New Delhi [India]: Union Minister of State for Science & Technology and Earth Sciences, Dr. Jitendra Singh, felicitated the Indian student team that excelled at the 18th International Earth Science Olympiad (IESO-2025), held in Jining, China, from August 8–16, 2025, the Ministry of Earth Sciences said in a statement.
Team India delivered an outstanding performance, winning seven medals — 1 Gold, 4 Silver, and 2 Bronze — along with a 3rd Prize in the International Geoscience Youth Movement (I-GYM) Reporter category.
The medal winners were:
- 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 students were mentored by Prof. Devesh Walia and Prof. Hema Achyuthan, with Dr. Jagvir Singh, Scientist-G, as observer.
Congratulating the winners, Dr. Jitendra Singh praised the young achievers for bringing glory to India, noting that their success reflects the aspirational spirit of youth from Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities inspired by India’s startup revolution over the last decade.
He emphasized that the National Education Policy (NEP-2020) has empowered students by breaking rigid subject barriers, enabling them to explore diverse disciplines. This, he said, is driving a shift towards frontier fields such as Earth Sciences, Biotechnology, Space Technology, and startup-driven innovation.
The Minister urged students to make full use of government initiatives like Vigyan Jyoti, scholarships, fellowships, and research grants, and to channel their ideas for the greater good of society. He also encouraged them to look beyond competitions and apply their innovations to real-life challenges.
Dr. M. Ravichandran, Secretary, Ministry of Earth Sciences, noted that the Ministry annually conducts the Indian National Earth Science Olympiad (INESO) at 300 centres across the country. From nearly 30 shortlisted students, four are selected to represent India at IESO. He highlighted that India’s performance in recent years has been highly encouraging.
The International Earth Science Olympiad (IESO), founded in 2003 by the International Geoscience Education Organization (IGEO), is an annual global competition for students of Classes IX–XII. India has participated since 2007 and hosted the 10th edition in Mysore in 2013.
