Distinguish between India's seabed mineral exploration within its EEZ and in the Area beyond national jurisdiction. What role does the International Seabed Authority play?

UNCLOS divides the seabed into two legal zones. In its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ, up to 200 nautical miles), a coastal state has sovereign rights over resources (Art. 56). The seabed beyond national jurisdiction, called "the Area", is the common heritage of mankind (Art. 136). India explores both, under two different legal regimes.

Distinction: EEZ vs the Area

Basis	Within EEZ	The Area
Law	OAMDR Act, 2002, amended 2023 [2]	UNCLOS Part XI [4]
Authority	Ministry of Mines	ISA; MoES is India's sponsor
Allocation	Mandatory auction [2]	Exploration contract with the ISA [3]
Instrument	Composite Licence: 3+2 years of exploration, then a 50-year production lease [2]	Time-bound exploration contract; no exploitation yet [5]
Operators	Private firms or PSUs; atomic minerals reserved for PSUs [2]	India itself, as a state contractor
Example	Sewell Rise-01 and West Sewell Ridge-01, Andaman Sea, 1,632 sq km, NIT issued Oct 2026 [1]	CIOB nodules (contract since 2002); sulphides on Indian Ocean ridges; Carlsberg Ridge (2025) [3]
Benefits	Go to India's revenue and its critical-mineral supply	Shared for "mankind as a whole"

• Technology link: under the Deep Ocean Mission, the OMe 6000 underwater vehicle surveyed a nodule site at about 5,271 m depth in India's ISA area (Dec 2022) [6]. Experience in the Area builds capacity for work in the EEZ.

Role of the International Seabed Authority

• Custodian: it organises and controls activities in the Area on behalf of mankind [4].
• Regulator: it grants and oversees exploration contracts sponsored by states. It now covers 31 contract areas [4]. India holds several of these contracts [3].
• Rule-maker: it is negotiating the Mining Code, which covers exploitation, its financial terms and environmental safeguards. No commercial mining can start until the Code is final [5].
• Equity: it shares benefits fairly (Art. 140) and supports capacity-building for developing states.
• Limit: it has no jurisdiction inside the EEZ. However, Art. 208 requires national seabed rules to be at least as effective as international standards.

The gap: India's environmental ToR for its EEZ blocks is still a draft, even though bidding has opened [1].

The two tracks work together: the ISA's rules for the Area set the standard against which India's EEZ regime should be judged. India should finalise its environmental baseline norms before licences are granted. It should also keep contributing actively to the ISA's Mining Code. This would balance critical-mineral security with SDG 14 (Life below Water) and the common-heritage principle.