National Geoscience Data Repository Portal

About National Geoscience Data Repository Portal

• It is a comprehensive online platform for accessing, sharing, and analyzing geospatial information across India.
• The NGDR initiative spearheaded by the Geological Survey of India (GSI) and Bhaskarachaya Institute of Space Applications and Geoinformatics (BISAG-N).
• It represents a significant leap forward in democratizing critical geoscience data, empowering stakeholders across industries and academia with unprecedented access to invaluable resources.

About Geological Survey of India

• The Geological Survey of India (GSI) was set up in 1851 primarily to find coal deposits for the Railways.
• Over the years, GSI has not only grown into a repository of geo-science information required in various fields in the country but has also attained the status of a geo-scientific organisation of international repute.
• Its main functions relate to creating and updating of national geoscientific information and mineral resource assessment.
• GSI’s chief role includes providing objective, impartial and up-to-date geological expertise and geoscientific information of all kinds, with a focus on policy making decisions, commercial and socio- economic needs.
• GSI also emphasises on systematic documentation of all geological processes, both surface and subsurface, of India and its offshore areas. The organisation carries out this work through geological, geophysical, & geochemical surveys using the latest and most cost-effective techniques and methodologies.
• GSI is an attached office of the Ministry of Mines.
• Headquarters: Kolkata
• It has six regional offices located in Lucknow, Jaipur, Nagpur, Hyderabad, Shillong and Kolkata and state unit offices in almost all states of the country.

Q1) What is Global Positioning System (GPS)?

The GPS (Global Positioning System) is a "constellation" of 31 well-spaced satellites that orbit the Earth and make it possible for people with ground receivers to pinpoint their geographic location. The location accuracy is anywhere from 100 to 10 meters for most equipment and within one meter with special military-approved equipment. GPS equipment is widely used in science and has now become sufficiently low-cost so that almost anyone can own a GPS receiver.

Source: Mines Ministry to Launch National Geoscience Data Repository Portal To Foster Innovation in Exploration