Professor Chintamani Nagesa Ramachandra Rao, FRS, National Research Professor; Linus Pauling Research Professor; Honorary President, Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR), has been honoured with the highest civilian honour in the country 'Bharat Ratna'. The announcement came in from the Prime Minister’s Office on November 16, 2013.

He is the third scientist to be awarded the highest civilian award after Dr  C V Raman, Indian physicist, Nobel Prize winner of 1930 and founder  Raman Research Institute, Bengaluru who was honoured in 1954 besides former President A P J Abdul Kalam who is also leading space-missile technology scientist who received the same in 1997.

The 79-year-old Prof Rao has honorary doctorates from 60 universities and has been globally acclaimed as a  scientist par excellence to be bestowed with the honour.

He has served as Chairman of the Scientific Advisory Council to Prime Ministers of India under different regimes.

On the research front he has worked mainly in solid-state and structural chemistry before moving on the space of nanotechnology. Recognizing the immense potential of nanotechnology, Prof. Rao who is the head of the Vision Group on Nanotechnology, government of Karnataka went on the unfurl an annual event in 2007 which is Asia’s biggest Nanoscience and Nanotech exposition. Titled as the Bangalore Nano, the event focuses on Advanced Materials, Energy, Electronics & NEMS, Agriculture, Drug Delivery and Health care, Safe Drinking Water and Textiles This year, the 6th edition of Bangalore Nano will be held from December 4-6, 2013.

In 2007, Union government identified Bengaluru, Mohali and Kolkata for the promotion and development of Nanotechnology and sanctioned Rs. 1,000 crore to set up the Indian Institute of Nano Sciences (IINS) at the three locations. Karnataka has already been granted the Rs. 100 crore from the Centre for the commencement of the project and the State government has provided the possession certificate of the 14 acres of land to construct the IINS in Bangalore. The Institute will primarily focus on advanced scientific research. The other two cities will also have to set up similar institutes.

Addressing a press conference a day after the award was announced, on November 17, 2013, Prof. Rao, who is the Chairman of Prime Minister's Scientific Advisory Council, stressed the need for providing more resources for research.