Thirteen scientists have been selected for the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar (SSB) Prize for the year 2006. The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) are awarding the Prizes annually to the young scientists for their outstanding scientific contributions to the country.

This year, the scientists have been chosen for the Prize from seven streams of sciences. Of the thirteen scientists selected for the Prize, five represent biological, medical and chemical sciences.

Dr Vinod Bhakuni, Central Drug Research Institute, Lucknow; Dr Rajesh Sudhir Gokhale, National Institute of Immunology, New Delhi have been selected for their contributions in the field of biological sciences.

Dr Virender Singh Sangwan, L V Prasad Eye Institute, Hyderabad has been selected from the medical sciences. Whereas, Dr Srinivasan Sampath, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, and Dr K George Thomas, Regional Research Laboratory, Thiruvananthapuram have been selected from the field of Chemical Sciences.

The Prize comprises a citation, a plaque and carries a cash award of Rs 2 lakh. The Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh will present the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prizes 2006, shortly.