India’s Mineral Future: Photonics, Spectra & the New Science of Strategic Resource Discovery
India’s Mineral Future: Photonics, Spectra & the New Science of Strategic Resource Discovery
JNCASR • 12 December 2025
Hosted by Dr. Abhishek Kumar (JNCASR)
Curated by Kishan (Founder, EDTGE Studio)
India’s technological ambitions—from clean energy and semiconductors to quantum technologies and advanced manufacturing—depend on secure access to critical minerals. Achieving this requires indigenous scientific and sensing capabilities that can locate, identify, and characterize mineral systems with precision and scale.
This symposium brings together experts from photonics, Earth sciences, precision instrumentation, mining operations, and deeptech venture creation to explore how advanced science can drive next-generation mineral discovery technologies. The program highlights how light, matter, geology, engineering, and industry needs converge to enable an India-first mineral sensing ecosystem.
Program Themes
✔ Photonics & Spectral Science
How VNIR, SWIR, LWIR, and terahertz light–matter interactions encode the spectral fingerprints used in mineral identification.
✔ Earth-Science & Mineral Systems
Geological fundamentals of mineral formation, alteration pathways, Himalayan terrains, structural mapping, and ground truthing of spectral data.
✔ Precision Optical & Quantum Sensing
Interferometry, cryogenic optics, pulsed magnets, atom interferometry, and other next-generation sensing tools that support high-resolution mineral detection and subsurface exploration.
✔ Mining Operations & Industry Perspective
How mining companies evaluate resources, deploy sensing tools, and integrate scientific advances into operational workflows and exploration pipelines.
✔ DeepTech Translation & Venture Creation
Lab-to-market pathways, indigenous instrument development, IP frameworks, and commercialization models essential for building India’s mineral sensing and deeptech ecosystem.
Together, these themes form a single narrative:
fundamental physics → geological reality → sensing technologies → operational deployment → national capability.
Speakers
Dr. Abhishek Kumar — JNCASR
Principal Investigator of the Meta Optics Lab, specializing in ultrafast optics, terahertz spectroscopy, and light–matter interaction. Host of the symposium.
Arsalan Ashraf — Precision Optics Expert, Meta Optics Lab (JNCASR)
Experimental physicist with expertise in precision optics, cryogenic systems, interferometry, pulsed magnetic platforms, and atom interferometry, offering insights into cutting-edge sensing instrumentation.
Sagar Damania — Field Geology & Mineral Systems Expert
Field geologist and educator with deep experience in Himalayan geology, mineral systems, terrain mapping, alteration studies, and training 200+ geoscientists. Provides crucial geological and ground-truthing perspective.
S. R. Prasanjit — Senior Manager (Geology), Odisha Mining Corporation Ltd
Mining-sector expert with experience in resource evaluation, operational geology, exploration workflows, and technology adoption within mining environments. Provides the industry and implementation viewpoint.
Kishan — Founder, EDTGE & Neurobit
Physics-trained entrepreneur working across photonics, medical devices, biotech, advanced sensing, and quantum-inspired technologies. Specializes in deeptech translation, advising global startups on commercialization and licensing. Curator of this symposium.
About EDTGE
EDTGE (Emerging DeepTech Growth Engine) is a venture-studio lab that transforms advanced scientific research into deployable deeptech companies. It builds ventures in photonics, quantum technologies, biotechnology, instrumentation, and AI-driven sensing, supporting the full journey from lab discovery to market-ready products.
This symposium welcomes participants across the scientific, industrial, and entrepreneurial ecosystem:
Scientific & Technical Communities
Researchers in photonics, optics, spectroscopy, and materials science
Earth scientists, field geologists, and mineral exploration teams
Engineers working in instrumentation, hardware, and quantum sensing
AI, spectral analytics, and geospatial intelligence researchers
Mining & Industrial Stakeholders
Mining companies, exploration teams, and operational geology units
Professionals from OMC, GSI, MECL, AMD, and private exploration firms
Mineral resource analysts and industrial R&D groups integrating sensing tools
Entrepreneurial & Investment Ecosystem
Deeptech founders, venture builders, technology leaders
Investors exploring opportunities in mining tech, photonics, sensing, quantum, and scientific instrumentation
Corporate venture arms and innovation scouts
Students & Emerging Talent
Graduate students, PhD researchers, and early-career scientists across physics, geology, materials, instrumentation, and AI
Anyone interested in critical minerals, advanced sensing, mining innovation, deeptech commercialization, and national capability building will find immense value here.
Call to Action
India stands at a decisive moment in shaping its scientific and technological sovereignty.
We invite participants to:
Engage deeply with the scientific and sensing approaches presented
Collaborate across disciplines to unlock breakthrough solutions
Explore pathways to develop indigenous sensing instruments
Identify commercialization and deployment opportunities in mining and exploration
Contribute to building India’s long-term mineral and deeptech capabilities
This symposium is not just a knowledge exchange—it is a collective step toward building India’s strategic deeptech future.
About JNCASR
Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR) is one of India’s premier research institutions, known for pioneering work in materials science, condensed matter physics, photonics, chemical biology, and interdisciplinary scientific frontiers.
It serves as a national hub for advanced research, innovation, and scientific training, bridging fundamental science with transformative technologies.