Lok Sabha Question No. 2793 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-08-06
Subject: Earthquakes-GPR Technology
Ministry: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Asked by: Shri Suresh Kumar Shetkar

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY LOK SABHA

UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2793 ANSWERED ON 06/08/2025

## EARTHQUAKES-GPR TECHNOLOGY

## 2793. SHRI SURESH KUMAR SHETKAR:

Will  the  Minister  of  SCIENCE  AND  TECHNOLOGY  be  pleased  to state:

- (a) whether the Government has any mechanisms or plans have in place  to  ensure  the  timely  deployment  and  operational  readiness  of GPR  and  related  geophysical  equipment  immediately  following  the occurrence of an earthquake, if so, the details thereof;
- (b) the details of the coordination framework between Central and State  disaster  management  authorities,  particularly  for  sharing  and optimal utilization of scarce technical resources such as GPR equipment and trained operators;
- (c) the details of the documented examples or case studies where the  identification  of  voids  using  GPR  directly  contributed  to  the successful rescue of trapped individuals during earthquake disasters in India;
- (d) manner in which the Government intend to address the inherent limitations  of  GPR  technology,  such  as  reduced  penetration  depth  in certain  building  materials  and  challenges  posed  by  debris  clutter  in collapsed urban environments; and
- (e) whether the Government is exploring the integration of GPR with other  emerging  technologies,  such  as  drone  surveillance,  artificial intelligence and remote sensing, to enhance the overall efficiency and effectiveness  of  earthquake  search  and  rescue  operations,  if  so,  the details thereof?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) OF THE MINISTRY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY AND EARTH SCIENCES (DR. JITENDRA SINGH)

विज्ञान और प्रौद्योगिकी तथा पृ थ्िी विज्ञान मंत्रालय क े राज्य मंत्री ( स्ितंत्र प्रभार) ( डॉ. जितेंद्र स ंह )

- (a) The Government  is continuously working on enhancing its operational  readiness  and  timely  deployment  of  Ground  Penetrating Radar (GPR) and related geophysical equipment for search and rescue

purposes,  detecting  voids  &  buried  objects,  assessing  structural damage, and understanding the earthquake's impact on the subsurface following  the  occurrence  of  an  earthquake.  In  a  recent  landslide rescue  operation  in  Lachen,  Sikkim,  the  Indian  Army  utilized  Drone mounted GPR to locate potential victims buried under debris indicating Government's readiness to ensure the timely deployment and operational  readiness  of  GPR  and  related  geophysical  equipment  in event of disasters. The Drone mounted GPR helped identifying two subsurface  anomalies  at  depths  of  0.76  metres  and  0.015  metres  to support rescue operations.

- (b) The primary responsibility of disaster management rests with the State  Government  concerned.  The  Central  Government,  wherever required, supplements the efforts of the State Governments  by providing logistic and financial support in cases of natural disasters of severe nature. National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), constituted under  section  44  of  the  Disaster  Management  Act,  2005  is  equipped with  state  of  art  equipment  like  GPR  and  other  geophysical  tools  to provide  specialist  response  to  a  threatening  disaster  situation  or disaster. At present, NDRF has 16 Battalions, which are located as per vulnerability  profile  of  the  country  to  provide  immediate  response during disasters. As per the National Policy on Disaster Management, raising of State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and equipping them is with  the  State/UT  Governments  concerned.  The  Central  Government regularly follows up with the State/UT Governments to raise SDRF and equip them with adequate disaster response capabilities. To facilitate the  State  Governments,  the  Central  Government  has  also  shared  the list  of  disaster  response  equipment  with  them,  with  the  request  to equip their SDRF in line with NDRF. Training programs and workshops are  being  conducted  to  enhance  the  skills  of  engineers  and  other professionals in using GPR and other relevant technologies.
- (c) Documented examples or case studies pertaining to identification of voids and successful rescues during Indian earthquake disasters are not readily available due to several reason like (i) the complexities of earthquake debris makes it challenging for GPR to accurately identify voids  and  distinguish  them  from  other  subsurface  anomalies  and  (ii) GPR is often used in conjunction with other technologies like acoustic sensors  and  micro-seismic  monitoring,  making  it  difficult  to  isolate

GPR's  specific  contribution  to  a  successful  rescue.  Thus,  the  focus was  more  on  conventional  search  and  immediate  rescue  of  trapped individuals. However, after the 2001 Bhuj earthquake, GPR was used to investigate sand blow craters formed due to liquefaction in the Banni plain and Great Rann of Kachchh. The high-resolution GPR successfully imaged  the  stratigraphy  and  deformation  up  to  6.5  meters  deep, helping to understand the mechanism of sediment venting. The Sikkim earthquake 2011 resulted in various types of failures, including slope failures, settlement, and structural failures. GPR was used to examine distressed pavements and depth of cracks in buildings.

- (d) The Government is addressing the limitations of Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) technology through ongoing research, development of improved interpretation techniques, and the integration of GPR with other technologies. Government Agencies and Educational Institutions like  Indian  Space  Research  Organisation (ISRO), National Geophysical Research  Institute (NGRI), National Building  Research  Institute  (NBRI),  Indian  Institute  of  Technology Roorkee  (IIT  Roorkee)  are  extensively  working  on  GPR's  limitations. Low  Frequency  Antennas  and  Dual-Polarized  &  3D  GPR  Systems  are being  deployed  for  addressing  reduced  penetration  depths  whereas advanced  Signal  Processing  techniques  using  Deep  learning  models are  being  developed  and  used  to  specifically  eliminate  clutter  in reinforced concrete,  improving  the  detection  of voids  and  other subsurface anomalies.
- (e) Yes,  various  research  organisations  like  ISRO,  NGRI,  NBRI  etc. are  actively  involved  in  developing  and  refining  GPR  techniques, including polarimetric GPR for fracture detection and time-domain fullwaveform inversion for quantitative analysis of subsurface properties. The  use  of  GPR  in  conjunction  with  other  technologies, such as 3D software modelling, to create detailed subsurface visualizations  are  also  being  explored.    GPR  data  is  being  combined with geospatial data (like topographic data) to create more accurate subsurface maps, particularly in uneven terrains. These techniques will help enhancing the overall efficiency and effectiveness of earthquake search and rescue operations.

*****