Vasco, Goa 1 December 2025

 

The National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR) has become the anchor of India’s polar and oceanic exploration, said Shri Pusapati Ashok Gajapathi Raju, Hon'ble Governor of Goa, while speaking at the Antarctica Day celebrations at the NCPOR campus at Vasco-da-Gama today, December 1, 2025. Antarctica Day is celebrated worldwide to commemorate the signing of the Antarctica Treaty on 1 December 1959. The treaty designates Antarctica as a continent exclusively reserved for peace and scientific research.

The Governor, who graced the occasion as the Chief Guest, also released a special commemorative postage stamp marking the Silver Jubilee of the establishment of the NCPOR.   

The release of the commemorative stamp by the Department of Posts, Government of India, stands as a significant acknowledgment of NCPOR's remarkable contributions and 25 glorious years of dedicated service to the nation in polar and ocean research since its inception on 05 April 2000, the Governor said.

“The institution has, for 25 years, expanded India’s scientific imagination across some of the most extraordinary regions of our planet. NCPOR has also taken the leadership of deep ocean mission. It carries forward the idea that is both an instrument of knowledge and a tool of national strategy. The Polar region may seem distant but their impact touches every one of us. Antarctica holds nearly 70% of the world’s fresh water. A full melt of the region would raise sea levels across the globe and affect the global climatic stability. A nation of 1.4 billion aspiring to become a developed country by 2047 must understand the importance of these changes, anticipate them and prepare for them. That marks the importance of institutions like NCPOR,” he said.

“Goa is proud to be the home of such an institute. I assure you that the government of Goa will be fully committed to supporting your scientific vision in all your future endeavours,” the Governor added.

Shri Amitabh Singh, Chief Postmaster General, Maharashtra Circle, who presided over the function as the Guest of Honour, said that the Department of Post was proud to be part of the 25-year-journey of the NCPOR in scientific polar research. The special commemorative postage stamp on the Silver Jubilee of the NCPOR is a form of our commitment and support to the institution’s scientific endeavours, he said.

NCPOR Director Dr Thamban Meloth, during his welcome address, said that Government of India had granted in-principle approval for two major initiatives to support the institution’s polar exploration. “The Government of India has always had our back in all our endeavours. The in-principle approval for a new state-of-the-art research station named Maitri-II and the first indigenous ice-class research vessel is a testament of the government’s commitment to scientific research,” he said.

NCPOR has been at the forefront of leading India's scientific expeditions and research programmes in the Polar regions and the Southern Ocean. The institute has also established and operationalised permanent Indian research stations -- DakshinGangotri, Maitri, and Bharati in Antarctica, and Himadri in the Arctic, along with the Himalayan station Himansh.

 

PIB Panaji | Riyas Babu / Priti Malandkar

 

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