Introducing the manufacture of scuba diving equipment for the first time in the country 

 

Bengaluru, India – September 8, 2022: The Defence Bioengineering and Electromedical Laboratory (DEBEL), a
unit of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), on Thursday, flagged off India’s first‐ever
venture to manufacture scuba diving equipment in the country.
The initiative is being spearheaded by Planet Scuba India (PSI), one of the country’s foremost scuba diving
companies, and a forerunner in bringing innovation to the diving industry in India. To drive the Government of
India’s #MakeInIndia initiative, it has introduced Taiwanese design house CREST Diving for the development of
state‐of‐the‐art scuba diving equipment in India.
Scuba diving equipment manufacture is a multi‐billion‐dollar global industry requiring high‐precision
engineering skills to create underwater breathing and survival systems that can survive the rigours of deep
oceans to fast‐flowing rivers and lakes. The major global brands are based in Europe and the US. China
manufactures lower‐end products like masks, fins, snorkels and wetsuits. Higher‐end products requiring
precision engineering and quality such as critical breathing systems are mostly designed and manufactured in
Taiwan.
India, despite its military prowess, and over 7,500 kms of coastline, has no manufacturing capability in this
sector. We are 100 percent import‐dependent, spending nearly $100 million a year. The country already has the
necessary infrastructure – from precision metal‐shaping and mould‐making to manufacturing various grades of
plastics and associated polymer products – thanks to the efforts of DRDO and India’s space programme.
Planet Scuba India, an early starter in the country’s diving industry, having begun operations in 2008, has been
importing and distributing diving equipment for the last 14 years. Now, encouraged by DEBEL and military divers,
PSI’s two‐pronged approach aims to not only help bring some of the best scuba diving technology to our shores,
but also to provide the world an alternative to China for the manufacture of dive equipment. The objective is to
create an end‐to‐end dive equipment manufacturing eco‐system in the country. To this end, PSI hasroped CREST
Diving into designing and manufacturing of some of its high‐end products in India.
“We laud this effort to bring manufacturing of diving equipment to India. It is a great step towards the
government’s Atmanirbhar Bharat or Make in India initiative. DEBEL has already made greatstridesin developing
several underwater breathing and survival products for the military, and will support all such ventures that lead
to indigenisation of technology and products,” said DEBEL’s Joint Director, Dr R Indu Shekar at the launch event
in the city.
“The Make In India initiative and the world’s need for an alternative to China have come together to give us a
geo‐strategic opportunity. This is our contribution to our passion for diving and the oceans,” said PSI’s Managing
Director, Madhava Reddy, adding that, “With help from Taiwan and CREST Diving, we will help bring India up‐
to‐ speed on existing technologies in diving, and then with help from Indian research agencies like DEBEL, create
new products both for India and the world. We will do our best to create an eco‐system in the country for the
manufacture of underwater breathing equipment.”