NEW DELHI: The Cabinet on Wednesday approved an umbrella scheme — Ocean Services, Technology, Observations, Resources Modelling and Science (O-Smart) — for 16 sub-projects, addressing ocean development activities, at an overall cost of Rs 1,623 crore.

The scheme will provide economic benefits to a number of user communities such as fisheries, offshore industry, defence, shipping and ports.

Under the scheme, the important deliverables envisaged in the next two years include strengthening of ocean observations, modelling, ocean services for fishermen, setting up marine coastal observatories for tracking marine pollution in 2018 and setting up Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion Plant ( OTEC ) in Kavaratti in Lakshadweep .

