Dr Srinivasa Kumar Tummala assumes charge as Earth Sciences Secretary

New Delhi: Eminent oceanographer and scientist Dr Srinivasa Kumar Tummala has assumed charge as Secretary, Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), succeeding Dr N Kalaiselvi, who was holding the portfolio under additional charge.

The position was earlier held on a full-time basis by Dr M Ravichandran. Tummala's appointment comes at a strategic juncture for the Ministry as India expands its Deep Ocean Mission, strengthens climate modelling capabilities and enhances multi-hazard early warning systems.

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Tummala brings over three decades of experience in remote sensing, satellite oceanography, coastal hazard mitigation and disaster management. Prior to his appointment as MoES Secretary, he served as Head of the ICG/IOTWMS Secretariat under UNESCO's Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission in Perth, Australia, where he worked with tsunami warning networks covering 28 Indian Ocean member states.

He also served as Director of the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS), Hyderabad, from August 2020. During his tenure, the institute advanced initiatives including Potential Fishing Zone advisories, coral reef bleaching alerts and multi-hazard vulnerability mapping.

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Tummala was also involved in establishing India's tsunami early warning system at INCOIS following the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. The system subsequently helped INCOIS emerge as a globally designated Tsunami Service Provider.

For his contributions, Tummala received the National Geoscience Award in 2010 from the Ministry of Mines for his work in establishing tsunami early warning facilities. He was also conferred the Indian National Geospatial Award in 2008 by the Indian Society of Remote Sensing for contributions to geospatial technologies in disaster mitigation and marine resource mapping.

He has authored more than 100 peer-reviewed scientific publications in international journals and has served as Vice-Chair of a UNESCO Intergovernmental Coordination Group.

As MoES Secretary, Tummala will oversee efforts to strengthen India's capabilities in ocean science, atmospheric and climate modelling, polar research, deep-ocean exploration and multi-hazard early warning systems. The Ministry will also focus on expanding observational networks and scientific services to support climate resilience, ocean health and the sustainable development of India's Blue Economy.

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