India’s highly acclaimed astrophysicist, Jayant Narlikar, who passed away in May, has been selected for the Vigyan Ratna Puraskar. This esteemed recognition highlights his profound impact on the scientific community.
Professor Narlikar was known for his groundbreaking work, notably his challenge to the widely accepted Big Bang theory. Alongside British astronomer Fred Hoyle, he proposed an alternative model suggesting the universe has always existed, with matter continuously being created over infinite time.
Narlikar, who was 86 at the time of his passing on May 20, leaves behind a legacy of challenging established scientific paradigms and inspiring future generations of scientists.
The Vigyan Ratna Puraskar is India’s foremost science award, modeled after the esteemed Padma awards. The recipients for the second edition of the Rashtriya Vigyan Puraskar in 2025 were announced this past Saturday. In addition to the Vigyan Ratna, the government also conferred eight Vigyan Shri awards, fourteen Vigyan Yuva awards, and one Vigyan Team award, celebrating a wide spectrum of scientific achievements.
Among the other distinguished awardees, Gyanendra Pratap Singh, a notable agricultural scientist recognized for his work with wheat breeding, received the Vigyan Shri for his contributions to Agricultural Science. Yusuf Mohammad Seikh of the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre was honored with the Vigyan Shri in Atomic Energy.
Further accolades were presented to K Thangaraj (Biological Sciences), Pradeep Thalappil (Chemistry), Aniruddha Bhalchandra Pandit (Engineering Sciences), S Venkata Mohan (Environmental Science), Mahan Maharaj (Mathematics and Computer Science), and Jayan N (Space Science and Technology), underscoring the breadth of scientific innovation across the nation.
The Vigyan Yuva awards recognized 14 emerging talents, while the CSIR Aroma Mission Team was celebrated with the Vigyan Team award for their pioneering ‘Lavender Mission’ in Jammu and Kashmir.