Bhubaneswar, August 23: Two Odia scientists were awarded the country’s highest science award - Rashtriya Vigyan Puraskar - by President Droupadi Murmu at New Delhi on Thursday for their exceptional contribution to the field of science and technology.
Dr Digendranath Swain and Dr Swarup Kumar Parida are among the 18 scientists who received the Vigyan Yuva-SSB award that recognises the scientists’ significant contribution in the areas spanning from the study on the warming of the Indian Ocean and its consequences, to the development of indigenous 5G base stations and communication and precision tests of quantum mechanics.
Dr Parida is a scientist with National Institute of Plant Genome Research (NIPGR) at New Delhi. Similarly, Dr Swain heads the experimental techniques section (EXMD/STR) at ISRO.
In the first edition of the Rashtriya Vigyan Puraskar, 33 awards were presented to distinguished scientists in four categories - Vigyan Ratna, Vigyan Shri, Vigyan Yuva, and Vigyan Team.
The Vigyan Ratna Award, given to the scientists who have made lifetime contributions in any field of Science and Technology, was presented to Prof. Govindarajan Padmanabhan, a pioneer of molecular biology and biotechnology research in India. The Vigyan Shri Awards, given to the scientists who have made distinguished contributions to Science and Technology, were presented to 13 scientists for their path-breaking research in their respective domains. The Vigyan Yuva-SSB award, given to recognize scientists who have exceptionally contributed to any field of science and technology, was given to 18 scientists for their significant contribution in the areas spanning from the study on the warming of the Indian Ocean and its consequences, to the development of indigenous 5G base station and communication and precision tests of quantum mechanics. The Vigyan Team Award, given to a team of 3 or more scientists for making ground-breaking research contributions in any field of science and technology, was given to the team of Chandrayaan-3 for the successful landing of Chandrayaan-3 lander near the south pole of the moon.
