From Red Fort to Atlantic: India tests deep-sea waters in France before Matsya-6000 launch

In line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s announcement of the ‘National Deep Water Exploration Mission’, the government has sent scientists to France to learn deepwater exploration and implement their learnings to India’s deepwater exploration upon their return.

In his Independence Day speech, Modi said that India would explore energy reserves underwater on a mission mode as part of self-reliance efforts.

“To make the country developed, we are now moving towards ‘Samudra Manthan’. Taking forward our Samudra Manthan, we want to work in a mission mode towards finding oil reserves, gas reserves under the sea and hence India is going to start the National Deep Water Exploration Mission. This is our important announcement to become energy independent,” the prime minister said.

VIDEO | PM Modi (@narendramodi) says, “We are now working towards becoming self-reliant to make the country developed, and are also moving towards ‘Samudra Manthan’. For this, India is launching a National Deep Water Exploration Mission.”

He added, “Today, the entire world is… pic.twitter.com/dcuyLXynYx

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) August 15, 2025

As part of efforts to realise the mission, the Modi government has sent scientists to France to learn deepwater exploration in the Atlantic Ocean and implement their leanings in the Indian mission upon their return.

How learnings in Frane will help India

India sent scientists to France this month to get international experience in unwater energy exploration in the Atlantic Ocean, according to CNN-News 18.

As part of the India-French partnership, Indian scientists from National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT), Chennai, participated in deep ocean human scientific expeditions onboard the submersible NAUTILE developed by the French marine institute French Research Institute for Exploitation of the Sea (IFREMER), as per the report.

The partnership has helped Indian scientists gain valuable operational experience at the deep sea up to 5,000 meters depth in the Atlantic Ocean and functional operations, the report said.

Such experience will help them when they would work on India’s own human submersible, MATSYA-6000, which will soon carry three persons to a depth of 6,000 meters as part of the Deep Ocean Mission, the report said.