¨
President Droupadi Murmu
presented the National Geoscience Awards (NGA) 2024 on 26th September 2025.
¨
Union Minister for Coal
& Mines, Shri G. Kishan Reddy, attended the award ceremony.
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The National Geoscience
Awards were established in 1966 by the Ministry of Mines.
¨
They are among the oldest
and most respected honours in the field of geosciences in India.
¨
The awards were
previously known as the National Mineral Awards until they were renamed in
2009.
¨
Their purpose is to
acknowledge exceptional contributions in geoscience fields.
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This includes mineral
exploration, mining technology, and both applied and fundamental geoscience
research.
¨
The awards are given each
year in three categories.
¨
These are the Lifetime
Achievement Award, the National Geoscience Award, and the Young Geoscientist
Award.
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In 2024, the Ministry
received 208 nominations across these categories.
¨
A detailed three-stage
selection process was carried out. Twelve awards were finalized after
evaluation.
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These include nine
individual awards and three team awards.
¨
In total, 20
geoscientists have been recognized this year.
¨
Prof. Shyam Sundar Rai
received the Lifetime Achievement Award.
¨
He is a Senior Scientist
with INSA and a Visiting Professor at IISER Pune.
¨
Shri Susobhan Neogi
received the Young Geoscientist Award. He is a Senior Geologist at the
Geological Survey of India.
¨
His work in geosciences
has been recognized as outstanding.