National Science Day is observed in India on February 28 to commemorate the discovery of the Raman Effect by physicist C.V. Raman in 1928. India has been celebrating this occasion since 1986, when the Government of India decided to honour the announcement of the Raman Effect and encourage the development of a scientific mindset in the country.
National Science Day 2025 Why is it celebrated ?
National Science Day
- National Science Day is observed in India on February 28 to commemorate the discovery of the Raman Effect by physicist C.V. Raman in 1928. India has been celebrating this occasion since 1986, when the Government of India decided to honour the announcement of the Raman Effect and encourage the development of a scientific mindset in the country.
- The day aims to promote the importance of science in everyday life and to honour the various activities, initiatives, and achievements in the scientific field for the advancement of humanity.
One District, One Equipment
- The government is set to launch the “one district, one equipment” programme on Friday with an aim to ensure access to scientific equipment across the country. The programme, being launched as part of celebrations for the National Science Day, will be unveiled under the I-STEM (Indian Science, Technology, and Engineering facilities Map) initiative by the officials from the office of Principal Scientific Adviser (PSA) to the government of India.
- The program will connect researchers, entrepreneurs, start-ups, and industries with academic institutions registered on the I-STEM portal that house labs and equipment across various sectors, the office PSA said in a statement.
- This equipment can then be rented by startups, entrepreneurs, industry professionals, and researchers under the programme, it said.
- “This will save the researchers, industry, and start-ups the prohibitive capital expenditure of purchasing advanced equipment. At the National level, this prevents the duplication of scarce resources in the research institutions,” the statement said.
CV Raman
- This year, the theme for National Science Day is ‘Empowering Indian Youth for Global Leadership in Science and Innovation for Viksit Bharat.’ The government will hold the celebrations at the Plenary Hall in Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi.
- C.V. Raman’s journey from a small village to receiving the Nobel Prize and Bharat Ratna remains a source of inspiration. His contributions to science, from research on the scattering of light to studies on X-rays and the colours of the sea, brought India closer to its goal of being a leader in science and technology. To honour his work, the government observes National Science Day every year on 28 February.
- But why was February 28 chosen instead of his birthday, November 7? This is because on February 28, 1928, Chandrasekhara Venkata (C.V.) Raman announced the discovery of the Raman Effect, which later earned him the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1930.
- In 1986, the National Council for Science and Technology Communication (NCSTC) requested the Centre to declare February 28 as National Science Day, and the first observance took place on February 28, 1987.
- C.V. Raman was born in November 1888 in Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu. He obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Physics from Presidency College, Chennai, followed by a Master’s degree from the University of Calcutta. He later pursued doctoral research at the University of Cambridge.
- While working in the laboratory of the Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science, Kolkata, Raman made his most groundbreaking discovery – the inelastic scattering of photons by molecules.
- This phenomenon, later named the Raman Effect, earned him the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1930, making him the first Indian to receive the prestigious award.
- National Science Day serves to inspire young minds to explore various aspects of science and develop an interest in the subject. The goal is to spread awareness about the significance of science among the people.
