NEW YORK (Diya TV) — Tata Sons, in partnership with The New York Academy of Sciences, has announced winners for the 2024 Tata Transformation Prize, celebrating the work of three Indian scientists whose groundbreaking research holds solutions to pressing issues facing humanity in food security, sustainability, and healthcare. These scientists were honored through an award that identifies groundbreaking innovation with a high potential for substantially improving societal conditions within and beyond India.
Winners, chosen from 169 nominees across 18 Indian states, will each be awarded $240,000 and honored at a December ceremony in Mumbai, Maharashtra. The Tata Transformation Prize was launched in 2022 to accelerate high-impact research in India by providing financial support and international recognition to promising scientists.
C. Anandharamakrishnan, PhD, of CSIR – National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology is also among this year’s winners. Anandharamakrishnan won his award for his innovation: fortified rice with low glycemic index that has been designed to deal both with malnutrition and diabetes. His research utilizes advanced spray-drying technology and addresses nutrient deficiencies and chronic diseases, particularly among the vulnerable populations in India.
The winner from the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay was Amartya Mukhopadhyay, PhD, in the area of sustainability, for pioneering work on sodium-ion (Na-ion) batteries. His work has potential to be used as an energy storage technology not only for India but for the entire world as a cheaper and more environment-friendly alternative to lithium-ion.
The prize in healthcare was given to Raghavan Varadarajan, PhD, from the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, for his development of a cost-effective vaccine for Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV). RSV is one of the leading causes of severe respiratory illness, especially in children and the elderly. This vaccine will offer broader protection at a lower cost and thus be more accessible to vulnerable populations in developing countries.
N. Chandrasekaran, Chairman of Tata Sons, said the prize mattered much in terms of encouragement towards innovation. “It’s by recognizing such pioneer scientists that we wish to propel Indian technologies in an international arena and be more integral to India’s upswing as a powerhouse for innovation,” he added.
Selected by an international jury of experts from institutions such as Apple, IBM Research, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore, winners of the Tata Transformation Prize are selected for carrying out high-risk, high-reward scientific research addressing key societal challenges in India. These include food security, sustainability, and health and aim to scale those innovations for global impact.
