Finance
New Delhi: India aims to have its first Polar Research Vessel (PRV) in the next five years in order to sustain its bases in Antarctica, Union Earth Sciences Minister Kiren Rijiju said recently.
Responding to a query in the Rajya Sabha, he indicated that they anticipate the proposal for the ship’s Cabinet approval during the current financial year.
He noted that in 2014, the Cabinet had approved ₹ 1,051 crore to acquire the vessel. A tender was also floated for the same.
The government later abandoned the project as the company which had got the order to build the ship raised certain conditions that were not part of the tender process.
“However, we initiated another effort, and now Mr. Rijiju states that we have a ready proposal to present to the Expenditure Finance Committee (EFC).
He noted that they now estimate the cost of the vessel to be ₹2,600 crore.
“I am hopeful that in this financial year, we should be ready to propose this estimate and move in the Cabinet. In the next five years, we should be ready with the ship,” Mr Rijiju stated.
He noted that the government is in talks with other countries which have expertise in making such ships.
Mr Rijiju, however, noted that the government would like to manufacture the ship in the country itself.
“I am hopeful that in the next five years, we should be able to build the ship, hopefully in India,” he said.
India currently has three research base stations in the polar region of Antarctica – Bharati, Maitri, and Dakshin Gangotri.
Kiren Rijiju stated that the nation requires icebreaker ships to maintain uninterrupted access to research stations, vital for a comprehensive grasp of climate change and other research areas.
A PRV not only performs research and logistics in the polar region but can also serve as a research platform for scientists to undertake research in the ocean realm, including the Southern Ocean.
