National Geoscience Data Repository (NGDR) Portal

• Context (TH): The Ministry of Mines launched the National Geoscience Data Repository (NGDR) Portal.
• NGDR is a flagship initiative of the Ministry of Mines as a part of the National Mineral Exploration Policy (NMEP), 2016.
• NGDR is an online platform for accessing, sharing, and analyzing geospatial information nationwide.
• The NGDR portal will also be available on the Android app and in offline mode.
• The NGDR initiative was spearheaded by the Geological Survey of India (GSI) and the Bhaskarachaya Institute of Space Applications and Geoinformatics (BISAG-N).
• It will host and disseminate exploration-related geoscientific data to aid in mineral exploration.
• It is conceptualized as an Open-source, Cloud-hosted and LINUX-implemented platform.

National Mineral Exploration Policy (NMEP), 2016 It targets the exploration of deep-seated and concealed mineral deposits. It has proposed to undertake quick aero-geophysical surveys of the country and create of dedicated geoscience database etc. The Ministry of Mines will carry out the auctioning of identified exploration blocks for exploration by the private sector. Use of space technology to check illegal mining by developing a mining surveillance system is suggested. A not-for-profit autonomous institution known as the National Centre for Mineral Targeting (NCMT) is proposed to be established.

Geological Survey of India (GSI)

• GSI was set up in 1851 primarily to find coal deposits for the Railways.
• Headquartered in Kolkata, it has six regional offices located in Lucknow, Jaipur, Nagpur, Hyderabad, Shillong and Kolkata.
• It is an attached office of the Ministry of Mines.
• It creates and updates the national geoscientific information and mineral resource assessment.
• It also documents the surface and subsurface geological processes of India and its offshore areas.

BISAG-N

• BISAG-N is an Autonomous Scientific Society registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860.
• It works under MeitY, Government of India.
• It is located in Gandhinagar, Gujarat.
• It works in the domain of R&D and capacity building related to geospatial technology.
• BISAG-N has implemented a Geographic Information System (GIS) for governmental application.