Union Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) Secretary Dr M Ravichandran recently unveiled a new web portal for the Marine Microbial Repository as part of the Deep Ocean Mission at the National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) in Chennai. During the 31st NIOT Foundation Day event, Dr. Ravichandran commended the institute’s work in specialized engineering and technology fields and emphasized the importance of capacity building through collaborative research with academia and industry.
NIOT has shown significant progress in areas like Blue Economy development, sustainable use of ocean resources, and societal impact projects. Director Prof Balaji Ramakrishnan highlighted various initiatives undertaken by NIOT, including desalination projects in Lakshadweep, development of deep sea submersibles, mining trials for marine resources, coastal protection, and collection of marine data for weather and climate monitoring.
Notably, the Ballast Water Treatment Technologies Test Facility (BWTT-TF) inaugurated by Dr. Ravichandran is dedicated to testing and validating Ballast Water Treatment Systems (BWTS) according to international regulations. This facility, located in Andhra Pradesh, is specially designed to comply with the Ballast Water Convention 2004 standards and is the first of its kind in the tropical region and South East Asia, signaling a positive step towards environmental sustainability and maritime safety.
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