The Union Cabinet has approved a draft law that would set rules for India’s research in Antarctica and protect the environment on the icy continent.
Ministers in charge of Earth Sciences are working on a new law called the ‘Indian Antarctica Bill.’It is also supposed to help India meet its obligations under the Antarctic Treaty of 1959 and other international agreements.
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The bill is likely to come up in Parliament’s Budget Session.
It has been more than 30 years since the Indian Antarctic program started.
It has done 40 scientific expeditions and built three permanent research bases in Antarctica: Dakshin Gangotri in 1983, Maitri in 1988, and Bharati in 2001. (2012).
Maitri and Bharati are working right now.
Maitri, the research facility in India, has already outlived its usefulness and structural integrity. India plans to build a new research facility to replace it.
The Ministry of Earth Sciences recently told a parliamentary committee that the Maitri research facility was terrible and needed to be replaced.
Some international bodies had been told that the facility was not environmentally friendly.
The ministry said that efforts were being made to improve the Maitri research center.
