BackScientists from IIT Delhi , Bombay, Madras to TIFR among 12 Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award winners
India's top science prize, the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Awards for 2022, were announced, honouring 12 young male scientists.
PremiumShanti Swarup Bhatnagar Awards for 2022 were announced on September 11, honouring 12 young scientists with India's top science prize, after an year's delay.
The Bhatnagar Prizes, named after Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar, the first Director-General of CSIR, are awarded annually in seven scientific disciplines: biology, chemistry, mathematics, physics, medicine, engineering, and earth, atmosphere, ocean, and planetary sciences. These awards recognise exceptional researchers under the age of 45 and come with a cash prize of ₹5 lakh.
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The announcement came as a surprise during the launch event of the 'One Week One Lab' program by CSIR-National Institute of Science Communication and Policy Research (CSIR-NIScPR). Traditionally, the Bhatnagar Prizes are revealed on September 26, the foundation day of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), the organisation that presents these awards.
N Kalaiselvi, Director-General of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), revealed the names of the 12 awardees, all of whom are male scientists, in the presence of Dr. Jitendra Singh, Vice President of CSIR, in New Delhi. At the event, N Kalaiselvi acknowledged the crucial role played by the Minister's office (Dr. Singh), secretaries, and well-wishers in ensuring the timely announcement. “Even though it is not conventional, the announcement of SSB 2022 is historically important, wherein not only CSIR, but the minister’s office (Dr. Singh) played a very very great and critical role," said N Kalaiselvi.
The list of awardees for SSB awards 2022 includes:
Biology
Ashwani Kumar, CSIR – Institute of Microbial Technology, Chandigarh
M Maddika Subba Reddy, Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics, Hyderabad
Chemistry
Akkattu Biju, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru
Debabrata Maiti, IIT Bombay
Earth, Atmosphere, Ocean, and Planetary Sciences
Vimal Mishra, IIT Gandhinagar
Engineering
Dipti Ranjan Sahoo, IIT Delhi
Rajnish Kumar, IIT Madras
Mathematics
Apoorva Khare, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru
Neeraj Kayal, Microsoft Research Lab, India
Medicine
Dipyaman Ganguli, CSIR Indian Institute of Chemical Biology
Physics
Anindya Das, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru
Basudeb Dasgupta, TIFR Mumbai
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Last year, the government issued a notification stating the discontinuation of approximately 100 awards and several fellowships in the field of science. This included the cancellation of all private endowment awards. The notification also revealed that most departments would now institute only one prestigious award.
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