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India's most celebrated astrophysicist Jayant Narlikar, who passed away in May, was on Saturday selected for the Vigyan Ratna Puraskar. Narlikar challenged the Big Bang theory, which states that the universe was created in a single moment. He, along with British astronomer Fred Hoyle, proposed that the universe had always existed with continuous creation of new matter into infinity. Narlikar died on May 20 at the age of 86. Modelled on the Padma awards, the Rashtriya Vigyan Puraskar is the country's top science award. The winners for 2025, the second edition of the Rashtriya Vigyan Puraskar, were announced on the website of the national awards -- awards.gov.in -- on Saturday. The government also announced eight Vigyan Shri, 14 Vigyan Yuva and one Vigyan Team awards. Noted agriculture scientist Gyanendra Pratap Singh, popularly known as the wheat breeder, won the Vigyan Shri award for his contribution to the field of Agricultural Science. Yusuf Mohammad Seikh, Director of the phys
Veteran scientist Rajagopala Chidambaram, who played a key role in the nuclear tests of 1975 and 1998, died on Saturday, an official of the Department of Atomic Energy said. He was 88. Chidambaram, who was also associated with the nuclear weapons programme, breathed his last at Jaslok Hospital in Mumbai at 3.20 am, the official said. He was the chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission and Principal Scientific Advisor to the government of India. Chidambaram was conferred with the Padma Shri and the Padma Vibhushan in 1975 and 1999 respectively.