Visakhapatnam has launched the pilot phase of the NIRMaL Sāgar programme, a national initiative that will use ocean modelling, satellite remote sensing and artificial intelligence tools to track marine plastic litter and support targeted clean-up efforts around the city.
The programme was launched on Saturday by the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS), under the Ministry of Earth Sciences, in association with Andhra University and Vignana Bharati. The pilot aims to establish an integrated marine-litter tracking framework for Visakhapatnam and surrounding areas.
During the pilot phase, scientific studies will identify the sources of marine plastic litter, track how it moves through coastal waters, locate potential accumulation zones and develop strategies to remove and recycle the waste. The stated objective is to generate scientific inputs for plastic mitigation and support a circular economy.
Dr T. M. Balakrishnan Nair, Director of INCOIS, said the programme would combine ocean modelling, satellite remote sensing and AI/ML-based tools to identify marine-litter hotspots, monitor their movement and forecast likely accumulation areas. The information is intended to help authorities plan more targeted clean-up and mitigation measures.
The launch was attended by Dr T. Srinivasa Kumar, Secretary, Ministry of Earth Sciences, and M. Sribharat, Member of Parliament from Visakhapatnam, among other officials and dignitaries. Union Minister of State for Earth Sciences Dr Jitendra Singh addressed the gathering through video conferencing and thanked volunteers and officials involved in the initiative.
Sribharat requested technology and logistics support from the Ministry of Earth Sciences to prevent plastic waste from reaching the ocean through open drains. The request places the marine-litter programme within a wider urban waste-management challenge: plastic entering coastal waters may originate not only from beaches and fishing activity, but also from the city’s drainage and disposal systems.
The initiative is aligned with the Swachh Sagar, Surakshit Sagar mission and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. The Ministry said the programme would promote community participation and provide policy support for cleaner, healthier and more resilient oceans.
For Visakhapatnam, the pilot is expected to create a scientific basis for identifying where marine litter originates and where it accumulates before clean-up resources are deployed. The supplied announcement did not specify the pilot’s budget, study duration, identified monitoring locations or the agencies responsible for implementing recycling and removal operations.
Dr Srinivasa Kumar reaffirmed the Ministry’s commitment to cleaner and healthier oceans through its schemes and projects and said the Ministry would support Visakhapatnam through programmes such as NIRMaL Sāgar. The next phase will involve the planned scientific studies in and around the city to map plastic sources, movement and accumulation areas.
