India Shines at International Earth Sciences Olympiad, Bags Seven Medals in China

New Delhi, September 8: Union Minister of State for Science & Technology and Earth Sciences Dr Jitendra Singh felicitated the Indian student contingent that returned triumphant from the 18th International Earth Science Olympiad (IESO-2025) held in Jining, China. The team clinched seven medals — one Gold, four Silver and two Bronze — along with a third prize in the International Geoscience Youth Movement (I-GYM) Reporter category.

Medal Winners

The Indian winners included:

• Rayansh Gupta (Sat Paul Mittal School, Ludhiana, Punjab) – Gold, Silver & I-GYM 3rd Prize
• Charuvrat Bains (M.G.N. Public School, Kapurthala, Punjab) – 2 Silver, 1 Bronze
• Apam Nidhi Pandey (PM Shri K.V. No.1, Jaipur, Rajasthan) – 1 Silver
• Priyanshi Ghanghas (MD Indraprastha Sr. Sec. Public School, Delhi) – 1 Bronze

The team was mentored by Prof. Devesh Walia and Prof. Hema Achyuthan, with Dr Jagvir Singh, Scientist-G, serving as observer.

NEP and New Aspirations

Congratulating the winners, Dr. Singh said the success reflected the aspirational drive of India’s youth, particularly from Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities, boosted by the startup revolution of the past decade. He credited the National Education Policy (NEP-2020) for unleashing creativity by breaking rigid subject barriers and enabling students to pursue emerging fields like Earth Sciences, Biotechnology, Space Technology and start-up-led self-employment.

He urged students to explore new government-backed opportunities such as Vigyan Jyoti, scholarships, fellowships and research grants, emphasising that these schemes are designed to support talent and channel innovation for societal benefit.

Broader Horizons

The Minister encouraged the winners not to confine themselves to academic competitions alone but to apply their scientific curiosity towards solving real-life problems. “Your achievements should inspire you to take the next leap – to innovate for citizens and the nation,” he said.

Building Global Competence

Secretary, Ministry of Earth Sciences, Dr M. Ravichandran, noted that the ministry conducts the Indian National Earth Science Olympiad (INESO) annually across 300 centres. Out of around 30 shortlisted candidates, four are selected to represent India internationally. He added that India’s performance in recent years has been consistently encouraging.

The IESO, established in 2003 by the International Geoscience Education Organization (IGEO), is an annual competition for high school students (Class IX–XII) worldwide. India has been a participant since 2007 and hosted the 10th edition in Mysore in 2013.

With this year’s performance, the Indian team has once again reinforced its position among the top global contenders in earth sciences, showcasing the country’s growing pool of young scientific talent.