New Delhi: The government has allocated Rs 1.41 crore over the last two years for the exploration and excavation of marine cultural heritage, culture minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat told Parliament on 30 July.
According to Shekhawat, Rs 75.4 lakh was allocated until 2025-26, and Rs 74.91 lakh has been spent by the Underwater Archaeology Wing of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).
For 2026-27, Rs 66.5 lakh has been allocated, and as of July 2026, Rs 25.63 lakh has been spent.
Shekhawat added that underwater archaeology research and exploration are currently underway at Dwarka and Bet Dwarka in Gujarat, Mahabalipuram in Tamil Nadu, and Karaikal in Puducherry.
“The Government of India has granted license for underwater excavation/ exploration to the Tamil Nadu State Department of Archaeology at Poompuhar (Tamil Nadu) and to the Marine Archaeology Centre, National Institute of Oceanography at Bet Dwarka and Chhari and Gangata Bet (Gujarat),” said Shekhawat.
According to the Union culture minister, Rs 7 crore was allocated to the Tamil Nadu State Department of Archaeology for excavations on land as well as underwater. The National Institute of Oceanography has been allocated Rs 20 lakh.
For more than a decade, the Underwater Archaeology Wing (UAW) was neglected in the ASI. In 2025, it was revived, and explorations off the coast of Dwarka resumed under archaeologist Alok Tripathi, former Additional Director General of ASI.
A year before this revival, Prime Minister Narendra Modi took a dive near Dwarka, describing the experience as divine.
“The submerged heritage is present across the country. And interestingly, most of it remains undisturbed,” Tripathi told ThePrint earlier.
Sites identified for underwater exploration
Shekhawat said UAW has initiated a focused programme for training archaeologists and is conducting surveys of submerged sites.
He also mentioned five sites that have been identified for underwater exploration and excavation up to 2030: Dwarka and Bet Dwarka (Gujarat), Vijay Durg (Maharashtra), Janjira (Maharashtra), Karaikal (Puducherry), and Mahabalipuram (Tamil Nadu).
(Edited by Prasanna Bachchhav)
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