National Science Day 2023: History, significance and the role of CV Raman

National Science Day is celebrated in honour of a discovery by Nobel Prize-winning physicist CV Raman. (Image credit: Wikipedia)

National Science Day is celebrated in India on February 28 to mark the discovery of the Raman effect by physicist Sir CV Raman on the same day in 1928. For this discovery, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1930.

The Raman effect or Raman scattering is the change in the wavelength of light that occurs when a light beam is deflected by molecules.

National Science Day was first celebrated in 1986 after the National Council for Science and Technology Communication (NCSTC) asked the Centre to designate February 28 to mark CV Raman's achievements. The event is now celebrated all over India in schools, colleges, universities, and other educational and research institutions to inspire and urge kids to pursue careers in science.

Every year, National Science Day is celebrated around a theme, this year "Global Science for Global Wellbeing" was chosen as the official theme for National Science Day 2023 by the National Council for Science and Technology Communication (NCSTC) of the Department of Science and Technology (DST).

Some of the themes used in the past few years include "Science and Technology for Sustainable Development", "Science and Technology for Indigenous Development" and "Women in Science".

Activities organised to mark National Science Day include students presenting science projects and national and state science institutions presenting their most recent findings. It also includes public speeches, radio-TV talk shows, science movie exhibitions, science exhibitions, stargazing, live projects, debates, quiz competitions, lectures, and many other activities.

Read more: 'Global Science for Global Wellbeing' to be theme of National Science Day 2023