Discuss how great-power militarisation of the Arctic affects India's science-led Arctic Policy of 2022.

India's Arctic Policy (2022), "India and the Arctic: building a partnership for sustainable development", rests on six pillars. Science and climate protection lead them, and an MoES-chaired Empowered Arctic Policy Group steers the policy [1]. In 2026 the US–Denmark–Greenland deal expanded the US military presence in Greenland [4]. It shows the Arctic is becoming more militarised. This limits India's science-first approach, but it also makes that approach more valuable.

Adverse effects on India's science-led approach

• Less room for cooperation: India has been only an Arctic Council observer since 2013 and has no vote [3]. Rivalry between power blocs can stall a forum that works by consensus, and observers depend on that forum.
• Access becomes a security matter: A larger US military footprint in Greenland [4] may tighten access to sensitive areas for foreign research and data-sharing.
• Small presence: India's only permanent base, Himadri at Ny-Ålesund (Svalbard), is run by NCPOR [2]. India has nothing in Greenland, which is now the centre of the contest.
• Race for resources: Greenland's minerals, including rare earths, are still largely unmined [5]. Strategic powers may lock in stakes before the policy's economic pillar [1] matures.
• Climate gets crowded out: A security agenda pulls attention away from the Arctic–monsoon link that Indian studies track [2].

Where the science-led approach gains value

• Neutral credibility: India is a non-Arctic observer. It can use science to build trust, under the policy's pillar on governance and international cooperation [1].
• Proven capacity: Himadri has been occupied for more than 300 days since December 2023, and India has run 15 Arctic expeditions [2]. This gives India standing without military weight.
• Nordic template: The India–Sweden MoU on Polar Science [6] is a model for ties with Denmark and Greenland.

Way forward

• MEA should argue in Council forums for a rules-based, peaceful Arctic [1][3].
• MoES/NCPOR should seek joint ice-sheet and monsoon research with Denmark and Greenland [2][6].
• India should explore critical-mineral partnerships that respect Greenlandic consent and local communities [5].

Militarisation shrinks the cooperative space that India's policy assumes, but it does not make the policy obsolete. Instead, credible science diplomacy becomes worth more. By widening its research presence and partnerships, India can help keep the Arctic a zone of science and sustainable development. This matches the 2022 policy's vision and SDG 13 (climate action).