PRESIDENT Droupadi Murmu on Tuesday conferred theVijyan Ratna Puraskar posthumously on renowned astrophysicist Jayant Naralikar for his contribution to cosmology and popularisation of science. The award was received by R Srianand, the Director of the Pune-based Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics, which was founded by Naralikar. Murmu also gave away the Rashtriya Vigyan Puraskar at a function held at the Ganatantra Mandap at Rashtrapati Bhavan. In the second edition of the Rashtriya Vigyan Puraskar, 24 awards were presented to distinguished scientists in four categories – Vigyan Ratna, Vigyan Shri, Vigyan Yuva, and Vigyan Team.

 

“The objective of the Rashtriya Vigyan Puraskar is to recognise the notable and inspiring contributions made by the scientists, technologists and innovators individually or in teams in various fields of science, technology and technology-led innovation,” an official statement said. Noted agriculture scientist Gyanendra Pratap Singh, popularly known as the wheat breeder, was conferred the Vigyan Shri award for his contribution to the field of Agricultural Science. Yusuf Mohammad Seikh, Director of the physics group of the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, was given the Vigyan Shri for his contribution to the field of Atomic Energy.

 

KThangaraj of the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology has won the award in the field of Biological Sciences, and Pradeep Thalappil of IIT-Madras bagged the Vigyan Shri in the field of Chemistry. Vice Chancellor of the Institute of Chemical Technology, Aniruddha Bhalchandra Pandit, was awarded the Vigyan Shri in the field of Engineering Sciences, and S Venkata Mohan, DirectorofNationalEnvironmentalEngineering ResearchInstitute, received the awardin the field of Environmental Science. Mahan Maharaj, a monk of the Ramakrishna Order and Professor of Mathematics at the Tata Institute of FundamentalResearch,received the Vigyan Shri in the field of Mathematics and Computer Science.

 

Jayan N of the Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre received theVigyan Shri award for his contribution toSpace Science and Technology. According to the state, Jagdis GuptaKapuganti (AgriculturalScience),Satendra Kumar Mangrauthia (Agricultural Science), Debarka Sengupta (Biological Sciences),Deepa Agashe (Biological Sciences), Dibyendu Das (Chemistry), Waliur Rahaman (Earth Science), and Arkaprava Basu (Engineering Sciences) received the Vigyan Yuva award.