Why two dozen top scientists have expressed concern over the country’s flagship science awards

The scientists wrote to the PSA after some other scientists, some of whom were involved in the selection process, alleged that the names of three scientists were removed from the list submitted by the panel.

Two of these three scientists have been publicly critical of the government and some of its policies.

What are the Rashtriya Vigyan Puraskars (RVP)?

The awards have been instituted to “recognise notable and inspiring contributions made by scientists, technologists, and innovators individually or in teams in various fields of science, technology and technology-led innovation”, according to an official release issued in September 2023.

The awards, described in the release as “one of the highest recognitions in the field of science, technology, and innovation in India”, have been instituted in four categories:

(i) Vigyan Ratna (VR) for lifetime achievement; (ii) Vigyan Shri (VS) for “distinguished contributions in any field of science and technology”; (iii) Vigyan Yuva-Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar (VY-SSB) award for young scientists up to the age of 45, which has replaced the SSB award; and (iv) Vigyan Team (VT) for a collaboration among three or more scientists, researchers, or innovators.

Up to 56 prizes can be given across these categories annually. For the inaugural year, 33 awards were announced on August 7 — one Vigyan Ratna, 13 Vigyan Shris, 18 VY-SSB awards, and a Team award to the Chandrayaan-3 team.

These inaugural awards cover 13 domains: physics, chemistry, biological sciences, mathematics & computer science, earth science, medicine, engineering sciences, agricultural science, environmental science, technology and innovation, atomic energy, space science and technology, and “others”.

The prize comprises a medallion and a certificate.

How were the contributions of scientists honoured earlier?

Individual science-related departments of the government have traditionally given dozens of awards.

The Department of Science and Technology gave 207 awards, including national awards, private endowments, and internal awards; the Department of Atomic Energy gave 25 performance-based awards; and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) gave three internal awards.

The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) gave seven awards, including the prestigious SSB award for scientists under the age of 45.

The new set of national science awards were announced in order to “rationalise” these many prizes. The Rs 5 lakh cash awarded to winners of the SSB prize (now Vigyan Yuva) has been done away with.

So what is the current controversy about?

After the announcement of the awards last month, concerns were raised that three names that were recommended for the honours were allegedly excluded in the final stage of selection.

They were: Suvrat Raju, a physicist at Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR); Prateek Sharma, a physicist at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru; and Suman Chakraborty of IIT Kharagpur, who won the Infosys Prize for Engineering and Computer Science in 2022.

Raju and Sharma had criticised IISc after a planned discussion on the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), to be led by student activists Natasha Narwal and Devangana Kalita, was cancelled at the last minute last year.

The two scientists had also signed open letters criticising the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and the action of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in the Bhima Koregaon case.

Raju had discovered that his name had been recommended by the Rashtriya Vigyan Puraskar Committee (RVPC), the apex committee that considers the nominations, after he received a congratulatory message from a scientist who was involved in the selection process. This scientist had apparently informed Raju later that his name had been removed from the list.

The 26 SSB awardees then wrote to PSA Sood, who chairs the RVPC, asking for clarity on whether the committee’s recommendations were accepted in full, or revised further.

What is the process for selecting the RVP awardees?

The RVPC comprises the Secretaries of six science-related ministries and departments, six distinguished scientists, and up to four presidents of science and engineering academies.

It is tasked with considering the nominations for the awards, and with constituting sub-committees for the domains. Once the nominations have been considered, the RVPC is supposed to recommend the names to the Minister for Science and Technology.

However, the final stage of the selection process — the sending of recommendations to the Minister — was spelt out only over the past weekend. A new sentence was added to the “Selection process” section on the government’s “awards” website, saying “the RVPC will recommend the names to the Honourable Minister of Science and Technology, Govt. of India”.

The process earlier said that the nominations would be placed before the RVPC.

What is the scientists’ concern, and how has the Centre responded?

The signatories of the letter to the PSA expressed concern that “unfair non-scientific considerations” may have influenced the final list of Vigyan Yuva awardees.

They pointed out that the recommendations of the expert committees that have selected SSB awardees have “always found full reflection” in the final awards list. They asked the PSA for clarity on the process in order to “uphold the integrity” of the award.

The PSA is learnt to have responded that the selection has been done as per the process detailed on the website, and that the RVPC recommends names for the award to the Minister for Science and Technology. This, in effect, makes the Minister the final authority on the awards.