Union Minister G. Kishan Reddy emphasizes strategic imperative of critical mineral exploration, AI-driven technologies, and disaster preparedness for India’s self-reliance vision, Maruthi Prasad Kavuri of Neo Science Hub, reports.
Union Coal and Mines Minister G. Kishan Reddy underscored the pressing need to accelerate critical mineral exploration, deploy advanced artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies in geoscience, and strengthen India’s disaster-preparedness frameworks as essential pillars for achieving Atmanirbhar Bharat and the Viksit Bharat@2047 vision.
Reddy was addressing the inaugural session of a landmark two-day International Seminar titled “Unearthing the Past, Shaping the Future: 175 Years of GSI” at the Rajasthan International Centre in Jaipur on November 20, convened to commemorate the 175th anniversary of the Geological Survey of India. His remarks reflected the nation’s urgent imperative to build a self-reliant, technologically advanced, and globally competitive mineral ecosystem as India accelerates its economic growth trajectory.
“Critical minerals have become the new oil of the 21st century,” the Minister said, emphasizing that India’s pursuit of becoming a developed nation by 2047 hinges fundamentally on securing strategic mineral resources essential for clean energy technologies, electric vehicle manufacturing, and advanced industrial applications.
The Minister’s address articulated three strategic imperatives: expanding indigenous exploration capacity for critical minerals including rare earth elements, lithium, and cobalt; accelerating adoption of AI and ML-based exploration technologies to enhance discovery rates and reduce exploration costs; and strengthening geoscience-led disaster management capabilities to protect vulnerable communities from landslides, earthquakes, and climate-induced hazards.
Ministry and State Leadership Affirm Commitment
PiyushGoyal, Secretary of the Ministry of Mines, reiterated the government’s commitment to strengthening GSI and stakeholder institutions through capacity building and strategic alignment with national priorities. He emphasized that sustainable, resilient, and technologically advanced mineral development remains central to India’s growth agenda and resource security objectives.
T. Ravikanth, Principal Secretary for Mines and Petroleum in the Rajasthan Government, highlighted the state’s commitment to sustainable mineral development and stressed the necessity for continued innovation, research, and collaboration to support national mineral security. His remarks underscored the significance of hosting the seminar in Jaipur—the capital of one of India’s most mineral-rich states and a traditional hub of geological research and mining enterprise.
GSI’s Institutional Vision and Strategic Direction
Asit Saha, Director General of GSI, articulated the organization’s vision for the next phase of its 175-year institutional journey, emphasizing that the rapidly evolving global geoscience landscape demands enhanced exploration efforts, smarter technologies, and sharper scientific insight. He underscored the strategic importance of critical minerals and stressed the necessity of concept-driven investigations, advanced subsurface imaging, and strengthened public-good geoscience to bolster India’s long-term resource security and sustainability goals.
“GSI’s 175-year geoscientific legacy has evolved from pioneering geological mapping in the 19th century to leading next-generation exploration today,” Saha noted, adding that the institution must now respond to growing demand for critical minerals in the context of global energy transition and clean technology adoption.
Vijay V. Mugal, Additional Director General and Head of GSI’s Western Region, who served as Chairman of the seminar, extended an invitation to the global geoscientific community to engage in open scientific exchange while fostering fresh thinking to shape coherent geoscience priorities for the decades ahead.
Global Participation & International Collaboration
The seminar brought together leading international geological survey organizations—the British Geological Survey, United States Geological Survey, and Geoscience Australia—alongside eminent experts and delegates from premier geoscience institutions across India and the world. This international gathering enabled technical exchange on cutting-edge exploration technologies, critical minerals, geodynamics, climate resilience, digital and computational innovations, and geoscience-led sustainable development.
The two-day technical programme featured comprehensive scientific discourse spanning eleven thematic domains, including nine plenary keynotes, nineteen special lectures, and more than three hundred scientific oral presentations alongside over two hundred poster contributions, demonstrating the breadth and depth of contemporary geoscientific research and practice.
International Speakers Address Critical Challenges
Dr. Kathryn Goodenough from the British Geological Survey delivered a keynote on critical minerals for the energy transition and the strategic role of geological surveys in mineral exploration targeting. Her presentation examined how geological survey organizations worldwide are adapting methodologies to identify deposits of rare earth elements, lithium, and other minerals essential for renewable energy infrastructure.
Prof.YaniNajman of Lancaster University explored the use of sedimentary records to unravel Himalayan evolution, tectonics, and paleoclimate archives, demonstrating how geological archives preserved in sedimentary rocks provide critical insights into mountain-building processes and climate dynamics spanning millions of years.
Dr.Fausto Guzzetti, Senior Research Scientist at Italy’s ConsiglioNazionaledelleRicerche, addressed capabilities and challenges in landslide anticipation—a topic of acute relevance to India’s disaster management framework given the nation’s vulnerability to landslide hazards in the Himalayan region and Western Ghats. His presentation examined early warning systems, risk assessment methodologies, and the integration of satellite monitoring with ground-based observations.
Prof. Emmanuel John Carranza delivered insights on mineral exploration targeting using artificial intelligence, demonstrating how machine learning algorithms can analyze vast geological datasets to identify prospective zones for mineral deposits with greater accuracy and efficiency than traditional methods.
Dr. Geoff Fraser from Geoscience Australia discussed age and isotopic mapping methodologies, showcasing how geochronological techniques and isotopic analysis provide fundamental constraints on geological processes, mineral formation, and tectonic evolution.
Advanced Technologies & Computational Frontiers
Prof.Mrinal K. Sen of the University of Texas at Austin addressed high-performance computing and geophysical inversion techniques in mineral exploration, demonstrating how computational advances enable more sophisticated subsurface imaging and interpretation of geophysical data for mineral targeting.
Dr. James Hein from the USGS presented on deep-ocean seabed mineral deposits, examining current resource status and future prospects for marine mineral extraction. His presentation highlighted polymetallic nodules, cobalt-rich ferromanganese crusts, and seafloor massive sulfides as potential sources of critical minerals, while addressing environmental and governance challenges associated with deep-sea mining.
Prof.Subimal Ghosh of IIT Bombay, recipient of the Shanti SwarupBhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology, addressed micrometeorological and vegetation carbon dynamics across scales, examining the complex interactions between climate variability, ecosystem processes, and carbon sequestration in terrestrial environments.
Prof. Jeffrey Wilson Mantilla of Michigan University discussed sauropod and theropod dinosaur evolution, bridging paleontological research with GSI’s geoheritage mandate and highlighting India’s significant contribution to understanding dinosaur evolution through fossil discoveries in the Deccan Traps and other geological formations.
Thematic Architecture & Technical Sessions
Technical sessions addressed nine interconnected thematic areas: Critical Minerals and Energy Transition; Ore Formation and Mineral Resource Challenges; Tectonics and Solid Earth Geodynamics; Geohazards and Risk Assessment; Computational and AI-Driven Frontiers in Geoscience; Critical Zone Science and Climate-Ecosystem Coupling; Ocean Processes and Marine Georesources; Geoheritage and Geoconservation; and Next-Generation Geophysical Imaging and Subsurface Characterization.
The seminar’s thematic emphasis on critical minerals reflects India’s strategic vulnerability in rare earth elements, lithium, cobalt, and other minerals essential for clean energy technologies, electric vehicles, and advanced manufacturing. With demand for rare earth elements in wind turbines and electric vehicle magnets expected to nearly double by 2030, India’s indigenous exploration and processing capacity requires urgent acceleration to reduce import dependence and secure supply chains.
Strategic Institutional Partnerships Formalized
A major highlight of the seminar was the signing of Memoranda of Understanding between GSI and two premier Indian institutes—IIT Bombay and IIT Kharagpur. These collaborative agreements aim to advance frontier geoscience research, strengthen collaborative technologies in mineral exploration, and enhance knowledge exchange and innovation capacity.
Such institutional partnerships are essential for integrating cutting-edge computational methodologies, advanced instrumentation, and interdisciplinary expertise into India’s geoscientific enterprise. The collaborations will facilitate joint research projects, technology development, and training programmes to build next-generation geoscience capacity.
Knowledge Dissemination
The seminar featured an exhibition showcasing thematic displays by geoscience institutions, industry partners, and technology innovators, providing a platform for demonstrating innovations in geospatial tools, advanced technologies, and AI-enabled mineral targeting systems. The exhibition enabled participants to examine state-of-the-art exploration equipment, digital mapping platforms, and analytical instrumentation deployed in contemporary geoscience practice.
To support dissemination and archival purposes, GSI produced a curated Abstract Volume compiling all accepted abstracts, distributed as a digital publication to all participants. Additionally, dignitaries released thematic maps and key GSI publications during the inaugural ceremony, establishing a permanent record of contemporary geoscientific knowledge and research outputs for future reference and institutional learning.
Alignment with National Policy Imperatives
The deliberations throughout the two-day programme aligned closely with India’s pursuit of Aatmanirbhar Bharat and the long-term vision of Viksit Bharat@2047, emphasizing the vital role of geosciences in bolstering national resource security, enabling the clean energy transition, and supporting environmental resilience.
These policy priorities resonate with initiatives such as the National Critical Mineral Mission, launched in 2025 with a budget of ₹16,300 crore, which aims to ensure India’s long-term critical mineral security through accelerated exploration, capacity development, and strategic international partnerships for securing overseas mineral assets.
Future Institutional Direction
The seminar represents a strategic inflection point for India’s earth science enterprise. GSI, established in 1851 as one of the world’s oldest and most respected geological survey organizations, has evolved from pioneering geological mapping during the colonial era to leading next-generation exploration in the 21st century.
With evolving technologies including artificial intelligence, machine learning, satellite remote sensing, and advanced geophysical techniques, combined with growing demand for critical minerals in the context of global energy transition, the event positioned GSI to chart a roadmap for its future strategy and contribution to India’s growth ambitions, scientific excellence, and global competitiveness in geoscience innovation.
The emphasis throughout the seminar on technological innovation, international collaboration, and alignment with national development objectives underscores the recognition that geological knowledge and mineral resources constitute fundamental enablers of economic prosperity, technological advancement, and strategic autonomy.
As India pursues ambitious targets for renewable energy deployment, electric vehicle adoption, and advanced manufacturing, the strategic importance of indigenous critical mineral supplies will only intensify. The international seminar marking GSI’s 175-year milestone thus represents not merely a commemoration of past achievements but a renewed commitment to addressing the geoscientific challenges that will define India’s development trajectory over the coming decades.
