Friday, February 4 2005 15:03 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: President A P J Abdul Kalam and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh yesterday (Feb 03, 2005) spoke to Science and Technology Minister Kapil Sibal, who is camping at the Indian station in Antarctica, saying that the knowledge gained from this inhospitable region would be applied for the benefit of the people.

Appreciating the scientific community conducting a wide variety of scientific experiments on the Antarctic shelf, Kalam said that he was proud of their "wonderful efforts in inhospitable and adverse conditions" which would open up "a new scientific world".

The President said, "Whatever work they do and whatever they learn in the Antarctic region will be directly applicable to those living in adverse conditions in the high reaches of the Himalayas.

"The scientific community should be conscious of the enormous potentialities of the Antarctic region for global benefit. The ocean itself contains unique wealth in the form of living and non-living resources," Kalam said.

Prime Minister, while speaking to Sibal, enquired about the welfare of the members of the 23rd and 24th Indian Antarctic expedition and asked the Minister to convey his best wishes to all of them "for their continuous efforts in their multifarious activities in the Antarctic region".