♦ The Union Government has announced the Rashtriya Vigyan Puraskar, one of the highest recognitions in the fields of science, technology, and innovation in India. The objective of the Rashtriya Vigyan Puraskar is to recognize the notable and inspiring contributions made by scientists, technologists, and innovators, either individually or in teams, across various fields of science, technology, and technology-led innovation.
♦ Bio-Chemist Govindarajan Padmanabhan was selected for India's first Vigyan Ratna award, the top most science award instituted by the government in 2024.
Padmanabhan has also received Padma Bhushan in 2003 and Padma Shri in 1991.
♦ The government revealed the recipients of the 33 Rashtriya Vigyan Puraskars. This year's awards include 18 Vigyan Yuva Puraskars for young scientists, 13 Vigyan Shri Puraskars, and a special Vigyan Team award presented to Team Chandrayaan-3. President Droupadi Murmu is set to present the awards on August 23, National Space Day.
The Vigyan Shri awardees are:
♦ Astrophysicist: Annapurini Subramanian
♦ Agriculture Scientist: Anandharamakrishnan C
♦ Atomic Energy: Avesh Kumar Tyagi
♦ Biological Sciences: Prof. Umesh Varshney and Prof. Jayant Bhalchandra Udgaonkar
♦ Earth Sciences: Prof. Syed Wajih Ahmad Naqvi
♦ Engineering Sciences: Prof. Bhim Singh
♦ Mathematics and Computer Science: Prof. Adimurthi Adi and Prof. Rahul Mukherjee
♦ Medicine: Prof. Dr. Sanjay Behari
♦ Physics: Prof. Lakshmanan Muthusamy and Prof. Naba Kumar Mondal
♦ Technology and Innovation: Prof. Rohit Srivastava
The Vigyan Yuva awardees are:
♦ Agricultural Science: Krishna Murthy S L and Swarup Kumar Parida
♦ Biological Sciences: Radhakrishnan Mahalakshmi and Prof. Aravind Penmatsa
♦ Chemistry: Vivek Polshettiwar and Vishal Rai
♦ Earth Sciences: Roxy Mathew Koll
♦ Engineering Sciences: Abhilash and Radha Krishna Ganti
♦ Environmental Science: Purabi Saikia and Bappi Paul
♦ Mathematics and Computer Science: Mahesh Ramesh Kakde
♦ Medicine: Jitendra Kumar Sahu and Pragya Dhruv Yadav
♦ Physics: Urbasi Sinha
♦ Space Science and Technology: Digendranath Swain and Prashant Kumar
♦ Technology and Innovation: Prabhu Rajagopal