Union Minister Shri Kiren Rijiju launches several service-centric initiatives to mark the occasion
New Delhi, Jul 28, 2023, PIB
The Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) celebrated its 17th foundation day at its Prithvi Bhavan headquarters in New Delhi today. The Union Minister, MoES, Shri Kiren Rijiju, launched several citizen-centric initiatives to mark this occasion. The Honorable Union Minister lauded the ministry’s efforts and highlighted that “our Hon’ble PM envisions the country to become a developed nation by 2047. To fulfil this vision, every citizen and institution, including our ministry, will have to contribute substantially in a focused and targeted manner. Several possibilities lie ahead, and we must rise to the occasion”.
The MoES is mandated to provide services for weather and climate, ocean and coastal state, hydrology, seismology, and natural hazards; to explore and harness marine living and non-living resources in a sustainable manner for the country; to explore the three poles of the Earth (Arctic, Antarctic and Himalayas); and explore and harness resources of the deep oceans. The MoES officially came into being in 2008 by re-organising the then Ministry of Ocean Development, formerly known as the Department of Ocean Development (set up in 1981). Highlighting the role of MoES and lauding the scientists, Dr M Ravichandran, Secretary, MoES, said, “We must remain steadfast in our pursuit of knowledge, innovation and sustainability. The challenges ahead of us are powerful and immense; climate change, natural disasters, marine pollution, and depleting resources, to name a few. However, I am confident that with our strong foundation, energetic youth, dedicated research and spirit of collaboration and cooperation, we will continue to make significant strides in addressing these challenges and securing a better future for our planet”.
The MoES foundation day celebrations included popular science talks by Directors of MoES institutes, a virtual interaction of young students with scientists posted at India’s Antarctic station Bharati, and the launch of multiple citizen-centric initiatives.
The directors of MoES institutes (National Institute of Ocean Technology, Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research, and Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services) gave popular science lectures elaborating the ministry’s vision and activities, especially under the Deep Ocean Mission, Monsoon Mission, Arctic exploration and collaborative research, and deep-drilling to understand reservoir-triggered earthquakes by the Borehole Geophysics Research Laboratory (BGRL).
The talks gave the audience a glimpse of India’s prowess in developing state-of-the-art technologies for exploring, studying, and harnessing deep-sea resources; in improving the weather and climate observation and forecasting capability; in strengthening the country’s presence at the Earth’s poles; and working in new frontiers of geophysics.
The Union Minister for MoES Shri Kiren Rijiju launched the following initiatives to mark the 17th foundation day celebrations of MoES.