India’s “Draft Arctic Policy”

The policy ensures that the Arctic resources are explored and used sustainable

• India has recently released a draft Arctic Policy document in her public domain in order to gather public opinions and comments
• Under its policy, India will make sure that it abides by rules and regulations of Arctic Council
• The policy ensures that the Arctic resources are explored and used sustainable

Purpose of the Draft Policy

• India seeks to play a constructive role in the Arctic by leveraging its vast scientific pool and expertise in Himalayan and Polar research
• India would also like to contribute in ensuring that as the Arctic becomes more accessible, the harnessing of its resources is done sustainably and in consonance with best practices formulated by bodies such as the Arctic Council
• The National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research that operates under the Ministry of Earth Sciences will serve as the nodal agency in implementing the Arctic Policy

Aim of the draft policy

The recently released draft document outlines five pillars of India’s Arctic policy

1.  Scientific research
2. Economics and human development connectivity
3. Global governance and international cooperation and
4. Development of Indian human resource capabilities
5. Listing a wide range of activities – diplomatic, economic, as well as scientific

• New Delhi seeks to pursue in the Arctic, the document reflects what has become a marquee feature of India’s recent global engagements: ambitious planning
• However, to what extent India — a country that is much closer to the equator than the North Pole — is able, or even needs to, engage with the Arctic (beyond status-seeking compulsions) is, frankly, not evident at the first glance

Benefits to India

• One aspect of the draft Arctic Policy that focuses on tangible benefits for India, which is centered around climate change – and the intricate link between conditions in the Arctic and the monsoon and Himalayan systems
• As the document notes, ―there are several synergies between polar studies and the study of the Himalayas
• 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
• Equally sound is its observation that melting ice in the Arctic due to climate change could release new pathogens that had previously remained trapped, thus increasing the possibility of future pandemics

India’s position in Arctic Council

• The country became an Observer in the Arctic Council for the first time in 2013; its membership in that body was renewed for a second five-year term in 2018

Science and Technology