A  (Memorandum of Understanding (MoU has been  signed here today between Department of Biotechnology and Ministry of Earth Sciences by Secretary, DBT and Secretary, MoES in the presence of Dr.Jitendra Singh, Hon'ble Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science & Technology, Minister of State (Independent Charge) Earth Sciences; MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space. Prof K. VijayRaghavan, Principal Scientific Adviser to the Govt. of India and other Secretaries of Scientific Ministries/Departments were also present on the occasion. POLAR region encompassing the Antarctic, Arctic, Southern Ocean and the Himalayas being a unique ecosystem offers a huge amount of interest due to its extreme climate compare to the rest of the world.Although researchers across the globe have contributed to different areas of research, the POLAR region is yet known as an unexplored ecosystem.

     The MoU envisages mutual collaboration to explore the possibility of cooperation, convergence and synergy to bring out expertise and services of both the organizations under one roof and work hand-in-hand for addressing relevant questions in the field of polar biology. Particularly, biotechnological applications of polar microbes could be the centre point of this collaboration between both the Ministry of Earth Sciences and DBT.

The MoU will be implemented with the aim to collaborate with in mutually agreed-upon thrust areas of research in the area of POLAR sciences.

Initially these efforts would be taken up through collaborative proposal by the researchers at MOES institutes making use of the presently available set ups of MOES at Polar Regions. In order to strengthen this association and expedite the research in the polar region joint laboratories will be set up at MOES stations. This will allow researchers to carry out the experiments on the site without the need for transporting the samples in the parent laboratories in India and will generate valuable information and novel products from these unique environments.

This flagship synergistic approach would be taken-up in mission mode through networking with the elite institutions in the country.

SS/RKP