Dr. Pankaj Kumar Ojha of Banda University of Agriculture and Technology, Utthar Pradesh, India, has been selected for the CIRD National Award for Best Young Information Scientist of the Year 2026 in recognition of his outstanding contributions to Agricultural Informatics and Agricultural Extension through teaching, research and scholarly publications.

The award is instituted by the Centre for Informatics Research and Development (CIRD), an NGO established in 2002 with a commitment to facilitating access to and effective use of information and knowledge for lifelong learning, informed decision-making, cultural development, and the advancement of peace and human well-being. CIRD has been promoting Informatics Studies, an interdisciplinary journal published since January 2014, and has undertaken research and development in areas including information infrastructures, knowledge management, multilingual and interoperable information systems, Open Access, Open Science, Open Knowledge, Bioinformatics, Development Informatics, Community Informatics, Social Informatics, Environmental Informatics, Medical Informatics, Agricultural Informatics and Heritage Informatics.

Among CIRD’s notable initiatives was the development of Nitya Archive, which enabled processing and retrieval of information in Indian-language scripts. The system was used to establish an Open Access digital repository of PhD theses at Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam. This initiative subsequently contributed to the development of UGC’s ShodhGanga, which was launched later with 1,000 dissertations from the repository developed using Nitya Archive.

The CIRD Executive Committee, at its meeting on 17 January 2026, approved Dr. Ojha’s selection based on his contributions during 2021–2025, particularly in advancing the creation, dissemination and application of agricultural knowledge and information for education, informed decision-making and societal benefit. CIRD has instituted awards to recognize both young and established scientists contributing to the application of informatics in diverse fields.

Dr. Ojha holds an MSc in Agriculture from Banaras Hindu University and a PhD in Extension Education from Dr. Rajendra Prasad Central Agricultural University, Pusa, Bihar, where he received a Gold Medal. He has additional qualifications in Rural Development, Theatre Communication and an MBA in Human Resources and IT. He has authored books, research papers and popular articles, received the AIASA National Award, and edited four issues of Informatics Studies specializing in Agricultural Informatics. His research interests include Agricultural Informatics and information systems for conserving traditional knowledge at the grassroots level.