The Indian Antarctic Act, 2022

(1) This Act may be called the Indian Antarctic Act, 2022. (2) It shall come into force on such date*as the Central Government may, by notification in theOfficial Gazette, appoint and different dates may be appointed for different provisions of this Act.

This Act shall apply to,-- (a) a citizen of India; or (b) a citizen of any other country; or (c) a company, body corporate, corporation, partnership firm, joint venture, an association ofpersons or any other entity incorporated, established or registered as such under any law in forcein India; or (d) any vessel or aircraft registered in India or outside India, if such person, vessel or aircraft is part of an Indian expedition to Antarctica under a permit issuedunder this Act and shall include any such vessel or aircraft which is registered in India butchartered by any other Party for entering into Antarctica; (e) Antarctica, comprising of the following areas, namely:-- (i) the continent of Antarctica, including its ice-shelves; (ii) all islands south of 60° South Latitude, including their ice-shelves; (iii) all areas of the continental shelf that are adjacent to that continent or to those islandsthat are south of 60° South Latitude; (iv) all sea and air space south of 60° South Latitude; and (v) the area specified in Article I of the Convention on the Conservation of AntarcticMarine Living Resources.

(1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,-- (a) "activity" means any kind of operation in Antarctica, including tourism, research,conservation, fishing and commercial fishing; (b) "aircraft" shall have the same meaning as assigned to it in clause (1) of section 2 of theAircraft Act, 1934 (22 of 1934); (c) "Analyst" means a person designated as such by the Committee to collect and analyse anysample or matter under sub-section (2) of section 31; (d) "another Party to the Treaty" or "another Party to the Protocol" means any Party other thanIndia; (e) "Antarctica" means the Antarctic area referred to in clause (e) of section 2; (f) "Antarctic environment" means the ecosystems dependent on and associated with theAntarctic environment, the intrinsic value of its wilderness and aesthetics, its value as an area forthe conduct of scientific research or research that is essential to understand the globalenvironment, the climate and the composition of the atmosphere; (g) "Committee" means the Committee on Antarctic Governance and EnvironmentalProtection established under sub-section (1) of section 23; (h) "Comprehensive Environmental Evaluation" means a comprehensive evaluation ofenvironmental impact assessment referred to in sub-section (5) of section 27; (i) "Convention" means the Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine LivingResources signed on the 20th day of May, 1980 in Canberra, Australia; (j) "Consultative Parties" means any State Party signatory to the Antarctic Treaty and theProtocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty having voting rights in any decision,measures and resolutions adopted by the Antarctica Treaty Consultative Meeting; (k) "Indian expedition" means a journey undertaken by any person or persons to the Antarcticaorganised by India; (l) "Initial Environmental Evaluation" means a preliminary evaluation of environmentalimpact assessment referred to in sub-section (5) of section 27; (m) "land" includes all islands, continental shelf and any ice-shelf, without prejudice toscientific definition of ice-shelf; (n) "notification" means a notification published in the Official Gazette and the expressions"notify" or "notified" shall be construed accordingly; (o) "Operator", in relation to a vessel or aircraft, means the owner or the person for the timebeing having the management of that vessel or aircraft; (p) "Party" means a State Party signatory to the Antarctic Treaty or a member State of theUnited Nations; (q) "permit" means a permit issued by the Committee under section 27; (r) "person" means a person or entity referred to in clauses (a), (b) and (c) of section 2; (s) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act; (t) "Protocol" means the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty signedat Madrid on the 4th day of October, 1991, which came into force on the 14th day of January,1998; (u) "station" includes any worksites, building or group of buildings or any temporary facilityin Antarctica; (v) "Treaty" means the Antarctic Treaty signed at Washington D.C. on the 1st day ofDecember, 1959 which came into force on the 23rd day of June, 1961; (w) "vessel" shall have the same meaning as assigned to it in clause (55) of section 3 of theMerchant Shipping Act, 1958 (44 of 1958); (x) "waste" means unusable unserviceable movable property, including solid, liquid andgaseous matter, which the possessor or generator wants to discharge, or the controlled disposal ofwhich is called for in order to preserve public welfare and in particular, the protection of theenvironment; or residual radioactive matter or radioactive components of disassembled ordismantled facilities, the controlled disposal of which shall be made in accordance with theAtomic Energy Act, 1962 (33 of 1962). (2) The words and expressions used herein and not defined but defined in the Treaty or theConvention or the Protocol shall have the same meaning as respectively assigned to them in the Treatyor the Convention or the Protocol.

No person in an Indian expedition shall enteror remain in Antarctica without a permit or the written authorisation of another Party to the Protocol: Provided that no permit shall be required in the case of a person who is travelling through, on orabove the high seas, to an immediate destination outside Antarctica.

No person shall enter or remain in an Indianstation in Antarctica without a permit or the written authorisation of another Party to the Protocol.