India’s new draft “Arctic policy”

• India has unveiled a new draft ‘Arctic’ policy that, among other things, commits to expanding scientific research, “sustainable tourism” and mineral oil and gas exploration in the Arctic region.
• India expects the Goa-based National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research to lead scientific research and act as a nodal body to coordinate among various scientific bodies to promote domestic scientific research capacities by expanding “earth sciences, biological sciences, geosciences, climate change and space related programmes, dove-tailed with Arctic imperatives in Indian universities.”

• Other objectives of the policy include “...putting in place Arctic-related programmes for mineral/oil and gas exploration in petroleum research institutes and encouraging tourism and hospitality sectors in building specialised capacities and awareness to engage with Arctic enterprises,” according to the says the document available online at www.arctic policy.nic.in.
• “Arctic research will help India’s scientific community to study melting rates of the third pole — the Himalayan glaciers, which are endowed with the largest freshwater reserves in the world outside the geographic poles,” the document notes.

India and Arctic Programmes

1. India initiated its Arctic Research program in 2007 with a thrust on Climate change at Poles. Its objectives were to
2. Study connections between Arctic climate and Indian monsoon.
3. Study sea ice to estimate the effect of global warming at Poles.
4. Study on effects of glaciers on Sea level change.
5. Flora & Fauna Assessment and their response to anthropogenic activities.
6. Comparative study of both Poles.
7. India launched its 1st science expedition in 2007 and opened "Himadri" at Ny-Alesund, Spitsbergen Island, Svalbard (Norway).
8. India has established a high-altitude research station in the Himalayas called HIMANSH at Spiti, HP.
9. India - Sweden: MoU for Polar Science Cooperation (both for Arctic & Antarctic).
10. Agreement on Reciprocal Logistics Support (ARLS) with Russia will give access to India for the Russian bases in the Arctic for logistics & operational turnaround.

IndARC Project

1. It is India's 1st underwater observatory in the frigid waters of the Arctic Ocean in the Kongsfjorden fjord (natural lab).
2. It is executed with the help of Norway.
3. It will help scientists understand the Arctic climate process and its influence on the Indian Monsoon system. It will also study the salinity and temperature profile.
4. It is designed and developed by scientists from (Earth System Science Organisation) ESSO; NCAOR, Goa; National Institute of Ocean Technology, Chennai and INCOIS, Hyderabad.

MOSAiC mission (Multidisciplinary drifting Observatory for the study of Arctic Climate.)

1. It aims to understand Global Warming. The mission has received funding from US institutions like NASA, the National Science Foundation, the Department of Energy and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
2. It is the largest ever Arctic expedition.
3. Scientists from 17 countries will take part in this year-long mission as they anchor the ship (German icebreaker RV Polarstern) to a large piece of Arctic sea ice to study climate change.
4. This mission comes 125 years after Norwegian explorer Fridtjof Nansen 1st managed to seal his wooden expedition ship, Fram into the ice during a 3-year expedition to the North Pole.
5. India’s Vishnu Nandan is among the 300 researchers who will deploy radar sensors on the sea ice surface from Polarstern. It is the 1st study of this scale at the North Pole for an entire year.