M. S. Swaminathan

Indian agronomist (1925–2023)

Mankombu Sambasivan Swaminathan (7 August 1925 – 28 September 2023) was an Indian geneticist, politician and international administrator. From 2007 to 2013, he was a member of the Rajya Sabha.

M. S. Swaminathan
Swaminathan at the 100th Indian Science Congress
Born(1925-08-07)7 August 1925
Kumbakonam, Tanjore District, Madras Presidency, British India (present-day Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, India)
Died28 September 2023(2023-09-28) (aged 98)
Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
Alma materH H M University College Thiruvananthapuram
Tamil Nadu Agricultural University
Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Known forHigh-yielding varieties of wheat in India
SpouseMina Swaminathan
ChildrenSoumya Swaminathan
AwardsPadma Shri (1967)
Ramon Magsaysay (1971)
Padma Bhushan (1972)
Albert Einstein World Award of Science (1986)
Padma Vibhushan (1989)
World Food Prize (1987)
Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement (1991)
Volvo Environment Prize (1999)
Indira Gandhi Peace Prize(1999)
Indira Gandhi Award for National Integration (2013)
Scientific career
InstitutionsMS Swaminathan Research Foundation
InfluencesDr. Norman Borlaug

Career

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He is known for his role in India's Green Revolution a program under which high-yield varieties of wheat and rice seedlings were planted in the fields of poor farmers. Swaminathan is also known as "Indian Father of Green Revolution" for his leadership and success in creating and further developing varieties of wheat in India. He is the founder and chairman of the MS Swaminathan Research Foundation.[1]

From 1972 to 1979 he was director general of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research. He was Principal Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture from 1979 to 1980. He served as Director General of the International Rice Research Institute (1982–88) and became president of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources in 1988.

Swaminathan died on 28 September 2023, at age 98.[2]

Honors

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In 1999, Time magazine placed him in the 'Time 20' list of most influential Asian people of the 20th century.[3]

References

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  1. About Chairman. mssrf.org
  2. Ramakrishnan, T. (28 September 2023). "M.S. Swaminathan, eminent agricultural scientist, passes away". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 28 September 2023.
  3. Asians of the Century: A Tale of Titans Archived 2010-06-03 at the Wayback Machine, TIME 100: 23–30 August 1999 VOL. 154 NO. 7/8

Other websites

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  Media related to M. S. Swaminathan at Wikimedia Commons