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National Geoscience Awards 2024 were conferred by President Droupadi Murmu on Sept 26, 2025, at Rashtrapati Bhavan. A total of 20 geoscientists received 12 awards for excellence in mineral discovery, mining, and geosciences. The President stressed India’s self-reliance in Rare Earth Elements (REEs)
National Geoscience Awards 2024: The President of India, Smt. Droupadi Murmu, presented the National Geoscience Awards-2024 on September 26, 2025 at a special ceremony held at the Rashtrapati Bhavan Cultural Centre today. The awards recognize outstanding contributions in the field of geosciences and celebrate innovations that support sustainable development.
The President of India, Smt. Droupadi Murmu, will confer the prestigious National Geoscience Awards 2024 at a ceremonial function to be held at the Rashtrapati Bhavan Cultural Centre, New Delhi, on 26th September 2025. The event will also be graced by Shri G. Kishan Reddy, Union Minister for Coal & Mines, and Shri Satish Chandra Dubey, Minister of State for Coal & Mines.
Instituted in 1966 by the Ministry of Mines, Government of India, the National Geoscience Awards (earlier known as National Mineral Awards until 2009) are among the oldest and most prestigious honours in the geosciences sector.
The National Geoscience Awards 2024 aim to honour individuals and teams for outstanding contributions in mineral discovery, mining technology, mineral beneficiation, basic and applied geosciences.
For the year 2024, the Ministry received 208 nominations across three categories. After a rigorous three-stage screening, 12 awards (09 individual + 03 team awards) have been finalized and will be conferred on 20 geoscientists.
Image Source- PIB
National Geoscience Awards 2024 List are as follows;
| Category | Field / Section | Awardee(s) | Organization / Affiliation | Type of Award |
| National Geoscience Award for Lifetime Achievement 2024 | – | Prof. Shyam Sundar Rai | Senior Scientist, INSA & Visiting Professor, IISER Pune | Individual |
| National Geoscience Award 2024 | Section I: Mineral Discovery & Exploration | Team 1: Shri Haraman Mahanta, Shri Utpol Kumar Das, Shri Syam Kumar Sangamreddi, Shri Sai Kumar Samala | Geological Survey of India (GSI) | Team |
| Field (i) – Mineral Discovery & Exploration (excluding fossil fuels) | Team 2: Shri Navjeet Singh Nayyar, Shri Amit Kumar, Ms. Tripti Baba, Dr. Sandeep Kumar | Geological Survey of India (GSI) | Team | |
| Field (ii) – Coal, Lignite, CBM, Oil & Gas Discovery & Exploration | Team 3: Smt. Sradhanjali Subhadarshini, Shri Supriya Chakraborty, Shri Jaydip Mukherjee | Geological Survey of India (GSI) | Team | |
| National Geoscience Award 2024 | Section II: Mining Technology & Mineral Beneficiation | Dr. Jai Krishna Pandey | Chief Scientist, CSIR-CIMFR, Dhanbad | Individual |
| Field (iv) – Mineral Beneficiation & Sustainable Mineral Development | Dr. Ranjeet Kumar Singh | Principal Scientist, CSIR-NML, Jamshedpur | Individual | |
| National Geoscience Award 2024 | Section III: Basic Geosciences | Dr. V.V.S.S. Sarma | Chief Scientist, CSIR-NIO, Visakhapatnam | Individual |
| Field (v) – Basic Geosciences | Dr. Mekala Ram Mohan | Chief Scientist, CSIR-NGRI, Hyderabad | Individual | |
| National Geoscience Award 2024 | Section IV: Applied Geosciences | Prof. Ghulam Jeelani | Professor & Dean, School of Earth & Environmental Sciences, University of Kashmir | Individual |
| Field (vii) – Applied Geophysics | Prof. Sanjit Kumar Pal | Professor & Head, Dept. of Applied Geophysics, IIT (ISM), Dhanbad | Individual | |
| Field (viii) – Natural Hazard Investigation | Prof. Mukat Lal Sharma | Professor, Earthquake Engineering & Head, International Center of Excellence for Dams, IIT Roorkee | Individual | |
| National Young Geoscientist Award 2024 | – | Shri Susobhan Neogi | Senior Geologist, Geological Survey of India | Individual |
Highlighting the strategic significance of Rare Earth Elements (REEs), the President said they form the backbone of modern technology—powering smartphones, electric vehicles, defense systems, and clean energy solutions. She emphasized that in the current geopolitical context, India must strive for self-reliance in REE production to achieve the vision of a developed India and strengthen national security.
Rare Earth Elements (REEs) are not rare due to scarcity but because of the complexity of refining and processing them. She stressed that developing indigenous technologies for this purpose would be a major contribution to India’s national interest.
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National Geoscience Awards 2024 recognize outstanding contributions in mineral discovery, mining, exploration, and geoscience innovations supporting sustainable development.
The National Geoscience Awards 2024 were presented by the President of India, Smt. Droupadi Murmu, at Rashtrapati Bhavan Cultural Centre, New Delhi.
A total of 20 geoscientists received the awards across 12 categories, including 9 individual and 3 team awards.
The National Geoscience Awards 2024 were conferred on 26th September 2025 at a ceremonial function held at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Rare Earth Elements (REEs) are important for modern technology like smartphones, EVs, and defense systems. Developing indigenous REE technologies strengthens India’s self-reliance and national security.
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