Blitz Bureau
THE first-ever Rashtriya Vigyan Puraskar (National Award for Scientists) were presented to 33 distinguished and eminent scientists by President Droupadi Murmu on August 22. The awards were given in four categories – Vigyan Ratna, Vigyan Shri, Vigyan Yuva, and Vigyan Team.
Govindarajan Padmanabhan, a pioneer of molecular biology and biotechnology research, gotthe Vigyan Ratna Award. Padmanabhan is the former Director of Bengaluru-based Indian Institute of Science. This award is given to scientists who have made lifetime contributions in any field of science and technology.
The Vigyan Shri Awards, given to scientists having made distinguished contributions in the Science and Technology field, were presented to 13 scientists for their path-breaking research in their respective domains.Annapurni Subramaniam, director of Bengalurubased Indian Institute of Astrophysics; Anandharamakrishnan C, director of Thiruvananthapuram-based National Institute of Interdisciplinary Science and Technology; Avesh Kumar Tyagi, director of the chemistry group at the Bhabha Atomic Research Institute; Prof Syed Wajih Ahmad Naqvi of Lucknow-based CSIR-National Botanical Research Institute were among the 13 recipients of the Vigyan Shri awards.
The Vigyan Yuva-SSB award was given to recognise scientists who made exceptional contributions in any field of science and technology. These awards were given to 18 scientists for their significant contribution in the areas spanning from the study of the warming of the Indian Ocean and its consequences, to the development of indigenous 5G base stations and communication and precision tests of quantum mechanics. The Vigyan Team Award is given to a team of three or more scientists for making groundbreaking research contributions in any field of science and technology.
This was given to the team of Chandrayaan-3 for the successful landing of the Chandrayaan-3 lander, near the south pole of the moon.
Minister of Science & TechnologyJitendra Singh the awards aim to recognise India’s scientific talent and the extraordinary achievements of scientists in science, technology and innovation.
