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Dakshin Gangotri: how India set up its first Antarctic base
ਖ਼ਬਰਾਂ ਵਿੱਚ ਕਿਉਂ?
Three Antarctic stations, one came first: the Dakshin Gangotri, Maitri, Bharati order Prelims tests
A film revisits the setting up of India's first Antarctic station, Dakshin Gangotri.
Why it matters: asked in UPSC 2015; factual, Prelims-type
What you need to know
2 ਮਿੰਟ
A new film on Dakshin Gangotri revisits how India established its first scientific base in Antarctica.
The station came up during the early 1980s expeditions and began India's permanent presence on the continent.
India later set up Maitri and Bharati as its other Antarctic research stations.
ਸਰੋਤ: Topper IAS editorial (PIB / The Hindu / Indian Express)
ਮੁੱਖ ਤੱਥ
Remember these
- Dakshin Gangotri was India's first Antarctic research station, set up during the early 1980s expeditions.
- It marked the beginning of India's permanent presence in Antarctica.
- Maitri, commissioned in 1989, replaced it as an Antarctic base.
- Bharati, commissioned in 2012, is India's third Antarctic station.
- Himadri, at Svalbard, is India's Arctic research station.
ਪ੍ਰੀਲਿਮਜ਼ · ਮੇਨਜ਼
How the exam will ask it
ਪ੍ਰੀਲਿਮਜ਼
- Dakshin Gangotri was India's first scientific base in Antarctica, established in the early 1980s.
- India's Antarctic research stations in chronological order are Dakshin Gangotri, Maitri and Bharati.
- Himadri is India's Arctic station at Svalbard, not an Antarctic station.
ਮੇਨਜ਼
GS3 Science and Technology: India's polar research. Issue: sustaining a scientific presence in Antarctica since the early 1980s; policy: the progression from Dakshin Gangotri to Maitri and Bharati under India's Antarctic programme; implication: scientific research, climate data and strategic standing in the Antarctic Treaty system; way forward: sustained funding, international collaboration and environmental safeguards.
PYQ connection
A question UPSC has already asked on this
The term 'IndARC', sometimes seen in the news, is the name of
- an indigenously developed radar system inducted into Indian Defence
- India's satellite to provide services to the countries of Indian Ocean Rim
- a scientific establishment set up by India in Antarctic region
- India's underwater observatory to scientifically study the Arctic region
ਜਵਾਬ ਵੇਖੋ
ਜਵਾਬ: D
Why this matters: today's issue is directly connected to a concept UPSC has already tested. Read the story with this question in mind.
Practise this PYQ →Quick recall
Answer before you reveal
Which was India's first permanent scientific station in Antarctica, established in the early 1980s?
- Dakshin Gangotri
- Maitri
- Bharati
- Himadri
ਜਵਾਬ ਵੇਖੋ
ਜਵਾਬ: A — Correct: Dakshin Gangotri — Dakshin Gangotri was India's first Antarctic station, set up in the early 1980s. • Maitri — wrong: Maitri came later, in 1989, and is not the first station. • Bharati — wrong: Bharati was commissioned still later, in 2012, and is not the first. • Himadri — wrong: Himadri is India's research station in the Arctic at Svalbard, not Antarctica.
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