New Delhi | India's most celebrated astrophysicist Jayant Narlikar, who passed away in May, was on Saturday selected for the Vigyan Ratna Puraskar.
Narlikar challenged the Big Bang theory, which states that the universe was created in a single moment. He, along with British astronomer Fred Hoyle, proposed that the universe had always existed with continuous creation of new matter into infinity.
Narlikar died on May 20 at the age of 86.
Modelled on the Padma awards, the Rashtriya Vigyan Puraskar is the country's top science award. The winners for 2025, the second edition of the Rashtriya Vigyan Puraskar, were announced on the website of the national awards -- awards.gov.in -- on Saturday.
The government also announced eight Vigyan Shri, 14 Vigyan Yuva and one Vigyan Team awards.
Noted agriculture scientist Gyanendra Pratap Singh, popularly known as the wheat breeder, won 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, won the Vigyan Shri for his contribution to the field of Atomic Energy.
K Thangaraj 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.
Aniruddha Bhalchandra Pandit, Vice Chancellor of the Institute of Chemical Technology, was awarded the Vigyan Shri in the field of Engineering Sciences and S Venkata Mohan, Director of National Environmental Engineering Research Institute, won the award in the field of Environmental Science.
Mahan Maharaj, a monk of the Ramakrishna Order and Professor of Mathematics at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, won the Vigyan Shri in the field of Mathematics and Computer Science.
Jayan N of the Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre has been selected for his contribution to Space Science and Technology.
The 14 Vigyan Yuva awardees are Jagdis Gupta Kapuganti (Agricultural Science), Satendra Kumar Mangrauthia (Agricultural Science), Debarka Sengupta (Biological Sciences), Deepa Agashe (Biological Sciences), Dibyendu Das (Chemistry), Waliur Rahaman (Earth Science), Arkaprava Basu (Engineering Sciences), Sabyasachi Mukherjee (Mathematics and Computer Science), Shweta Prem Agrawal (Mathematics and Computer Science), Suresh Kumar (Medicine), Amit Kumar Agarwal (Physics), Surhud Shrikant More (Physics), Ankur Garg (Space Science and Technology), and Mohanasankar Sivaprakasam (Technology and Innovation).
The CSIR Aroma Mission Team, which heralded the 'Lavender Mission' in Jammu and Kashmir, won the Vigyan Team award.
Thiruvananthapuram | Kerala scientist Jayan N has been conferred the Vigyan Shri award in recognition of his outstanding contributions to India's space technology development.
Jayan currently serves as the Project Director for the Next Generation Launch Vehicle at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) under the ISRO. Earlier, he was the Deputy Director at the Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre, a government release said.
"He played a pivotal role in the design and development of India’s first indigenous cryogenic engine used in the GSLV program. Jayan also led the team that developed the CE-20 cryogenic engine, which powers the GSLV Mk III (LVM3) launch vehicle, India's most powerful rocket to date," it said.
The release added that the Vigyan Shri award recognises his exceptional contributions to advancing liquid propulsion systems for various launch vehicles, a key component in strengthening India's self-reliance in space technology.
Jayan completed his B Tech in Mechanical Engineering from the College of Engineering, Thiruvananthapuram, and his Master's degree in Aerospace Engineering from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, where he graduated with a gold medal, according to the release.
Over the years, he has received numerous accolades, including the Space Gold Medal from the Aeronautical Society of India and multiple ISRO Team Awards, it said.
The honour is being hailed as "a proud moment for Kerala and India’s space science community."
The Vigyan Shri award is part of the Rashtriya Vigyan Puraskar, considered one of the top national honours in the field of science and technology, and was unveiled in 2023.
