President Pranab Mukherjee confers prestigious National Geoscience Awards for 2013 upon twenty three geoscientists

OREANDA-NEWS.  In a Presentation Ceremony the President Shri Pranab Mukherjee gave away the prestigious National Geoscience Awards 2013 at Cultural Center, Rashtrapati Bhawan, New Delhi today. Shri Pranab Mukherjee, President of India conferred the awards in the presence of Shri Narendra Singh Tomar, Minister of Steel & Mines, the Secretary, Ministry of Mines & Chairman Award Making Authority Dr. Anup k Pujari, Secretary Ministry of Earth Sciences Dr. Shailesh Nayak senior officials of the Ministry of Mines and other Ministries and Heads of organizations related to geoscientific fields.

Speaking on the occasion, the President congratulated the recipients of National Geoscience Awards and said that they have contributed to the growth of geo-sciences in our country through their inspirational and dedicated work.

The President said that India, with a unique geological diversity, has played a significant role in the evolution of geo-sciences. India’s mineral and mining sector faces an acid test for sustaining the growth potential of our economy. Our mineral endowment poses both a challenge and an opportunity for geo-scientists. The Government is committed to promote research and development in this area. The geo-scientists should evolve an efficient work plan for development, conservation and augmentation of these precious mineral resources. They should put forward innovative ideas to achieve sustainable development of our country and at the same time address societal concerns.

The President said that the adverse impact of ecological degradation and climate change has emerged as a major concern the world over. No part of the globe is today immune from the menace of environmental disaster. There is a need for more objective research by the geo-scientific community in the field of disaster management to mitigate environmental hazards and ensure greater resilience to such adversities. Our geo-scientific organizations and other institutes have, over the last few decades, invested heavily in analytical and instrumental infrastructure. By making good use of these instruments, our scientists should accomplish significant outcomes to shape geo-science of the future. He expressed confidence that with dedication and enthusiasm, our geo-scientists would beat all odds and come out with flying colours.

The National Geoscience Awards are the prestigious awards in the field of geosciences in the country. Earlier known as National Mineral Awards, these were instituted in the year 1966 by the Ministry of Mines, Government of India. In the year 2009, these were rechristened as National Geoscience Awards (NGA) and their scope was expanded. The objective of these awards is to honor individuals and teams of scientists for their extraordinary achievements and outstanding contributions in the field of fundamental / applied geosciences, mining and allied areas to provide incentive for striving towards excellence. Any citizen of India who is a professionally qualified geoscientist / engineer / technologist / academician with significant contribution in any field of earth sciences is eligible for the award. The awards are conferred on persons/teams who, in the opinion of the Award Making Authority, have made outstanding contributions in the particular field of their endeavor with due consideration to the totality of the achievements of the nominee(s).

The award includes award money, a certificate, a trophy and a citation.

Nominations are invited annually for NGA under three categories viz. Award for Excellence (one no.), National Geoscience Awards (19 nos. in 16 fields) and Young Researcher Award (one no.).  The Award for Excellence is conferred on an outstanding geoscientist / engineer / technologist / academician with an exceptionally high lifetime achievement for a sustained and significant contribution in any of the 16 disciplines. The National Geoscience Awards are given to persons/teams in recognition of their meritorious contribution in any of the 16 disciplines.

The selection of the awardees is a three tier process involving screening by expert committees at two levels and the final selection by the Award Making Authority, chaired by the Secretary to Government of India, Ministry of Mines.

Till date i.e. NGA-2012, 698 geoscientists have been conferred with the National Geoscience Awards.

For the year 2013, twenty three geoscientists are being given the awards in eight fields covering five awards for Mineral Discovery and Exploration field, five awards for Coal, Lignite and Coal Bed Methane Discovery and Exploration field, three awards for Groundwater Exploration field, two awards for Mining Technology field, two awards for Geo-Environmental studies and one award each for Mineral Beneficiation field, Sustainable Mineral Development field, Basic Geosciences field, Ocean Development field and Geo-Information System field. Dr. Indra Bir Singh, a 72 year Professor from Lucknow University is being conferred with Award of Excellence for outstanding contributions made by him in the field of Sedimentary Geology. 

The list of the awardees of NGA-2013 is given below: