Chapter I PRELIMINARY

1. (1) This Act may be called the Indian Antarctic Act, 2022.
2. (2) It shall come into force on such date1 as the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint and different dates may be appointed for different provisions of this Act. 1. 7th August, 2023, vide notification No. S.O. 3509(E), dated 7th August, 2023, see Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part II, sec. 3(ii).

This Act shall apply to,—

1. (a) a citizen of India; or
2. (b) a citizen of any other country; or
3. (c) a company, body corporate, corporation, partnership firm, joint venture, an association of persons or any other entity incorporated, established or registered as such under any law in force in India; or
4. (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 issued under this Act and shall include any such vessel or aircraft which is registered in India but chartered by any other Party for entering into Antarctica;
5. (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 islands that 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 Antarctic Marine Living Resources.

1. (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 the Aircraft Act, 1934 (22 of 1934);
   • (c) “Analyst” means a person designated as such by the Committee to collect and analyse any sample 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 than India;
   • (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 the Antarctic environment, the intrinsic value of its wilderness and aesthetics, its value as an area for the conduct of scientific research or research that is essential to understand the global environment, the climate and the composition of the atmosphere;
   • (g) “Committee” means the Committee on Antarctic Governance and Environmental Protection established under sub-section (1) of section 23;
   • (h) “Comprehensive Environmental Evaluation” means a comprehensive evaluation of environmental impact assessment referred to in sub-section (5) of section 27;
     • (i) “Convention” means the Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources signed on the 20th day of May, 1980 in Canberra, Australia;
   • (j) “Consultative Parties” means any State Party signatory to the Antarctic Treaty and the Protocol 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 Antarctica organised by India;
   • (l) “Initial Environmental Evaluation” means a preliminary evaluation of environmental impact assessment referred to in sub-section (5) of section 27;
   • (m) “land” includes all islands, continental shelf and any ice-shelf, without prejudice to scientific 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 time being having the management of that vessel or aircraft;
   • (p) “Party” means a State Party signatory to the Antarctic Treaty or a member State of the United 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 signed at 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 facility in Antarctica;
     • (v) “Treaty” means the Antarctic Treaty signed at Washington D.C. on the 1st day of December, 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 the Merchant Shipping Act, 1958 (44 of 1958);
     • (x) “waste” means unusable unserviceable movable property, including solid, liquid and gaseous matter, which the possessor or generator wants to discharge, or the controlled disposal of which is called for in order to preserve public welfare and in particular, the protection of the environment; or residual radioactive matter or radioactive components of disassembled or dismantled facilities, the controlled disposal of which shall be made in accordance with the Atomic Energy Act, 1962 (33 of 1962).
2. (2) The words and expressions used herein and not defined but defined in the Treaty or the Convention or the Protocol shall have the same meaning as respectively assigned to them in the Treaty or the Convention or the Protocol.