On August 20, 2024, the President of India Droupadi Murmu conferred the National Geoscience Awards (NGA) for 2023 of the Ministry of Mines on 21 Geoscientists during a ceremony organized at Rashtrapati Bhavan Cultural Centre in New Delhi, Delhi.
- It was attended by Union Minister Gangapuram Kishan Reddy, Ministry of Mines(MoM), Minister of State (MoS) Satish Chandra Dubey, MoM, Asit Saha, Director General(DG), Geological Survey of India (GSI) along with other senior officials.
About National Geoscience Awards 2023:
A total of 12 awards to 21 Geoscientists, including academicians and professionals from across the country, were honoured under three categories: National Geoscience Award for Lifetime Achievement, National Geoscience Award, and National Young Geoscientist Award.
| Category of Awards | Number of Awards |
|---|---|
| National Geoscience Award for Lifetime Achievement | 1 |
| National Geoscience Awards | 10 (3 Team Award + 7 individual Awards) |
| National Young Geoscientist Award | 1 |
| Total | 12 Awards (21 Awardees) |
Awardees for the National Geoscience Awards-2023:
1.National Geoscience Award for Lifetime Achievement:
It was bestowed upon Prof. Dhiraj Mohan Banerjee, an Emeritus Scientist at the Indian National Science Academy (INSA), New Delhi(Delhi) for his pioneering research on phosphorites, isotope geology, and organic geochemistry of Precambrian sedimentary rocks in India.
- His work has significantly contributed to our understanding of the Himalayas and the global genesis of phosphorites.
About Award:
It is given to an individual with an exceptionally high lifetime achievement for sustained and significant contributions in any of the disciplines mentioned in Clause-2 of NGA Regulation 2022.
- The award carries a cash prize of Rs. 5 lakh and a certificate.
2.National Young Geoscientist Award:
It was awarded to Dr. Ashutosh Pandey, Assistant Professor at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.
- The award acknowledged his groundbreaking research on the geodynamic evolution of the Eastern Dharwar Craton and a new model for the origin of Paleoproterozoic Lesser Himalayan mafic rocks.
About Award:
It is for outstanding research work in any field of geosciences to an individual below 35 years of age as on the 31st December of the preceding year.
- Each award carries a cash prize of Rs. 3 lakh and a certificate. In the case of a team award, the award money will be equally divided.
3.National Geoscience Awards:
National Geoscience Award (10 Awards) shall be given to individuals or team(s) in recognition of meritorious contribution in any of the disciplines mentioned in Clause-2 of NGA Regulation 2022. The award is presented for various fields under 4 different sections,
- SECTION- I – Mineral Discovery & Exploration
- SECTION- II – Mining, Mineral Beneficiation and Sustainable Mineral Development
- SECTION- III – Basic Geosciences
- SECTION- IV – Applied Geosciences
The award carries a cash prize of Rs. 1 Lakh plus a research grant of Rs. 5 Lakh spread over 5 years subject to satisfactory yearly progress and a certificate.
| Awardees | Category |
|---|---|
| National Geoscience Awards 2023 | |
| Section– I – Mineral Discovery & Exploration | |
| Field (i): Mineral Discovery & Exploration (excluding fossil fuels) This field is of economic and/or strategic importance and application of innovative techniques. | |
| GSI team comprising of Abhishek Kumar Shukla, Senior Geologist Smt. Danira Stephen D’silva, Senior Geologist Parsuram Behera, Director Dr. M.N. Parveen, Director | Team Award |
| GSI team comprising of Sanjay Singh, Director Shailendra Kumar Prajapati, Senior Geologist Shashank Shekhar Singh, Geologist Kevinguzo Chasie, Geologist | Team Award |
| Field (ii): Coal, Lignite and Coal Bed Methane Discovery & Exploration of economic and/or strategic importance and application of innovative techniques and Oil, Natural Gas, Shale Gas and Gas Hydrates Discovery & Exploration (including project development and planning leading to exploitation of resources and reservoir management) | |
| Dr. Pawan Dewangan, Senior Principal Scientist Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR)- National Institute of Oceanography, Goa | Individual Award |
| SECTION- II – Mining, Mineral Beneficiation and Sustainable Mineral Development | |
| Field: (iii) Mining Technology including development and application of new methods and technologies, research & development. Conservation of mineral resources, systematic mine planning, mine safety, mine fires, mine hazards, mine reclamation & rehabilitation. | |
| Dr. Harsh Kumar Verma, Senior Principal Scientist, CSIR-Central Institute of Mining and Fuel Research, Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh. | Individual Award |
| Field (iv): Mineral Beneficiation and Sustainable Mineral Development -Mineral Beneficiation includes mineral processing, project development for utilization of low-grade ores & production of value-added mineral products and mineral economics. -Sustainable Mineral Development includes mine closure, project development, institutional development and capacity building. | |
| Prof. Mangadoddy Narasimha, Mineral Processing & Multi-Phase Flow lab, IIT (Indian Institute of Technology), Hyderabad, Telangana | Individual Award |
| SECTION- III – Basic Geosciences | |
| Field (v): Basic Geosciences It includes Stratigraphy, Structural Geology, Paleontology, Geodynamics, Geochemistry, Geochronology and Isotope Geology, Ocean Development (Oceanography and Marine Geology), Glaciology and Arctic & Antarctic Research including Geo-Scientific Expeditions; and science surveys/baseline geoscience data collection including Geological and Geochemical mapping & survey, and Systematic Thematic mapping. | |
| Dr. Rahul Mohan, Scientist F, National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR), Goa | Individual Award |
| GSI team comprising Krishna Kumar, Superintending Geologist Dr. Pragya Pandey, Geologist Triparna Ghosh, Geologist Debasish Bhattacharya, Deputy DG | Team Award |
| SECTION- IV – Applied Geosciences | |
| Field (vi): Applied Geology It include Engineering Geology, Geothermal Energy, Seismotectonics, Geostatistics, Remote Sensing and Geo-Information System; Groundwater Exploration; Geo-Environmental Studies relating to mining, urban, industrial, coastal and desert management, paleoclimate, paleoenvironment, medical geology, climate change and studies related to their impact on ecosystem | |
| Dr. Vikram Vishal, Associate Professor, Department of Earth Sciences IIT Bombay, Maharashtra | Individual Award |
| Field: (vii) Geophysics / Applied Geophysics: New technologies in geophysical exploration, application of geophysical methods, geo-magnetism, geophysical survey techniques and instrumentation. | |
| Dr. Bantu Prasanta Kumar Patro, Chief Principal Scientist,CSIR, National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI), Hyderabad, Telangana | Individual Award |
| Field (viii):Natural Hazard Investigations including scientific studies related to natural hazards such as earthquakes, landslides, floods and tsunamis. | |
| Prof. Srimath Tirumala Gudemella Raghu Kanth, Professor, IIT Madras, Tamil Nadu (TN) | Individual Award |
About National Geoscience Awards (NGA):
Established in 1966 by the MoM, NGA acknowledges the exceptional individuals and organizations
that have demonstrated excellence, dedication and innovation in Geosciences.
- The awards are presented in the field of Mineral Discovery and Exploration, Basic Geosciences, Applied Geosciences and Mining, Mineral Beneficiation and Sustainable Mineral Development.
- Click Here for Full Information about NGA
Recent Related News:
i.The President of India Droupadi Murmu, in exercise of the powers conferred by the clause (1) of Article 217 of the Constitution of India, appointed Justice Sheel Nagu as the 66th Chief Justice (CJ) of the High Court (HC) of Punjab and Haryana with effect from the date he assumes charge of his office.
ii.Droupadi Murmu, President of India, has renamed the Durbar Hall and Ashok Hall of the Rashtrapati Bhavan as ‘Ganatantra Mandap’ (Republic Hall) and ‘Ashok Mandap’ respectively.
About Geological Survey of India (GSI):
Director General(DG)– Asit Saha
Headquartered– Kolkata, West Bengal (WB)
Establishment– 1851
