The 46th meeting of the Central Geological Programming Board (CGPB) is being held here on 11th and 12th February 2010. An exhibition showcasing the countrywide activities of Geological Survey of India (GSI) and other organizations under the Ministry of Mines, namely,IBM, MECL, NALCO, HCL, FIMI is also being held on this occasion.

The exhibits will include work done by GSI on Baseline Geoscience data generation, which will be depicted through various posters and publications brought out on them by GSI. Besides this, there will also be a showcasing of other activities of GSI and the PSUs of the ministry of mines on different aspects of exploration and exploitation of minerals.

B.K. Handique, minister of mines, will inaugurate the exhibition on the 11th and address the delegates of the 46th CGPB. Santha Sheela Nair, will chair the meeting on both the days.

The 46th CGPB is an important platform where the review of the progress of work carried out by GSI till date i.e. Field Season 2009-10 will be carried out and also discussions with the state governments, PSUs and other stakeholders, be held. These deliberations will lay the foundation to finalize the projects that the states and stakeholders would like GSI to take up, either on its own or in a collaborative mode with them, during the next annual programme of GSI.

During this meeting the Conveners of CGPB Committees (Group I-XII) will present the outcome of the meetings held between Nov. 2009 and Jan. 2010.

Ministry of mines has revamped/reconstituted the CGPB Committee into 12 theme-based groups. The main objective of this reconstitution is to enable the states and other stakeholders to accrue benefit from wider participation and interaction with GSI to further their activities and avoid duplication.

It was felt that it would provide a forum for better coordination between central and state level stakeholders by encouraging the regular functioning of state level Geological programming boards, set up by the state governments. It was decided that the 12 committees for the various sub-sectors would comprise members and invitees from the concerned states and agencies engaged in activities in the field relevant to that particular sector.

It was also decided that the CGPB committee meetings would be held twice in a year and so as the CGPB meeting in order to facilitate greater interaction among the members. This 46th CGPB meeting is one such 2nd meeting. The 2nd meetings of the CGPB committees (group I-XII) were held during November 2009 to January 2010.

The committees emphasized the need to prepare base papers for respective committees as well as 5 year rolling plan for each state. The states of Orissa and Jharkhand will also be presenting their 5 year rolling plans during this meeting.

GSI was founded in 1851 with the prime task of locating coal resources of the country. But over the years, this organization has evolved into not only a Central Govt. institution of high standing but also a national asset, which has profoundly augmented the natural resource reserve of the country. It has, thus, reduced the dependence on import of minerals and the import bill on the exchequer.

Today, with the technological advances world over, Earth Sciences are progressing at a rapid pace. In this context, GSI’s endeavor in taking up hyperspectral mapping of the country besides the national geomorphological mapping programe, is a matter of pride. Further, with the operationalisation of the heliborne survey and acquisition of blue water ocean-going vessel by GSI, the search for mineral resources both on shore and offshore is all set to gain momentum.

Search for minerals is a long drawn exercise, which starts with regional geological mapping and exploration, followed by detailed exploration. The Mining Industry is, thus, dependent on the exploration agencies for economic exploitation of mineral deposit. Indiacurrently is at a critical juncture and poised for a quantum jump.

For global participation in search and exploitation of minerals, India has opened up this industry in the early nineties; policies and acts are being continuously reviewed and being made more industry friendly. The role of GSI in the framework of the new MMRD Act is now well defined. It will be the primary agency for regional exploration.

It may be underlined that over the past 159 years GSI has been dedicatedly collecting vast amounts of field and laboratory generated data. In order to make this invaluable data available for societal benefit, GSI Portal is now active as the gateway for dissemination of knowledge. GSI is striving constantly to modernize its web presence to live upto the contemporary expectations. In this context a live demonstration of the portal will also be made in the exhibition during this gathering.