Science & Technology

Third Arctic Science Ministerial Meeting Concluded

Recently, the third Arctic Science Ministerial Meeting was held in which India has participated. The Ministry of Earth Sciences gave this information and said that this meeting has been represented by the union minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan.

Key Facts:

During this meeting, India shared its plans for research and long-term cooperation in the Arctic. At the same time, India promised to continue its contribution to the Sustained Arctic Observational Network.
India also announced that it will deploy moorings in the Arctic for long-term monitoring of the upper Arctic Ocean and marine meteorological standards. A mooring is a collection of equipment connected to a wire and anchored to the sea level.
In this meeting, India has proposed to host the next or future Arctic Science Ministerial meeting.

Arctic Science Ministerial Meeting

The first Arctic Science Ministerial meeting was held in the year 2016 in the US. After 2 year, the second Arctic Science Ministerial meeting was held in Germany in the year
The Arctic Science Ministerial Meeting (2021) is the first meeting to be held in Asia. It was organized by Japan and Iceland. It aims to provide opportunities for various stakeholders such as governments, academics, policy makers to develop a better understanding of the Arctic region.
India has been an “observer” country in the Arctic Council since

Svalbard Treaty

India’s presence in the Arctic region began in 1920 with the signing of the Treaty of Svalbard in Paris. In the year 2008, India developed a permanent research station in the Arctic region, called Himadri. Himadri is located in Ny-Ålesund, Norway.
India deployed a first multi-sensor observer called IndARC in 2014 in Kongfjiorden. The The National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research, (NCPOR) coordinates and conducts research in the Arctic region. It comes under the Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India.

NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR)

The NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar is being operated in collaboration with the USA, which is a satellite mission. Its goal is to make global measurements of land surface changes using radar imaging. The project is currently underway.

India’s Arctic Policy

The recently released draft Arctic Policy Document outlines the five pillars of India’s policy. The draft document outlines five pillars of India’s Arctic policy: