2405:201:5C09:50AB:9D48:55FC:2769:75F1 at 08:14, 25 May 2021

2021-05-25T08:14:47Z

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{{Short description|Government of India organization}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2016}}
{{Use Indian English|date=July 2016}}
{{Infobox government agency
|type = [[Government agency]]
|seal =
|seal_caption =
|logo = Geological_Survey_of_India_Logo.png
|logo_caption =
|formed = {{Start date and age|4 March 1851}}
|dissolved =
|jurisdiction = [[British India]] (1851-1947) <br> [[Dominion of India]] (1947-1950) <br> [[Government of India]] (From 1950)
|headquarters = [[Kolkata, West Bengal]], India.
|region_code =
| employees =
| budget = {{INRConvert|800|c}} (2019-2020) <ref>https://www.gsi.gov.in/webcenter/portal/OCBIS/pageQuickLinks/pageFinance?_afrLoop=6181794949698665&_adf.ctrl-state=x6p6y0dgg_1#!%40%40%3F_afrLoop%3D6181794949698665%26_adf.ctrl-state%3Dx6p6y0dgg_5</ref>
| chief1_name = R.S. Garkhal, Director General
|keydocument1 =
|website = {{url|https://www.gsi.gov.in/}}
|map =
|map_caption =
|footnotes =
|agency_name = Geological Survey of India
|agency_type = [[Geological survey]]
|nativename =
|nativename_a =
|nativename_r =
|logo_width =
|seal_width =
|parent_agency = [[Ministry of Mines (India)|Ministry of Mines]]
|picture = Central Headquarters - Geological Survey of India - Indian Museum Campus - Kolkata 2014-02-14 3249.JPG
|picture_width =
|picture_caption = Central Headquarters. 27 JN Road, Kolkata.
|superseding =
|map_width =
}}
The '''Geological Survey of India''' ('''GSI''') is a scientific agency of India. It was founded in 1851, is a [[Government of India]] [[Ministry of Mines (India)|Ministry of Mines]] organisation, one of the oldest of such organisations in the world and the second oldest survey in India after [[Survey of India]] (founded in 1767), for conducting [[geology|geological]] [[Geology of India|surveys and studies of India]], and also as the prime provider of basic earth science information to government, industry and general public, as well as the official participant in steel, coal, metals, cement, power industries and international geoscientific forums.

==History==
[[File:GeologicalSurveyIndia1870.jpg|thumb| left| The GSI in 1870. Standing: [[Ferdinand Stoliczka]], [[Robert Bruce Foote]], [[William Theobald]], [[Frederic Richard Mallet|F. R. Mallet]], [[Valentine Ball]], [[Wilhelm Heinrich Waagen]], W. L. Willson; Sitting: A. Tween, [[William King (GSI)|W. King]], [[Thomas Oldham]], [[Henry Benedict Medlicott]], C. A. Hackett.]]

The [[British Empire]] colonised India for the systematic financial exploitation of resources,<ref>{{cite book |author1=Rajat Kanta Ray |author-link1=Rajat Kanta Ray |year=1998 |chapter=Indian Society and the Establishment of British Supremacy, 1765–1818 |editor1=P. J. Marshall |editor1-link=P. J. Marshall |title=The Oxford History of the British Empire |volume=Volume II: The Eighteenth Century |publisher=Oxford University Press |pages=508–29 |isbn=978-0-19-164735-2}}</ref> leading to India's [[deindustrialization]] and Britain's [[Industrial Revolution]],<ref name="tong">{{cite book |author=Junie T. Tong |year=2016 |title=Finance and Society in 21st Century China: Chinese Culture Versus Western Markets |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_UQGDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA151 |publisher=CRC Press |page=151 |isbn=978-1-317-13522-7}}</ref><ref name="esposito">{{cite book |editor1=John L. Esposito |editor1-link=John L. Esposito |year=2004 |title=The Islamic World: Past and Present |volume=Volume 1: Abba - Hist. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KZcohRpc4OsC&pg=PT190 |publisher=Oxford University Press |page=174 |isbn=978-0-19-516520-3}}</ref><ref name="ray">{{cite book |author=Indrajit Ray |year=2011 |title=Bengal Industries and the British Industrial Revolution (1757-1857) |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CHOrAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA7 |publisher=Routledge |pages=7–10 |isbn=978-1-136-82552-1}}</ref> by using India as both a significant supplier of raw goods to British manufacturers and a large [[captive market]] for British manufactured goods (see [[Economy of India under the British Raj]]).<ref>{{cite book|title=Hobson-Jobson: The Definitive Glossary of British India|author=[[Henry Yule]], [[A. C. Burnell]]|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|year=2013|page=20|isbn=9781317252931|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8NXOCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA20}}</ref>

Formed in 1851 by [[East India Company]], the organization's roots can be traced to 1836 when the "Coal Committee", followed by more such committees, was formed to study and explore the availability of coal in the [[East India|eastern parts of India]].<ref name=gsiH6/><ref name=gsiH7/> [[David Hiram Williams]], one of the first surveyors for the [[British Geological Survey]], was appointed 'Surveyor of coal districts and superintendent of coal works, Bengal' on 3 December 1845 and arrived in India the following February.<ref name=gsiH6/><ref name=gsiH7/> The phrase "Geological Survey of India" was first used on his Dec 1847 map of the [[Raniganj Coalfield|Damoodah and Adji Great Coal Field]],<ref name=gsiH1>[http://daten.digitale-sammlungen.de/~db/0007/bsb00079409/images/ Damoodah and Adji Great Coal Field Map], Bavarian State Library.</ref> together with Horizontal<ref name=gsiH2>[http://daten.digitale-sammlungen.de/~db/0008/bsb00084611/images/ GSI Map of horizontal sections 1 & 2], Bavarian State Library.</ref><ref name=gsiH3>[http://daten.digitale-sammlungen.de/~db/0008/bsb00084610/images GSI Map of horizontal sections 3 & 4], Bavarian State Library.</ref> and Vertical sections of the map.<ref name=gsiH4>[http://daten.digitale-sammlungen.de/~db/0008/bsb00084612/images/ GSI Map of vertical section 5], Bavarian State Library.</ref> On 4 February 1848, he was appointed the "Geological Surveyor of the Geological Survey of India", but he fell off his elephant and, soon after, died with his assistant, F. B. Jones, of 'jungle fever' on 15 November 1848,<ref name=gsiH5>''Allen's Indian Mail'', Vol VII, No 117 London, 22 January 1849, p41.</ref> after which [[John McClelland (doctor)|John McClelland]] took over as the "Officiating Surveyor" until his retirement on 5 March 1851.<ref name=gsiH6>{{cite journal|last=Kumar|first=Deepak|title=Economic Compulsions and the Geological Survey of India|journal=Indian Journal of History of Science|date=1982|volume=17|issue=2|pages=289–300}}</ref><ref name=gsiH7>{{cite book |last=Chakrabarty |first=S |year=2012 |chapter=Geological Survey of India |chapter-url=http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Geological_Survey_of_India |editor1-last=Islam |editor1-first=Sirajul |editor1-link=Sirajul Islam |editor2-last=Jamal |editor2-first=Ahmed A. |title=Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh |edition=Second |publisher=[[Asiatic Society of Bangladesh]]}}</ref>

Until 1852, Geological Survey primarily remained focused on exploration for coal, mainly for powering steam transport, oil reserves, and ore deposits, when Sir [[Thomas Oldham]], father of [[Richard Dixon Oldham]], broadened the ambit of the scope of functioning of the Geological Survey of India by advancing the argument with the government that it was not possible to find coal without first mapping the geology of India. Thus, the Geological Survey commenced to map the rock types, geological structures and relative ages of different rock types . The age of rock strata was estimated from the presence of [[index fossil]]s, which consumed much of the geologists' efforts in finding these index fossils, as the method of [[Radiometric dating]] for estimating the age of rock strata was not developed at that time.<ref name=gsiH6/><ref name=gsiH7/> In 1869 [[Frederick Richard Mallet]] was first to visit [[Ramgarh crater]].<ref name=study13>[[Frederick Richard Mallet|Mallet, F. R.]], 1869, Memoir, Geological Survey of India, vol 7, page 129.</ref><ref name=study20>BALASUNDARAM, M., DUBE, A. Ramgarh, 1973, "Structure, India", [[Nature (journal)]], 242, 40 [[Digital object identifier|doi]]:10.1038/242040a0.</ref> Later studies include by those of Arthur Lennox Coulson

In 19th century GSI undertook several surveys including [[Great Trigonometrical Survey]], 1869 [[Mount Kailash|Kailash]]-[[Mansarovar]] expedition, 1871-1872 [[Shigatse|Shigache]]–[[Lhasa]] expedition, 1873-1874 [[Yarkant County|Yarkand]]–[[Kashgar]] expedition, second expedition of this area by Sir [[Thomas Douglas Forsyth]], 1878-1882 [[Darjeeling]]–[[Lhasa]]–[[Mongolia]] expedition, etc.<ref name=study2>Clements R. Markham, 1878, "A Memoir on The Indian Surveys", 2nd Ed., W H Allen & Co., London, p.189.</ref><ref name=study3>Charles E. D. Black, 1891, "A Memoir on The Indian Surveys (1875-90)" , London , p.168.</ref><ref name=study9>Derek J. Waller, 2004, "The Pundits: British Exploration of Tibet and Central Asia," University Press of Kentucky.</ref><ref name=study1>Account of the Pundit's Journey in Great Tibet - Capt. H. Trotter, The Journal of the Royal Geographic Society (1877).</ref> The native surveyors were called [[Pundit (explorer)|pandit]], some notable ones include cousins [[Nain Singh Rawat]] and [[Krishna Singh Rawat]].<ref name=study4>Peter Hopkirk, 1982, "Trespassers on the Roof of the World: The Race for Lhasa", [[Oxford University]] Press.</ref><ref name=study9/><ref name=study1/>

In 19th and early 20th century GSI made important contributions to [[Seismology]] by its studies and detailed reports on numerous Indian earthquakes. [[Richard Dixon Oldham]], like his father also worked for GSI, first correctly identified [[seismic waves|p- and s-waves]], and hypothesised and calculated the diameter of the Earth's core.<ref name=gsiH6/><ref name=gsiH7/>

On 8 April 2017 GSI began pilot project, with the first ever aerial survey of mineral stocks by GSI, to map the mineral stocks up to a depth of 20 km using specially-equipped aircraft.<ref name=gsiH8>{{cite web|title=In a first in India, GSI to use modern aircraft to map mineral stocks|url=http://www.financialexpress.com/india-news/in-a-first-in-india-gsi-to-use-modern-aircraft-to-map-mineral-stocks/618461/|website=The Financial Express|access-date=6 April 2017|date=7 April 2017}}</ref>

The GSI was restructured into 5 Missions, respectively relating to "Baseline Surveys";"Mineral resource Assessments";"Geoinformatics";"Multi-disciplinary Geosciences"; and "Training and Capacity Building", on the basis of the Report of a High-level Committee chaired by Mr S.Vijay Kumar<ref>http://www.teriin.org/index.php?option=com_aboutus&id=3158&p=emp&view=profile&Itemid=181</ref> Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Mines of the Government of India.

== The superintendents and directors ==
{|class="wikitable"
!Sr. No.
!Name
!Period
!Country
|-
|1.||[[Thomas Oldham|Dr. Thomas Oldham]], The Superintendent||1851–1876||[[Dublin]], [[Republic of Ireland]]
|-
|2.||[[H. B. Medlicott]], The Superintendent||1876–1885||[[Loughrea]], [[County Galway]], [[Ireland]]
|-
|3.||[[H. B. Medlicott]], The Director||1885–1887||[[Loughrea]], [[County Galway]], [[Ireland]]
|-
|4.||[[William King (GSI)|William King Jr.]]||1887–1894||[[Ireland]]; an [[Anglo-Irish]]
|-
|5.||[[Carl Ludolf Griesbach|C.L.Griesbach]]||1894–1903||[[Vienna]], [[Austria]]
|-
|6.||[[Thomas Henry Holland|Sir T. H. Holland]]||1903–1910||[[Helston]], [[Cornwall]], [[England]]
|-
|7.||[[Henry Hubert Hayden|Sir Henry. H. Hayden]]||1910–1921||[[Derry]], [[Ireland]]
|-
|8.||[[E. H. Pascoe|Sir Edwin Hall Pascoe]]||1921–1932||[[England]]
|-
|9.||[[Lewis Leigh Fermor|Sir L.L. Fermor]]||1932–1935||[[Peckham]], [[south London]], [[England]]
|-
|10.||[[Alexander Heron|Dr. A. M. Heron]]||1935–1939|| British, [[Duddingston]], [[Edinburgh]], [[Scotland]]
|-
|11.||Sir [[Cyril Sankey Fox|Cyril S. Fox]]||1939–1943||-
|-
|12.||[[Edward Leslie Gilbert Clegg]]||1943–1944||[[Manchester]], [[England]]
|-
|13.||[[Henry Crookshank]]||1944–1945||-
|-
|14.||J.A. Dunn||1945||-
|-
|15.||[[William Dixon West]]||1945–1951||[[Bournemouth]], [[England]]
|-
|16.||[[M. S. Krishnan (geologist)|M. S. Krishnan, First Indian Director]]||1951–1955||[[Thanjavur]], [[Tamil Nadu]]
|-
|17.||V. P. Sondhi||1955–1958||-
|-
|18.||B. C. Roy||1958–1964||-
|-
|}

==See also==
* [[List of National Geological Monuments in India]]

==References==
{{Reflist|40em}}

==External links==
*{{Official website|https://www.gsi.gov.in/webcenter/portal/}}

{{Geography of India}}
{{India topics}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Geography of India]]
[[Category:National geological agencies]]
[[Category:Geology of India]]
[[Category:Geological surveys]]
[[Category:Organisations based in Kolkata]]
[[Category:Geographic history of India]]
[[Category:Executive branch of the government of India]]
[[Category:Organizations established in 1851]]
[[Category:1851 establishments in India]]
[[Category:1851 establishments in British India]]
[[Category:Ministry of Mines (India)]]

Geological Survey of India - Revision history

2405:201:5C09:50AB:9D48:55FC:2769:75F1 at 08:14, 25 May 2021