Who among the following has been awarded with the 'Life Time Excellence' Award in Earth System Science in July 2020 by Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India ?
- (a)S. Suresh Babu
- (b)P. L. N. Raju
- (c)S. P. S. Kushwaha
- (d)Ashok Sahni
Correct — D, Ashok Sahni. In the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) 'National Awards for Excellence in Earth System Science' announced in July 2020, the Lifetime Excellence Award went to Professor Ashok Sahni, an eminent Indian vertebrate palaeontologist and geologist long associated with Panjab University, Chandigarh. He is renowned for his work on Indian dinosaur fossils and dinosaur-egg nesting sites (the Lameta/Deccan beds), biostratigraphy and the evolution of India's early mammals. The MoES gives this award to a distinguished scientist for a lifetime of contributions to Earth-system science.
- (a)S. Suresh Babu — A distinguished atmospheric scientist, but he is not the 2020 Lifetime Excellence awardee — that recognition went to Ashok Sahni.
- (b)P. L. N. Raju — Associated with remote-sensing / geospatial science, but he is not the recipient of this lifetime award.
- (c)S. P. S. Kushwaha — A forestry and remote-sensing scientist; he is not the 2020 MoES Lifetime Excellence awardee.
The Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) confers annual National Awards for Excellence in Earth System Science, with a top 'Lifetime Excellence Award' for a career of distinguished research, alongside outstanding-scientist and young-researcher awards. 'Earth System Science' spans the atmosphere, ocean, cryosphere and solid earth (geology, seismology).
Three of the four names are respected scientists, which makes this a pure recall question. Anchor the pairing 'MoES Lifetime Excellence Award 2020 = Ashok Sahni', and recall his field (vertebrate palaeontology / Indian dinosaur fossils) to separate him from the atmospheric/remote-sensing scientists among the distractors.
- MoES National Awards for Excellence in Earth System Science 2020 — Lifetime Excellence Award: Prof. Ashok Sahni
- Ashok Sahni: vertebrate palaeontologist and geologist; Indian dinosaur fossils, egg-nesting sites, biostratigraphy
- Long career at Panjab University, Chandigarh; Fellow of India's science academies
- MoES oversees Earth-system research bodies such as IMD, INCOIS and NCPOR (atmosphere, ocean, polar)
- Picking a remote-sensing or space name because the award is 'Earth science' — the lifetime award went to palaeontologist Ashok Sahni
- Confusing MoES awards with ISRO/DST awards
Current-affairs 'who won which award' recall — link the award (MoES Lifetime Excellence, Earth System Science, 2020) to the person (Ashok Sahni) and his field (palaeontology).
No directly related past PYQ was found.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Which of the following organisations functions under the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES)?
- (a)India Meteorological Department (IMD)
- (b)Indian Space Research Organisation
- (c)Geological Survey of India
- (d)Council of Scientific and Industrial Research
Answer(a) India Meteorological Department (IMD) — IMD, INCOIS and NCPOR come under MoES (ISRO is under DoS, GSI under Ministry of Mines, CSIR under Ministry of Science & Technology).
- practice — not a real PYQ
Professor Ashok Sahni is best known for his research on
- (a)Indian dinosaur fossils and egg-nesting sites
- (b)Antarctic ice cores
- (c)monsoon prediction models
- (d)earthquake seismology
Answer(a) Indian dinosaur fossils and egg-nesting sites — a leading vertebrate palaeontologist.