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Rashtriya Vigyan Puraskar

The Government of India will soon honor scientists with the Rashtriya Vigyan Puraskar. These awards fall into four categories: Vigyan Ratna, Vigyan Shri, Vigyan Yuva–Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar, and Vigyan Team.

Points To Remember

  • The Vigyan Ratna is for lifetime achievement in science. The Vigyan Shri award acknowledges significant contributions in a specific field.
  • The Vigyan Yuva Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar award is for young scientists who have done exceptional work in their fields.
  • The Vigyan Team award is for groups of three or more scientists.
  • The first awards will be given in 2024.
  • The Rashtriya Vigyan Puraskar will be given in 13 fields. These include Physics, Chemistry, Biological Sciences, and others like Space Science and Technology. Each year, there will be three Vigyan Ratnas, 25 Vigyan Shri, 25 Vigyan Yuva, and 3 Vigyan Team awards. The Vigyan Yuva award has an age limit of 45 years.
  • People can nominate for the awards from January 14 to February 28. This timeframe aligns with National Science Day.
  • The winners will be announced on National Technology Day, which is May 11.
  • The award ceremony takes place on National Space Day, August 23. This day marks when India’s Chandrayaan-3 landed on the Moon.
  • All internal awards, except for one named after Homi Jehangir Bhabha given by the Department of Atomic Energy, “have been dispensed”.
  • An annually formed committee will pick the winners. This committee, known as the Rashtriya Vigyan Puraskar Committee, consists of all secretaries from six science departments, four presidents from science and engineering academies, and six notable scientists and technologists in diverse science fields.
  • While serving on the committee, members cannot receive the award.
  • Initially, the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) will manage the awards for two years. After that, the newly established National Research Foundation will take over.

Old Awards

  • The Department of Science and Technology previously presented 207 awards. Among these, four held national significance. They also offered 97 private endowments and 56 internal recognitions.
  • The Department of Biotechnology had six fellowships as awards.
  • The Department of Atomic Energy recognized 25 performers and gave 13 awards in non-core areas.
  • The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) maintained three internal recognitions.
  • The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) gave seven recognitions, one of which was the highly respected Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar award.
  • Lastly, the Union Ministry of Earth Sciences presented four prestigious national awards.

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