Rashtriya Vigyan Puraskar

Rashtriya Vigyan Puraskar is a National Award instituted by the Government of India to recognize the contributions of outstanding researchers in the fields of science, technology and innovation. The award has been the subject of controversy because the final selection of awardees is conducted by a political official, the Minister of Science and Technology, rather than a scientific committee.

Background

The institution of this award was announced in January 2024 and the names of the first set of awardees were announced on 7 August 2024. The awards were distributed on 22 August 2024, a day ahead of the National Space Day. The award consists of a certificate signed by the President of India and a medallion.

Eligibility

Scientists, technologists and innovators working in Govt. or private organizations in India who have done highly impactful research, discovery or innovation are eligible for the award. Moreover, such persons of Indian origin and working abroad are also eligible for the award.

The selection process

The nominations for the award are initially scrutinized by a 17-member panel headed by the Principal Scientific Advisor to Govt of India from a list of nominated persons. Other members of the panel are Secretaries of the six Science Ministries/Departments (DST, DBT, CSIR, MoES, DoS and DAE), four select Presidents of the Science and Engineering Academies and six distinguished scientists and technologists from different fields of Science and Technology. Nominations can be made by any individual, institution, State Govts, Depts/Ministries of Govt of India, heads of national science bodies, etc.

The panel recommends names to the Minister of Science and Technology who performs the final selection of awardees. In 2024 the inaugural year of the award, the Minister is believed to have overruled the scientific committee to exclude scientists seen as critical of the government leading several scientists to write to the government objecting to this method of selection.

Rashtriya Vigyan Puraskar awardees of the year 2024

The following are the Rashtriya Vigyan Puraskar awardees of the year 2024.

Controversy

The awards have attracted controversy due to the role played by political officials in the selection of awardees. Soon after the announcement of the inaugural awards, it was reported that the some of those selected by the scientific committee had been dropped in the final list announced by the Indian government. Initial media reports revealed that one of the individuals dropped was Suvrat Raju a physicist who had been critical of the government. Subsequently, 26 former winners of the Bhatnagar Prize wrote to the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India expressing their concern that "unfair non-scientific considerations" may have influenced this year's awardees. Additional news reports revealed that at least two more scientists had been excluded: Prateek Sharma, a physicist who had signed open letters critical of the government, and Suman Chakraborty. After the appearance of these reports, the official rules governing the award were modified by the insertion of a new line stating that the scientific selection committee could only "recommend" names to the Minister for Science and Technology. In response to this change, 176 prominent Indian scientists wrote to the government stating that it was "shocking" for the Minister to have the "right to veto experts". However, the Indian government stated that its decisions were final and would not be altered.

References

External links

* Video {{YouTube, id=giRdlIgyHbQ, title=President Droupadi Murmu Presents Rashtriya Vigyan Puraskar 2024 at Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Civil awards and decorations of India
Council of Scientific and Industrial Research
Indian science and technology awards
Lifetime achievement awards