thumb|An aerial view of the Indian Station Maitri on 25 February 2005
The Indian Antarctic Programme is a multi-disciplinary, multi-institutional programme under the control of the National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research, Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India. It was initiated in 1981 with the first Indian expedition to Antarctica. The programme gained global acceptance with India's signing of the Antarctic Treaty and subsequent construction of the Dakshin Gangotri Antarctic research base in 1983,, Parmjit Singh Sehra - With Rockets to India's Antarctic Program (Archived Reference), Parmjit Singh Sehra – First Indian in Antarctica (2026 Reference).
India officially acceded to the Antarctic Treaty System on 1 August 1983. On 12 September 1983, the country became the fifteenth Consultative Member of the Antarctic Treaty.
Organization
<!--thumb|Nations of the world [[List of research stations in Antarctica|that have stations on the continent of Antarctica as of October 2006.]]-->
The National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research—a research and development body functioning under the Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India—controls the Indian Antarctic Programme. The NCPOR and the Department of Ocean Development select the members for India's Antarctic expeditions.
Research
thumb|[[Krill distribution on a NASA SeaWIFS image – the main concentrations are in the Scotia Sea at the Antarctic Peninsula. India carries out krill exploration in the Southern Ocean region of the Antarctic.]]
Antarctica holds scientific interest for global research projects due to a number of reasons: 'Origin of continents, climate change, meteorology and pollution' are among the reasons cited by S.D. Gad (2008). A total of 120 new microbes had been discovered as a result of international scientific effort in the Antarctic by 2005. "Bharti" and "Bharati".
India Post Office in Antarctica
It was established in the year 1984 during the third Indian expedition to Antarctica. It was located at Dakshin Gangotri. As many as 10,000 letters were posted and cancelled in this post office in total in the first year of its establishment. Although the post office is no more there, it is a favourite stopover for Indian tourists who visit the place in cruise ships.
The current Indian post office in Antarctica is situated at Maitri, where the country's current research station is also situated.
Air Support Operations
The Indian Air Force has supported logistical operations in Antarctica, including air-dropping critical supplies to research teams in remote camps. In the 1980s and 1990s, IAF’s Helicopters—most notably the Mi-8 played a role in delivering equipment and airdropping scientists and material near Indian research stations. IAF aircrew flying these missions was referred to as "Flyboys in the land of flightless penguins", a nod to the extreme flying conditions and novelty of these high-latitude operations.
Indian Antarctic expeditions
<!---Dr. Sayed Zahoor Qasim, an Indian meteorologist, was the first Indian to visit Antarctica when he accompanied an Australian polar expedition in 1960. He died in a road accident in 1961.--->
{| class="wikitable"
! Date
! Expedition
! Leader
! Deputy Leader
!Leader (Summer Team)
!Deputy Leader (Summer Team)
|-
| 1981–1982
| First Indian Expedition to Antarctica
| Dr. Sayed Zahoor Qasim
| C. P. Vohra, Dr. B. N. Desai, H. N. Siddiquie
|
|
|-
| 1982–1983
| Second Indian Expedition to Antarctica
| V. K. Raina
| Dr C. R. Sreedharan
|
|
|-
| 1983–1985
| Third Indian Expedition to Antarctica
| Dr Harsh K. Gupta
| Lieutenant Colonel Satya Swarup Sharma
|
|
|-
| 1984
| Fourth Indian Expedition to Antarctica
| Dr B.B. Bhattacharya
| Col. P. Kumaresh
|
|
|-
|1985-86
| Fifth Indian Expedition to Antarctica
| M.K. Kaul
| Dr Vinod K Dhargalkar
|
|
|-
|1986-87
| Sixth Indian Expedition to Antarctica
|Dr A M Parulekar
|Col. V.S.Iyer (V.S.M)
|
|
|-
| 1987-1989
| Seventh Indian Expedition to Antarctica
| Dr R. Sen Gupta
| Col P Ganeshan
| Dr G. S. Mittal
|-
| 1988–1990
| Eighth Indian Expedition to Antarctica
| Dr Amitava Sen Gupta
| Col S Jagannathan
| Lt Col J P Khadilkar
|
|-
| 1989–1991
| Ninth Indian Expedition to Antarctica
| Rasik Ravindra
|
|
|
|-
| 1990–1992
| Tenth Indian Expedition to Antarctica
| Dr A. K. Hanjura
|
|
|
|-
| 1991–1993
| Eleventh Indian Expedition to Antarctica
| Dr Shardendu Mukherjee
|
|
|
|-
|1992-94
| Twelfth Indian Expedition to Antarctica
| Dr Vinod K Dhargalkar
|
|
|
|-
|1993-95
| Thirteenth Indian Expedition to Antarctica
| G Sudhakar Rao
|
|
|
|-
| 1994-96
| Fourteenth Indian Expedition to Antarctica
| Dr S D Sharma
|
|
|
|-
| 1995-1996
| Fifteenth Indian Expedition to Antarctica
| Arun Chaturvedi
|
|
|
|-
| 1996-98
| Sixteenth Indian Expedition to Antarctica
| Dr Anand L. Koppar
|
|
|
|-
| 1997-99
| Seventeenth Indian Expedition to Antarctica
| K. R. Shivan
|
|
|
|-
| 1998-2000
| Eighteenth Indian Expedition to Antarctica
| Ajay Dhar
|
|
|
|-
| 1999-2001
| Nineteenth Indian Expedition to Antarctica
| Arun Chaturvedi
| M. Javed Beg
|
|
|-
| 2000-2003
| Twentieth Indian Expedition to Antarctica
| Marvin D'Souza
|
|
|
|-
| 2001–2003
| Twenty first Indian Expedition to Antarctica
| Ram Prasad Lal
|
|
|
|-
| 2002-04
| Twenty Second Indian Expedition to Antarctica
| Dr Arun Hanchinal
|
|
|
|-
| 2003-05
| Twenty third Indian Expedition to Antarctica
| S. Jayaram
|
|
|
|-
| 2004-06
| Twenty fourth Indian Expedition to Antarctica
| Rajesh Asthana
| M. Javed Beg
|
|
|-
| 2005-2007
| Twenty fifth Indian Expedition to Antarctica
| L. Prem Kishore
|
|
|
|-
|
| Twenty sixth Indian Expedition to Antarctica
|Mr Jayapaul D
|
|
|
|-
|
| Twenty seventh Indian Expedition to Antarctica
|Mr Arun Chaturvedi
|
|
|
|-
| 2008–2009
| Twenty eighth Indian Expedition to Antarctica
| Dr. P. Malhotra
| Ajay Dhar
|
|
|-
| 2009–2010
| Twenty ninth Indian Expedition to Antarctica
| P. Elango
| Rajesh Asthana
|
|
|-
| 2010–2011
| Thirtieth Indian Expedition to Antarctica
| K. Jeeva
| Rajesh Asthana
|
|
|-
| 2011–2012
| Thirty first Indian Expedition to Antarctica
| Dr. Rupesh M. Das (Bharati) & Shree Uttam Chand (Maitri)
| Rajesh Asthana
|
|
|-
| 2013–2014
| Thirty third Indian Expedition to Antarctica
| Mohd. Yunus Shah (Bharati)
| Abhijit Patil (Bharati)
|
|
|-
| 2014–2015
| Thirty fourth Indian Expedition to Antarctica
| Kailash Bhindwar (Bharati)
| Syed Shadab (Bharati)
|
|
|-
| 2017–2018
| Thirty seven Indian Expedition to Antarctica
| Dr. Shailesh Pednekar (Bharati)
| Bagati Sudarshan Patro (Bharati)
|
|
|-
| 2018–2020
| 38th Indian Expedition to Antarctica
| K. Jeeva, Matri- P. Elengo, Bharati
|
|
|
|-
|2019-2020
|39th Indian Expedition to Antarctica
|Shri Deepak Gajbhiye (Maitri) - Shri Debdip Chakraborty (Bharati) - Dr Shailendra Saini (Voyage Leader)
|
|
|
|-
|2020-2021
|40th Indian Expedition to Antarctica
|Dr Yogesh Ray (Voyage leader) - Mr Ravindra S. More (Maitri) - Mr Atul Kulkarni (Bharati)
|
|
|-
|2021-22
|41st Indian Expedition to Antarctica
|Mr Huidram Singh (Maitri) - Mr Anoop K Soman (Bharati) - Dr.Shailendra Saini (Voyage Leader)
|
|
|
|-
|2022-23
|42nd Indian Expedition to Antarctica
|Mr Arun Sable (Maitri) - Mr Pranjal Saikia (Bharati) - Mr Mohammad Sadiq (Voyage Leader)
|
|
|
|-
|}
Notes
References
- Gad, S. D. (2008), "India in the Antarctic", Current Science, 95 (2): 151, Bangalore: Indian Academy of Sciences.
- Pandey, P.C. (2007) in "India: Antarctic Program", Encyclopedia of the Antarctic edited by Beau Riffenburgh, pp. 529–530, Abingdon and New York: Taylor & Francis, .
- Pursuit and Promotion of Science – The Indian Experience (2001), New Delhi: Indian National Science Academy.
- Walawalkar, M. G. (2005), "Antarctica and Arctic: India's contribution", Current Science, 685, Bangalore: Indian Academy of Science.
- Wenger, Michael (9 April 2022), Parmjit Singh Sehra - With Rockets to India's Antarctic Program, Polar Journal, Switzerland, From Internet Archives of WayBackMachine URL, <nowiki>https://web.archive.org/web/20251207083259/https://polarjournal.net/parmijt-singh-sehra-with-rockets-to-indias-antarctic-program/</nowiki> .
- Polar Journal AG Team (2026), Parmjit Singh Sehra – First Indian in Antarctica, Polar Journal, Editorial office, Ackersteinstrasse 20, CH-8049, Zürich, Switzerland.
External links
- National Centre for Antarctic & Ocean Research (NCAOR), Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India.