The objective of the programme is to assess the potential of geothermal resources in the country and to harness these resources for power generation and for direct heat applications for space heating, greenhouse cultivation, cooking, etc.

Projects undertaken by the Ministry in the past have  demonstrated the applications of geothermal fluids for small-scale power generation and in poultry farming and greenhouse cultivation.

Magnetotelluric (MT) investigations to delineate sub-surface, geo-electric structures and evaluate their geothermal significance have been carried out by the National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI), Hyderabad in Tatapani geothermal area in Chhattisgarh  and for Puga geothermal area in Ladakh Region, Jammu and Kashmir.

Similar studies are in progress for geothermal fields in the States of Surajkund in Jharkhand, Badrinath-Tapovan in Uttaranchal and Satluj-Beas and Parvati Valleys in Himachal Pradesh.

National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC), with the support from Ministry, prepared feasibility report for  development of geothermal fields in Puga, Ladakh region of Jammu & Kashmir and Tatapani geothermal field in the Surguja district of Chhattisgarh.