**Executive Summary**
The Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) organized a panel discussion at the India AI Impact Summit 2026, held in New Delhi from February 16-20, 2026, titled "AI for Our Oceans of Tomorrow: Data, Models and Governance". The discussion centered on the role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in strengthening India's ocean governance, disaster resilience, marine livelihoods, and Blue Economy growth. The session involved government officials, international dignitaries, scientists, industry leaders, and financial experts.
**Key Points / Main Content**
* **AI's Role in Ocean Governance:**
* AI can play a transformative role in strengthening India's ocean governance.
* AI is crucial for disaster resilience, marine livelihoods, and Blue Economy growth.
* **Keynote Address by Dr. M. Mohapatra:**
* Oceans play a critical role in climate regulation, disaster risk reduction, food security, and livelihoods.
* India has strong capabilities in ocean observation, cyclone forecasting, marine data systems, and early warning services.
* Data-driven and AI-enabled models complement traditional physical models in addressing climate change impacts (ocean warming, acidification, sea-level rise).
* The Deep Ocean Mission is a national initiative focusing on deep-sea exploration, offshore energy, biodiversity conservation, and sustainable utilization of marine resources.
* **India-Norway Cooperation:**
* AI can enhance fisheries management, shipping efficiency, port operations, and coastal resilience.
* India is well-positioned to develop a global digital ocean framework based on open data, shared standards, and responsible digital governance.
* **Panel Discussion:**
* India can lead the Global South by developing a Digital Ocean Infrastructure that integrates open data, AI-driven intelligence, and robust governance frameworks.
* AI is essential for scaling marine livelihoods, reducing operational costs, and enabling timely, data-driven decision-making across Blue Economy sectors.
* The development of physics-informed AI and physical intelligence is needed due to the complexity and data scarcity of oceans.
* Progress requires enhanced international cooperation, open systems, and shared digital public goods.
* Supportive policies, data liquidity, blended finance, and risk-sharing mechanisms are needed for sustainable growth.
* **Concluding Remarks:**
* The Ministry is committed to building a structured pathway for AI integration across ocean-related programs.
**Impact Analysis**
**Ministry of Earth Sciences:**
* **Impact:** The Ministry is the organizer and has a vested interest in furthering the adoption of AI for ocean-related applications.
* **Action Required:** Continue building a structured pathway for AI integration across ocean-related programs.
**Government Officials, International Dignitaries, Scientists, Industry Leaders, Start-ups, and Financial Experts:**
* **Impact:** Their expertise and collaboration are crucial for developing and implementing AI solutions for ocean-related challenges.
* **Action Required:** Collaborate to develop AI-driven solutions, share data and knowledge, and implement supportive policies.
**India and the Global Community:**
* **Impact:** Benefit from improved ocean governance, disaster resilience, marine livelihoods, and Blue Economy growth.
* **Action Required:** Support the development of a global digital ocean framework and participate in international cooperation efforts.
**Global South:**
* **Impact:** Can leverage India's Digital Ocean Infrastructure to scale marine livelihoods and enable data-driven decision-making.
* **Action Required:** Engage with India and participate in the development of the Digital Ocean Infrastructure.
Key Entities Referenced
Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES): The primary organizer of the AI for Oceans of Tomorrow discussion.
India AI Impact Summit 2026: The event where the panel discussion on AI for Oceans of Tomorrow was held.
Deep Ocean Mission: Flagship national initiative focused on deep-sea exploration, offshore energy, biodiversity conservation, and the sustainable utilisation of marine resources.
AI for Our Oceans of Tomorrow: Data, Models and Governance: The title of the high-level panel discussion.
New Delhi: Location of the India AI Impact Summit 2026.
Ministry of Earth Sciences
Ministry of Earth Sciences leads discussions on
AI for Oceans of Tomorrow: Data, Models and
Governance at India AI Impact Summit 2026
Posted On: 19 FEB 2026 12:01PM by PIB Delhi
The Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), Government of India, organized a high-level panel discussion
titled “AI for Our Oceans of Tomorrow: Data, Models and Governance” as part of the India AI Impact
Summit 2026, being held in New Delhi from 16–20 February 2026.
The experts emphasized that Artificial Intelligence (AI) can play a transformative role in strengthening
India’s ocean governance, disaster resilience, marine livelihoods, and Blue Economy growth. The session
brought together senior government officials, international dignitaries, scientists, industry leaders, start-
ups, and financial experts to deliberate on the integration of AI with ocean science and policy.
Delivering the keynote address, the Director General of the India Meteorological Department, Dr. M.
Mohapatra, highlighted the critical role oceans play in climate regulation, disaster risk reduction, food
security, and livelihoods. He underscored India’s strong national capabilities in ocean observation, cyclone
forecasting, marine data systems, and early warning services, noting that technological advancements have
significantly reduced loss of life during extreme weather events. The keynote emphasized the importance
of data-driven and AI-enabled models to complement traditional physical models, particularly in the
context of climate change impacts such as ocean warming, acidification, and sea-level rise. The Deep
Ocean Mission was highlighted as a flagship national initiative focused on deep-sea exploration, offshore
energy, biodiversity conservation, and the sustainable utilisation of marine resources.
Addressing the session, the Ambassador of Norway to India, Her Excellency, Ms. May-Elin Stener,
highlighted the growing India-Norway cooperation in oceans and the Blue Economy. She noted that AI
can significantly enhance fisheries management, shipping efficiency, port operations, and coastal
resilience when built on open, interoperable, and trusted digital foundations. Madam Stener emphasized
that India’s leadership in digital public infrastructure positions it well to develop a global digital ocean
framework based on open data, shared standards, and responsible digital governance, benefiting not only
India but also the global community.
The latter segment of the session included a panel discussion featuring distinguished experts from
government, academia, industry, and international institutions. The panel deliberated that India is uniquely
positioned to lead the Global South by developing a Digital Ocean Infrastructure that integrates open data,
AI-driven intelligence, and robust governance frameworks. Artificial Intelligence would be essential for
scaling marine livelihoods, reducing operational costs, and enabling timely, data-driven decision-making
across Blue Economy sectors. Despite growing datasets, oceans remain a highly complex and data-scarce
domain, necessitating the development of physics-informed AI and physical intelligence. Progress in
ocean AI will require enhanced international cooperation, open and interoperable systems, and shared
digital public goods that reflect the transboundary nature of oceans. With supportive policies, dataliquidity, blended finance, and risk-sharing mechanisms, the Blue Economy can emerge as a sustainable
long-term growth engine, generating large-scale employment and investment opportunities for India and
the Global South.
The session concluded with remarks by Dr. (Cdr) P K Srivastava, Scientist G & Adviser, Ministry of Earth
Sciences, who reiterated the Ministry’s commitment to building a structured pathway for AI integration
across ocean-related programmes.
Pictures: Speakers (left) and participants (right) at the India AI Impact Summit 2026; panel session on AI
for our Oceans of Tomorrow: Data, Models and Governance, in New Delhi, on February 17, 2026.
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