September 27, 2022, New Delhi, Centre to Decrease Number of Science Awards: According to Mr. Ajay Kumar Bhalla, the Home Secretary of India, the Centre has decided to reduce the number of awards given to scientists and medical researchers on the grounds that they must be restricted to only “really deserving candidates.”
The secretaries and senior representatives from the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Earth Sciences, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Department of Atomic Energy, Department of Health Research—Indian Council for Medical Research, and Office of the Principal Scientific Advisor to the Government of India attended a meeting which took place on September 16, 2022, and which discussed the need to reduce the number of awards given for scientific research.
The DST presented 207 awards, of which 56 were internal awards; 54 were lecture, scholarship, or fellowship-based awards; 97 were private endowment awards; and four were national honours. The participants of the meeting then unanimously decided to get rid of everything else and keep only the national awards.
Currently, the Atomic Energy Department has given out 13 non-core domain awards and 25 performance-based awards to associated public sector organisations. Participants of the meeting agreed to introduce a new award of very high significance in place of eliminating all previous awards.
Except for 3 internal awards, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) denied granting any awards. The group came to the conclusion that these should also be eliminated and replaced with a national award of extremely high significance.
The Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR) conferred 7 awards, including the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar (SBS) Awards, which are given out each year on September 26 at the institute’s Foundation Day to outstanding scientists under the age of 45 from all disciplines. Regarding this, the meeting came to the conclusion that the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar (SBS) award is a high stature award and could be kept up, but the monthly allowance that recipients get for 20 years would only be paid for 15 of those years. The other six awards conferred by CSIR would be discontinued.
It was also decided in the meeting that out of the four national awards given out by the Ministry of Earth Sciences, only the “Dr. Anna Mani Award for Women Scientists” should be continued. However, it must be combined with awards granted to women by other departments like the Ministry of Women and Child Development. The other three awards will be cancelled and replaced with a new national award.
It was further decided in the meeting that the Health Ministry would have to justify the “51 Florence Nightingale” awards given to nurses and discontinue three national awards given by the National Medical Council.
Centre to Decrease Number of Science Awards – Background
- A meeting took place on September 16, 2022, to discuss the issue.
- The meeting was attended by:
- The Secretaries and Senior Representatives from the Department of Science and Technology (DST)
- Department of Biotechnology
- Ministry of Earth Sciences
- Council of Scientific Industrial Research
- Department of Atomic Energy
- Department of Health Research—Indian Council for Medical Research
- Office of the Principal Scientific Advisor to the Government of India.
- The Department of Science and Technology (DST) conferred 207 awards, of which 56 were internal awards; 54 were lecture, scholarship, or fellowship-based awards; 97 were private endowment awards; and 4 were national awards.
- The Atomic Energy Department has given out 13 non-core domain awards and 25 performance-based awards to associated public sector organisations.
- The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) conferred 3 national awards.
- The Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR) conferred 7 awards, including the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar (SBS) Awards.
Centre to Decrease Number of Science Awards – Decisions
- The meeting decided to reduce the number of awards given to scientists and medical researchers on the grounds that they must be restricted to only “really deserving candidates.”
- The participants of the meeting unanimously decided to get rid of all the other awards conferred by the Department of Science and Technology (DST). In addition to this, it was also decided to continue the national awards.
- Participants of the meeting also agreed to introduce a new award of very high significance in place of eliminating all previous awards conferred by the Atomic Energy Department.
- The meeting further decided that the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar (SBS) award given by the Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR) is a high stature award and could be kept up, but the monthly allowance that recipients get for 20 years would only be paid for 15 of those years, while the other six awards conferred by CSIR would be discontinued.
- It was also decided in the meeting that out of the four national awards given out by the Ministry of Earth Sciences, only the “Dr. Anna Mani Award for Women Scientists” should be continued. However, it must be combined with awards granted to women by other departments like the Ministry of Women and Child Development. The other three awards will be cancelled and replaced with a new national award.
- It was further decided in the meeting that the Health Ministry would have to justify the “51 Florence Nightingale” awards given to nurses and discontinue three national awards given by the National Medical Council.
Centre to Decrease Number of Science Awards – Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is the full form of ISRO?
ISRO stands for the Indian Space Research Organisation.
What is the full form of CSIR?
CSIR stands for the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).
Which organisation gives the 51 Florence Nightingale awards?
The Health Ministry gives the 51 Florence Nightingale awards to nurses.
