The tenacity to create something extraordinary of a mere thought has been one of the sources that helped humankind to evolve. In order to motivate and keep the spark alive in every one of us, the nation celebrates National Science Day on February 28, every year.

The day marks the discovery of the Raman effect by Indian physicist Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman, popularly known as CV Raman. He also was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for his work in 1930.

According to Britannica, the Raman effect is the “change in the wavelength of light that occurs when a light beam is deflected by molecules. When a beam of light traverses a dust-free, transparent sample of a chemical compound, a small fraction of the light emerges in directions other than that of the incident (incoming) beam. Most of this scattered light is of unchanged wavelength.”

About CV Raman

Dr CV Raman was born in 1888 in a village in southern India. In 1933, Raman became director and professor at the Indian Institute of Science (IIS) at Bangalore. The next year, he established the Indian Academy of Sciences. Over the following decade, he published more than 30 papers in the Proceedings of the Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science, Nature, Philosophical Magazine and Physical Review, according to The Optical Society.

At the age of 60, Raman formed the Raman Research Institute (supported with his own funds and donations that he raised). He also remained a professor, as well as the President of the Indian Academy of Sciences in Bangalore, until his death in 1970.

History of National Science Day 2021

The National Council for Science and Technology Communication (NCSTC), in the year 1986, asked the Government of India to designate February 28 as National Science Day. The NCSTC, on the first National Science Day, i.e., February 28, 1987, announced the institution of the National Science Popularization awards for recognizing outstanding efforts in the field of science and communication, read the Wikipedia.

Significance of National Science Day

National Science Day is celebrated to inspire and encourage people to make contributions to the field of science and aware of the importance of science in daily life. The event is celebrated all over the nation in different schools, colleges, universities, and other academic, scientific, technical, medical, and research institutions. The celebration includes public speeches, debates, quiz competitions, lectures, science exhibitions based on the theme.

Theme of National Science Day 2021

This year, the theme for the National Science Day is “Future of STI: Impacts on Education, Skills and Work”. The theme this year has been chosen for the purpose of raising public appreciation of the scientific issues involved and the impacts science has on education, skill, and work, reports NDTV.