The Principal Scientific Adviser (PSA) is the chief advisor to the Government of India on matters related to scientific policy. [1] It is currently a Cabinet Secretary level position created in 1999 by the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government. [2] The first appointed Principal Scientific Adviser was A. P. J. Abdul Kalam. [3] This was followed by Rajagopala Chidambaram who held the rank of a Minister of State and was the PSA for 16 years. [4] The current PSA is Ajay Kumar Sood. [5]
The 'Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser', through the Prime Minister's Science, Technology and Innovation Advisory Council (PM-STIAC) helps scientific cross-sectoral synergy across ministries, institutions, and the industry. [6]
There have been a total of four PSAs so far:
| No. | Portrait | Principal Scientific Adviser | Took office | Left office | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A. P. J. Abdul Kalam (15 October 1931–27 July 2015) | 1999 | 2002 | ||
| 2 | Rajagopala Chidambaram (12 November 1936–4 January 2025) | 2002 | 2018 | ||
| 3 | K. VijayRaghavan (born 3 February 1954) | April 2018 | April 2022 | ||
| 4 | Ajay K. Sood (born 26 June 1951) | April 2022 | Incumbent | [7] |
The Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India advises the government in science and technology policies and interventions that are of strategic socio-economic importance to the country. This is done in collaboration with various ministries, institutions, academia, and industry. The PM-STIAC is one of the catalysts for such tasks and also oversees the implementation of the tasks. [8]
On 6 March 2019, the PSA announced nine new science and technology missions with a focus on 'Science for People and People for Science': [9] [10]
Other major projects include Research Clusters, Earth Museum, Brahmaputra River System, I-STEM Facilities Map, and Energy Security. [11]
The Council allows the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser to ascertain the status, challenges and interventions needed in the science and technology domain so as to advise the PM is as best a manner as possible. [12] The PM's STIAC increases the collaboration and focus needed to answer complex problems in appropriate time periods. [13] One of the ways this is done is through various missions. [13]
Members include: [11]
Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul KalamBR was an Indian aerospace scientist and statesman who served as the 11th president of India from 2002 to 2007. Born and raised in a Muslim family in Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu, he studied physics and aerospace engineering. He spent the next four decades as a scientist and science administrator, mainly at the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and was intimately involved in India's civilian space programme and military missile development efforts. He thus came to be known as the Missile Man of India for his work on the development of ballistic missile and launch vehicle technology. He also played a pivotal organisational, technical, and political role in India's Pokhran-II nuclear tests in 1998, the first since the original nuclear test by India in 1974.
Raghunath Anant Mashelkar, also known as Ramesh Mashelkar, is an Indian Chemical Engineer, born in a village named Marcel in Goa and brought up in Maharashtra.
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Rajagopala Chidambaram was an Indian physicist who is known for his integral role in India's nuclear weapons program; he coordinated test preparation for the Pokhran-I (1975) and Pokhran-II (1998).
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Vasudev Kalkunte Aatre is an Indian scientist and former head of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), India's premier Defence research and development organization. In that capacity, he also served as the Scientific Advisor to the Defence Minister. He is a recipient of the Padma Vibhushan award.
The Department of Science and Technology (DST) is a department within the Ministry of Science and Technology in India. It was established in May 1971 to promote new areas of science and technology and to play the role of a nodal department for organising, coordinating and promoting scientific and technological activities in the country. It gives funds to various approved scientific projects in India. It also supports various researchers in India to attend conferences abroad and to go for experimental works.
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K. Radhakrishnan a.k.a. Koppillil Radhakrishnan is an Indian space scientist who headed the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) as Chairman of Space Commission, Secretary of the Department of Space, Government of India. Under his leadership, India became the first country to reach Mars in its first attempt.
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Srijan Pal Singh is an Indian author, public speaker and social entrepreneur. He was born in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh.
Ajay Kumar Sood is an Indian physicist and researcher currently serving as the 4th Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India.
The Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam Award, named after the 11th President of India and aerospace scientist A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, is awarded by the Government of Tamil Nadu in recognition of contributions on scientific development, humanities and students' welfare.
Satinder Kumar Sikka was an Indian nuclear condensed matter physicist, crystallographer and a former Scientific Secretary to the Principal Scientific Advisor of the Government of India. He was known to have played a crucial role, along with Raja Ramanna, Rajagopala Chidambaram and Basanti Dulal Nagchaudhuri, in the design and development of a Hydrogen Bomb by India, which was tested at the Pokhran Test Range in May 1998, under the code name, Operation Shakthi. He was also involved in the Smiling Buddha tests, conducted in 1974. He was awarded the fourth highest civilian award of the Padma Shri, by the Government of India, in 1999.
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