Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh Launches India’s First Open-Sea Marine Fish Farming Project at North Bay, Andaman Sea; Ministry of Earth Sciences to Collaborate with UT Government of A&N

• Launched 18 January 2026 by Union MoS (IC) Science & Technology / Earth Sciences Dr Jitendra Singh at North Bay, Sri Vijaya Puram (Port Blair), Andaman & Nicobar Islands.
• First-ever open-sea cage-based marine finfish + seaweed cultivation pilot in India, using indigenous cage technology by NIOT, Chennai (autonomous body under Ministry of Earth Sciences).
• Operationalises the Blue Economy vision — leveraging India's 7,500-km coastline & 2.02 mn km² EEZ for livelihoods and food security.
• UPSC relevance: convergence of GS-III (economy/fisheries/S&T), GS-I (geography of A&N), GS-II (Centre–UT cooperation).