RAS question
India's Deep Ocean Mission aims to explore the ocean at depths of:
Correct answer: (B) 6,000 meters.
India's Deep Ocean Mission is aimed at deep-sea exploration at a depth of 6,000 metres through the manned submersible Matsya 6000.
Explanation
The Deep Ocean Mission is tied to Matsya 6000, a manned submersible being developed by the Ministry of Earth Sciences through NIOT, Chennai. The PIB release says it is intended to carry three people to 6,000 metres with scientific sensors for ocean exploration and observation. That depth is not incidental: the mission is meant to build India's capacity for deep-sea, man-rated vehicle development and for sustainable exploration of living and non-living deep-sea resources. Mineral exploration, biodiversity studies and ocean climate monitoring are part of that official framing, because the release identifies biodiversity, survey and mineral resources, and links ocean-climate advisory services to robust ocean data acquisition.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) 1,000 metres understates the mission's stated operating depth, because the PIB release identifies Matsya 6000's target depth as 6,000 metres.
- (C) 20,000 metres is not supported by the mission source and also exceeds the maximum ocean depth in the record, while the official target is 6,000 metres.
- (D) 100 metres describes shallow-water operation, whereas the Deep Ocean Mission is explicitly framed around deep-sea exploration at 6,000 metres.
Concept
This tests Science and Technology current affairs: a major Indian mission, its core platform and its technical target. It recurs in RAS because such missions connect technology, resources, biodiversity and climate policy in one examinable fact pattern.