Professor (Dr.) Virander Singh Chauhan is an Indian scientist and a Rhodes Scholar working in the fields of genetic engineering and biotechnology. He was honoured by the Government of India in 2012 with the fourth highest Indian civilian award of Padma Shri.
Dr. Chauhan was the secretary of the Indian arm of Rhodes Scholarships UK and is a member of the selection committees of such as Inlaks, Felix and Dr. Manmohan Singh scholarships. He has been on the selection committees for the last 42 years without a break. A former president of the Society of Biological Chemists during 2009-2011, Dr. Chauhan is an elected member (1992) of all the three National Academies of Sciences including the Indian National Science Academy (INSA), National Academy of Sciences (NASI) and Indian Academy of Sciences (IAS) as well as Guha Research Conference and The World Academy of Sciences TWAS.
Dr. Chauhan has been associated with international bodies such as the World Health Organization (WHO) as the member of the Expert Advisory Panel on Vaccines and Biological Standards, International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (IUBMB) and Asia-Pacific International Molecular Biology Network (A-IMBN), South Korea, as a member of their Technical Research Groups.
His many other national responsibilities include member of University Grants Commission (UGC) for two terms, Acting Chairman of University Grants Commission (UGC) for one year (2017) as well as the Chairman of the Executive Council of the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC), Government of India. Dr. Chauhan was also the Chairman of the Academic Committee of the 7th pay Commission, Government of India and was responsible for major reforms both at the UGC and NAAC. He is also an independent director of the Higher Education Financing Agency (HEFA) since its inception. He is also the current Chancellor of the Gandhi Institute of Technology and Management.
