Table of Contents
Context
India’s Arctic Policy has been released by the Ministry of Earth Sciences with the title ‘India and the Arctic: Building a partnership for sustainable development’ that echoes India’s consistent engagement with the Arctic region.
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An Overview
- The Arctic Policy will be essential to expand India’s extent of collaboration to work towards the biggest challenges posed by climate change involving multiple stakeholders, academia, the research community, business and industry.
- This policy will be implemented through an action plan along with an effective governance and review procedure that will involve the Inter-Ministerial Empowered Arctic Policy Group.
- The National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR) in Goa which is an autonomous institute under the Ministry of Earth Sciences, is the nodal institution for India’s polar research programme to which arctic studies are part.
Gist Of PIB For UPSC IAS Current Affairs Preparation
India and the Arctic region
- India’s engagement with the arctic region dates back to the signing of the Svalbard Treaty, 1920 in Paris.
- Over the progressive pace of time, India has undertaken several scientific research operations in the Arctic region.
- The studies by the Indian scientists include monitoring of arctic glaciers and their comparison with the Himalayan glaciers, arctic oceanography, atmosphere, pollution and microbiology.
- Several institutes and universities in India are involved in Arctic research.
- India is among the 13 nations that occupy an observer status in the Arctic Council. Other observers include France, Germany, the Italian Republic, Japan, Spain, The Netherlands, China, Poland, the Republic of Korea, Switzerland, the Republic of Singapore and the UK.
- India joined the Arctic Council with observer status in the Kiruna Ministerial meeting in 2013.
- India’s first multi-sensor moored observatory in Kongsfjorden and the northernmost atmospheric laboratory in Gruve Badet were launched in the arctic region.
- India has successfully completed 13 expeditions to the arctic region until 2022.
Gist Of PIB For UPSC IAS Current Affairs Preparation
India’s Arctic Policy: the six pillars
- Strengthening India’s scientific research and cooperation
- Climate and environmental protection
- Economic and human development
- Transportation and connectivity
- Governance and international cooperation
- National Capacity building in the Arctic region.
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