TEXMiN at the Indian Institute of Technology (Indian School of Mines), Dhanbad (IIT (ISM)) has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Geological Survey of India (GSI) to collaborate on research, technology development and capacity building in critical mineral exploration. The agreement, concluded this week, was presented as a strategic step to advance innovation-led exploration and to strengthen India's mineral security ecosystem.\n\nThe collaboration will focus on integrating advanced geoscientific methods, data analytics and laboratory research to identify and evaluate critical mineral resources. It will also include joint projects intended to develop deployable technologies and to build institutional capacity through training and knowledge exchange. The partners intend to align research priorities with national needs in order to support sustainable and scalable exploration approaches.\n\nThe memorandum provides for collaborative programmes with an emphasis on deploying cutting-edge tools and on creating scalable solutions tailored to the exploration sector. The institute stated that the agreement allows for the onboarding of third-party start-up agencies where required to accelerate innovation and to ensure practical implementation of research outcomes. Joint supervision of field studies, technology demonstrations and pilot projects will form part of the implementation plan.\n\nOfficials described the pact as likely to catalyse private and public sector engagement in the search for strategically important minerals and to reduce reliance on external sources. The partnership is expected to generate research outputs that inform policy, guide investment and support the development of homegrown exploration technologies. Both institutions will proceed to set up working groups to define project timelines, funding modalities and capacity building schedules. A timeline for initial projects and resource commitments will be announced in due course.