Krishnaswamy Vijay Raghavan is new scientific adviser to govt

Vijay Raghavan appointed principal scientific advisor to govt



The Principal Scientific Advisor (PSA), a post created by the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government in 1999, is the topmost advisor to the government on all matters related to scientific policy.


K Vijay Raghavan, one of the most distinguished biologists of the country, was Monday appointed Principal Scientific Advisor to the Government of India. He will succeed 81-year-old nuclear physicist R Chidambaram, who has been in the position for more than 16 years, having been appointed in 2001. VijayRaghavan (64), until recently Secretary in the Department of Biotechnology, will have a tenure of three years. “Yes, I have been appointed. I have not yet taken over. I hope to join soon,” VijayRaghavan told The Indian Express.

The Principal Scientific Advisor (PSA), a post created by the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government in 1999, is the topmost advisor to the government on all matters related to scientific policy.

The office of the PSA is one of the three scientific bodies the government relies on for advice on matters relating to science and which act as the interface between scientific institutions and the government. The other two are Science Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (SAC-PM) and Science Advisory Council to the Cabinet (SAC-C). Incidentally, neither SAC-PM nor SAC-C have been functional under this government, which did not re-constitute these bodies after coming to power. The Defence Minister has a Scientific Advisor of its own.

VijayRaghavan, a former director of National Centre for Biological Sciences, was appointed Secretary of Department of Biotechnology in 2013. He retired from that position last month.


-Indian Express





Krishnaswamy Vijay Raghavan is new scientific adviser to govt


Vijay Raghavan was serving as secretary of the department of biotechnology since January 2013, succeeding Dr MK Bhan


Krishnaswamy Vijay Raghavan, 64, was appointed principle scientific adviser to the goverment of India on Monday, the appointments committee of the Union Cabinet issued an order regarding the posting.

VijayRaghavan will succeed physicist Rajagopala Chidambaram. “This is a major responsibility. The aim is to take science to the highest global quality and make science have an impact on society. I am looking forward to working with everyone as a team towards achieving this goal,” said professor VijayRaghavan.

VijayRaghavan was serving as secretary of the department of biotechnology since January 2013, succeeding Dr MK Bhan.

Earlier this year, he was also briefly assigned the additional charge of director general, Indian Council of Medical Research, and secretary, department of health research. VijayRaghavan graduated from Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, with a ba- chelors degree in Chemical engineering. He also has a doctoral research in molecular biology.


-Hindustan Times