National Science Day 1981

India observes National Science Day on 28 February to commemorate physicist C. V. Raman's discovery of the Raman Effect in 1928. The day promotes scientific curiosity, research and public understanding of science through exhibitions, experiments, lectures and educational activities. Raman received the 1930 Nobel Prize in Physics for his work on light scattering.

National Science Day is observed on 28 February to commemorate C. V. Raman's discovery of the Raman Effect in 1928. While studying how light changes when it passes through a material, Raman and his collaborators identified a small shift in the scattered light's wavelength that revealed information about molecular structure. The discovery became a major contribution to modern spectroscopy and earned Raman the 1930 Nobel Prize in Physics. In 1986, the National Council for Science and Technology Communication proposed that 28 February be designated National Science Day, and the Government accepted the proposal. Since then schools, universities, laboratories and science organisations have used the date for demonstrations, exhibitions and public lectures. The story of the Raman Effect gives the day a specific scientific origin, while the wider aim is to cultivate curiosity, evidence-based thinking and communication between scientific institutions and society.

The Raman effect concerns inelastic scattering: a small fraction of incident light exchanges energy with molecular vibrations or rotations, producing shifted frequencies. It is now used to study chemicals, materials and biological samples. The anniversary also offers an opportunity to explain experimental controls, reproducibility, safety and the difference between scientific evidence and unsupported claims. Annual government themes change and should not be hard-coded into the festival's permanent history.

Commemorates the 1928 Raman effect discovery and promotes experimental evidence and public scientific understanding.

Science institutions and schools host demonstrations, exhibitions, laboratory visits, talks and science communication activities; there are no religious rites.

Observed nationwide on 28 February; annual themes and programmes vary among institutions.