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  INTRODUCTION
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It has been observed that most of the research in the field of Science & Technology remain confined to institutional boundaries or at the most limited to scientific fraternity through publications of articles in peer-reviewed journals. There is a yawning communication gap that exists at the science-society interface. Bridging this communication gap between scientific fraternity and the common citizenry is still a challenging task. Communicating science to a common man in a simple way without the use of technical jargon, that too, without diluting the scientific content and the accuracy is not only an art but a skill which developed over the time. Today, science & technology communication is an emerging field of academic inquiry. Many institution and universities are offering professional courses at various levels in S&T communication. Unfortunately, during the period of research, researchers did not find an opportunity to communicate or talk about their research at a public forum, though they have many exposures on how to write a technical research paper and present in a seminar or conference before their peers.
Considering the above scenario, and with an aim to strengthen the ecosystem for science communication in the country and to bring science closer to society, the scheme “Augmenting Writing Skills for Articulating Research” (AWSAR) was conceived and conceptualized by National Council for Science & Technology Communication (NCSTC) Division, Department of Science and Technology (DST) in collaboration with Vigyan Prasar (an Autonomous Institute of Department of Science & Technology). The specific objective of the scheme is to encourage youths pursuing higher studies to write about their research in a popular or easy to understand format. The initiative hopes to disseminate Indian research stories among the citizenry in a format that’s not only easy to understand but generate and sustain interest about S&T in a lay reader. It is expected that the outcome of this scheme will help in fulfilling the objectives of our constitutional mandate as enshrined in Article 50 A(h), i.e., Fostering, strengthening, and nurturing scientific temper among the people of the country. This concern has also been reiterated in The Science, Technology and Innovation Policy (STI) 2013.
The scheme AWSAR was launched in September 2018 by giving wide publicity through print and electronic media and conducting workshops in different parts of the country. The workshops provided an opportunity for the researchers to have direct interaction with some of the best-known science writers and journalists of the country. The scheme also has a monetary incentive in the form of prizes which include three best entries with a cash prize of `1,00,000/-, `50,000/- and `25,000/- in PhD category in addition to 100 best entries along with Certificate of Appreciation. Under Post-Doctoral Fellows category the cash prize is `1,00,000/-, for an outstanding story. In this category twenty other best stories are also selected.
A comprehensive web portal www.awsar-dst.in was developed for giving detailed information about the AWSAR scheme and inviting the stories from the researchers. In total 4128 researchers got themselves registered on the portal. On the closing date of the entry, 455 and 2174 stories were received respectively under PDF and Ph.D. category. After the initial review, 1755 stories were sent to two experts for evaluation. The authors of the top 10 entries under Ph.D. Category and three top entries under PDF category were invited to interact with the expert panel. Finally, the winners were announced.





























































































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