Three Indian scientists have been awarded the 2024 Tata Transformation Prize, recognized for their groundbreaking work in malnutrition and diabetes, energy storage, and a new RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) vaccine.
Tata Sons and The New York Academy of Sciences announced the second cohort of winners of the Tata Transformation Prize on Monday, Nov. 25.
Established in 2022, the Prize recognizes and supports Indian scientists who address India’s most significant societal challenges in food security, sustainability, and healthcare with novel technologies and breakthrough solutions.
In a press statement, Chairman of the Board of Tata Sons Chandrasekaran said, “We are pleased to announce the Tata Transformation Prize Winners for the second year. By supporting pioneering Indian scientists in scaling up their pathbreaking innovations, Tata Group hopes to improve the lives of the Indian people and develop India into a world-class innovator. This prize is intended to provide these scientists with the international visibility to promote these Indian technologies to the rest of the world.”
This year, the Prize saw 169 entries from 18 different cities and among them, three scientists were selected by a jury of leading international experts including distinguished scientists, clinicians, technologists, and engineers from a diverse array of industries, government, and academic institutions. Experts from Apple, IBM Research, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the National Institute of Advanced Studies, and the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore were part of the jury.
READ: Three Indian scientists win first Tata Transformation Prize (November 7, 2023)
The Prize aims to drive impactful innovation and reward groundbreaking research. Each winner is awarded approximately $240,000 or Rs. 20 million and will be honored at a ceremony in Mumbai in December 2024.
Here are the 2024 Tata Transformation Prize Winners:
Food Security Winner: C. Anandharamakrishnan, PhD, CSIR National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology
Anandharamakrishnan was selected by the jury for pioneering a variety of rice fortified with multiple essential nutrients that simultaneously has a low glycaemic index (GI) to control blood sugar levels in diabetics.
He has developed advanced food technologies such as a three-fluid nozzle spray drying process to efficiently encapsulate and deliver these nutrients in reconstituted rice. He has also engineered Asia’s first artificial gastrointestinal system, which allows his team to analyze nutrient release during digestion to ensure the rice is optimized for maximum absorption of nutrients.
Hunger and public health are urgent challenges in India, with nearly 30% of the population lacking essential nutrients and 7% affected by diabetes. There is a pressing need for solutions that address both malnutrition and chronic disease. Anandharamakrishnan’s strategies address the nutrient deficiencies, hunger, and metabolic dysfunction faced by India’s underserved and the two billion people globally affected by micronutrient malnutrition.
Sustainability Winner: Amartya Mukhopadhyay, PhD, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay
Amartya Mukhopadhyay
Amartya Mukhopadhyay’s work to advance Na-ion (sodium-ion) battery technologies through recent breakthroughs in materials science got him selected as a Tata Transformation Prize winner. His battery prototype is approximately 30% cheaper than Li-ion (lithium-ion) batteries, operates in a broader temperature range, and is safer to store.
Prof. Mukhopadhyay’s approach also leverages “aqueous processing” of battery electrodes, which replaces toxic solvents with water to reduce production costs and environmental impact.
READ: Tata Transformation Prize launched to tackle India challenges (January 5, 2023)
With the urgent global need for sustainable energy solutions, the development of affordable, eco-friendly batteries is critical. In India, where key materials for Li-ion batteries, such as lithium and cobalt, are scarce and require foreign sources, Na-ion batteries offer a promising alternative.
Healthcare Winner: Raghavan Varadarajan, PhD, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore
Raghavan Varadarajan
Dr. Raghavan Varadarajan aims to develop a cost-effective RSV vaccine that addresses challenges like the high number of RSV-related deaths and inaccessibility of vaccines due to high cost. Drawing upon his lab’s extensive expertise in protein structure and vaccine design, Varadarajan is developing a vaccine that will provide broad and longer-lasting protection against RSV infection.
RSV causes severe respiratory illness in over 30 million people annually, disproportionately affecting infants, young children, and the elderly, with more than 97% of RSV-related deaths occurring in developing countries, including India. Despite the availability of new RSV vaccines, their high cost makes them inaccessible to the populations most at risk.
By employing cutting-edge methods in protein production, Varadarajan’s team is optimizing the vaccine manufacturing process to significantly reduce costs, potentially lowering the price of each dose by up to 95%.
Nicholas B. Dirks, President and CEO of The New York Academy of Sciences, said, “Congratulations to the second cohort of Winners of the Tata Transformation Prize. From addressing India’s issues such as malnutrition and diabetes, to an RSV vaccine that reduces mortality in the most vulnerable populations, to improving India’s energy storage capacity through greener, more cost-effective battery technologies – these scientists are using their innovations to bolster Indian society. Many thanks to Tata for sponsoring this visionary prize and our independent jury for volunteering their time and expertise.”