Role of Women Scientists In Viksit Bharat

Every year, the Government of India, through the Department of Science and Technology (DST) of the Ministry of Science and Technology, will organize a national level celebration on this day at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi. Other leading research institutions in the country also organize outreach programs to spread scientific inclination among students. The Raman Research Institute in Bengaluru will host its annual Open Day on Science Day.

Powering Viksit Bharat, this year’s theme is “Women in Science: Catalyzing Viksit Bharat”, highlighting the role of women researchers and innovators in making India a developed nation.

On the occasion of Science Day, let’s try to commemorate a few women scientists who contributed to development in various fields.

1. Janaki Ammal (Botanist)

Born in Tellichery, Kerala, in 1897, Ammal was an Indian botanist who worked on cytogenetics and phytogeography. The rainforests of Kerala helped him collect a wide variety of medicinal and economic plants. He is known for his pioneering work in plant breeding and cytogenetics, especially in sugarcane and brinjal. He helped develop high-yielding sugarcane varieties.

2. Dr Aditi Pant (Oceanographer)

Pant was the first Indian woman to visit Antarctica in 1983 as part of the Indian geology and oceanography mission. He received a scholarship from the US government to pursue a master’s degree in marine sciences at the University of Hawaii. He continued his doctoral education. on the physiology of seaweed at Westfield College, University of London. He worked at the National Oceanographic Institute and the National Chemical Laboratory. He played a pivotal role in the 3rd and 5th Indian Antarctic Expeditions and made significant contributions to oceanography and geology, including the establishment of Dakshin Gangotri.

3. Dr Indira Hinduja (Gynecologist and Infertility specialist)

She pioneered assisted reproduction in India and delivered India’s first scientifically documented in vitro fertilization baby at KEM Hospital on 6 August 1986. In 1991, she developed the egg donation technique for menopausal women. He pioneered the Gamete Intrafallopian Transfer (GIFT) technique, leading to the birth of India’s first GIFT baby.

4. Asima Chaterjee (Organic Chemist)

Chaterjee, the recipient of numerous awards including the prestigious Padma Bhushan, has made significant contributions to organic chemistry. She was the first Indian woman to receive a doctorate in science. He is famous for his research in phytochemistry, particularly for developing the anti-epileptic drug Ayush-56 and the anti-malarial drug Ayush-64.

5. Kamal Ranadive (Pioneering Cancer Research)

Ranadive was a biomedical researcher who played an important role in understanding the connection between cancer and viruses. He also advanced medical research in India by studying leprosy and tuberculosis.

6. Masha Nazeem (Innovator)

Despite being a young student from Tamil Nadu, Masha Nazeem is a serial innovator and has developed eight interesting projects, including a flameless seal maker that won her an award in the National Innovation Foundation’s IGNITE 2009 competition. It features a rechargeable paste or electrically operated, temperature-controlled chamber to melt wax and a manual plunger for precise and even sealant application; This is ideal for use in polling stations for secure, confidential and fast document sealing. He also designed a train toilet that would keep railway tracks at stations free of dirt and odor. The breakthrough gave him the opportunity to rub shoulders with global experts at the World Toilet Summit in Delhi.

7. Kalpana Chawla (Indian astronaut)

Born in a family that migrated from Pakistan to India and settled in Haryana, Kalpana Chawla became a famous astronaut of Indian origin. He earned his aeronautical engineering degree from Punjab Engineering College, Chandigarh, and then moved to the US to pursue advanced studies in aerospace engineering, specializing in fluid dynamics and aerodynamic behavior in flight systems. He was selected for NASA’s astronaut program and flew his first mission on space shuttle Columbia in 1997. During his second mission in January 2003, he was killed along with six other crew members when Columbia broke apart during reentry. Chawla was posthumously awarded several of NASA’s highest civilian awards. Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee dedicated the country’s first satellite, launched as METSAT-1 in 2002, to Chawla and renamed it Kalpana-1 in 2003.

8. Tessy Thomas (India’s Missile Woman)

He is a scientist with DRDO and his profession focuses on missile guidance, navigation and mission design within India’s strategic weapons programmes. He worked on the Agni missile program, India’s effort to develop long-range missiles. She was the project director of Agni-IV and Agni-V and became the first woman to head long-range missile programs in India. These milestones in her career earned her the name Missile Woman and Agni Putri. He has won many national and corporate awards.

8. Sunita Sarawagi (Computer Scientist)

He is a computer scientist known for his research including databases, data mining, machine learning, and the use of natural language processing to extract structured data from text. Sarawagi transformed the way computers process unstructured data with innovations such as semi-Markov conditional random fields. He also played an institutional role in shaping artificial intelligence and data science initiatives at IIT Bombay.

Science and technology focus on obtaining knowledge that can be used for the benefit of humanity. This year’s theme aims at gender inclusivity, focusing on empowering women in STEM, closing gender gaps and leveraging women’s scientific talents to make India a knowledge-driven and developed country.