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Updated: Mar 08, 2019 04:12 IST

The 28th GD Birla Award for Scientific Research for the year 2018 was awarded to Dr Rajeev K Varshney of the Centre of Excellence in Genomics, Telangana. Varshney is internationally known for his outstanding contribution in the area of decoding plant genomes, genomics-assisted breeding, and translational genomics for agriculture.

Prof Varshney is recognized as a leader in decoding plant genomes, genomics-assisted breeding (GAB), translational genomics and capacity building in international agriculture. He has made a pioneering contribution by integrating advanced discoveries in genomics with crop improvement in developing countries. He has genome sequences of 9 crops, including pigeon pea, chickpea, peanut and pearl millet, >40 genetic and QTL maps and several molecular breeding products in legumes to his credit .

The GD Birla Award for Scientific Research was instituted in 1991 by the KK Birla Foundation with the objective of accord recognition to high calibre scientific research undertaken by Indian scientists living and working in India. It is awarded to scientists below the age of 50 for their original and outstanding contributions to any branch of Science or Technology. It carries a cash prize of ?5 lakh.

The selection for this Award is made by a Board headed by the President of the Indian National Science Academy, New Delhi.