The President of India, Droupadi Murmu presented the “Rashtriya Vigyan Puraskar-2024” at an award ceremony held at Gantantra Mandap, Rashtrapati Bhavan today.
In the first edition of the “Rashtriya Vigyan Puraskar”, 33 awards were presented to distinguished scientists in four categories – Vigyan Ratna, Vigyan Shri, Vigyan Yuva, and Vigyan Team.
The Vigyan Ratna Award, given to the scientists who have made lifetime contributions in any field of Science and Technology, was presented to Prof Govindarajan Padmanabhan, a pioneer of molecular biology and biotechnology research in India.
The Vigyan Shri Awards, given to the scientists who have made distinguished contributions to Science and Technology, were presented to 13 scientists for their path-breaking research in their respective domains.
The Vigyan Yuva-SSB award, given to recognize scientists who have exceptionally contributed to any field of science and technology, was given to 18 scientists for their significant contribution in the areas spanning from the study on the warming of the Indian Ocean and its consequences, to the development of indigenous 5G base station and communication and precision tests of quantum mechanics.
The Vigyan Team Award, given to a team of 3 or more scientists for making ground-breaking research contributions in any field of science and technology, was given to the team of Chandrayaan-3 for the successful landing of Chandrayaan-3 lander near the south pole of the moon.
Speaking on the occasion, the Minister of Science & Technology, Dr Jitendra Singh said, the awards aim to recognise India’s scientific talent and the extraordinary achievements of Indian scientists in Science, Technology and Innovation.
Prof Govindarajan Padmanabha, NASI Honorary Scientist & Professor, Indian Institute of Science, Bangaluru, has been instrumental in creating the Biotechnology Industry Assistance Council, New Delhi that supports 1800 incubatees and generating more than 800 products in the area of Biotechnology. He elucidated the heme-bio synthetic pathway of plasmodium causing malaria and pioneered several molecular biology / biotech research efforts in the country.
Other important recipients of the awards included; Dr Anandharamakrishnan, Director, CSIR – National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology, Thiruvananthapuram; Dr Avesh Kumar Tyagi, Distinguished Scientist & Director, Chemistry Group, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai; Prof Umesh Varshney, Honorary Professor, Department of Microbiology & Cell Biology, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru; Prof Jayant Bhalchandra Udgaonkar, Professor, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Pune; Prof Syed Wajih Ahmad Naqvi, National Science Chair, CSIR-National Botanical Research Institute, Lucknow; Prof Bhim Singh, SERB National Science Chair & Emeritus Professor, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi; Prof Dr Sanjay Behari, Director, Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology, Thiruvananthapuram; Prof Adimurthi Adi, Distinguished Visiting Professor, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur; Prof Rahul Mukherjee, National Science Chair, Indian National Science Academy, Indian Institute of Management, Kolkata; Prof Lakshmanan Muthusamy, Professor of Eminence & DST-SERB National Science Chair, Bharathidasan University, Tiruchirappalli; Prof Naba Kumar Mondal, INSA Senior Scientist, Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics, Kolkata; Dr Annapurni Subramaniam, Director, Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bengaluru; Prof Rohit Srivastava Himanshu Patel, Chair Professor, IIT Bombay; Dr Krishna Murthy S L, Senior Scientist, Indian Institute of Rice Research, Hyderabad; Dr Swarup Kumar Parida, Scientist, National Institute of Plant Genome Research (NIPGR), New Delhi; Prof Radhakrishnan Mahalakshmi, Professor, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Bhopal; Prof Aravind Penmatsa, Assistant Professor, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru; Prof Vivek Polshettiwar, Professor, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai; Prof Vishal Rai, Professor, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Bhopal; Dr Roxy Mathew Koll, Scientist F, Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Pune; Dr Abhilash, Senior Principal, CSIR-National Metallurgical Laboratory, Jamshedpur; Dr Radha Krishna Ganti, Professor, Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, Chennai; Dr Purabi Saikia, Assistant Professor, Central University of Jharkhand, Ranchi; Dr Bappi Paul Assistant Professor, National Forensic Sciences University, Gandhinagar; Prof. Mahesh Ramesh Kakde, Professor, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru; Prof Jitendra Kumar Sahu, Professor, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education & Research, Chandigarh; Dr Pragya Dhruv Yadav, SCIENTIST ‘F’ & HEAD, ICMR-National Institute of Virology, Pune; Prof Urbasi Sinha, Professor, Raman Research Institute, Bengaluru; Dr Digendranath Swain, EXMD / STR, Vikram Sarabhai Space, ISRO, Thiruvananthapuram; Dr Prashant Kumar, Scientist-SF, Space Applications Centre, ISRO, Ahmedabad; Prof Prabhu Rajagopal, Professor, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai.
