Analysis of teleseismicP-wave residuals observed at 15 seismograph stations operated in the Deccan volcanic province (DVP) in west central India points to the existence of a large, deep anomalous region in the upper mantle where the velocity is a few per cent higher than in the surrounding region. The seismic stations were operated in three deployments together with a reference station on precambrian granite at Hyderabad and another common station at Poona. The first group of stations lay along a west-northwesterly profile from Hyderabad through Poona to Bhatsa. The second group roughly formed an L-shaped profile from Poona to Hyderabad through Dharwar and Hospet. The third group of stations lay along a northwesterly profile from Hyderabad to Dhule through Aurangabad and Latur. Relative residuals computed with respect to Hyderabad at all the stations showed two basic features: a large almost linear variation from approximately +1s for teleseisms from the north to—1s for those from the southeast at the western stations, and persistance of the pattern with diminishing magnitudes towards the east. Preliminary ray-plotting and three-dimensional inversion of theP-wave residual data delineate the presence of a 600 km long approximately N−S trending anomalous region of high velocity (1–4% contrast) from a depth of about 100 km in the upper mantle encompassing almost the whole width of the DVP. Inversion ofP-wave relative residuals reveal the existence of two prominent features beneath the DVP. The first is a thick high velocity zone (1–4% faster) extending from a depth of about 100 km directly beneath most of the DVP. The second feature is a prominent low velocity region which coincides with the westernmost part of the DVP. A possible explanation for the observed coherent high velocity anomaly is that it forms the root of the lithosphere which coherently translates with the continents during plate motions, an architecture characteristic of precambrian shields. The low velocity zone appears to be related to the rift systems (anomaly 28, 65 Ma) which provided the channel for the outpouring of Deccan basalts at the close of the Cretaceous period.

Analysis of teleseismic waves usingS-P converted phases, travel time-terms and residual travel times point to the presence of an anomalous thick (4—5 km thicker) low velocity (−3%) crust beneath Kodaikanal (KOD) on granulites characterized by an oriented inhomogeneity inferred as possibly due to Mylonites in contrast to the nature of crust beneath the adjoining precambrian granite-gneiss terrain. The observed seismic signatures in the South India granulites (represented by KOD) offer an opportunity to discriminate between the competing hypotheses of tectonic thickening and magmatic underplating to explain the origin of the granulites of South India. This analysis lends support to the hypothesis of a continent-continent collision origin for the granulites in the study region.

To provide reliable and quick estimation of magnitude for moderate to large earthquakes at regional distances, two magnitude relations specific to the peninsular shield have been proposed based on long-period magnitude ($M_{A}$) and energy magnitude ($M_{E}$), using broadband velocity data of 23 regional events recorded at 18-station seismic network in the state of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, India. $M_{A}$ is estimated using amplitude of filtered (0.03–0.08 Hz) broadband velocity seismograms, while $M_{E}$ is estimated based on radiated energy using broadband velocity spectra. It is observed that $M_{A}$ for larger events with $M_{w}$ >7.2 saturates, whilst $M_{E}$ does not suffer from saturation even for larger events. Thus, it is apparent that these two magnitude relations can provide magnitude estimates without saturation for all moderate to large regional earthquakes, which, in turn, can provide a homogeneous catalogue for moderate to large regional Indian earthquakes. The data transmission from remote stations to the central server at CSIR-National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI) is quasi-real-time since it is connected by GPRS and VSAT. Using the proposed region specific magnitude relationships it becomes possible to estimate reliable magnitudes for moderate to large regional Indian earthquakes ($M_{w} \leq 7.2$) within 30 min of the occurrence of an event.