On 31st March 2005, India Post issued this commemorative postage stamp to mark the International Year of Physics. This stamp commemorated the profound impact of physics on the global understanding of the universe.

2005 marked the 100th anniversary since Albert Einstein published his four groundbreaking papers that laid the foundation for modern physics. These papers covered the photoelectric effect, Brownian motion, special relativity, and mass-energy equivalence (E=mc2).

The year was launched with the conference "Physics for Tomorrow" at UNESCO headquarters in Paris between 13th – 15th January 2005. Several events were organised throughout 2005, including the International Physics Olympiads in July 2005 in Salamanca, Spain, which brought together the brightest young minds in physics from around the world.

In a speech by the, then, President of India, Dr. Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam, India committed to celebrate the International Year of Physics, and by paying special attention to sciences across India’s educational institutions, modernising and reforming India’s scientific institutions of science. Among other things, IIT Kanpur and the S.N. Bose National Centre for Basic Sciences in Kolkata co-organised a national conference titled "Physics 2005: 100 Years after Einstein's Revolution”.