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 scient

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