NE NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, MARCH 2
One of the first women physicians in the country, a pioneer of India’s weather assessment systems and the first Indian woman to get a doctorate in science. Ahead of International Women’s Day, some of India’s iconic — but perhaps forgotten — women scientists will be brought out of the obscure annals of history and into the spotlight.
The ministries of science and technology and women and child development have identified 11 early 20th-century women scientists in whose honour chairs will be set up in institutes across the country. The range of fields is wide — from cytogenetics to organic chemistry to social sciences. Only women researchers will take up positions and could get research funds up to ₹1 crore.
The idea behind setting up a Chair is to bolster research in the field the person it is named after excelled in. The only woman from India after whom a Chair has been instituted is Mother Teresa. Last month, the ministry of women and child development had proposed Chairs named after women, for women, across disciplines.
“We hope this will help highlight women who have been at the forefront of science and inspire young girls to follow in their paths,” women and child development minister Smriti Irani said.
“We have had Chairs after international women scientists and Nobel winners like Marie Curie, but not Indian women … These women excelled in their fields in an era where there were few opportunities and little recognition. This is a move to recognise them,” said Dr Renu Swaroop, secretary (biotechnology), who heads the three-member committee on the matter.
