On 25th May 1998, the Prime Minister Shri Atal Behari Vajpayee, announced that 11th May would henceforth be celebrated as Technology Day. He urged the industry to forge powerful partnerships with the national laboratories and to create knowledge networks with academic institutions to promote research and development and to gain entry into global markets. The Government of India constituted the Technology Development Board (TDB) in September 1996 with the sole objective of translating the fruits of indigenous research into commercial products or services. TDB instituted a National Award for successful commercialization of indigenous technology by an industrial concern given annually on the occasion of Technology Day. The National Award is shared equally between the Industrial Concern that has successfully commercialized the indigenous technology and the developer/ provider of such technology.

The National Award for the successful commercialization of indigenous technology was presented to SMITA Research Lab, IIT Delhi for the commercialization of N9 Pure Silver; developed jointly with partners M/s RESIL Chemicals Private Limited and ARCI, Hyderabad who also received the award. The award was presented during the Technology Day function on 11^th May 2016 by Shri Pranab Mukherjee, the Hon'ble President of India, in the presence of Dr. Harsh Vardhan, Hon'ble Minister of Science & Technology and Earth Sciences, Prof. Ashutosh Sharma, Secretary, Department of Science & Technology and Dr. K. VijayRaghavan, Secretary, Department of Biotechnology, Government of India.

Prof. Ashwini K. Agrawal receiving the award on behalf of the group on Technology Day 2016

Award being given by Shri Pranab Mukherjee, the Hon'ble President of India, in the presence of 

Dr. Harsh Vardhan, Hon'ble Minister of Science & Technology and Earth Sciences, 

Prof. Ashutosh Sharma, Secretary, Department of Science & Technology 

and Dr. K. VijayRaghavan, Secretary, Department of Biotechnology, Government of India (not present in the photograph).