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26 Jul 2026SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY3 questions

Cataloguing the Unseen: A Deep-Sea Fish App and India's Push Into the Ocean's Depths

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Article summary

The ICAR-Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) launched DeepDATA, a mobile application to systematically document deep-sea fish species, contributing to the knowledge base under the Ministry of Earth Sciences' Deep Ocean Mission. The deep sea — the ocean below roughly 200 metres, where sunlight fades and pressure, cold and darkness dominate — is among the least explored environments on Earth, and its biodiversity in Indian waters is poorly catalogued. A structured digital record of species, their depth, location and characteristics builds the scientific baseline needed both for conservation and for any responsible use of deep-ocean resources. The app is a modest instrument within a much larger programme: the Deep Ocean Mission, approved in 2021 with a multi-year outlay, aims to develop deep-sea mining technology, a crewed submersible (Samudrayaan), ocean-climate services, and the exploration and conservation of deep-sea biodiversity, positioning India in the emerging contest over the ocean floor and its resources.

What this tests

recallTests whether you read the article and retained key facts.
1Q
applicationTests whether you can apply the concept to a new scenario.
1Q
analysisTests whether you can reason across multiple related facts.
1Q

Sample questions — answers revealed after test

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGYRecallEasy

Q1. Polymetallic nodules, which India is allotted rights to explore in the Central Indian Ocean Basin, are chiefly valued for which of the following?

ATheir content of hydrocarbons such as crude oil and natural gas.
BTheir content of metals such as nickel, cobalt, copper and manganese, relevant to batteries and the energy transition.
CTheir content of freshwater trapped in mineral form.
DTheir use as a natural fertiliser for coastal agriculture.
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SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGYApplicationMedium

Q2. Why is documenting deep-sea biodiversity, as the DeepDATA app does, described as a precondition for deep-ocean policy?

ABecause international law forbids any deep-ocean activity until every species is catalogued.
BBecause conservation, fisheries management and assessment of mining impacts all require knowing what species exist and where — one cannot regulate what has not been catalogued.
CBecause cataloguing species automatically generates revenue that funds the mission.
DBecause documented species can be relocated to aquariums before mining begins.
Answer revealed after you submit the test
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGYAnalysisHard

Q3. Consider the following statements about the governance of the deep seabed: 1. Much of the deep seabed lies beyond national jurisdiction and is governed by the International Seabed Authority under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. 2. Seabed minerals in the international area are treated as the 'common heritage of mankind'. 3. A coastal state has unrestricted sovereign rights to mine anywhere in the international seabed area adjacent to its continental shelf. Which of the statements given above are correct?

A1 and 2 only
B2 and 3 only
C1 and 3 only
D1, 2 and 3
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