20 March 2021.

Introduction:

India has planned to conduct the airborne radar surveys in order to estimate the thickness of Himalayan glaciers. Under the plan, the pilot study will be conducted in the Lahaul – Spiti basin of the Himachal Pradesh. This proposal was initiated by the “National Centre for Polar & Ocean Research (NCPOR)” under the Ministry of Earth Sciences”.

Highlights

• Following this pilot project , similar studies will also be conducted in the Indus, Ganga and Brahmaputra sub-basins.
• This development is significant because of the importance of glaciers in the river systems of India and 500 million lives which the river sustains downstream in Indo-Gangetic plains.
• They are also significant from the energy security standpoint. The development is also strategically imperative.
• This development has come in India because India is one of the most vulnerable country for extreme weather events.
• It has been ranked at the 20th position on Climate Risk Index (CRI).
• India also witnessed a human tragedy after several people lost their lives in February 2021 glacier bursts near the Raini village in Uttarakhand.

National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR)

• It is formerly known as “National Centre for Antarctic and Ocean Research (NCAOR)’”.
• It is an Indian research and development institution which is located in the Vasco da Gama in Goa.
• The centre is an autonomous Institution under the Department of Ocean Development (DOD) of Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India.
•  The centre is responsible to administer the Indian Antarctic Programme.
• It also maintains the Antarctic research stations namely the Bharati & Maitri of India.
• It was established on May 25, 1998.  Dr. Prem Chand Pandey was the founding director of NCPOR.