Ocean Drilling Program in the Indian Ocean produced a variety of important scientific results. Among them, hotspot tracks and activity of mantle plumes, processes of ocean crust formation in an extremely slow-spreading setting at SW Indian Ridge and the uplift of Himalayas and global environmental changes are highlights of the achievements as well as candidates of future project. The Japanese scientific community should take a leading role in promoting Indian Ocean geoscience which includes several outstanding and important objectives for the 21st century.