The Dr. B. R. Ambedkar Centenary Award for Excellence in Biomedical Research was instituted in the year 1991-92 as part of the Dr. Ambedkar Birth Centenary celebrations. It is awarded to a scientist for excellence in any field of biomedical research. The award for the year 2015 is being presented to Dr. Shyam Sundar, Department of Medicine, Institute of Medical Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi for the work on 'Treatment of visceral leishmaniasis'. Prof. Sundar developed first oral antileishmanial drug 'miltefosine' which was used extensively in the control programme . His work with single dose liposomal amphotericin B, is a major breakthrough in the treatment of kala-azar, now being used widely in the programme. His pioneering work on rK39 rapid test resulted in its global application.

The Shakuntala Amir Chand Prize was instituted in 1953 by (Late) Major General Amir Chand for significant research contribution by young scientists in biomedical sciences. This prize is awarded for the best published research work on any subject in the field of biomedical science including clinical research. The award for the year 2015 is being presented to Dr. Dipika Bansal, Department of Pharmacy Practice, National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER), Mohali, for the research work on 'Health burden of complications of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus in adults in North India and developing cost effective approaches for prevention and management'. Dr. Bansal has undertaken several epidemiological studies and clinical trials to determine the prevalence and treatment implications of micro and macrovascular complications of diabetes in North India. She has evaluated the effectiveness of various drugs for the treatment of painful diabetic neuropathy.

The Shakuntala Amir Chand Prize was instituted in 1953 by (Late) Major General Amir Chand for significant research contribution by young scientists in biomedical sciences. This prize is awarded for the best published research work on any subject in the field of biomedical science including clinical research. The award for the year 2015 is being presented to Dr. Amit Kumar Dutta, Department of Gastroenterology, Christian Medical College and Hospital, Vellore, for the research work in Clinical Gastroenterology in the area of 'Advanced gastrointestinal endoscopic imaging and malabsorption syndromes in Indian context'. Dr. Dutta's research works have been in the field of 'Medical Gastroenterology' with special focus on i) Advanced endoscopic imaging for early detection and better characterisation of lesions, ii) Inflammatory Bowel Disease and malabsorption syndromes.

The ICMR Tilak Venkoba Rao Award was instituted by the ICMR in 1982 for scientists who have contributed significantly to field of Psychological Medicine or Reproductive Physiology on alternate year and this year the Award is granted for the work carried out in field of Psychological Medicine. The prize for 2015 is being presented to Dr. Urvakhsh M. Mehta, Department of Psychiatry, National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro-sciences, Bengaluru for the research work on 'Social neuroscience based understanding of schizophrenia and its translational implications'. Dr. Mehta has studied the neurobiological basis of schizophrenia from a social neuroscience perspective, combining novel assessments of social cognition with cutting-edge neuroscience tools like Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation and Magnetic Resonance Imaging, to link important social brain subsystems like the mirror neuron system to social cognition and other symptoms of schizophrenia.