Dr. Parmanand Sharma, Scientist E & Scientist In Charge of Himalayan Cryosphere Programme at NCAOR has been awarded with the prestigious Certificate of Merit for Outstanding Contributions in Polar Sciences - 2017 by the Ministry of Earth Sciences. He received the award from Dr. Harsh Vardhan, Hon'ble Minister for Science and Technology and Earth Sciences at a glittering ceremony held on the occasion of the MoES Foundation Day on 27 July 2017. Dr. Sharma has been instrumental in undertaking an integrated monitoring of glacier mass balance and glacio-hydrological balance of several benchmark glaciers of upper Chandra basin in the Western Himalaya as well as establishing NCAOR's first high altitude research station "Himansh" in Western Himalaya