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National Science Day 2026
- 06 Mar 2026
- 3 min read
India observed National Science Day on 28th February, commemorating CV Raman's discovery of the Raman Effect (1928), with the 2026 theme "Women in Science: Catalyzing Viksit Bharat".
- The Government of India designated 28th February as National Science Day in 1986, with the inaugural celebration taking place in 1987.
CV Raman
- About: Sir Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman (CV Raman) is one of India's greatest physicists, and is best remembered for discovering the Raman Effect for which he received the 1930 Nobel Prize in Physics. His work proved the quantum nature of light.
- Nobel Prize Significance: The 1930 Nobel Prize in Physics made Raman the first Asian and the first non-White person to win a Nobel Prize in any scientific field.
- Other Honors and Recognition: He was knighted in 1929, elected Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 1924, received India's highest civilian award, Bharat Ratna (1954), and the Lenin Peace Prize (1957).
- Institutional Contributions: He founded three enduring scientific institutions: the Raman Research Institute (1948) in Bangaluru, the Indian Journal of Physics (1926), and the Indian Academy of Sciences (1934), creating lasting infrastructure for Indian scientific research.
Raman Effect
- Discovered with collaborator KS Krishnan, this phenomenon occurs when light passing through a transparent material undergoes a change in wavelength due to interaction with molecular vibrations.
- The Raman effect provides a non-destructive method to analyze molecular structure and forms the basis of Raman spectroscopy.
- Raman spectroscopy is widely used today in chemistry, biology, materials science, forensics, and medicine, enabling applications such as detecting drugs in sealed evidence bags, safe nuclear waste analysis, and non-destructive material identification.
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