With an aim to extend the application of domestic laws to research stations set up by India in the Antarctic region, India's Lok Sabha (the lower house of parliament) on Friday passed the Indian Antarctic Bill, 2022.
The Indian Antarctic Bill, 2022 was taken up for discussion after Earth Sciences Minister Jitendra Singh moved it for consideration. It aims at having the country's own national measures for protecting the Antarctic environment and its dependent and associated ecosystem.
"The continuing and growing presence of Indian scientists in Antarctica warrants a domestic legislation on Antarctica consistent with its obligations as a member of the Antarctic Treaty," the bill says.
The bill was also introduced to give effect to the Antarctic Treaty, the Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), and to the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty (Madrid Protocol).
India has two active research stations in the Antarctic -- Maitri and Bharti -- where scientists are involved in research.