The CSIR-National Geophysical Research Institute (CSIR-NGRI) is located in which city?
- (a)Hyderabad
- (b)Bengaluru
- (c)New Delhi
- (d)Kolkata
Correct — A, Hyderabad. CSIR-NGRI is a constituent laboratory of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, established in 1961 and located on Uppal Road, Hyderabad. It is India's principal geophysics laboratory, working on the structure of the Earth's interior, earthquake hazard and seismology, groundwater exploration and management, and geophysical exploration for minerals and hydrocarbons.
- (b)Bengaluru — Bengaluru hosts other major science institutions — CSIR's National Aerospace Laboratories (CSIR-NAL) and the Indian Institute of Science among them — but not NGRI.
- (c)New Delhi — The tempting trap: CSIR's own headquarters is in New Delhi (as is CSIR-NPL, the National Physical Laboratory), but its geophysics lab sits in Hyderabad.
- (d)Kolkata — Kolkata is the headquarters of the Geological Survey of India and home to CSIR-CGCRI — earth-science-sounding but different organisations from NGRI.
CSIR, set up in 1942 with its headquarters in New Delhi, runs a nationwide network of about 37 laboratories, each named for its discipline rather than its city — which is exactly why exams test the lab-to-city mapping. NGRI is the geophysics node of that network: it studies the Earth from the surface downwards using seismic, gravity, magnetic and electrical methods, supporting earthquake hazard assessment, groundwater location and mineral and hydrocarbon exploration.
Build the map city-wise instead of lab-wise. Hyderabad alone holds NGRI (geophysics), CSIR-CCMB (cell and molecular biology), CSIR-IICT (chemical technology), CDFD (DNA fingerprinting) and ICMR's National Institute of Nutrition — so a question about an unfamiliar national research institute in the south is very often answered by Hyderabad. Separately, never assume a 'national' institute must be in the capital.
- CSIR-NGRI: established 1961, located on Uppal Road, Hyderabad; a constituent laboratory of CSIR
- Focus areas: deep-earth structure, seismology and earthquake hazard, groundwater exploration, mineral and hydrocarbon exploration geophysics, geoenvironmental studies
- CSIR itself was set up in 1942, is headquartered in New Delhi and runs a network of about 37 laboratories
- Other national institutes in Hyderabad: CSIR-CCMB, CSIR-IICT, CDFD and ICMR's National Institute of Nutrition
- The Geological Survey of India, often confused with NGRI, is headquartered in Kolkata
- Assuming any institute with 'National' in its name is in New Delhi
- Confusing NGRI with the National Center for Seismology (New Delhi) or the Geological Survey of India (Kolkata)
- Mixing up CSIR labs in the same city — CCMB, IICT and NGRI are all in Hyderabad but do very different work
Both exams favour institute-to-city recall — MPPSC as a direct one-liner, UPSC historically as a match-the-list or 'which pairs are correctly matched' question.
Match List I (Institute) with List II (Located At) and select the correct answer using the codes given below: List I (A) Indian Institute of Geomagnetism (B) International Advanced Research Centre for Powder Metallurgy and New Materials (C) Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History (D) Tropical Forestry Research Institutes List II 1. Coimbatore 2. Mumbai 3. Jabalpur 4. Hyderabad Codes: A B C D
- (a) 2 3 1 4
- (b) 1 4 2 3
- (c) 2 4 1 3
- (d) 1 3 2 4
Answer(c) A-2, B-4, C-1, D-3
Same concept — mapping earth-science and specialised research institutes to their host cities, including Hyderabad, exactly what the NGRI question tests.
Which of the following pairs are correctly matched? Institute — Location 1. National Centre for Cell Science : Mysore 2. Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics : Hyderabad 3. National Brain Research Centre : Gurgaon Select the correct answer using the code given below:
- (a) 1, 2 and 3
- (b) 1 and 2 only
- (c) 2 and 3 only
- (d) 1 and 3 only
Answer(c) 2 and 3 only
Institute-location matching again, with Hyderabad as one of the correct pairings — the same recall skill MPPSC 2026 asks for in a single-line format.
- practice — not a real PYQ
The headquarters of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) is located at:
- (a)Mumbai
- (b)New Delhi
- (c)Hyderabad
- (d)Bengaluru
Answer(b) New Delhi — CSIR was set up in 1942 and is headquartered in New Delhi, though its laboratories are spread across the country.
- practice — not a real PYQ
The headquarters of the Geological Survey of India is located at:
- (a)Kolkata
- (b)Dehradun
- (c)Nagpur
- (d)Hyderabad
Answer(a) Kolkata — the GSI, founded in 1851, has its headquarters in Kolkata with regional offices elsewhere.