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The Indian Antarctic Programme is a multi-disciplinary, multi-institutional programme under the control of the National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research,
Ministry of Earth Sciences The Ministry of Earth Sciences is an executive ministry of the Government of India, established on 29 January, 2006. It was formed through the reorganisation of the Department of Ocean Development and the assumption of administrative control ov ...
,
Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...
. It was initiated in 1981 with the first Indian expedition to
Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean (also known as the Antarctic Ocean), it contains the geographic South Pole. ...
.Walawalkar (2015), Gad (2008) The programme gained global acceptance with India's signing of the
Antarctic Treaty The Antarctic (, ; commonly ) is the polar region of Earth that surrounds the South Pole, lying within the Antarctic Circle. It is diametrically opposite of the Arctic region around the North Pole. The Antarctic comprises the continent of A ...
and subsequent construction of the Dakshin Gangotri Antarctic research base in 1983, superseded by the Maitri base from 1989. The newest base commissioned in 2012 is Bharati, constructed out of 134
shipping container A shipping container is a container with strength suitable to withstand shipment, storage, and handling. Shipping containers range from large reusable steel boxes used for intermodal shipments to the ubiquitous corrugated box design, corrugated b ...
s. Under the programme,
atmospheric An atmosphere () is a layer of gases that envelop an astronomical object, held in place by the gravity of the object. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A stellar atmosphere ...
,
biological Biology is the scientific study of life and living organisms. It is a broad natural science that encompasses a wide range of fields and unifying principles that explain the structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, and distribution of ...
,
earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...
,
chemical A chemical substance is a unique form of matter with constant chemical composition and characteristic properties. Chemical substances may take the form of a single element or chemical compounds. If two or more chemical substances can be combin ...
, and
medical science Medicine is the science and practice of caring for patients, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pra ...
s are studied by India, which has carried out 40 scientific expeditions to the Antarctic.


History

The origin of the Indian missions to the Antarctic are traced to the joint
Indian Space Research Organisation The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO ) is India's national List of government space agencies, space agency, headquartered in Bengaluru, Karnataka. It serves as the principal research and development arm of the Department of Space (DoS), ...
Hydrometeorological Centre of Russia agreements, which led to Indians, such as Dr. Paramjit Singh Sehra, joining the 17th Soviet Antarctic expedition of 1971–1973,Anas (2007) Parmjit Singh Sehra - With rockets to India's Antarctic Program (in References). India officially acceded to the
Antarctic Treaty System The Antarctic Treaty and related agreements, collectively known as the Antarctic Treaty System (ATS), regulate international relations with respect to Antarctica, Earth's only continent without a native human population. It was the first arms ...
on 1 August 1983. On 12 September 1983, the country became the fifteenth Consultative Member of the Antarctic Treaty.Department of Ocean Development, Government of India. ''Annual Report 1983-1984'', TECHNICAL PUBLICATION NO. 3., Printed at Dee Kay Printers Kirtinagar, New Delhi


Organization

The National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research—a
research and development Research and development (R&D or R+D), known in some countries as OKB, experiment and design, is the set of innovative activities undertaken by corporations or governments in developing new services or products. R&D constitutes the first stage ...
body functioning under the Ministry of Earth Sciences,
Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...
—controls the Indian Antarctic Programme.Gad (2008) The NCPOR and the Department of Ocean Development select the members for India's Antarctic expeditions. After medical tests and subsequent acclimatisation training at the
Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya ( ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the Earth's highest peaks, including the highest, Mount Everest. More than list of h ...
, these selected members are also trained in survival, environment ethics, firefighting and operating in a group. One expedition costs up to . Logistical support to the various activities of the Indian Antarctic Programme is provided by the relevant branches of the
Indian armed forces The Indian Armed Forces are the armed forces, military forces of the India, Republic of India. It consists of three professional uniformed services: the Indian Army, the Indian Navy, and the Indian Air Force.—— Additionally, the Indian Ar ...
. The launching point of Indian expeditions has varied from
Goa Goa (; ; ) is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is bound by the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north, and Karnataka to the ...
in India to
Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...
in South Africa on 19th expedition during the time of NCAOR Founding Director Dr. P C Pandey in December 1999. Over 70 institutes in India contributed to its Antarctic Programme as of 2007.


Global cooperation

The Indian Antarctic Programme is bound by the rules of the
Antarctic Treaty System The Antarctic Treaty and related agreements, collectively known as the Antarctic Treaty System (ATS), regulate international relations with respect to Antarctica, Earth's only continent without a native human population. It was the first arms ...
, which India signed in 1983. Pandey (2007) outlines the various international activities that India has undertaken as a part of its Antarctic Programme: India also collaborates with the international community as a member of the
Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission The Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO (IOC/UNESCO) was established by resolution 2.31 adopted by the General Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). It first met in Paris at ...
, Regional Committee of Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission in Coastal Indian Ocean (IOCINDIO),
International Seabed Authority The International Seabed Authority (ISA; ) is a Kingston, Jamaica-based intergovernmental body of 167 member states and the European Union. It was established under the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and its 1994 Agreement o ...
(ISBA), and the State Parties of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Seas (UNCLOS).Pursuit and Promotion of Science – The Indian Experience (2001), 351Walawalkar (2005)


Research

Antarctica holds scientific interest for global research projects due to a number of reasons: 'Origin of continents, climate change, meteorology and pollution' are among the reasons cited by S.D. Gad (2008). Mrinalini G. Walawalkar (2005) holds that: 'ice–ocean interaction and the global processes; paleoenvironment and paleoclimatic studies; geological evolution of earth and Gondwanaland reconstruction; Antarctic ecosystems, biodiversity and environment physiology; solar terrestrial processes and their coupling; medical physiology, adaptation techniques and human psychology; environment impact assessment and monitoring; enabling low temperature technology development; and studies on earthquakes' are among the areas of study under the Indian Antarctic Programme. Close to 1,300 Indians had been to the continent as of 2001 as a part of the country's Antarctic Programme. Indian expeditions to the Antarctic also study the fauna and the molecular biodiversity of the region.Pursuit and Promotion of Science – The Indian Experience (2001), 173Pursuit and Promotion of Science – The Indian Experience (2001), 213 A total of 120 new microbes had been discovered as a result of international scientific effort in the Antarctic by 2005. 30 of these microbes had been discovered by Indian scientists. India has also published over 300 research publications based on Antarctic studies as of 2007. The 'ice cores' retrieved by drilling holes in Antarctic's vast ice-sheets yield information 'on the
palaeoclimate Paleoclimatology (American and British English spelling differences, British spelling, palaeoclimatology) is the scientific study of climates predating the invention of meteorological instruments, when no direct measurement data were available. ...
and eco-history of the earth as records of wind-blown dust,
volcanic ash Volcanic ash consists of fragments of rock, mineral crystals, and volcanic glass, produced during volcanic eruptions and measuring less than 2 mm (0.079 inches) in diameter. The term volcanic ash is also often loosely used to r ...
or
radioactivity Radioactive decay (also known as nuclear decay, radioactivity, radioactive disintegration, or nuclear disintegration) is the process by which an unstable atomic nucleus loses energy by radiation. A material containing unstable nuclei is conside ...
are preserved in the ice as it gets accumulated over time'. The NCAOR developed a polar research & development laboratory with a 'low-temperature laboratory complex at −20 °C for preservation and analysis of ice core and snow samples' according to S.D. Gad (2008). The 'ice core' samples are held, processed, and analysed in containment units designed by such technology. Storage cases made of poly propylene also ensure that the samples do not alter characteristics and are preserved for analysis in the form that they were recovered.


Research stations

In 1981 the Indian flag unfurled for the first time in Antarctica, marking the start of Southern Ocean expeditions under the environmental protocol of the
Antarctic Treaty The Antarctic (, ; commonly ) is the polar region of Earth that surrounds the South Pole, lying within the Antarctic Circle. It is diametrically opposite of the Arctic region around the North Pole. The Antarctic comprises the continent of A ...
(1959).


Dakshin Gangotri

The first permanent settlement was built in 1983 and named Dakshin Gangotri. In 1989 it was excavated and is being used again as supply base and transit camp. Dakshin Gangotri was decommissioned in the year 1990 after half of it got buried under the ice. It is nothing more than a historical site now. In its times, it used to double up as a place for multiple support systems, including the presence of an ice-melting plant, laboratories, storage, accommodation, recreation facilities, a clinic and also a bank counter.


Maitri

The second permanent settlement, Maitri, was put up in 1989 on the
Schirmacher Oasis The Schirmacher Oasis (or Schirmacher Lake Plateau) is a long and up to wide ice-free plateau with more than 100 freshwater lakes. It is situated in the Schirmacher Hills on the Princess Astrid Coast in Queen Maud Land in East Antarctica and is ...
and has been conducting experiments in geology, geography and medicine. India built this station close to a freshwater lake around Maitri known as Lake Priyadarshini. Maitri accomplished the mission of geomorphologic mapping of Schirmacher Oasis.


Bharati

Located beside Larsmann Hill at 69°S, 76°E, Bharati is established in March 2012. This newest research station for oceanographic research will collect evidence of continental break-up to reveal the 120-million-year-old ancient history of the Indian subcontinent. In news sources this station was variously spelled "Bharathi", "Bharti""Bharti to be 3rd Indian station in Antarctica"
''The Times of India'', 6 August 2009
and "Bharati".


India Post Office in Antarctica

It was established in the year 1984 during the third Indian expedition to Antarctica. It was located at Dakshin Gangotri. As many as 10,000 letters were posted and cancelled in this post office in total in the first year of its establishment. Although the post office is no more there, it is a favourite stopover for Indian tourists who visit the place in cruise ships. The current Indian post office in Antarctica is situated at Maitri, where the country's current research station is also situated.


Air Support Operations

The Indian Air Force has supported logistical operations in Antarctica, including air-dropping critical supplies to research teams in remote camps. In the 1980s and 1990s, IAF’s Helicopters—most notably the Mi-8 played a role in delivering equipment and airdropping scientists and material near Indian research stations. IAF aircrew flying these missions was referred to as "Flyboys in the land of flightless penguins", a nod to the extreme flying conditions and novelty of these high-latitude operations.


Indian Antarctic expeditions


Notes


References

* Gad, S. D. (2008), "India in the Antarctic", ''Current Science'', 95 (2): 151, Bangalore: Indian Academy of Sciences. * Pandey, P.C. (2007) in "India: Antarctic Program", ''Encyclopedia of the Antarctic'' edited by Beau Riffenburgh, pp. 529–530, Abingdon and New York: Taylor & Francis, . * ''Pursuit and Promotion of Science – The Indian Experience'' (2001), New Delhi: Indian National Science Academy. * Walawalkar, M. G. (2005), "Antarctica and Arctic: India's contribution", ''Current Science'', 685, Bangalore: Indian Academy of Science. * * Wenger, M. (2022), Parmjit Singh Sehra - With rockets to India's Antarctic Program, Polar Journal AG, Zurich, Switzerland, polarjournal.net.


External links


National Centre for Antarctic & Ocean Research (NCAOR)
Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India. {{Authority control Antarctic programme
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...