Dr. Srinivasa Kumar Tummala Assumes Charge as Secretary, Ministry of Earth Sciences

Eminent oceanographer and distinguished scientist Dr. Srinivasa Kumar Tummala officially assumed charge as the Secretary of the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), Government of India. He takes over from Dr. N. Kalaiselvi, who had been handling the responsibilities of MoES under an additional charge. The position was previously held on a full-time basis by Dr. M. Ravichandran. Dr. Tummala's appointment marks a pivotal and strategic transition for the Ministry of Earth Sciences as India aggressively scales up its flagship Deep Ocean Mission, enhances climate modeling capabilities, and fortifies its multi-hazard early warning infrastructure to protect coastal communities and advance the national Blue Economy agenda.

STRATEGIC VISION FOR MoES

With over three decades of exceptional experience across remote sensing, satellite oceanography, coastal hazard mitigation, and disaster management, Dr. Tummala brings a wealth of techno-managerial leadership to MoES. His leadership arrives at a vital juncture as India expands its scientific footprint across oceanography, polar research, meteorological disaster prevention, and sustainable marine resource exploitation.

A LEGACY OF LEADERSHIP & GLOBAL SERVICE

Prior to taking over as Secretary, MoES, Dr. Tummala held key national and international leadership positions:

Head, ICG/IOTWMS Secretariat, UNESCO-IOC (Perth, Australia): Directed regional tsunami warning networks across 28 Indian Ocean Member States, leading global standardization of ocean watch operations and championing the implementation of the Tsunami Ready Community Recognition Programme.

Director, ESSO-INCOIS (Hyderabad): Served as Director of the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services starting August 2020. Under his stewardship, INCOIS significantly advanced its Potential Fishing Zone (PFZ) advisories, Coral Reef Bleaching Alert systems, and multi-hazard vulnerability mapping.

Architect of India's Tsunami Early Warning System: Following the devastating 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, Dr. Tummala acted as Project Manager to establish the state-of-the-art Indian Tsunami Early Warning System at INCOIS, transforming it into a globally designated Tsunami Service Provider (TSP).

MAJOR NATIONAL RECOGNITION & ACADEMIC CONTRIBUTIONS

National Geoscience Award (2010): Conferred by the Ministry of Mines, Government of India, for path-breaking efforts in establishing India's world-class tsunami early warning facilities.

Indian National Geospatial Award (2008): Awarded by the Indian Society of Remote Sensing (ISRS) for innovative contributions to geospatial technologies in disaster mitigation and marine resource mapping.

Global Academic Footprint: Authored over 100 peer-reviewed scientific publications in reputed international journals and served as Vice-Chair of the UNESCO Intergovernmental Coordination Group.

Under Dr. Tummala's strategic leadership, the Ministry of Earth Sciences will continue to strengthen India's observational networks, atmospheric modeling, deep-ocean exploration technologies, and societal services to bolster climate resilience and ocean health across the region.

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NKR/JKP