Book raises a toast to 100 women scientists

The rich contributions of 100 women scientists of the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) to research in faunal diversity have been compiled in a book by the country's premier zoological body.

Christened 'The Glorious 100 women's Scientific Contribution in ZSI', the documentation effort is part of the ZSI's activities to mark its centenary in 2016.

"These women scientists were responsible for 10 percent of the discoveries of new species by ZSI in the the last 100 years," Dhriti Banerjee, deputy director of ZSI and co-author of the compilation, told IANS.

Scientists Debashree Dam and and Nivedita Saha are the other authors.

The project was launched by former ZSI director K. Venkataraman in collaboration with Kailash Chandra, the director-in-charge.

Banerjee said starting from 1949, when Mira Mansukhani became the first women to join the ZSI, women researchers have made "major contributions" in all the animal groups.

The initiative aims to inspire more women to participate in conservation and research efforts.