Rocks and Sand: A tribute to GSI

Today, the 4th of March is the 169th foundation day of Geological Survey of India (GSI). Today we celebrate not only the birth of the premier geological organization of this country but also earth science as a whole. Since its inception in 1851, GSI has contributed heavily to the development of this nation. It was established by the British to aid in the exploration of coal but with the passing years GSI has spread its wings in all branches of earth sciences be it mineral investigation, mapping, polar research, marine research, natural hazard mitigation, engineering geology to name a few. It is the parent institution from which all other organizations such as Indian Bureau of Mines (IBM in 1948), Oil and Natural Gas Corporation(ONGC in 1956), Coal India Limited,(erstwhile NCDC in 1956), etc. have branched out in later years.

The ongoing focus of Geological Survey of India is in mineral investigation to boost the economy of our nation. As in previous years, all the major deposits of India has been the find of the geologists of this institution, the good work goes on even now by the tireless working of the geoscientists of GSI who spend months on end in intensive field work, sacrificing the comforts of home and family.

The advent of modern technology and the depletion of conventional deposits has led to the necessity to think outside the box to find substantial mineral deposits in the country. The first step has been creating a geochemical map of the whole country to delineate potential zones of mineralisation with the aid of geophysical techniques as well. The integration of the geological, geochemical and geophysical maps provide a much robust approach with a higher degree of confidence for targeting mineral deposits. The concept of mineral system is also need of the hour as is followed by the USGS, Geocience Australia, and the Geological Survey of Canada. The advantage of the mineral system approach is that it focusses on the critical geological processes necessary to form a major mineral deposit and is not restricted to descriptive elements of a specific mineralisation style. Mineral systems can explain the spatial and temporal co-occurrence of mineral deposits within a specific mineral province. The mineral system concept can also explain families of coeval mineral systems that potentially formed in the same or adjacent terranes or provinces.(Mineral System Analysis, SG Hagemann et.al., Ore Geology Review)

Geological Survey of India has collaborated with Geoscience Australia for searching mineral deposits which are at greater depth covered by more than a kilometer of overburden, in a project named as the 'Project Uncover'. With the help of sophisticated geophysical techniques such as Magnetotelluric survey and a combination of other geophysical, geochemical and geological data discovering a massive deposit is the target such as the one in Lewis Ponds Zn–Pb–Cu–Ag–Au deposit, located in the eastern Lachlan Fold Belt, New South Wales, Australia.

Coming to the other aspects, GSI has recently been increasing its outreach to the general public with the help of certain programs such as the Bhuvi Samvad, where geologists of the organisation have been visiting educational institutions to spread the knowledge of geology and GSI's role in nation building. GSI is attempting to be a bridge between the academic sphere and the industrial one by collaborating with various top universities of the country.

On this auspicious occasion of its 169th Foundation day, every office of GSI throughout the country is celebrating the birth of this esteemed institution and planning to take forward the legacy.

In GSI, Gandhinagar, a function was held where guests from IBM and IIT Gandhinagar where invited for today's occasion to pay homage to this great institution. The Deputy Director General of SU: Gujarat elaborated on the current workings of GSI and the need for collaboration with universities for the overall development of earth sciences in the country. Chief guest, Prof. Vikrant Jain from IIT Gandhinagar, emphasized on the role that GSI has been playing for the past one and a half century in all aspects related to geology. He made an important statement regarding the environmental aspect of our planet with climate change occuring due to anthropogenic activities around the globe and it has brought about scientists from all spheres to work together to protect our planet and look forward for a sustainable and greener future.

Today is a day of pride for all geoscientists of Geological Survey of India and also for every other geoscientist in this country. Let us make a pledge to perform our duties with the best of our ability, as has been done by all geologists of this phenomenal organization for more than a century, and take our nation ahead to days of glory.

Jai Hind!