Mr Dinsha J Patel, the minister of state for mines (Independent Charge) will inaugurate the 48th Central Geological Programming Board meeting of the Geological Survey of India will be inaugurated tomorrow at Vigyan Bhawan.
The 48th CGPB is an important platform where the review of the progress of work carried out by GSI till date during the Field Season 2010-12 will be carried out and also discussions with the state governments, PSUs and other stakeholders be held. Any mid-term corrections required in the implementation of the Field Season Programs by GSI or the collaborating organizations will be discussed.
It may be mentioned that the Ministry of Mines, vide a notification in March 2009, had revamped 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.
GSI was founded way back in 1851 with the prime task of locating coal resources of the country. 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 considered very significant. 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.
