iNDICA NEWS BUREAU-
Three Indian scientists have been named as the winners of the Tata Transformation Prize in 2024. Established in 2022, the prize is jointly instituted by Tata Sons and the New York Academy of Sciences, to support breakthrough, innovative technologies that address India’s most significant challenges in three categories — food security, sustainability, and healthcare.
The goal of the prize is to drive impactful innovation and scale-up implementation of high-reward research.
Three scientists — C. Anandharamakrishnan (food security), Amartya Mukhopadhyay (sustainability) and Raghavan Varadarajan (healthcare) — were selected from 169 entries from 18 Indian states by an international jury of leading experts.
Each winner will receive INR 2 crores (approximately US$240,000) and will be honored at a ceremony in Mumbai in December 2024.
The jury included scientists, clinicians, technologists, and engineers from a diverse array of industries, government, and academic institutions, including Apple, IBM Research, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the National Institute of Advanced Studies, and the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore.
Anandharamakrishnan is the director, CSIR – National Institute For Interdisciplinary Science and Technology (NIIST), Thiruvananthapuram. The citation identified him as “a pioneer in food engineering research”, who has been working towards the development of innovative solutions to meet the dual issues of malnutrition and health challenges.
“Dr. Anandharamakrishnan’s proposes to develop rice fortified with multiple essential nutrients and rice designed to have a low glycemic index (GI), which could provide a healthier diet for the diabetic population. He will utilize advanced food technologies developed in his lab, including a 3-fluid nozzle spray drying process to efficiently encapsulate and deliver these nutrients in reconstituted rice. His lab has also developed Asia’s first engineered artificial gastrointestinal system, which his team uses to analyze nutrient release during digestion, ensuring the rice is optimized for maximum nutrient absorption and improved glycemic response.
“The potential impact of this work is far-reaching. If successful, this fortified rice could provide a vital nutritional boost to millions of underserved people in India, while also providing a healthier diet for the diabetic population on a large scale. By addressing two major public health concerns simultaneously, Dr. Anandharamakrishnan’s work could pave the way for significant improvements in both nutrition and health conditions, with the potential to benefit not only India but also the 2 billion people worldwide who suffer from malnutrition,” it said.
Mukhopadhyay is from the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, who is spearheading efforts to advance Na-ion battery technology, which is approximately 20-25% cheaper than Li-ion batteries, operates in a broader temperature range, and is safer to store.
“Prof. Mukhopadhyay’s recent breakthroughs in materials science, particularly in creating air- and water-stable sodium-transition metal oxide cathodes and alloy-based anodes, have made Na-ion batteries more practical and sustainable for various uses. Prof. Mukhopadhyay’s approach leverages another key innovation from his lab – “aqueous processing” of battery electrodes – which replaces toxic solvents with water to reduce costs and environmental impact. The first phase of his project focuses on scaling up this water-based process and fine-tuning the batteries to ensure high capacity and long-lasting performance. The second phase will involve producing prototype cells and exploring commercialization opportunities through technology transfer or startup ventures.
“This work addresses India’s need for cost-effective, safe, and sustainable energy storage solutions, particularly for renewable energy applications. If successful, Na-ion batteries could reduce India’s reliance on imported materials and provide a greener, more affordable option for the country’s growing energy demands,” it said.
Varadarajan is from the Indian Institute of Science. His aim is to develop a Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) vaccine that be available at a lower cost, making it more accessible to people. RSV is a severe respiratory illness which affects over 30 million people annually, disproportionately affecting infants, young children, and the elderly. Over 120,000 deaths are attributed to RSV each year, with more than 97% occurring in developing countries, including India. Despite the availability of new RSV vaccines, their high cost makes them inaccessible to the populations most at risk.
“Dr. Varadarajan will draw upon his lab’s extensive expertise in protein structure and vaccine design to engineer an efficacious vaccine that will provide broad and long-lasting protection against infection by this devastating virus. Furthermore, by employing cutting-edge methods in protein design and stabilization, Dr. Varadarajan’s team is optimizing the vaccine formulation and production system, to potentially reduce the cost of each dose by up to 95%, compared to recently approved RSV vaccines.
“These breakthroughs could make RSV vaccination accessible to the populations that need it most, significantly reducing RSV-related illness, hospitalizations, and saving lives. Dr. Varadarajan’s research underscores India’s growing leadership in affordable healthcare innovation, addressing critical public health challenges both locally and globally,” it said.
As per a news release, N. Chandrasekaran, Chairman of the Board of Tata Sons, said: “We are pleased to announce the Tata Transformation Prize Winners for the second year. By supporting pioneering Indian scientists in scaling up their pathbreaking innovations, Tata Group hopes to improve the lives of the Indian people and develop India into a world-class innovator. This prize is intended to provide these scientists with the international visibility to promote these Indian technologies to the rest of the world.”
Nicholas B. Dirks, President and CEO of The New York Academy of Sciences, said: “Congratulations to the second cohort of Winners of the Tata Transformation Prize. From addressing India’s issues such as malnutrition and diabetes, to an RSV vaccine that reduces mortality in the most vulnerable populations, to improving India’s energy storage capacity through greener, more cost-effective battery technologies – these scientists are using their innovations to bolster Indian society. Many thanks to Tata for sponsoring this visionary prize and our independent jury for volunteering their time and expertise.”
[(Left to right) C. Anandharamakrishnan, Amartya Mukhopadhyay, and Raghavan Varadarajan. Photo courtesy: www.nyas.org]
