The Indian Peninsular Shield is an assembly of several Archaean to Early Proterozoic cratons separated by high-grade granulite facies mobile belts that evolved over a protracted geological history. These cratons also act as basements to several mid- to late Proterozoic platformal intracratonic basins. Dharwar, Bastar, Bundelkhand, Singhbhum and Aravalli cratons are some of the major cratonic blocks of the Indian Shield. Godavari rift separates the Dharwar and Bastar Cratons while the Mahanadi Rift separates the Bastar and Singhbhum cratons. Dharwar craton of the southern Indian shield is also bounded by the Southern Granulite Terrain to the south and the Eastern Ghats Granulite Terrain to the East. Central Indian Tectonic Zone is another major geological unit that separates the Bastar and Singhbhum cratons from the Bundelkhand and Aravalli Cratons.

Our studies on the Indian Shield is largely aimed at understanding the deep geophysical structure and application of geological, geochemical and geochronological studies in understanding the evolution and amalgamation of different cratonic blocks. Several multidisciplinary studies were carried out over the last several decades. Deep Seismic Sounding along with gravity and magnetic studies were carried out along large transects such as Kavali-Udipi, Kasargod-Kurnool, Kuppam-Palani, Vattalakundu-Kanyakumari, Perur-Chikmagalur, Rewa-Shahdol, Konark-Mukundpur, Pardip-Kawadbandh, Jagannathpur-Pardip, Nagaur-Jhalawar, Seoni-Katangi-Kalimati etc. Several Magnetotelluric profiles across several key tectonic features were also carried out to image the deep conductive zones of the crust and lithosphere. Extensive geochemical and geochronological data support the geophysical observations in establishing the vertical and lateral heterogeneities within the curst and contiguous lithosphere of these cratons. Further, studies on stromatolites and Banded Iron Formations from the different cratonic blocks further extend our understanding of the early redox evolution of the Earth. These studies also provide comparisons to other global cratons amply supported by Paleomagnetic data.