RAS question
The Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize is awarded for outstanding contributions in:
Correct answer: (B) Science and Technology.
The Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize is awarded for outstanding contributions to science and technology.
Explanation
The Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize is formally the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology. Instituted by CSIR in 1958, it is treated as India’s highest multidisciplinary science award. The official prize regulations say the prize is given each year for outstanding contributions to science and technology and is meant to recognise outstanding Indian work in that field. Its listed disciplines are Biological Sciences, Chemical Sciences, Earth, Atmosphere, Ocean and Planetary Sciences, Engineering Sciences, Mathematical Sciences, Medical Sciences and Physical Sciences. That range makes Science and Technology the substantive field of the award, not a cultural, sports or social-service category.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) Sports is wrong because the SSB Prize recognises research in science and technology, while sports honours belong to a separate awards category such as the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna.
- (C) Literature is wrong because the prize regulations list science and technology disciplines, whereas literature is associated with separate recognitions such as the Sahitya Akademi awards.
- (D) Social service is wrong because the SSB Prize is for outstanding Indian work in science and technology, not for general public service or social-service recognition.
Concept
This tests the RAS Science and Technology syllabus area on major Indian science institutions, awards and recognitions. It recurs because CSIR-linked awards are standard markers of India’s research ecosystem and are easy to frame as factual MCQs.