On October 4, the State Department for Higher and Technical Education announced its plans to set up an ocean science university in the Ratnagiri district of Konkan. Through the development of the Maharashtra Ocean Applied Sciences University (MOASU), the department aims to use the state's 720-km coastline and provide local youth jobs for services in the fisheries, transport and tourism sectors. A four-member committee was formed to propose suggestions for the creation of the university.

Dr. Sarang Kulkarni, the chief instructor at the Indian Institute of Scuba Diving and Active Sports of the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC), will be heading the university, Dr. Narsingh Thakur, faculty of the National Institute of Oceanography of CSIR, Dr. B B Chougale, faculty of Pune College of Pharmacy, and Dhanraj Mane, director of higher education. Within three months, the committee is tasked to submit a report to the department and is also asked to recommend the number of funds and the extent of land needed for the university to be established.

In addition to deliberating on the qualifications requirements for teachers, the committee has also been asked to focus on delivering employment-oriented education and the subjects to be taught. 

The Department's Government Resolution (GR) specified that the focus areas for the university would be sea-level studies, fishery studies, marine life studies, tourism, and environmental studies.