New Delhi, Aug 10 : The Centre has approved the Deep Ocean Mission (DOM) to be implemented by the Ministry of Earth Sciences at a total budget of Rs 4,077 crore for five years during the period 2021-2026, the Rajya Sabha was informed on Tuesday. "Even private institutions will be included for development of technologies for this mission to explore the possibilities of mining, biodiversity, energy, fresh water, etc. in deep ocean and to support the 'blue economy'," Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science & Technology and Minister of State (Independent Charge) Earth Sciences Dr Jitendra Singh said in a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha. The Ministry of Earth Sciences through contractual agreements with the International Seabed Authority (ISA), is carrying out exploration activities for Poly-metallic Nodules (PMN) in the Central Indian Ocean Basin and for Poly-metallic Sulphides (PMS) in parts of Central and South-West Indian ridges. Preliminary estimates indicate 380 Million Metric Tonnes (MMT) of Polymetallic Nodules comprising Copper, Nickel, Cobalt and Manganese are available within an allocated area of 75,000 sq km for exploration of PMN in the Central Indian Ocean Basin. The estimated value of these metals is about USD 110 billion. The polymetallic sulphides are expected to contain rare earth minerals, including gold and silver, the Minister said. The US, France, Japan, Russia, and China are the major countries to have similar technologies. /IANS