation - A Conference
September 8 | India Habitat Centre, New Delhi
ICRIER is organising a conference on ‘Taming Inflation’ on September 8, 2022 from 10 AM to 1:30 PM at the India Habitat Centre, New Delhi. The conference aims to identify what policy lessons India can learn from other countries to tame inflation, and what policies and practices India can adopt to contain inflation, particularly food inflation, within RBI’s tolerance band without hampering growth. Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman, Minister of Finance, GoI is the chief guest for the event. The event is also accessible virtually. Registration Link.
Tobacco Harm Reduction - Risks and Benefits
September 4 | India International Centre
Policy Circle is organising a roundtable on ‘Tobacco Harm Reduction - Risks and Benefits’ on September 4, 2022 from 10 AM to 1 PM at the India International Centre, New Delhi. Tobacco harm reduction presents a significant opportunity to improve public health outcomes for over 200 million tobacco consumers in India. Prominent attendees include Dr. MC Mishra, former Director, AIIMS, and Dr. K Madan Gopal, Senior Consultant, NITI Aayog. The event will be live streamed to the public Live Stream Link.
A Few Good Reads
Read this article in the Ken on how small entrepreneurs in the temple town of Udupi are leveraging the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) to build local e-commerce empires.
Nitin Pai writes in the Mint about “Nitipath”, an ‘Agnipath’-equivalent for the civil services to bridge the governance gap in India.
Abhijit Sen, former member of the Planning Commission and one of India’s foremost economists, passed away this week. Read this tribute to him in the Hindu, penned by his colleague Mihir Shah.
Sarur Chaudhary and Siddharth Sharma study the relationship between the relaxation of labour laws and employment generation, finding the results mixed and counter-intuitive.
Small, dingy cloud kitchens run hundreds of brands on the same FSSAI license, listing each on Swiggy and Zomato. Check out this piece from Pea Bee for more.
Tweets of the Week
Sukhada relates the story of Marbat, a Nagpur festival that symbolises public anger against British rule, disease and other societal problems:
A live example of unintended consequences, from Ireland:
Professor Shamika Ravi on the curious trajectory of the number of UPSC aspirants over the last 15 years:
Key Notifications
Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has issued a notification for facilitation of International Driving Permit across India in accordance with the Convention on International Road Traffic of 1949 (Geneva Convention).
The Government of India has constituted the National Shipping Board for a period of 2 years under Section 4 of the Merchant Shipping Act, 1958 read with Rule 4 of the National Shipping Board Rules, 1960.
MeitY is inviting feedback and inputs on the Draft on "Guidelines for Anonymisation of Data (AoD)” by September 21, 2022. Read the draft guidelines here, and inputs can be emailed to shubhanshug@cdac.in with a cc to headits@stqc.gov.in.