On 14^th November, 2022, the North-East witnessed a unique congregation of some of the leading scientists and thought leaders of the country. The occasion was a novel national event on Achieving Leadership for India in S&T (ALIST)-22, perhaps the first time in the history of entire North-East, if not whole of India. What made the event unique was coming together of several Awardees of the prestigious Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award (Assam now has four) from different corners of the country and from different disciplines. Participation of personalities like Padmabivhushan Dr Anil Kakodkar, former Chairman of Atomic Energy Commission, as the Chief Guest, Padmabhushan Dr V K Saraswat, H’ble Member, NITI Aayog as the Chairman of the Inaugural Session and Dr N Kalaiselvi as the Chief Guest of the Valedictory function brought in rare depth of analysis to the theme of ALIST-22.

ALIST-22 has been initiated by the thought that while India had a glorious scientific past and unmatched potential, it didn’t currently enjoy an undisputed leadership position in science and technology, and that a critical, systematic, inclusive and holistic analysis of India’s Science and Technology policy was an urgent necessity. To carry out this analysis involving the cutting edge of India’s scientific and technology research, ALIST-22 brought together several recent winners of Shantiswarup Bhatnagar Award: Dr. Abhijit Mukherjee (IIT-Kharagpur), Dr. Binoy Kr Saikia (CSIR NEIST, Jorhat), Dr. Jeeemon Panniyammakal (SCTIMST, Kerala), Dr. Kanak Saha (IUCAA, Pune), Dr. Kayrat Saikrishnan (IISER, Pune), Dr. Kinshuk Dasgupta (BARC, Mumbai) and Dr. Vatsala Thirumalai (NCBS, TIFR, Bangalore).

The event also saw the participation of eminent scientists and Bhatnagar Awardees including Prof. GanDgan Prathap (Former Director, CSIR NISCAIR), Prof. B N Goswami (Dept. of Physics, Cotton University, Guwahati), Prof. Prashant Goswami (Chairman, Institute of Frontier Science and Application and Former Director, CSIR NISTADS) and Dr. G N Sastry (Director, CSIR NEIST Jorhat).

The technical and scholarly aspects of ALIST-22 were supervised by a National Organizing Committee (NOC), chaired by Dr. Prashant Goswami, Chairman, Institute of Frontier Science and Application (IFSA) and co-chaired by Dr. P. K. Mishra, Vice Chancellor, KU.

ALIST-22 also created some unique opportunities for students and faculty of Kaziranga University and other local organizations. Two Interactive Sessions:  Students-Awardees and Faculty – Awardees sessions were organized for inspiring and encouraging young and upcoming scientists. A large number of students and faculty participated through poster presentations and took part in question-answer sessions with the Awardees.

ALIST-22 is jointly organized by The Assam Kaziranga University and The Institute of Frontier Science and Application (IFSA), an organization under Science for Inclusive Development Trust (SIID).