DBT award for CCMB scientist

Ramesh V Sonti, a senior scientist at the city-based Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB), has been awarded the prestigious National Bioscience Award for Career Development for the year 2003-04 by the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Government of India.

The award carries a cash prize of Rs 1 lakh, a citation and Rs 3 lakh per year for a period of three years as grant from DBT to support Ramesh Sonti's ongoing research efforts.

R Chidambaram, the principal scientific advisor to the Government of India, presented him the award at the Science Day Celebrations in New Delhi on February 27.

Ramesh Sonti is one among the seven scientists chosen for this award this year. Ramesh Sonti has been given this award for his research on understanding virulence mechanisms of the important bacterial leaf blight pathogen of rice.

His research has also focused on the introduction of bacterial leaf blight resistance characteristics into the background of commercially important but disease susceptible rice varieties, said a CCMB release here.