Manju Sharma

Manju Sharma (13 December 1940 – 31 October 2024) was an Indian biotechnologist and administrator of several scientific research and policy-making bodies in India. She was most recently the president and executive director at the Indian Institute of Advanced Research in Gandhinagar, Gujarat. She earlier served as the secretary, Department of Biotechnology, in the Indian Ministry of Science and Technology, and was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 2007.

Some credit Sharma with pioneering biotechnology research in India. She played a significant role in establishing several institutions in the country, including the National Institute of Immunology, the National Institute of Plant Genome Research, the Biomass Research Centres at Lucknow and Madurai, the Plant Molecular Biology Unit in University of Delhi and the Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics.

Life and career Sharma was the granddaughter of Madan Mohan Malaviya, an educationist and politician. She was married to Vinod Prakash Sharma, a malariologist and entomologist. Their son, Amit Sharma, specialises in protein crystallography.

Sharma graduated from Lucknow University, winning the first rank and receiving the Birbal Sahni Memorial Gold Medal.

Sharma's research on plant idioblasts led to her becoming a visiting scientist at the Institute of Plant Anatomy and Cytology, University of Copenhagen. When M. S. Swaminathan took initiative in introducing a chapter on science and technology for women in the Sixth Five-Year Plan (1980–85), a team led by Sharma prepared a report which was incorporated in the plan document on women and development. This was the first focused scheme on the subject, which has since been operated by the Department of Science and Technology.

Sharma died in New Delhi on 31 October 2024, at the age of 83.

Awards and honours The Chandaben Mohanbhai Patel Industrial Research Award for Women Scientists (1991) The Borlaug Award (1995) The first woman president of the National Academy of Sciences (1995–96) President of the Indian Science Congress Association (1999) The Dr B. P. Pal Memorial Award from the Indian Science Congress Association (2001) Padma Bhushan (2007) Honorary Doctorate, Purdue University (2012) Fellow, The World Academy of Sciences Honorary Fellow, Indian Society of Agricultural Biochemists The first chairperson of the International Council for Science's Forum on Science for Women (2004)