President Droupadi Murmu Presents National Geoscience Awards 2024 at Rashtrapati Bhavan.

The President of India, Smt. Droupadi Murmu, recently presented the National Geoscience Awards-2024 at Rashtrapati Bhavan Cultural Centre, New Delhi, recognizing outstanding contributions to geoscience. The ceremony highlighted India’s mineral potential, reforms in the mining sector, and the pivotal role of geoscientists in sustainable national development.

      - The awards ceremony was held on 26th September 2025 at Rashtrapati Bhavan Cultural Centre and was attended by Shri G. Kishan Reddy (Union Minister of Coal & Mines), Shri Piyush Goyal (Secretary, Ministry of Mines), Shri Asit Saha (Director General, Geological Survey of India), senior officials, and distinguished guests.

      - Instituted in 1966 by the Ministry of Mines, the National Geoscience Awards honor individuals and teams for excellence in mineral discovery, exploration, fundamental and applied geosciences, and mining. In 2024, 20 eminent geoscientists were recognized with 12 awards under three categories – Lifetime Achievement (01), National Young Geoscientist Award (01), and 10 National Geoscience Awards.

      - The Lifetime Achievement Award 2024 was conferred on Prof. Shyam Sundar Rai, Senior Scientist at INSA and Visiting Professor at IISER Pune, for groundbreaking research in Solid Earth and Seismology across India. The National Young Geoscientist Award 2024 was presented to Shri Susobhan Neogi, Senior Geologist at GSI, for pioneering tectonic studies of Meghalaya, Jharkhand, Bundelkhand, and supercontinent assembly.

Main Point :-   (i) Shri Piyush Goyal highlighted MMDR Act reforms for transparent mineral auctions, launched the National Critical Mineral Mission and National Geoscience Data Repository (NGDR), and noted GSI’s focus on critical minerals for clean energy and strategic needs.

      (ii) Union Minister G. Kishan Reddy emphasized geoscience’s role in achieving Viksit Bharat 2047, celebrated GSI’s 175th year, highlighted 500+ mineral blocks identified, and urged young geoscientists to focus on sustainability, private participation, and global collaboration.

(iii) President Droupadi Murmu highlighted minerals’ importance from the Stone Age to modern clean energy, urging geoscientists to pursue sustainable mining, ocean-bed resource use, and indigenous Rare Earth Elements (REEs) technology for smartphones, EVs, defence, and security.