Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science and Technology Dr. Jitendra Singh addressed the graduation ceremony of the National Institute of Science Education and Research (NISER) in Bhubaneswar on 9 July 2026, calling the occasion a symbolic transfer of the atomic energy mission initiated by Dr. Homi Bhabha to the next generation of Indian scientists.

Context

NISER is an autonomous institution under the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), established in Bhubaneswar, Odisha. It was founded in the legacy of Dr. Homi Bhabha, the nuclear physicist who laid the foundations of India's atomic energy programme in the 1940s and established the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research in 1945. At the ceremony, 260 graduates received their degrees across science disciplines.

Dr. Singh said, 'In awarding degrees to these youngsters, we are actually passing on to the next generation the baton of the mission handed to us by Late Homi Bhabha.' He underscored that NISER is 'a unique academic institution of its kind in the country, functioning under the aegis of the Department of Atomic Energy.'

Policy Backdrop

Dr. Singh invoked Dr. Bhabha's historic declaration that India's nuclear programme was 'dedicated to peaceful purposes,' made in response to early international scepticism when India's nuclear initiative was launched. He stated that this declaration 'stands vindicated' through recent policy decisions by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, citing the SHANTI Act and the announcement of four Rare Earth Corridors across the country, one of which is envisaged in Odisha.

India's Net Zero emissions target by 2070, announced at COP26 in Glasgow in 2021, and the Viksit Bharat @2047 vision — India's goal to become a fully developed nation by the centenary of its independence — were cited as the twin national commitments the graduating batch must carry forward. The minister also highlighted that the multidisciplinary training offered at NISER is 'closely aligned with NEP 2020,' the National Education Policy approved in 2020 to foster integrated science education.

Stakeholders and Impact

The 260 graduates from NISER's latest batch enter a research and industry landscape increasingly oriented around clean energy, critical minerals, and advanced science. DAE institutions like NISER are being positioned as key pipelines for trained manpower aligned with both NEP 2020's multidisciplinary framework and India's long-term energy and climate commitments.

The reference to a Rare Earth Corridor in Odisha carries specific significance for the state, which holds substantial reserves of rare earth minerals. Such corridors, if developed, could anchor clean-energy and nuclear supply-chain infrastructure in the region, directly relevant to the kind of scientific workforce NISER produces.

What's Next

The alignment of DAE-affiliated institutions with NEP 2020 curricula is expected to deepen as the policy's implementation progresses across Indian higher education. Progress on the proposed Rare Earth Corridor in Odisha and the broader nuclear clean-energy agenda will be closely watched as indicators of how India translates its peaceful-use atomic legacy into a 21st-century energy transition strategy.

For the 260 NISER graduates, the minister's address frames their careers as part of a continuum stretching from Bhabha's founding vision to India's commitments on the global climate stage — a generational relay that now passes to them.