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Dr. Arabinda Mitra

Hon. Distinguished Fellow & former Scientific Secretary

Office of the Principal Scientific Advisor to Government of India

After completing Master's in Geology from Patna University, Arabinda Mitra started his career in 1985 as a research scholar in the Dept. of Geology, Delhi University. In 1987 he joined the Indian Department of Atomic Energy and was involved in survey and exploration geology of the Himalayas.
In 1988 he was awarded the prestigious Cambridge Nehru Fellowship to pursue PhD in Earth Sciences at University of Cambridge, UK. His work on Rare Earth Element geochemistry of mid-ocean ridge hydrothermal systems has been published in Nature, Marine Chemistry, Geochimica Cosmochemica Acta etc.
On return from UK, he joined the Indian Antarctic Program of the Department of Ocean Development. He has to his credit the planning and launching of several scientific projects in Antarctica. At the National Centre for Polar & Ocean Research in Goa, he set up the first ice core study laboratory in the country.
In the course of these assignments, he won several academic awards including the ORS Award of UK, JSPS Award of Japan and was elected as a Fellow of the Geological Society, London. He was a member of the 14th Indian Antarctic expedition and has participated in scientific cruises to the Indian, Atlantic, Southern Oceans and Sea of Japan.
In 2001, he joined as Director in the Indian Department of Science & Technology (DST), responsible for S&T cooperation with USA. In Nov 2004, Dr. Mitra was confirmed as the founding Executive Director of the bi-national Indo-US Science and Technology Forum where he played a significant role in strengthening the Indo-American cooperation in science, technology and innovation.
In 2011, Dr. Mitra took over the responsibilities of Adviser & Head of International Cooperation of DST. This job involved overseeing India's international science and technology engagements with 44 countries across the globe, including Africa.
From June 2018 until October 2021, Dr. Mitra served as Scientific Secretary in the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India with the core mandate to develop national missions, provide policy interventions, and render periodic advice to the government in matters related to science, technology and innovation. Currently, he serves as a Hon. Distinguished Fellow in the O/o PSA helping S&T capacity building across the government ministries/departments.