Recent findings from Proterozoic basins of Peninsular India and roadmap ahead

Indian Proterozoic basins (traditionally referred to as the ‘Purana basins’) attracted attention of sedimentologists for decades and studies undertaken have benefited in our understanding near surface processes (including both continental and shallow marine realm), for the time period in the Earth history when continents were without land plants and subaquatic surfaces were proliferated by microbial mats in absence of grazers and burrowers. Additionally, these basin successions provided scope to decode several irreversible changes in the atmosphere, hydrosphere and biosphere that the time period had witnessed. The aim of present contribution is to assimilate data generated from the basin fills viz. Vindhyan, Mahakoshal, Bayana, Cuddapah, Kurnool, and Bhima in last four years (2020–2023) and to provide a roadmap for future work. Several worth-mentioning outcomes in recent past can be noted such as addition of new geochronological data (in Vindhyan, Mahakoshal, Kurnool basins), revision of stratigraphy (Gulcheru Formation, Cuddpah Basin), new taxonomical attribution of microfossils (Owk shale Formation, Kurnool Basin), new geochemical and paleohydrological data (Vindhyan, Bayana, Kurnool Basin successions), and depositional models for different Formations from the basin successions.