Author: Dr Kishore Paknikar
NATIONAL SPACE DAY On 23 August 2023, the world watched with admiration as India’s Chandrayaan-3 mission made a soft landing near the Moon’s south pole, a region no other country had reached. It was a moment of quiet triumph, a symbol of indigenous scientific strength, and a testament to India’s long-term commitment to building its own space programme. The government’s decision to declare this day as National Space Day was both symbolic and timely. But as the celebration faded, it stirred an important question: Why do moments of indigenous scientific glory still seem so rare in India’s broader research and…
IN FOCUS: | MACS-AGHARKAR RESEARCH INSTITUTE, PUNE In a country where science is often discussed in terms of missions, mega laboratories, and cutting edge technologies, it is easy to forget that enduring scientific institutions are not built overnight. They grow through patience, purpose, and a steady commitment to society. Few Indian institutes embody this spirit as clearly as the Agharkar Research Institute (ARI), Pune, functioning under the Maharashtra Association for the Cultivation of Science (MACS). Nestled in the heart of Pune’s academic precinct, ARI stands today as one of India’s oldest continuously functioning multidisciplinary research institutes in the life sciences.…
TRIVIA Certain dates acquire a quiet distinction in the history of science, and February 28 is one such day. In India, it is observed as the National Science Day to commemorate the announcement of the Raman Effect on 28 February 1928 by C V Raman at the Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science (IACS) in Kolkata. By demonstrating that a small fraction of scattered light changes its wavelength after interacting with matter, Raman revealed how light can carry a molecular signature of substances. This insight laid the foundation of modern spectroscopy and earned him the Nobel Prize in Physics…