Polar & Himalayan Research

India's first Antarctic expedition set out in 1981 and reached Antarctica on 8 January 1982. The first station, Dakshin Gangotri, was established in 1983, the year India signed the Antarctic Treaty (19 August) and received Consultative status (12 September). Maitri was commissioned in 1989 and Bharati on 18 March 2012, while the Arctic station Himadri was inaugurated at Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard, on 1 July 2008. NCPOR, founded on 5 April 2000, added a Southern Ocean expedition in 2004, Arctic research in 2007 and Himalayan cryosphere research in 2013.

From 20 to 30 May 2024, India hosted the 46th Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting (ATCM-46) and the 26th meeting of the Committee for Environmental Protection in Kochi, through NCPOR. More than 400 delegates from 56 countries attended. The Parties adopted 17 revised and new management plans for Antarctic Specially Protected Areas and decided to develop a framework for regulating tourism and non-governmental activities in Antarctica. At the meeting, the Minister of Earth Sciences announced India's plan to set up a new research station, Maitri-II.

NCPOR runs India's expeditions to the Antarctic and the Arctic under the Ministry of Earth Sciences' PACER (Polar and Cryosphere) scheme. Each Antarctic expedition carries food, fuel and spares to Maitri and Bharati and changes over the winter crew; Bharati can house 47 people in its main building, or 72 in summer with emergency shelters and camps. The Indian Antarctic Act, 2022 provides for an Indian Antarctic Authority, chaired by the Secretary of the Ministry, to oversee Antarctic research and expeditions. At Himansh, at 4,080 m in the Chandra basin, scientists monitor six glaciers for mass, energy and water balance.

The Ministry plans to replace the existing Maitri station with Maitri-II: it has approved ₹29.2 crore for architectural design and a detailed project report, and expects the station to become operational in about seven years, by 2032. NCPOR's Director said in December 2025 that the Government had also given in-principle approval for India's first indigenous ice-class research vessel. Winter expeditions to Himadri, begun in December 2023, extend Arctic work beyond the April–October summer season. In the Himalaya, Chandra basin glaciers have lost about 6% of their area in 20 years and retreated 13 to 33 metres a year over the last decade.

43rd Antarctic expedition sailed from Cape Town (23 Dec 2023); expeditions annual since 1981. 2 year-round Antarctic stations, Maitri (1989) and Bharati (2012), plus Himadri in the Arctic (2008) and Himansh in the Himalaya (2016). 400+ delegates from 56 countries at ATCM-46, Kochi (May 2024). ₹29.2 crore for Maitri-II design, with completion expected by 2032. About 6% of Chandra basin glacier area lost in 20 years. Sources: Ministry of Earth Sciences and NCPOR via PIB; NCPOR; Rajya Sabha reply (31 July 2025); Parliament reply (10 December 2025).