Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Emerging Science & Technology Innovation Conclave (ESTIC) 2025 at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi, marking a historic moment for India’s scientific and innovation landscape. Addressing the gathering of over 3,000 participants, including Nobel Laureates, leading scientists, researchers, academics, policymakers, and industry representatives, the Prime Minister emphasized the need for collaboration in the twenty-first century’s fast-changing world of science and technology. “Today is a big day in the world of science and technology,” he said. “There was a great need for experts from around the world to come together to brainstorm on emerging science, technology, and innovation, and to show direction together. This need gave birth to the vision of this conclave.”
As part of the inaugural ceremony, Prime Minister Modi launched the Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) Scheme Fund, a ₹1 lakh crore corpus designed to encourage private sector investment in research and development. The fund aims to create capital availability for projects that involve higher risk but carry the potential for large-scale impact. “This ₹1 lakh crore is for you. It is to increase your capabilities. It is to open new opportunities for you,” PM Modi declared, stressing the government’s commitment to promoting research and development within the private sector. He explained that for the first time, India is extending capital support to high-risk, high-impact ventures to accelerate technological breakthroughs.
He also announced the establishment of the *Anusandhan Research Foundation, a new institution that will strengthen research and innovation across universities, creating new pathways for academic and technological advancement. Reflecting on India’s recent scientific milestones, the Prime Minister pointed to the successful launch of *GSAT-7R, India’s heaviest communication satellite, congratulating ISRO scientists for their dedication and vision. He further cited India’s pandemic response, noting how the country developed an indigenous COVID-19 vaccine in record time and executed the world’s largest vaccination drive, enabled by its robust digital public infrastructure.
Alongside the fund launch, PM Modi released a coffee table book showcasing India’s scientific achievements and unveiled a vision document outlining the strategic direction for science and technology in the years ahead. ESTIC 2025 will run as a three-day conclave, featuring discussions across 11 thematic areas including advanced materials and manufacturing, artificial intelligence, bio-manufacturing, digital communications, quantum technologies, energy and climate solutions, and space sciences.
The event embodies India’s resolve to transform from a technology consumer into a global innovation powerhouse. With bold initiatives such as the RDI Fund and the Anusandhan Research Foundation, India is positioning itself to lead the world in deep-tech, research, and innovation — paving the way for a self-reliant, technologically advanced Bharat.
The deep sea, still full of mysteries, holds not just the secrets of human origins but also clues to our long-term sustenance and preservation. To unlock its hidden potential, India’s Deep Ocean Mission was launched on 7th September 2021 by the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) with the aim to develop technologies for exploring and sustainably utilising the deep ocean’s living and non-living wealth. With an overall investment of ₹4,077 crore spread across five years, this mission is not a one-time dive – it will unfold in phases and is designed as a full-throttle national project, driving forward India’s Blue Economy, which includes all marine-based industries – from fishing and shipping to biotechnology and tourism.
Exploring these depths could provide solutions to global challenges like climate change. Recognising this, the United Nations designated the 2021–2030 decade as the ‘Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development’. India’s unique geography, with 7,517 km of coastline, nine coastal states, and 1,382 islands, gives it a strategic advantage. In the Government of India’s Vision for New India 2030, the Blue Economy has been placed among the ten core growth dimensions. The Ministry of Earth Sciences is leading this multi-agency effort to tap into ocean resources and build a ₹100 billion maritime economy, transforming deep-sea potential into sustainable prosperity.
One of the mission’s key elements is the development of technologies for deep-sea mining and a manned submersible. India is building a self-propelled vehicle named MATSYA 6000, which can transport three individuals to depths of 6,000 meters. This advanced submersible will support India’s future ambitions in commercial mineral exploration. Alongside it, an integrated mining system is being developed to extract polymetallic nodules from the deep sea in the Central Indian Ocean. Another component is the development of ocean climate change advisory services. This includes creating models to understand and predict key climate variables, contributing to climate adaptation and promoting coastal tourism.
The mission also focuses on technological innovations for exploration and conservation of deep-sea biodiversity. This includes bio-prospecting deep-sea flora, fauna, and microbes, with a view to promoting sustainable use of biological resources and boosting marine fisheries and allied services. Through the Deep Ocean Survey and Exploration component, India aims to identify multi-metal hydrothermal sulphide sites along the Indian Ocean mid-oceanic ridges. In terms of energy and freshwater, the mission proposes a proof-of-concept Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) powered desalination plant, contributing to offshore renewable energy development.
To support marine biology and innovation, the Advanced Marine Station for Ocean Biology will be established. This centre will focus on translating research into industrial products, fostering ocean-related entrepreneurship and manufacturing, and building talent through on-site incubators.
The Samudrayaan Project was launched under this mission to deliver on the deep-sea exploration goals. MATSYA 6000, the manned submersible, is designed for a 12-hour operational period and 96-hour emergency capability. It features high-density lithium-polymer batteries, underwater acoustic communication, drop-weight escape systems, and safety vests for life support and health monitoring. The vessel is a spherical titanium-alloy structure with a diameter of 2260 mm and wall thickness of 80 mm, capable of withstanding 600 bar pressure and sub-zero temperatures. The titanium sphere was welded using Electron Beam Welding (EBW), a highly specialised process developed by ISRO’s Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre after over 700 trials. The welding was tested with advanced non-destructive techniques such as Time-of-Flight Diffraction (TOFD) and Phased Array Ultrasonic Testing (PAUT).
MATSYA 6000 is being developed collaboratively by the National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT), the Ministry of Earth Sciences, and ISRO’s Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre. The vehicle has already undergone rigorous dry integration testing up to 500 meters to validate system functionality. Between January and February 2025, wet trials were held at L&T Shipyard in Chennai to assess flotation, control, safety, navigation, and communication systems. Scientific payloads such as oceanographic sensors were also tested.
The demonstration phase included eight dives—five unmanned and five manned. These trials rigorously tested life support systems and the submersible’s performance under real conditions. On August 5 and 6, 2025, India achieved a major milestone with its first ever 5000-meter deep-sea dive. This was conducted in collaboration with IFREMER, the French marine research institute, using their submersible Nautile. Indian aquanauts Senior Scientist Raju Ramesh and Commander Jatinder Pal Singh (Retd) completed successful seven-hour dives, collecting vital data and hands-on operational experience.
The Indian team gained insights into pre-dive procedures, buoyancy control, manipulator operations, flag placement, sample collection, deployment and retrieval, trajectory tracking, and acoustic communication. The Indo-French collaboration is instrumental in advancing the MATSYA 6000 programme, which has already realised and tested the titanium hull, syntactic foam, variable ballast system, and emergency drop-weight mechanisms. Open ocean testing, shallow water demonstrations, and full system integration are scheduled through 2026 and 2027, with deep-water tests and scientific dives set for 2027–28.
India has also made progress in autonomous underwater vehicle development. In December 2022, the Ocean Mineral Explorer (OMe 6000), an autonomous vehicle, explored depths of 5,271 meters in the Central Indian Ocean Basin. Deployed using the research vessel Sagar Nidhi, it surveyed polymetallic manganese nodule-rich zones, helping to map seabed biodiversity and mineral distribution.
India’s Deep Ocean Mission, through these achievements, is expanding indigenous capability in ocean science and engineering. By entering the elite club of deep-sea exploration nations, India is setting the stage for long-term strategic, scientific, and environmental leadership in marine research and resource development.
August 19, 2025 – New Delhi: After a successful 18-day mission aboard the International Space Station (ISS) as part of the Axiom-4 crew, Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla returned to India and met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Their conversation marked a significant moment for India’s aspirations in space exploration, centered around the upcoming Gaganyaan mission and India’s proposed Bharatiya Antariksh Station by 2035.
Shukla expressed confidence that India could lead a collaborative space station in the future, much like the International Space Station led by the US, Russia, Europe, Japan, and Canada. He noted the global excitement around India’s Gaganyaan mission and shared that his crewmates had requested to attend its launch.
“We have the ability and the position to be in a leadership role in a space station led by India,” Shukla said.
During the meeting, PM Modi recalled assigning “homework” to Shukla — to learn and document everything that could help future astronauts. Shukla shared how even astronauts on the ISS teased him about getting such a special task from his country’s leader. The documentation is expected to be valuable for ISRO’s astronaut training pipeline.
In a symbolic moment, Shukla gifted PM Modi the Tricolour he carried into space and the official Axiom-4 mission patch. The patch features Earth at the center of a pentagon, the four astronauts’ names and national flags, and seven stars representing the continents.
Shukla detailed his experiment in growing crops aboard the ISS in a water-based dish. Sprouting in just eight days, the experiment offered hope not just for long-duration space missions but for food security challenges on Earth.
“Food is a big challenge in space. But this research may help solve problems here on Earth too,” Shukla said.
Describing his physical transformation in space, Shukla said that adaptation is required both while reaching and returning from orbit.
“I was feeling okay but I could not walk… the brain has to rewire,” he explained.
Shukla reflected on how Indian children today see space as a real career option — unlike his own childhood, when India lacked a consistent astronaut programme.
“Children no longer just dream — they know becoming an astronaut is possible,” he shared.
Looking ahead, PM Modi emphasized the need for a strong astronaut pool of 40–50 individuals to support India’s ambitions. Shukla’s insights, training, and documentation are set to play a crucial role in the Gaganyaan mission, scheduled for launch in the coming years.
Shukla, who had been recovering in Houston after landing back on Earth in July, arrived in India to a warm reception at Delhi Airport by Union Science Minister Jitendra Singh and Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta.
His journey marks not just the return of a national hero, but the takeoff of India’s next giant leap in space.
Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla, recently back from a landmark space mission, is sharing surprisingly human insights about what happens when the thrill of zero gravity meets the weight of reality—literally.
In a candid post-mission reflection, Shukla revealed,
“My phone felt heavy. I dropped my laptop the first time I picked it up. I was re-learning gravity.”
While much of the public attention is on the launch, orbit, and re-entry, what follows is an equally complex journey—re-acclimatization to Earth’s gravitational pull. Known as space adaptation syndrome, astronauts often face balance issues, weakened muscles, and coordination challenges after days or weeks in space.
Shukla described simple everyday activities becoming difficult. “You’re used to floating. Now, everything pulls at you,” he said. Holding a phone or bending to pick something up wasn’t just physically demanding—it required conscious recalibration of motor skills.
Beyond the physical, he spoke of the mental shift:
“In space, your perspective changes—literally and emotionally. You see Earth from a distance, and it rewires how you think.”
His honest narrative brings attention to the need for post-mission psychological and physiological support, a growing focus in astronaut training globally.
India, with its space ambitions expanding through missions like Gaganyaan, continues to prepare for human spaceflight in deeper ways. Stories like Shukla’s offer valuable insight into the real human experience of space—its wonders, and its challenges.
As Shukla continues to recover and inspire, his story serves as a reminder: the mission may end on Earth, but the journey continues within.
Nestled deep within the lush hills of Meghalaya, the tiny village of Mawsynram—renowned as the wettest place on Earth—is poised to become a global tourism marvel with the announcement of the world’s first Rain Museum.
The museum, with an allocated budget of ₹35 crore, will blend science, culture, and sensory experience to redefine how travelers engage with nature. Announced by Tourism Minister Paul Lyngdoh, tenders are now open, and construction is expected to begin after the monsoon season subsides.
A Museum Like No Other
The Rain Museum will feature:
Immersive rain simulation zones that mimic the sound, feel, and rhythm of monsoon rainfall
Interactive exhibits on meteorology and local folklore
Traditional Khasi culture displays, showcasing the heritage of the region
State-of-the-art weather research facilities, with collaborations expected from ISRO and the India Meteorological Department (IMD)
This initiative aims to reimagine tourism in the Northeast, offering not just sightseeing, but a deep sensory and educational dive into one of nature’s most enchanting phenomena—rain.
More Than a Museum
Beyond the museum walls, Mawsynram offers:
Limestone caves waiting to be explored
Rain-fed waterfalls that cascade with wild grace
Trekking routes through mystical green hills
Khasi culinary and cultural experiences that highlight the warm hospitality of the region
Tourism Minister Lyngdoh emphasized the need to transform Meghalaya’s natural abundance into immersive experiences that attract responsible global tourists. “This museum will be a symbol of how nature, tradition, and technology can come together,” he said.
What’s Next?
Construction is slated to begin post-monsoon 2025, with the aim of opening doors by late 2026. As the world looks for sustainable, experiential travel, Mawsynram’s Rain Museum is set to become a bucket-list destination for nature lovers, culture seekers, and curious minds alike.
