Mumbai, Oct. 27 -- The country's top science award, Vigyan Ratna puraskar, will be posthumously conferred to eminent astrophysicist, science communicator, and Padma Vibhushan recipient Jayant Vishnu Narlikar, the Union government announced on Sunday. The award recognises lifetime achievements and contributions made in any field of science and technology. The Centre announced Narlikar's name along with eight Vigyan Shri, 14 Vigyan Yuva and one Vigyan Team awards for this year. A media statement on Sunday from the ministry of science and technology said, "By honouring the nation's visionaries in science and technology, the Rashtriya Vigyan Puraskar aims to motivate the next generation, strengthen the research ecosystem, and accelerate India's journey as a global leader in S&T innovation. The Rashtriya Vigyan Puraskar Award ceremony shall be held in due course and will be notified separately to the awardees." Narlikar laid foundation for cosmology in India. Challenging the Big Bang theory, which states that the universe was created in a single moment, Narlikar along with British astronomer Fred Hoyle, co-developed the Hoyle-Narlikar theory of gravity-an alternative to Einstein's general relativity....