The 36th International Geological Congress (IGC) will be held in New Delhi in 2020 from November 29 to December 5.
The bid by the five countries of the South Asian region — India, Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka — received an overwhelming response with 128 votes cast in its favour as against 51 votes in favour of Canada, the competing country. The voting took place at the 34th International Geological Congress in Brisbane, Australia.
The last time India hosted the Congress was in 1964. The host institution would be the Geological Survey of India (GSI), along with the science academies of five countries of the sub-continent.
The event will be sponsored by the Ministry of Mines and the Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India.
The Congress is a prestigious conclave of geoscientists from around the world, and is held once every four years.
It is for this reason that the IGC is considered as an Olympic of the International Geosciences fraternity.
The 35th International Geological Congress is scheduled to be held at Cape Town, South Africa in 2016.
The Indian subcontinent is a geoscientists’ paradise. It is home to the oldest rocks (3.6 billion years) to the youngest, and Himalayas, the active fold mountain belt of the world.
Adding to the long list are the Deccan Traps and active volcanoes; some of the major rivers of the world; mature foreland basins and youthful landforms; extensive deltas and fans; hot and cold deserts; salt ranges and deep oceans; hot springs and waterfalls.
About 30 guided field trips of 5-6 days duration have been planned for facilitating the participating scientists to appreciate and study the different geological environments.
The Union Cabinet 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 geoscience in Indian subcontinent.
It is expected to attract 7000+ geoscientists 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.
Hosting the event in India will provide an opportunity to upgrade geosciences and geoscientific research in the country to meet the challenges of global changes and ever increasing quest for natural resources.
The 36th IGC has the theme “Geoscience-the Basic Science for Sustainable Future”.
The Indian subcontinent has more than 10000 geoscientists engaged in mineral exploration, geotechnical 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 Geoscientists 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.
The IGC is a prestigious geoscience 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.
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.