The seventh version of the India Science Festival (ISF) 2026 started on the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Pune on Saturday marking the beginning of two-day nationwide celebration of science, innovation and public engagement.
Addressing the gathering as visitor of honour, Abhay Karandikar, secretary, division of science and know-how, highlighted the Government of India’s efforts to strengthen the analysis ecosystem via structural reforms and nationwide initiatives such because the Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF) and the Research Development and Innovation Fund (RDIF), aimed toward boosting innovation-led development. He mentioned these festivals assist carry collectively scientists, business, policymakers, educators and the general public.
ISF 2026 is anticipated to draw participation from over 25,000 college students, 1,000 professors and 5,000 professionals from throughout the nation.
The first day featured knowledgeable talks, panel discussions and interactive periods on a variety of themes, together with moral synthetic intelligence, space exploration, radio astronomy and rising applied sciences. Nobel Laureate Venki Ramakrishnan, laptop scientists Ashish Vaswani and Eshan Chattopadhyay, and Indian astronaut Subhanshu Shukla, are among the many outstanding audio system collaborating on the competition.
Ashish Vaswani will obtain the S Chandrasekhar Rising Indian Diaspora Scientist Award 2026 and IIT Kanpur professor Arnab Bhattacharya can be honoured with the Jayant and Mangala Narlikar Rising Indian Scientist in Science Communication Award 2026 on the occasion.
Varun Aggarwal, co-founder, Foundation for Advancing Science and Technology (FAST India), mentioned, “Focus of this year’s festival is on deep technology and maintaining a healthy balance between science and technology.”
The second day of the competition will function workshops, quizzes and competitions for college kids and lecturers, organised in collaboration with main company homes and tutorial establishments. The competition will conclude with a theatre efficiency “India’s Space Odyssey” narrated by actor Akhilendra Mishra.
Ok VijayRaghavan, former principal scientific advisor; Ashish Dhawan, co-founder of FAST India; Sheel Kapoor, CEO, FAST India; Maneesha Inamdar, director of STEM, The Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR), Sunil Bhagwat, director, IISER Pune; Vijay Jerome of Bajaj Auto Ltd; and Ashok Atluri of Zen Technologies additionally attended the occasion.