Research Survey Exploration and Exploitation Activities | UPSC

HEADLINES:

Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh launches online portal for issue of NOC for power, oil and gas exploration projects

WHY IN NEWS:

Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh in the presence of Raksha Rajya Mantri Shri Shripad Y Naik today launched a new web portal for issue of No Objection Certificate (NOC) for power projects and Research Survey Exploration Exploitation (RSEE) activities in the Indian Territorial Waters (TW) and Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).

MINISTRY? :-Ministry of Defence

SYLLABUS COVERED: GS 3:Portal : Defence

LEARNING:

For PRELIMS it is important to understand the clearances process and procedure.

For MAINS ocean bed exploration has been in news for a while . Do you think we are asking too much from nature ? How does ocean bed support marine ecosystem ?

ISSUE:

The world ocean covering 71% of the surfaces of globe is regarded as the last major frontier for exploration, and development of resources to sustain mankind in the future.

BACKGROUND

Population growth, near depletion of vital minerals and fossil energy sources on land, scarcity of additional cultivable soils, crop failures, advance of desert margins, food scarcity and protein deficiency etc. have all led to intense international interest in the oceans.

Oceans are perceived as future of food, energy, minerals, chemicals and space.

HYDROCARBON-VISION 2025

The Indian Oil and Gas sector has made great strides to occupy an important position in the world of petroleum and natural gas.
Hydrocarbon-Vision 2025 broadly defines the objectives to be attained by the Oil and Gas Industry in a time bound manner.
The growing use of the Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea has added new dimensions to the maritime security concerns of the nation.

Under the new initiatives, all offshore sedimentary basins would be surveyed to assess the hydrocarbon potential of the country.

In addition, a National Gas Hydrate Program (NGHP) has been formulated to extract gas hydrates from our seabed.

RESEARCH, SURVEY, EXPLORATION AND EXPLOITATION (RSEE)

Research, Survey, Exploration and Exploitation (RSEE) activity demand special types of Vessels such as:

Survey Vessels, Research Vessels, Drill Ships, Rigs, Supply and Support Vessels, Diving and Support Vessels, Pipe laying Barges, Jack Up Rigs, Dumb Barges, Chase Boats, vessels .

SECURITY CLEARANCES

All Vessels/Rigs involved in RSEE activities in the Indian Territorial Waters (TW) and Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) are required to obtain Ministry of Defence (MoD) Security Clearance prior to commencing these activities.

On behalf of MoD, this clearance is accorded by IHQ MoD (N)/Command HQ depending upon the category of the Vessel.

IASbhai WINDUP:

The newly developed MoD web portal is aimed at facilitating the applicants for submitting their proposals online for seeking MoD Security Clearance for undertaking RSEE activities.
The Online System will establish an effective, speedy and transparent mechanism to process these proposals.

SUGGESTED READING : https://ncog.gov.in/modnoc/home.html

SOURCES:THE HINDU & PIB | Current Affairs News Analysis | Prelims & Mains 2020

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