• Silver Jubilee celebration of National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT)

• NIOT plays a vital role in the protection of coastal areas from negative impacts of climate change and also in the development of blue coastal infrastructure for the benefit of society.

• NIOT has been working on six priority pillars of blue economy, including Fisheries and Aquaculture, Renewable Ocean Energy, Seaports and Shipping; Offshore Hydrocarbons, Seabed Minerals, and Marine Biotechnology.
• Blue economy includes intangible economic benefits such as carbon sequestration, coastal protection, cultural values and biodiversity.

• The Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) and NIOT planning an upcoming project--Samudrayaan, which envisages sending aquanauts to ocean depths with their manned submersible.
• NIOT has developed technologies like desalination plant to convert sea water into portable water, he said there was a need to ensure that such technologies were cost effective.
• The Ministry of S&T is in consultation with the NITI Aayog to launch the National Mission on Desalination which can help us solve the growing problem of water that the world is facing today.

• Vice President also launched the Coastal Flood Warning System app for Chennai (CFLOWS- CHENNAI) developed by the NIOT.
• Other key projects of NIOT especially the desalination project for providing water to the Lakshadweep Island community and the Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion project in Kavaratti for power generation for desalination
• NIOT's Polar Remotely Operable Vehicle (ROV), has also been dedicated to the nation by NIOT which was used in the search operations of the sunken IAF AN-32 aircraft.
• The ROV catapulted India to the elite club of nations like the USA, Japan, France, Germany & Korea with successful development & usage of 6,000 m deep Remotely Operated Vehicle

• The NIOT was established in November 1993 as an autonomous society under the Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India by the then Department of Ocean Development.
• NIOT has established itself as one of the premier institutes in the world, working on various ocean technologies.
• NIOT has demonstrated several technologies for societal applications such as Desalination plants, Data and Tsunami Buoy Network in Indian waters for collecting real time oceanic data, sea cage culturing in open sea, shore protection.
• NIOT is also working on continuous expansion to take benefits of these technologies to the doorsteps of common citizens of country.
• NIOT has developed niche technologies to mine manganese nodules from deep sea
• NIOT will be the nodal institution for implementing the proposed Deep Ocean Mission, which encompasses all the areas of Ocean technology like development of manned submersible, offshore large scale desalination, Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC), extensive survey of the oceans, acquisition of new ships etc.

• The Indian Tsunami Early Warning Centre (ITEWC) established at Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Sciences, (INCOIS), Hyderabad, under Ministry of Earth Sciences is the national authority to issue tsunami advisories for India.
• The ITEWC functions as an approved Tsunami Service Provider of the Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning & Mitigation System (IOTWMS) that is an integral part of the Global Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System, established and coordinated by the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO.

Relevance IN - Prelims (about India International Science Festival) + Mains (GS III science and technology)
What's the NEWS

• The Prime Minister inaugurated the Fifth India International Science Festival through video conference
• The four-day science festival is being organized in Kolkata from November 5 to November 8, 2019.
• The prime objective of the festival is to instill scientific temper among the masses, showcase India's contribution in the field of S&T over the years and encourage translation of its benefits to people. It aims to build a strategy for inclusive advancement of Science and Technology.

• India International Science Festival (IISF) 2019, an annual event organised jointly by science and technology related Ministries and Departments of the Government of India and Vijnana Bharati (Vibha), is being held in Kolkata this year.
• This is the fifth edition since its inception in 2015 and will take place during November 5^th - 8^th, 2019.
• IISF-2019 is a festival to celebrate the achievements of India's scientific and technological advancements with students, innovators, craftsmen, farmers, scientists and technocrats from India and abroad.
• Thus, the theme for this year's festival is RISEN India - Research, Innovation, and Science Empowering the Nation.
• IISF is perhaps the biggest platform in the country to bring together students, researchers, innovators, artists, and the general public to celebrate India's achievements in science and technology.
• IISF is also an attempt to encourage young minds towards the field of science and to promote networking of stakeholders working towards the propagation of science.

• Vigyanika-International Science Literature Festival, being organised as part of the 5th India International Science Festival (IISF) 2019 at Kolkata
  
• Vigyanika-International Science Literature Festival is being coordinated by the CSIR-National Institute of Science Communication and Information Resources (CSIR-NISCAIR), Vigyan Prasar and Vigyan Bharati
  
  

• The Department of Science and Technology (DST) is a department within the Ministry of Science and Technology in India.
• It was established in May 1971 to promote new areas of science and technology and to play the role of a nodal department for organising, coordinating and promoting scientific and technological activities in the country.
• It provides funds to various approved scientific projects in India. It also supports various researchers in India to attend conferences abroad and to go for experimental works.

• Vijnana Bharati or VIBHA, previously known as ‘Swadeshi Science Movement' is a non-profit organisation, working for science popularization & implementation of modern technology & ancient sciences in India. It was founded by the eminent scientists of Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru led by Prof. K.I. Vasu.

• Vigyan Prasar, an autonomous organisation of the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, was set up in 1989 to take on large-scale science and technology popularisation programmes.
• Vigyan Prasar's mandate is to promote and propagate - as widely as possible - a scientific and rational outlook in society.
• Its broad objectives include undertaking, promoting and co-ordinating science popularization programmes and inculcation of scientific temper among the people.
• It's also responsible for the development of software for various media - audio, visual, audio-visual & print and different modes of communication to enable the masses to understand, appreciate and comprehend scientific principles and practices

Relevance IN - Prelims (about the voyage and about NW1 and 2 and Inland Water Transport (IWT) + Mains ( infrastructure development- ports)
What's the NEWS

• In line with Government's focus on improving connectivity to the North Eastern Region (NER), a landmark container cargo consignment will sail on inland waterways from Haldia Dock Complex (HDC) to the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) terminal at Pandu in Guwahati on 4 November, 2019.

Know! about the voyage

• The inland vessel MV Maheshwari carrying 53 TEUs (containers) of petrochemicals, edible oil and beverage etc.
• The 12-15 days voyage will be an integrated IWT movement via National Waterway-1 (river Ganga), NW-97 (Sunderbans), Indo-Bangladesh Protocol (IBP) route and NW-2 (river Brahmaputra).
• This is the first ever containerised cargo movement on this Inland Water Transport (IWT) route.
• The 1425 km long movement is expected to establish the technical and commercial viability of IWT mode using these multiple waterways even as a series of pilot movements are planned on the stretch.
• The latest IWT movement is aimed at providing a fillip to North East Region's industrial development by opening up an alternate route for transportation of raw material and finished goods.
• Taking ahead the Government's vision of promoting IWT, the first consignment of containerized cargo on National Waterway-1 (Ganga-Bhagirathi-Hooghly river system) was received by the Prime Minister on 12 November 2018 when he dedicated to the nation, the Multi Modal Terminal at Varanasi.

Protocol on Inland Water Transit and Trade (PIWTT)

• The Protocol on Inland Water Transit and Trade (PIWTT) between India and Bangladesh allows mutually beneficial arrangements for the use of their waterways for movement of goods between the two countries by vessels of both countries.
• The IBP route extends from Kolkata (India) on NW-1 to Silghat (Assam) on NW-2 (River Brahmaputra) and Karimganj (Assam) on NW-16 (River Barak).
• Two stretches of Bangladesh inland waterways viz. Sirajganj-Daikhawa & Ashuganj-Zakiganj on the IBP route are being developed at a total cost of Rs 305.84 Cr. on 80:20 cost sharing basis (80% being borne by India & 20% by Bangladesh).
• The development of these two stretches is expected to provide seamless navigation to and from North East India through waterways via the IBP route.
• An SOP to facilitate the movement of goods to and from India through Chattogram and Mongla Ports in Bangladesh has been signed by the two countries on 5th October 2019. The proximity of these two ports will reduce logistics cost and improve trade competitiveness of North East states

Jal Marg Vikas Project

• Jal Marg Vikas Project (JMVP) for capacity augmentation of navigation on National Waterway-1 (NW-1) at a cost of Rs 5369.18 crore with the technical assistance and investment support of the World Bank. The Project is expected to be completed by March, 2023.
• One of the major problems for a commercially viable and safe navigation on NW-1 is low depth upstream of Farakka barrage due to low discharges from tributaries and difficult hydro morphological characteristics of the river Ganga.
• The project will contribute in bringing down the logistics cost in the country and will provide an alternative mode of transport which will be environment friendly and cost effective.
• It is being implemented by the Inland Waterways Authority of India (Ministry of Shipping).
• States covered under the Project are Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal.
  
  

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