National Science Day (NSD) was observed all over India on Feb 28, 2020. This day marks the discovery of the Raman effect by Indian physicist Sir ChandraShekhara Venkata Raman (also called Sir C V Raman) on 28th February 1928 for which he was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1930.
In 1986, the Government of India (GOI) declared Feb 28 as National Science Day.
Theme of the NSD 2020: “Women in Science”.
Key Points:
i.The day aims at spreading the message about the importance of science in our daily life, efforts & achievements in the field of science for human welfare.
ii.On this celebration, President Ram Nath Kovind presented several awards for science communicators and women scientists at the function held in Vigyan Bhavan, Delhi.
iii.Dr. Harsh Vardhan, Minister of Science & Technology, Health and Family Welfare and Earth Sciences and Smriti Irani, Cabinet Minister for Textiles and Women & Child Development were presented on the occasion.
iv.Awards: A total of 21 awards were given including National Science and Technology and Communication Awards, Augmenting Writing Skills For Articulating Research (AWSAR) awards, SERB (Science and Engineering Research Board) Women Excellence Awards and National Award For Young Woman Showing Excellence Through Application Of Technology For Societal Benefits.
v.Prof Gagandeep Kang, Director of the Translational Health Science and Technology Institute (THSTI), Faridabad, Haryana, who is the first women FRS (Fellowship of the Royal Society) of India, proposed on the theme of the NSD-2020.
vi.National Council of Science & Technology Communications (NCSTC), Department of Science & Technology (DST) acts as the nodal agency & coordinates the celebration of NSD throughout the country.
vii.National Awards for Science Popularization was instituted by DST in february 1987 to stimulate, encourage and recognise the efforts in the area of science & technology for popularization, communication and promoting scientific temper and these awards will be presented every year on the NSD.
List of National Awards for Outstanding efforts in Science & Technology:
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| Category | Awardees |
| Print Media (including books & Magazines) | Dr Suryamani Behera, Retd. Professor & Popular Science Writer, Odisha |
| Dr Amiya Rajbongshi ,Retd. Vice Principal,North Lakhimpur College (Autonomous), Rector, Genius Academy, Lakhimpur, Assam | |
| Popularization among children | Sh. Deepak Sharma, Science Teacher, Meerut, Uttar Pradesh (UP) |
| Kisan Sewa Sansthan, Basti, Uttar Pradesh
| |
| Communication through Innovative and traditional methods | Dr. Mahesh Verma, Vice Chancellor, Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, Delhi |
| Dr. S. Nagarathinam, Prof. and Head, Dept. of Communication, Madurai Kamaraj University, Tamil Nadu | |
| Dr. Rajendra Kumar, Principal Scientist, ICAR-IARI (Indian Council of Agricultural Research- Indian Agricultural Research Institute) | |
| Communication in the Electronic Medium | Dr. Uma Kumar, Professor & Head, Department of Rheumatology, All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS), New Delhi |
| Augmenting Writing Skills for Articulating Research (AWSAR) | Ms.Chris Felshia, Ph.D. Scholar from CLRI -Central leather research institute, Chennai |
| Dr. Joyita Sarkar, Post Doctoral Fellow from Savitribai Phule Pune University, Pune, Maharashtra | |
| SERB Women Excellence Award | Dr Niti Kumar, Scientist, Central Drug Research Institute, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh |
| Dr Deepa Agashe, Assistant Professor (Reader F), National Centre for Biological Sciences, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Bangalore, Karnataka | |
| Dr K. Geetharani, Assistant Professor, Department of Inorganic and Physical Chemistry, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, Karnataka | |
| National Award for Young Woman Showing Excellence through Application of Technology for Social benefits | Dr Shweta Rawat, Scientist E, Defence Institute of Physiology and Allied Sciences ( DIPAS), DRDO (Defense Research & Development Organisation), Delhi |
| Gupta Dr. Shalini, Associate Professor, Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi |
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