Internationally renowned Indian cosmologist Jayant Vishnu Narlikar, elected to TWAS in 1989, passed away on 20 May 2025, at the age of 86.

Narlikar was the founding director of the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics in Pune, India, where he served as director until his retirement in 2003. He remained an emeritus professor until the end of his life.

His cosmological theories were groundbreaking and innovative. He challenged the Big Bang Theory, and proposed an alternative vision of a universe without a beginning, continuously undergoing an endless expansion. Through his leadership, he helped shape India's scientific astrophysical landscape.

In 1965, at the age of 26, he was awarded the Padma Bhushan, the third-highest civilian honour for distinguished service of a high order. In 1996, he received the UNESCO Kalinga Prize for the Popularization of Science, followed in 2004 by the Prix Jules Janssen of the Société Astronomique de France. In 2011, he was honoured with the Maharashtra Bhushan, the highest civilian award presented annually by the Government of Maharashtra State in India. In 2012, he received the TWAS Institution Building Award.

Beyond his scientific achievements, Narlikar was a gifted communicator, passionate educator, and a science fiction writer.