On September 19, 2019 the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Coal and Mines, Shri Pralhad Joshi conferred The National Geoscience Awards for the year 2018 in New Delhi to 22 scientists for their outstanding contributions in geoscience fields, mining and allied areas in the country.
Key points
i. Award areas: The awards were given in 10 disciplines covering the areas such as Mineral exploration, Groundwater exploration, mining technology, Mineral beneficiation, Sustainable mineral development, Basic and applied geosciences, Geo-environmental studies and Natural hazards investigation.
ii. Discussions: The geoscientific community were called upon to bring up with innovative ideas in finding mineral resources due to its rising demand. The aim of increasing the mineral production by 200% in 7 years through National Mineral Policy 2019 was discussed.
iii. Geophysical mapping programme: Through the National Aero-geophysical Mapping Program covering 27 lakh line km of Obvious Geological Potential by the GSI (Geological Survey of India) the mineral potential zones are expected to be identified to lead the auctionable mineral blocks. The GSI has doubled its exploring activity with 400 mineral projects in the current field season.
iv. Members present: Mines secretary Anil Mukhim, Shri S. N. Meshram, Director General(DG) of GSI, and other officials were present in the event.
v. Award background:The award was first initiated in the year 1966 by the ministry of mines and has awarded over 820 geoscientists and engineers till date.
Awards:
| Name | Award | Awarded for |
| Prof. Syed Wajih Ahmad Naqvi,Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) | Award for Excellence | Global contributions in the field of aquatic biogeochemical research |
| Dr. SohiniGanguly, Goa University | Young Scientist Award-2018 | Significant work in the fields of petrology, volcanology and geochemistry. |
About Ministry of Mines:
Headquarters- New Delhi.
Constituency of Prahlad Joshi- Dharwad, Karnataka.