Bangalore: R Venkatraman, former President of India presented 'H K Firodia Awards for excellence in science and technology' for the year 2002 to Dr M S Valiathan and Dr Ashok Jhunjhunwala at a function held in Poona, according to an official press release.

Dr M S Valiathan, the present president of Indian National Science Academy received the first award of Rs 2 lakh for his outstanding contributions to the field of life sciences. Dr Ashok Jhunjhunwala received the second award of Rs 1 lakh for his outstanding contributions in the field of informatics, telematics and automation, the release said.

This was the seventh year of the awards which have been instituted by Pune based Firodia family in 1996 in the memory of H K Firodia, remembered as the 'doyen of Indian automobile industry. These awards are given only to Indian scientists for their outstanding and world-class contributions to any branch of science.

Dr A P J Abdul Kalam, President of India, was the first scientist to receive this award in 1996. Some of the other prominent recipients have been Prof C N R Rao, Dr R Chidambaram, now scientific advisor to Prime Minister, Dr Kasturirangan, chairman of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), and Dr Anil Kakodkar, chairman of Atomic Energy Commission.