Solid fossil fuels in the form of coal and, to a lesser extent, lignite have been traditionally dominating the energy scenario in India and meet about 55% of the country’s total energy requirement today. The Geological Survey of India was nucleated by the East India Company and, subsequently, institutionalized by the British Government in India in 1851, primarily to have the coalfields of the country surveyed geologically. Since then, the GSI has been the prime organization in the country engaged in locating resources of solid fossil fuel. The efforts gained tremendous momentum in the post-Independence period. Besides GSI, a number of other organizations like CMPDIL, SCCL, MECL and several State Directorates of Geology have been active during the last few decades in the exploration of coal and lignite. Laboratory and R & D inputs have also been pouring in from various national laboratories of CSIR, namely CFRI, CMRI, BSIP and universities and educational institutions. Through the concerted efforts of all such organizations, a large volume of data has been generated in respect of the coal and lignite basins of India. Therefore, in the year of the Golden Jubilee of India’s Independence, it was felt necessary and appropriate to take stock of the latest advances in the geology of the coal and lignite basins of India through a National Seminar organized by the GSI with the participation of various other agencies generating data in the related disciplines.
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