RAS question
India's first manned submersible MATSYA 6000 is designed to reach:
Correct answer: (A) 6000 metres.
India's first manned submersible, Matsya-6000, is designed to carry three persons to a depth of 6000 metres.
Explanation
Matsya-6000 is built around its target operating depth: 6000 metres. PIB identifies it as India's flagship human submersible, developed by the National Institute of Ocean Technology, Chennai, under the Ministry of Earth Sciences as part of the Samudrayaan project of the Deep Ocean Mission. Its personnel sphere houses three crew members and is made of titanium alloy, with the pressure hull tested for conditions beyond those expected at 6000 metres. This depth capability enables 12-hour missions and exploration in the Central Indian Ocean for polymetallic nodules such as manganese, nickel and cobalt. Therefore, the depth figure in the name is not incidental; it is the designed operating depth.
Why the other options are wrong
- (B) 1000 metres understates the submersible's design target, because PIB states that Matsya-6000 is aimed at carrying three persons to 6000 metres.
- (C) 500 metres refers only to a separately rated sub-phone mentioned by PIB, not to the operating depth of Matsya-6000 itself.
- (D) 11000 metres is not supported by Press Information Bureau, Ministry of Earth Sciences details tying Matsya-6000 to 6000-metre human submersible operations.
Concept
This tests current science and technology linked to India's Deep Ocean Mission and indigenous ocean exploration capability. RAS often asks such items because government missions connect technology, resources and institutional responsibility.