India celebrates its 75th year of independence on the 15th of August, 2022. On such a momentous occasion, we thought it was befitting to shine the spotlight on some STEM visionaries of the country and how their inventions or research changed not just one nation but the whole world. This list also focuses on the 20th and 21st centuries. Many already know the greats of the previous eras: Ramanujan, CV Raman, Homi Bhabha, Satyendranath and Jagdish Chandra Bose, and of course, APJ Abdul Kalam from this one.
Uddhab Bharali
Born in Assam in 1962, Uddhab Bharali has been inventing since the 1980s, with currently over 160 innovations to his name. The Padma Shree Awardee and winner of the President’s Grassroots Innovation award is known for low-cost, eco-friendly tools such as the pomegranate deseeder (which was also selected in online voting for the NASA Exceptional Technology Achievement Medal). His other inventions include low-cost peeler machines for other vegetables, a bamboo processing machine, and devices that help disabled people eat and write.
Aparajita Datta
Wildlife ecologist Aparajita Datta is best know for her work on saving the hornbills of Arunachal Pradesh from poachers. The Whitley awardee also discovered the presence of leaf dear and black barking deer in India and the Arunachal Macaque, a new species of monkeys. Datta’s team has always included local tribes and communities in her work, and she has also helped the Lisu people of Arunachal Pradesh find alternative sources of income by increasing nature tourism in the area and marketing their handicrafts.
Modadugu Vijay Gupta
Pioneer of the Blue Revolution of southeast Asia, Modadugu Vijay Gupta was selected for the Sunhak Peace Prize in 2015 for helping create an aqauculture system that empowered rural populations in Asia, Africa and the Pacific. Prior to this he has also been awarded the World Food Prize in 2005 for increasing nutrition in the diet of impoverished families by disseminating low-cost fish farming techniques and adding to protein and mineral content in their food, along with helping increasing their income.
Gagandeep Kang
Microbiologist and virologist Gagandeep Kang is a leading researcher on viral infections in children, and the testing of rotaviral vaccines. For her lifelong work in the field of viral diseases, their effect on children, and vaccine testing, Kang was awarded the Infosys Prize in 2017. In 2019, she became the first Indian woman to be elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of London. You can learn more about the esteemed professor from herself over here, in our interview with her as part of the Inspirational Indians Series.
E.A. Siddiq
Padma Shree Awardee E.A Siddiq is an agricultural scientist whose research focus has been on genetics and plant breeding, culminating in the development of more than 10 high-yielding rice varieties. He has assisted in creating breeds such as dwarf basmati, hybrid rice, and quick maturing varieties such as Pusa 2–21, Pusa 33, Pusa 4 and Pusa 834. Siddiq has collaborated with the World Bank/FAO as consultant and advisor and has pioneered programs in Egypt, Sri Lanka, India, Indonesia and the Philippines. He has also helped in the establishment of rice research institutes in Vietnam and Bangladesh.
Sanghamitra Bandyopadhyay
The first woman director of the Indian Statistical Institute, and recipient of the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize, Sanghamitra Bandyopadhyay is a computer scientist specializing in computational biology. She is credited for her work in discovering a genetic marker for breast cancer, the role of white matter in Alzheimer’s disease, and the links between cancer and HIV. The Infosys Prize awardee currently serves on the Prime Ministers’ Science, Technology and Innovation Advisory Council, and was conferred with the Padma Shree in 2022.
Asima Chatterjee
The organic chemist was the first woman to get a doctorate in science from an Indian university and the first woman recipient of the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have substantially contributed to scientific, technological and mathematical advancement around the world. Her most notable work includes research on vinca alkaloids, the development of anti-epileptic drugs, and development of anti-malarial drugs. She also did considerable research on medicinal plants in the Indian subcontinent and their use.
