[2][3] The award was named after the founder Director of the Council of Scientific & Industrial Research, Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar.
The Rashtriya Vigyan Puraskar has been designed to bring the same level of respect and honor to scientific achievements as the Padma awards do for other fields.
This format ensures that the awardees receive the same recognition, respect, and dignity as Padma award recipients, reflecting the government's continued commitment to honoring significant contributions to science and technology in India.
Names of candidates were proposed by a member of the governing body of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Vice-Chancellors of universities or institutes of national importance, and deans of different faculties of science and former awardees.
Selection was made by the Advisory Committee constituted each year and necessarily consists of at least six experts including at least one former Bhatnagar Awardee in the respective discipline.