Recent Current Affairs related to Blue Economy

Dr TM Balakrishnan Nair, the Director of the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS), has been elected as the Chair of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) Sub-Commission for the Indian Ocean (IOCINDIO) under the UNESCO.

The election took place during the second Intergovernmental Session of IOCINDIO held in Bali, Indonesia. Turki Al-Said of Kuwait and Badal Mohammed Rezah of Mauritius were elected as the Vice-Chairs of IOCINDIO.

Union Minister Bhupender Yadav has launched the implementation guidelines for the ‘National Coastal Mission’ (NCM 2.0), a Central Sector Scheme to enhance the conservation of coastal and marine ecosystems of India. The mission has been approved with a total budget of ₹767 crore and will be implemented until FY31.

The mission will cover 9 coastal states (Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, and West Bengal) and 4 Union Territories including Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Puducherry, and Lakshadweep.

The mission framework is organized into 5 thematic categories: climate resilient blue economic growth, coastal vulnerability and risk reduction, climate change adaptation with mitigation co-benefits, capacity building and outreach, and committed liabilities and project management.

The PM Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) has completed 6 years of operation since its launch in 2020, aiming for the sustainable and responsible development of the fisheries sector.

The scheme is implemented by the Department of Fisheries under the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying with a total outlay of ₹20,050 crore. It is to be noted that a record allocation of ₹2,500 crore has been designated in the Budgeted Estimates for 2026-27 to support the implementation of the scheme.

The Centre for Marine Living Resources & Ecology (CMLRE), under the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), has released the “National Report on Deep-Sea and Distant-Water Fishery Resources of the Indian Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ)” to assess marine resources.

The publication was edited by Dr VN Sanjeevan (former Director of CMLRE) and Dr Baban Ingole (retired Scientist at the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO)), under the leadership of Dr RS Maheshkumar (Head of CMLRE).

The assessment studies were largely supported by the flagship research vessel of India, the Fishery and Oceanographic Research Vessel (FORV) 'Sagar Sampada'.

The Department of Fisheries has organised the national launch of the 'Letter of Authorisation' (LoA) for Sustainable Harnessing of Fisheries in the High Seas in Bhubaneshwar, Odisha.

Vice President CP Radhakrishnan presided over the event and launched the LoA for Sustainable Harnessing of Fisheries in the High Seas. He also unveiled the 'Odisha Deep Sea Mission Document'.

According to the "State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture (SOFIA) 2026" report released by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) under the theme "Blue Transformation: Turning Vision into Impact", India has emerged as the world's second-largest producer of aquatic animals, contributing 9% of the total global production in 2024.

India ranks first globally in inland water catches, producing 2.2 million tonnes (MT) from rivers, lakes, and freshwater systems. The top five aquaculture-producing countries globally are China, Indonesia, India, Vietnam, and Bangladesh.

World Oceans Day:

Day – 8 June

Theme 2026 – “Reimagine: Beyond the world we know, a new relationship with our ocean”

Observed since – 2009

Packirisamy Jawahar has been appointed as the Chairman of the Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA). He succeeds DV Swamy.

According to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MoC&I), the European Union (EU) has emerged as the third-largest seafood export market for India in FY26, after the USA and China. India’s seafood exports to the EU stood at $1.593 billion, contributing 18.94% of the total seafood export value and showing robust growth in both value and quantity.

The Odisha government has signed an MoU with the National Centre for Coastal Research (NCCR), an agency under the Ministry of Earth Sciences, to implement a specialized Marine Spatial Plan (MSP).

The MSP aims to maintain a balance between the coastal economy and the marine environment of the state. It is to be noted that Odisha is the first state in India to initiate the second phase of the national sustainable ocean planning initiative.