National Geoscience Awards -2022

• The Ministry of Mines is seeking nominations for the National Geoscience Awards (NGA)-2022 for contributions to fundamental/applied geosciences, mining, and related fields.
• The Earth Sciences are collectively referred to as geoscience. Atmospheric sciences, geology, hydrology, mineralogy, petrology, pedology, and oceanography are all examples of geoscientists.

What are the Awards' main points?

• It was established in 1966 by the Ministry of Mines and is given annually.
• It is a program designed to encourage geoscientists to strive for excellence.
• These awards are open to any Indian citizen who has made a significant contribution in any of the fields listed
• Mineral Discovery and Exploration Mining, Mineral Beneficiation, and Sustainable Mineral Development are all broad disciplines.

Geosciences Fundamentals Applied Geosciences

National Geoscience Award for Lifetime Achievement:

• The Award for Lifetime Achievement shall be given to an individual who has made exceptional lifetime contributions in any of the disciplines listed in Clause-2 of NGA Regulation 2022.
• The award comes with a cash prize of Rs. 5,00,000/- as well as a certificate.

National Geoscience Award:

• The National Geoscience Award is given to individuals or teams in recognition of their meritorious contributions in any of the disciplines listed in Clause-2 of NGA Regulation 2022.
• Each award comes with a cash prize of Rs. 3,00,000/- as well as a certificate. In the case of a team award, the prize money will be divided equally.

National Young Geoscientist Award:

• The Young Geoscientist Award will be given to an individual under the age of 35 on December 31, 2021, for outstanding research work in any field of geosciences.
• The award includes a cash prize of Rs. 1,000,000, as well as a research grant of Rs. 5,00,000/- spread over five years and a certificate.

Read also: Mines and Minerals of India

Himalayan Region Early Warning System

• Recently, the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), and National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI) began field studies to establish an Early-Warning System in Himalayan states against major and sudden floods, rockslides, landslides, glacier lake bursts, and avalanches.

What are Early Warning Systems?

• The Early Warning System is an integrated system of hazard monitoring, forecasting and prediction, disaster risk assessment, communication and preparedness activities systems and processes that enable individuals, communities, governments, businesses, and others to take timely action to reduce disaster risks prior to hazardous events.
• It aids in the reduction of harm to people and damage to assets in advance of impending hazards such as storms, tsunamis, droughts, and heatwaves, to name a few.
• Multi-hazard early warning systems address multiple hazards that may occur independently or concurrently.
• One of the seven global targets set by the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 is to increase the availability of multi-hazard early warning systems and disaster risk information.

What are India's Disaster Management Efforts?

NDRF establishment:

• India has become more adept at mitigating and responding to all types of disasters, including the formation of the National Disaster Reaction Force (NDRF), the world's largest rapid response force dedicated to disaster response.
• The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), headed by the Prime Minister of India, was established as the apex body for disaster management in India. The Disaster Management Act of 2005 requires the establishment of NDMA and the creation of an enabling environment for institutional mechanisms at the state and district levels.
• It establishes disaster management policies.

The Role of India in Foreign Disaster Relief:

• India's foreign humanitarian assistance has increasingly included military assets, with naval ships or aircraft being used to deliver aid.
• Many of the recipient countries have been in South and Southeast Asia, in accordance with its diplomatic policy of "Neighborhood First."
• Contribution to Regional Disaster Preparedness: As part of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC), India has hosted DM Exercises that allow the NDRF to demonstrate disaster response techniques to counterparts from partner countries.
• Other NDRF and Indian Armed Forces exercises have brought India's first responders into contact with those from South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) and Shanghai Cooperation Organization states (SCO).
• Managing Climate Change-Related Disasters: India has adopted the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, the Sustainable Development Goals (2015-2030), and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, all of which emphasise the links between DRR, CCA, and sustainable development

India's Ethical Governance Mode

The former West Bengal Governor has spoken about the importance of ethical governance in India.

What exactly is Ethical Governance?

• Ethical governance is a method of governance that incorporates high moral values and behavior into the governance process.
• A bureaucrat, for example, is obligated to serve those who come to his office, but he cannot be penalized if he does not provide a glass of water to an elderly couple who may be tired from waiting in line for too long. These are the ethics of public service and altruism that will drive him to do so.
• Similarly, an official should allow disbursement of Public Distribution System (PDS) rations to beneficiaries, particularly women and senior citizens, even if Aadhaar identification fails due to a biometric data mismatch. It is critical to understand that denying such services may result in a person's death. As a result, compassion and human dignity serve as the foundation of ethical governance.
• Ethical governance is a critical approach to building trust and mutual cooperation between citizens and public servants.

What are the Fundamental Elements of Ethical Governance?

• Ethical governance is governance based on a set of values that are also "good." For example, probity, integrity, compassion, empathy, responsibility, social justice, and so on, all of which are required to uphold ethical issues.
• Probity would ensure that the administration's sole goal is to serve the public interest, leaving no room for wrongdoing.
• Responsibility, not merely accountability, ensures the instillation of internal accountability for every act of omission or commission in the form of conscience-based judgement. If this is accomplished, there will be no need for corruption.
• Eliminating corruption is not only a moral imperative, but also an economic necessity for a country to compete globally.
• To eliminate corruption and reduce bureaucratic delays, the rule of law should be one of the most important elements of ethical governance.
• The rule of law checks arbitrariness in governance, reducing the possibility of misusing discretion.

What are the Ethical Challenges in Indian Governance?

• A Violation of Authority or Rank Position: When officials act outside of their position, responsibilities, and rights, it harms the interests of the state or certain citizens.
• Negligence occurs when a public official either fails to perform his professional responsibilities or performs them negligently, causing harm to the state or community.
• Bribery: Corruption and bribery have become socially acceptable, lubricating the wheels of commerce.
• The complacent, who are obsessed with status, rank, and emoluments and addicted to habits of personal luxury, outnumber the hardworking, dedicated, and conscientious officers.
• Patronage: After-retirement assignments of senior officers to regulatory bodies and other important posts are mostly done on the basis of patronage, with no set guidelines.
• Administrative secrecy: Administrative secrecy serves the public interest while protecting private interests. As a result, transparency is one of the most important characteristics of ethical governance.
• Nepotism: By appointing relatives or friends to public positions without regard for the merit principle, the quality of public services may suffer.
• Indifference to the feelings or convenience of individuals, as well as an obsession with the binding and inflexible authority of departmental decisions, precedents, arrangements, or forms, regardless of how poorly or unfairly they work in individual cases.

Way forward

• Effective Laws: Effective laws will require civil servants to justify their official decisions.
• New Management Methodologies: To encourage all public officials and civil servants to respond positively to instances of corruption and unethical behaviour.
• Strengthening the Whistleblower Protection Regime: A whistleblower protection law to protect appropriate 'public interest disclosures' of official wrongdoing.
• Ethics audits are performed to identify threats to the integrity of the most critical processes.
• The second ARC recommendation is: Its broad recommendations include partial state funding of elections, tightening anti-defection legislation, and a code of ethics for ministers, legislatures, the judiciary, and civil servants.

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