Government Announces Rashtriya Vigyan Puraskar to Honour Excellence in Scientific Achievements

New Delhi, Oct 28: India’s scientific community received a major recognition with the announcement of the Rashtriya Vigyan Puraskar (RVP) 2025, honouring 24 eminent scientists and one pioneering research team for their outstanding contributions across diverse fields of science and technology.
Building on its inaugural edition, the RVP reinforces the Union government’s vision of achieving ‘Viksit Bharat’ through Vigyan — a developed India powered by scientific temper, innovation, and research excellence.
At the top of the honours stands the Vigyan Ratna, India’s highest civilian award in science and technology, instituted in 2023. It mirrors the prestige of the Bharat Ratna but is dedicated exclusively to lifetime scientific excellence. The award, first conferred in 2024 upon biochemist Dr. Govindarajan Padmanabhan for his groundbreaking malaria research, will continue to be presented annually on National Space Day (August 23).
The 2025 edition features three other award categories  Vigyan Shri, Vigyan Yuva Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar, and Vigyan Team.
Eight senior researchers were honoured with the Vigyan Shri for their sustained impact in disciplines such as quantum materials, climate modelling, and sustainable agriculture. Fourteen young and mid-career innovators under 45 received the Vigyan Yuva–Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award, a reimagined version of the iconic SS Bhatnagar Prize, recognising India’s emerging scientific leaders.
The Vigyan Team Award went to the CSIR Aroma Mission, a multi institutional initiative that revitalised aromatic crop cultivation across 60,000 hectares in 26 states. The mission empowered over 50,000 farmers and generated ₹1,200 crore in rural revenue through high-yielding lavender, rosemary, and lemongrass varieties.
The 2025 cohort reflects the breadth of India’s research excellence. Among the Vigyan Shri awardees is a climate scientist whose AI-based monsoon prediction model has reduced crop losses in Odisha, and a materials engineer who developed biodegradable polymers from farm waste now used in medical implants.
The Yuva awardees include a young astrophysicist at Pune’s Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope studying fast radio bursts and a biotechnologist from Tamil Nadu engineering salt-tolerant rice varieties under field trials.
Launched in 2023, the RVP unified 16 previous science awards into a single transparent recognition framework. Nominations are evaluated by a 300-member national committee chaired by the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India, Ajay Kumar Sood, ensuring a peer-driven, merit-based process.
Unlike earlier awards, the RVP carries no cash prize, instead offering a sanad, citation, and a panchdhatu medal, symbolising the unity of the five classical elements.
The honours will be presented by President Droupadi Murmu at a ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan on National Science Day, February 28, 2026.
As India pursues its goal of becoming a $1 trillion research-driven economy by 2047, the Rashtriya Vigyan Puraskar stands as a national testament to the power of science in driving progress, innovation, and inclusive development.