Union Minister for Coal and Mines G. Kishan Reddy on Tuesday, November 10 inaugurated three facilities at the Geological Survey of India Training Institute (GSITI) at Bandlaguda-Nagole in Hyderabad: an International Hostel Complex, an Advanced Geophysical Data Processing Laboratory and a Karmayogi Digital Studio. Malkajgiri MP Eatala Rajender joined him at the programme, Hyderabad News Hunt reported.

Source: Hyderabad News Hunt

The three facilities together received an investment of Rs 9.12 crore. The International Hostel, named Nalanda and Takshashila, was built at a cost of Rs 4.27 crore and has 32 furnished suites for international trainees. The geophysical laboratory was set up for Rs 4.55 crore with 25 high-end computer systems and specialised software for mineral exploration, while the Digital Studio, built for Rs 30 lakh, will produce video lectures, podcasts and webinars for the iGOT Karmayogi portal.

Source: Hyderabad News Hunt

4,373 exploration projects since 2014, 300 critical mineral projects targeted

Reddy congratulated the Geological Survey of India (GSI) on 176 years of service and the training institute on 50 years of geological training, Nation Press reported. He cited GSI's record of 4,373 mineral exploration projects completed across the country since 2014, and said that under the National Critical Minerals Mission, GSI is targeting 300 critical mineral projects in 2026-27 alone, focused on minerals such as lithium, graphite, cobalt and rare earth elements.

Source: Nation Press

Addressing the gathering, Reddy called for faster exploration of critical minerals and rare-earth elements, dedicated exploration teams, timely auctions of mineral blocks, wider public access to geological data through open platforms, and greater use of AI, machine learning and advanced data analytics, along with stronger research partnerships with national and international institutions. He said India needed to strengthen mineral security and reduce dependence on imports, and also underlined the role of adequate coal production in energy security. GSI Director General Dinesh V. Ganvir and Ministry of Mines Joint Secretary Farida M. Naik were among the senior officials present.

What happens next: the new laboratory and studio are training and data infrastructure, so their test will be output — whether the 300 critical mineral projects targeted for this financial year produce resource assessments that move to auction, and whether the institute's push to become a centre of excellence for geological training draws the international trainees its new hostel was built for.