Established in 1981, this society has been formed with the keen interest and tireless efforts of faculty members of the PG Department of Geology, Nagpur University. This team had the vision and commitment to foresee the fact that Nagpur is a ever growing hub-centre for geoscientific activities. Several earth science institutes and departments are based here and a geological society located at Nagpur, the Orange City, can act as a catalyst for propelling earth science research and at the same time also inspiring budding researchers and researches of all hues.  

By virtue of Nagpur being centrally located, with so many other conducive factors made this an ideal location and launch-pad for the GGS. Our founders must be thanked and commended for conceptualizing, establishing, nurturing, nourishing and managing the society through its early years. The Society has been in very able hands all through and the all teams of office bearers have also always vowed to put in efforts to set and achieve higher goals to reach new heights.

The name Gondwana Geological Society is drawn after the historic Gond Kingdom of yore, wherein Nagpur was an important centre. It is after this Kingdom that the historic Gondwana Land and the stratigraphic Gondwana Super Group, the name was conceived and later accepted internationally. The GGS has wide geoscientific interests in the entire stratigraphic column from Archean to Recent and its activity is in no way confined merely to either the historic or stratigraphic Gondwana Land.

Many other similar scientific societies have come and gone, becoming non-functional or dying premature deaths during the several decades long history of the Gondwana Geological Society, but our Society has endured all the adversities and odds, growing and only emerging stronger every year. The objectives are clear, the resources defined and identified while the actions are oriented to achieve specific scientific pursuits and objectives. The members and office bearers are committed, enthusiastic, dedicated and selfless team of geoscientists with only one goal – to see the Society scale higher echelons.

During the efforts to nurture, nourish  and sustain the society in executing its objectives by conducting National Level Seminars and by bringing out widely-acclaimed publication of scientific papers in the symposium volumes, the GGS has received unstinted support. This has been forthcoming from organisations like the Geological Survey of India, RTM Nagpur University, Indian Bureau of Mines, Western Coalfields Ltd,  Mineral Exploration Corporation Ltd, Atomic Minerals Directorate, Manganese Ore India Limited, Earthquake Research Institute, Tokyo, Japan, Department of Science and Technology, Bhabha Atomic Research  Centre, Atomic Minerals Directorate, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, Directorate of Geology and Mining (Mah) and Groundwater Survey and Development Agency (Mah), Central Ground Water Board, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, Maharashtra Remote Sensing and Applications Centre (MRSAC), Orange City Water (OCW) and many more, besides companies including M/s Tatasons, Datacode  and many others in the private sector.

With the basic and fundamental research in geosciences gaining importance as the foundation and fountain of all geoscientific activities, so is the role of applied geosciences in every human being’s day to day lives and to aid every nation’s GDP and well being. Our Society has been hence gearing up for meeting the contemporary challenges by adapting to the changing times. While coal exploration and mining were extremely important in the 19^th century, as it is even today, the newer challenges lie in exploration and mining for gold, diamond, platinum and PGE, base metals, tungsten, REE’s, lithium, fertilizer minerals, fossil fuels and many more. Holistic updation of ground water, surface water and deep aquifer resources research and data generation have always been on our priority list.

In the backdrop of the National Mineral Policy of 2008, followed by the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 2015 and the National Mineral Exploration Policy, 2016, there have been a mass repeal of older provisions that had outlived their times and were not very conducive for the healthy development and the expected and projected massive investments and subsequent productivity in the mineral sector. Newer provisions added are in tune with the changing times and are expected to be investor friendly. Rightly so, as the mineral sector needs to contribute at least 4% to 5 % to our GDP by 2020, in contrast to the 2.0 % to 2.5 % presently (McKinsey Report). India has 2.4% of the global area and sustains 17.5% (Census-2011) of the world population. Our per capita consumption of minerals and its products is one of the lowest in the world.

India’s geological setup is similar to resource rich countries like Canada, Australia, Brazil, South Africa, Chile and Mexico. The share of the mining sector in the GDP of these countries though ranges from 15.1% to 2.3 %. India produces as many as 87 minerals, which include 4 fuels, 10 metallic, 47 non-metallic, 3 atomic and 23 minor minerals (including building and other materials). We mainly import our requirements of crude oil, fertilizer minerals (potash and phosphates), platinum (PGE), gold, strategic minerals (especially tungsten, gallium), coal (coking and non-coking too) and many more.

Presently, mining companies are becoming anxious about the dwindling number of high grade deposits around the world and with good reason. The future lies in exploring deep seated mineral deposits and in sea bed mining for our country. Both these propositions are cost intensive and involve huge investments. Besides, the environment impact assessment data available for sea-bed mining is very primitive. It’s environmental impact would most likely have wide ramifications. 

Likewise, the GGS has always risen with the needs of the hour and has catered to topics as diverse as the Gondwanas of India, Deccan Basalts (in collaboration with Earthquake Research Institute, Tokyo), Fluorine in Ground Water, Quaternary Geology, Seismicity of Central India, Precambrian Research, Role of the Energy Scenario 2020, Sedimentary Basins in India, Ground and Surface Water Resources, Kotri Belt (Central India), Challenges and Strategies in Mineral Exploration and Mining and so on.

Our goal is to scale newer heights to cater to the aspirations and hopes of our researcher geoscientists, who have over the years put in tremendous faith in our activities. The GGS with its dedicated team reaches out to all our researcher geoscientists, who have been regular contributors to enrich our research publications and to present their findings at our Symposia, hoping for more and more participation. We also have been encouraging new researchers always, by publishing their findings and by inviting them to participate in our activities through lectures, workshops and symposia. Because, we are aware that only with such encouragement, we have been fulfilling our goals towards our pursuits in geoscientific research. We can further hope to fulfill our dreams of objectively contributing our might, strength and capacity in the nation building process.

Proudly, the PG Department of Geology, RTM Nagpur University have been hosts for the GGS since 1981 and all HoD’s and Vice Chancellors, who have always encouraged it’s well-being need to be thanked.  Sadly, we lost three of our revered ex-Presidents Prof Y.G. Dekate (June 2015) ,Dr S.T. Rajurkar (December 2016) and Dr S.S. Deshmukh (May 2019) to the Almighty, during the recent years. They constructively shaped the destiny of the GGS during its earlier years will continue to inspire us and remain enshrined in our hearts.

We pledge to continue to work for the high ideals and progressively set newer goals with the changing times as envisioned by our founders, as there can be no better way to recognize, pursue, follow and redeem their yeoman’s services’, rendered to the Gondwana Geological Society.

Nagpur                                                                 Dr. Anjan Kumar Chatterjee,

Dated: 21.03.2020                                              President