The Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for the year 2021 in Earth, Atmosphere, Ocean & Planetary Scienceshas been awarded to Dr Binoy Kumar Saikia of CSIR NEIST Jorhat. Dr Saikia has made outstanding contributions on the formation of fluorescent “carbon quantum dots” (CQDs) from Indian coal. His indigenous patented CQD technology for diverse applications falls under “Atmanirbhar Bharat” leading to import substitution.