Dr. Purabi Saikia from Lakhimpur Honored with Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award-2024
LAKHIMPUR: Dr Purabi Saikia, the youngest daughter of Late farmer Chandreswar Saikia and Aaidhan Saikia of Chiyajuli Bagan Gaon under Lakhimpur district and Associate Professor of Botany at Banaras Hindu University, has been selected for the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award-2024 one the highest scientific honours of the nation. Science and Technology Ministry on Wednesday released a consolidated list of final awardees of the first-ever Vigyan Puruskar. According to the list, the team of Chandrayaan-3 mission won the team award. Biochemist Govindarajan Padmanabhan, former director of the Indian Institute of Science-Bengaluru and Padma Bhushan laureate, won the Vigyan Ratna Puraskar, a lifetime achievement award.
On the other hand, thirteen scientists won the Vigyan Shri award and 18 scientists won the Vigyan Yuva-Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar awards. Till 2023, the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar award was India’s top science honour. It was named after Bhatnagar, a renowned chemist who was the first chairman of the University Grants Commission and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, and in whose name the awards were instituted in 1958. Scientists under 45 were eligible for the SSB award. This year, the government consolidated the awards under the Vigyan Ratna (lifetime achievement), Vigyan Shri (distinguished contributions), Vigyan Yuva-Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar (for young scientists under 45) and Vigyan Team (exceptional contribution in a team) across 13 domains. The awards will be presented by President Droupadi Murmu in Rashtrapati Bhavan on National Space Day to be celebrated on August 23.
Purabi Saikia will receive the award under environmental sciences category. Saikia is a plant ecologist and faculty in the Department of Botany at Banaras Hindu University. She passed her High School Leaving Certificate Examination with flying colours from Dirgha Majgaon High School, Chiyajuli in 1999 and graduated in Science from North Lakhimpur College (Autonomous). Purabi obtained her Postgraduate Degree from the Gauhati University and later enrolled for her Doctorate Degree at NERIST, Nirijuli, Arunachal Pradesh. After receiving her doctorate in 2011, she joined Tezpur Central University as a postdoctoral researcher on a fellowship offered by the Department of Science and Technology under the Central Government. After working at that university for several months, she joined the Jharkhand Central University. Though her husband is working as a professor at the University of Sikkim, he is currently conducting a nine-month research for an Indo-US Full Bright Fellowship at Purdue University at the request of the US Government.
Dr. Purabi Saikia is the sixth Assamese to receive the highest award in the field of science in India. Earlier, Dr. Purbi Saikia was awarded the Young Women Leadership Award, 2018-19 by the Professor HS Srivastava Foundation for Science and Society, Lucknow for her successful presentation of various reports on science and technology at national and international levels. The people of Purabi’s birthplace and entire Lakhimpur district have immense pleasure on receiving the news of her selection for the prestigious award.
Assam Pradesh Congress Committee president Bhupen Borah, Assam Jatiya Parishad president Lurinjyoti Gogoi All Assam Students’ Union president Utpal Sarmah, Lakhimpur MLA Manab Deka, Lakhimpur district administration and many other institutions and individuals have congratulated Dr. Purabi Saikia for the feat.
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