The Indian Antarctic research programme initiated in 1981 with the dispatch of first expedition to Antarctica has now matured into a front ranking scientific endeavour , Eleven scientific expeditions have so far been launched. The infrastructure facilities created at the Indian permanent station Maitri since 1989-90, provide a rare opportunity to Indian scientists for studying some of nature's rarest and most subtle structures and processes from this vantage observatory . The scientific research work carried out during the year is essentially part of the long-term programmes which include study of solar processes, Antarctic ice-ocean atmosphere system and global change process, its lithospheric structure and rifting history, its eco-system and environmental physiology as well as research and development for special materials and support systems and environmental impact assessment.