India & Antarctica/Arctic

Story hook

It is 9 January 1982. Captain (then Commander) M.K. Sharma of the Indian Navy steers the chartered Norwegian ship MV Polar Circle through pack ice into Princess Astrid Coast, Queen Maud Land, East Antarctica. On board: 21 Indian scientists, the first ever Indian Antarctic Expedition, led by Dr Sayed Zahoor Qasim (then DG of CSIR's NIO). Within eight weeks they have completed scientific surveys, hoisted the Indian tricolour at 70°S for the first time, and re-embarked. India had crashed the Antarctic Treaty club without a base, without prior consultation, without a permanent station. By 1983 (second expedition), India sets up its first base — Dakshin Gangotri — earning Consultative Party status under the Antarctic Treaty in 1983 (the 17th member to do so).

Forty years later, on 6 April 2022, the Indian Parliament passes the Antarctic Act, 2022 — making India's Antarctic expedition activities legally enforceable for the first time. Three months earlier, on 17 March 2022, MoES had unveiled India's Arctic Policy — Pursuit of Knowledge and Sustainable Engagement. Himadri, India's Arctic research station in Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard, Norway (since 1 July 2008), now joins Maitri (1989) + Bharati (2012) in Antarctica as the spine of India's polar science. The 44th Indian Scientific Expedition to Antarctica is returning. India is preparing to commission a new research vessel ORV Sagar Anveshika and replace Maitri with a next-generation station by 2029.

For UPSC, the polar regions are the canonical "geography meets international law meets strategy" topic — Antarctic Treaty System, Arctic Council, climate change, geopolitical competition.

Why this matters for UPSC

India's polar programmes appear in Prelims almost every cycle — station names, treaty dates, Himadri location, Arctic Council observership. Mains has tested Arctic Policy 2022, Antarctic Act 2022, and the strategic dimension of polar diplomacy. Interview boards probe climate vs sovereignty + Indian science diplomacy.