India taking active interest in Arctic, Antarctic: Shashi Tharoor

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said on Wednesday that India is taking active interest in the polar regions of Arctic and Antarctic as he chaired a meeting of Parliament's Standing Committee on External Affairs.

Senior officials of the ministries of external affairs and earth sciences briefed the committee members.

Though developed countries are ahead of India in terms of presence in the two regions, which carry increasing geopolitical significance, India has also become involved and is taking active interest in both places, Tharoor said.


It was a very unusual and interesting topic, he said, noting that Arctic and Antarctic are very important for scientific exploration. While Arctic has faced some geopolitical conflict, Antarctic is considered a "global common", he added.

India has been particularly active in Antarctic and has a station there as well, he added.

The agenda of the meeting was "India's Role and Presence in the Arctic and Antarctic Regions".