Setting up of a Society, “36th International Geological Congress  -;

The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given its approval to set up of a Society, “36th International Geological Congress”, under the Indian Society Registration Act, 1860 for organizing 36th International Geological Congress (IGC) in year 2020 and promoting geo-science in Indian subcontinent. The event will be held in NCR, Delhi during March 2-6, 2020. A budgetary outlay worth Rs. 52 crore has been already approved by Cabinet to carry out preparatory activities upto 2018-19 and additional funds will be sought on revising the estimate a year before the main event. The 36th IGC will be hosted jointly by the Ministry of Mines (MoM) and Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) with active support from the science academies of India and co-host neighbouring countries. It is expected to attract 7000+ geo-scientists from all over the world. The event is to be organized under the aegis of International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS) and as per the statutes of IUGS-IGC Council. On being registered, the Society, 36 IGC will start preparing for the event by taking up activities including constitution of a Local Organizing Committee (LOC) and participation in the 35th IGC which is scheduled to be held during 27 August-4 September, 2016 at Cape Town, South Africa.The Society will be wound-up after the completion of the event. The event will benefit the entire geoscientific community and all geo-science-related domains including mineral exploration, mining, environmental management, climate change studies, management of natural hazards, etc. It is also expected to give a boost to geo-tourism in the country.An exhibition ‘GEOEXPO-2020″, scheduled to be held alongside the conference, is expected to attract major mining and mineral exploration companies.The GEOEXPO exhibition will attract global companies involved in mining, mineral exploration and infrastructure development. Showcasing of India’s mineral potential can create an opportunity for foreign investment in India in these areas. The 36th IGC has the theme “Geo-science-the Basic Science for Sustainable Future”. Hosting the event in India will provide an opportunity to upgrade geo-sciences and geoscientific research in the country to meet the challenges of global changes and ever increasing quest for natural resources. The Indian subcontinent has more than 10000 geo-scientists engaged in mineral exploration, geo-technical investigations, geoscientific mapping, and research and development in fundamental geoscientific activities in various national organizations and institutions/ universities, industry and private sector enterprises. The applied fields are diverse ranging from oil and gas to groundwater, mining to environment, climate changes to natural hazards etc. The Indian Geo-scientists will get a big opportunity to interact with the best of subject experts from world over to further improve their knowledge and skills to meet the emerging challenges. Background:- India made a bid to host the 36th IGC in India along with its co-host neighbouring countries, namely, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka during the 34th international Geological Congress held at Brisbane, Australia in August 2012, and won it with an overwhelming support of global geoscientific community. The IGC is a prestigious geo-science conference organized at an interval of 4 years under the aegis of International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS) an affiliate of International Council of Science (ICSU). The IGC, since its inception in 1878, has attracted 6000 + delegates to each of its last five sessions held in different parts of the world. India had earlier hosted the 22nd session of IGC, which was the first IGC in Asia, in year 1964 in Delhi. The event will showcase India as a scientific destination for human resource development and training, and this will help improve Indian position in the South Asian and African regions on a long term basis. It will also contribute towards increasing tourism revenue by opening new avenues for geo-tourism.