Who among the following was awarded Padma Vibhushan – 2023 in the field of Science and Engineering?
- (a)Shri S. M. Krishna
- (b)Shri Dilip Mahalanabis
- (c)Shri Srinivasa Varadhan
- (d)Shri Narinder Singh Kapany
Correct — C, Shri Srinivasa Varadhan. S. R. Srinivasa Varadhan, the India-born mathematician based at New York University's Courant Institute (celebrated for his work on the theory of large deviations in probability, for which he won the 2007 Abel Prize), was awarded the Padma Vibhushan 2023 in the field of Science and Engineering.
- (a)Shri S. M. Krishna — A former Karnataka Chief Minister and Union External Affairs Minister; he too received the Padma Vibhushan 2023, but in the field of Public Affairs, not Science and Engineering.
- (b)Shri Dilip Mahalanabis — The physician who pioneered the mass use of Oral Rehydration Solution (ORS) against cholera; he received the Padma Vibhushan 2023 (posthumously), but in the field of Medicine, not Science and Engineering.
- (d)Shri Narinder Singh Kapany — Known as the 'father of fibre optics', he was awarded a Padma Vibhushan in Science and Engineering, but in 2021 (posthumously), not 2023.
The Padma Vibhushan is India's second-highest civilian award, given for exceptional and distinguished service in a specified field. Each year's list groups recipients under a labelled field (Public Affairs, Medicine, Science & Engineering, Art, etc.) — exam-setters exploit this by naming real recipients from the SAME year but a DIFFERENT field as distractors.
The safest way to crack these questions is to lock the person to BOTH the year and the field together, not just recognise the name — several genuinely correct Padma Vibhushan recipients appear as wrong options simply because their field or year doesn't match what's asked.
- Srinivasa (S. R. S.) Varadhan — Padma Vibhushan 2023, field: Science and Engineering
- Mathematician at NYU's Courant Institute; won the 2007 Abel Prize for work on large-deviations theory in probability
- S. M. Krishna (Public Affairs) and Dilip Mahalanabis (Medicine, posthumous) were also Padma Vibhushan 2023 recipients but in different fields
- Narinder Singh Kapany, 'father of fibre optics', received his Padma Vibhushan in Science and Engineering in 2021, not 2023
- Picking a genuinely correct Padma Vibhushan 2023 recipient but from the wrong field
- Picking the right person but the wrong year (e.g. Kapany's actual award year was 2021)
Both MPPSC and UPPSC ask 'who received Padma Vibhushan/Bhushan/Shri in field X in year Y' almost every cycle — always pin down year AND field together.
No directly related past PYQ was found.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Which Indian mathematician won the 2007 Abel Prize for his work on the theory of large deviations?
- (a)Srinivasa Ramanujan
- (b)S. R. Srinivasa Varadhan
- (c)Harish-Chandra
- (d)C. R. Rao
Answer(b) S. R. Srinivasa Varadhan.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Dilip Mahalanabis, a Padma Vibhushan 2023 (posthumous) recipient, is best known for pioneering the mass use of:
- (a)Insulin therapy
- (b)Oral Rehydration Solution (ORS)
- (c)BCG vaccination
- (d)Antiretroviral therapy
Answer(b) Oral Rehydration Solution (ORS) — his work drastically cut cholera deaths.