Hyderabad (Telangana) [India]: On the first day of his two-day visit, Union Minister of State, Dr Jitendra Singh on Thursday inaugurated India’s first unique “Rock” Museum and later addressed the Hyderabad scientists at the CSIR-National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI). The Open Rock Museum, set up with the aim to educate and enlighten the masses about several lesser-known facts, displays around 35 different types of rocks from different parts of India with ages ranging from 3.3 billion years to around 55 million years of the Earth’s history. These rocks also represent the deepest part of the earth up to 175 kilometres of distance from the surface of the earth, the Ministry of Earth Science said. Addressing the galaxy of eminent scientists, Dr Jitendra Singh said that “Big Earth data” occupies the strategic high ground in the era of knowledge economies and India is fully exploiting this new frontier contributing to the advancement of Earth science. He said that Geosciences are contributing significantly towards the self-reliance and national priorities in New India. The Minister said, Science blended with creative innovation brings “ease of living” for the common man and Scientists should adopt out of box thinking to address the problems of the common public. He said, the expectations of society from scientists are ever growing and scientists should continuously be involved in providing the best Science and Technology solutions. Dr Jitendra Singh said that the out of box idea was suggested by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who not only has a natural predilection for science but is also forthcoming in supporting and promoting science and technology-based initiatives and projects. Singh said, “When the country is celebrating 75 years of Independence as “Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav”, CSIR is celebrating 80 years of its foundation and it is the right time that all ministries and departments who are pursuing science should explore science and technology innovations for making India self-reliant in many of the sectors.” He emphasised that India should be a global leader in matters ranging from defense to economics with strong scientific and technological inputs in another 25 years when India celebrates 100 years of Independence. Referring to CSIR-NGRI’s future research efforts designed for Deep-Earth and Near-Surface explorations, which are critical to understand the processes responsible for shaping Earth’s structure and dynamics, and for sustenance of life on Earth, respectively, Dr Jitendra Singh expressed hope that with its charted vision and mission, CSIR-NGRI will play a vital and pivotal role in coming years to fulfil the aspirations of the nation.
