National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research

The National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR), located in Vasco da Gama, Goa, is an autonomous institution under the Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India. It administers the Indian Antarctic Programme and maintains the Antarctic research stations Maitri (established 1989) and Bharati (established 2011). Originally established as NCAOR on 25 May 1998 with Dr. Prem Chand Pandey as founding director, the centre grew out of the earlier Antarctic Study Centre, which began on 12 May 1997. NCPOR participates in global scientific experiments, hosts international conferences, and leads international committees on Antarctic science. Its current chairman is Dr. M. Ravichandran, also Secretary of the Ministry of Earth Sciences, while Dr. Thamban Meloth serves as director. The centre operates a low-temperature laboratory, and is developing a National Antarctic Data Centre and Polar Museum. It manages the Himadri and IndARC Arctic stations in Svalbard, Norway, and the oceanic research vessel ORV Sagar Kanya. NCPOR also supported the establishment of KBCAOS at the University of Allahabad and set up the HIMANSH high-altitude research station in Himachal Pradesh to study Himalayan glacier-climate interactions, unveiled on 9 October 2016.