Recent developments in Science and Technology have removed the
boundaries betwe n the so-called 'fundamental' and 'applied' fields of
research. This has been particularly evident in the rapidly expanding
geophysical sciences with their far reaching applications. Fundamental
geophysical studies of surface, subsurface and crustal structures where
gravity investigations play an important role, are of immediate
potential importance in defining major structural features or geological
units which may control or influence the development of metallogenic
provinces, petroleum potential areas or coal fields. Gravity studies in
India have a long history and tradition. The earliest gravity
measurements were made with two brass pendulums loaned by the Royal
Society of England, when Basevi and Heaviside established 30 gravity
pendulum stations between Cape Comorin and Ladakh during 1865 to 1873.
Over the subsequent years, large areas of the country have been
systematically covered through gravimeters and a number of regional and
detailed studies have been undertaken by various agencies like Survey of
India, Geological Survey of India (GSI), Oil and Natural Gas Commission
(ONGC), National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI) and a number of
universities. Assistance was provided by late Prof. G. P. Woollard and
his former students Muckenfuss, Bonini, Shankaranarayan and Murali
Manghnani, who have connected India to the international gravity net
work. Gravity studies carried out by the Survey of India have been of
great value in geodetic studies.