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The Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs, chaired by Shashi Tharoor, recommended India appoint a 'Polar Representative' to enhance its Arctic and Antarctic engagement, in a report released in Parliament on 30 July 2026.
The committee also urged India to seek full-fledged membership of the Arctic Council, where it currently holds observer status (since 2013) among 13 non-Arctic observer states.
India permanently operates two Antarctic research stations — Maitri (since 1989, Schirmacher Oasis) and Bharati (since 2012, Princess Elizabeth Land) — and the committee recommended prompt construction of a new Maitri station.
The Arctic and Antarctic together hold ~90% of Earth's glacier ice and ~70% of the world's freshwater, with implications for India's monsoon, sea levels along its 11,000-km coastline, and Arctic shipping routes.
Intergovernmental forum on Arctic sustainable development, environment, science
The Arctic (above 66°N) is an ocean surrounded by land, home to ~4 million people including indigenous groups. The Antarctic (below 60°S) is a landmass surrounded by oceans, governed by the Antarctic Treaty System, roughly five times the area of India, with ice up to 4.5 km thick.
Simple Analogy: Arctic = a frozen ocean ringed by countries; Antarctic = a frozen continent ringed by ocean, with no permanent native population.
GS Paper I/II > Geography, International Relations, Polar Governance
A non-decision-making status held by non-Arctic countries like India (since 2013) to participate in Council discussions