News:India will be hosting the 36th International Geological Congress (IGC) in Delhi in March,2020.
Facts:
About International Geological Congress(IGC):
- International Geological Congress(IGC) is a prestigious global platform for advancement of Earth Science.The congress is conducted once every four years.
- It was founded as a non-profit scientific and educational organization in 1878.However,IGC came under the aegis of International Union of Geological Sciences(IUGS) in 1961.
- The first session of IGC assembled in 1878 in France with an aim to provide the global geological community with an opportunity to create an organizational framework for meeting at regular intervals.
About 36th International Geological Congress(IGC):
- The theme for the 36th Geological conference is ‘Geosciences: The Basic Science for Sustainable Development’.
- India is the only Asian country to host the event twice.In 1964,India had hosted it for the first time which was the 22nd IGC.
- The 36th IGC is funded by the Ministry of Mines and the Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India, and supported by the Indian National Science Academy (INSA) and the science academies of Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
- Geological Survey of India(GSI) is the nodal agency for organizing the event.
Additional information:
About GSI:
- Geological Survey of India(GSI) was set up in 1851 primarily to find coal deposits for the Railways. It is headquartered at Kolkata.It is an attached office to the Ministry of Mines.
- The main functions of GSI relate to creation and updation of national geoscientific information and mineral resource assessment.
- The objectives are achieved through ground, air-borne and marine surveys, mineral prospecting and investigations, multi-disciplinary geoscientific, geo-technical, geo-environmental and natural hazards studies, and carrying out fundamental research.
