NEW DELHI: The Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Awards for 2022 were publicly announced on September 11, bestowing India's premier science honors upon 12 talented scientists, albeit with a one-year delay. These prestigious Bhatnagar Prizes, which bear the name of Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar, the inaugural Director-General of CSIR (Council of Scientific and Industrial Research), are an annual recognition across seven scientific domains: biology, chemistry, mathematics, physics, medicine, engineering, and earth, atmosphere, ocean, and planetary sciences. They specifically commend exceptional researchers under the age of 45, accompanied by a cash award of Rs.5 lakh.

The revelation of this year's awardees came as an unexpected twist during the unveiling ceremony of the 'One Week One Lab' initiative by CSIR-National Institute of Science Communication and Policy Research (CSIR-NIScPR). Traditionally, the Bhatnagar Prizes are divulged on September 26, coinciding with the foundation day of CSIR, the body responsible for presenting these accolades.

N Kalaiselvi, the Director-General of CSIR, unveiled the identities of the 12 laureates, all of whom happen to be male scientists, in the presence of Dr. Jitendra Singh, Vice President of CSIR, in New Delhi. During the event, N Kalaiselvi expressed gratitude for the pivotal roles played by the Minister's office (Dr. Singh), secretaries, and well-wishers in ensuring the punctual announcement. She remarked, "Even though it deviates from tradition, the declaration of the SSB 2022 laureates holds historical significance, with both CSIR and the minister's office (Dr. Singh) playing an exceptionally crucial role."

The esteemed recipients of the SSB Awards 2022 are as follows:

Biology

Ashwani Kumar, CSIR – Institute of Microbial Technology, Chandigarh
M Maddika Subba Reddy, Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics, Hyderabad
Chemistry

Akkattu Biju, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru
Debabrata Maiti, IIT Bombay
Earth, Atmosphere, Ocean, and Planetary Sciences

Vimal Mishra, IIT Gandhinagar
Engineering

Dipti Ranjan Sahoo, IIT Delhi
Rajnish Kumar, IIT Madras
Mathematics

Apoorva Khare, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru
Neeraj Kayal, Microsoft Research Lab, India
Medicine

Dipyaman Ganguli, CSIR Indian Institute of Chemical Biology
Physics

Anindya Das, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru
Basudeb Dasgupta, TIFR Mumbai

It's worth noting that in the previous year, the government issued a notification announcing the discontinuation of approximately 100 awards and several fellowships within the realm of science. This included the cessation of all privately endowed awards. The notification also indicated that most departments would now institute just one distinguished award.

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