Indian Navy signs MoU for seabed data with GSI

The Indian Navy has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Geological Survey of India (GSI) for the sharing of seabed sediments data, products and expertise for naval application in meteorology and oceanography.

The MoU was signed on Tuesday between Commodore AA Abhyankar, who heads the Indian Navy's Oceanology and Meteorology Directorate and N Maran, Deputy Director-General of GSI.

GSI's marine and coastal survey division based at Mangaluru has mapped most of India's 2.1 million square kilometres 'Exclusive Economic Zone' and has a vast repository of offshore data, according to an official statement.

"This data collected using GSI's state-of-the-art oceanic research vessels Samudra Manthan, Samudra Kaustubh, Samudra Shaudhikama and Samudra Ratnakar, will now be used by Indian Navy's rapidly growing blue water fleet for reliable and accurate oceanographic modelling to support their expansive maritime operations in the Indian Ocean region," it read.