Renowned Life Science ScientistM.S. Swaminathan

Dr. M.S. Swaminathan is a renowned Indian geneticist and administrator, who made a stellar contribution in the success of India's Green Revolution program.

Prof. M.S. Swaminathan, Mankombu Sambasivan Swaminathan, Father of the Green Revolution in India, Monkombu Sambasivan Swaminathan Famous as Agricultural Scientist Nationality Indian, Born on 07 August 1925 AD in Kumbakonam. Madras Presidency, to Dr. M.K. Sambasivan and Parvati Thangammal Sambasivan. His father was a surgeon and social reformer.

He lost his father at the age of 11 and thereafter he was brought up by his uncle, M.K. Narayanaswami who was a radiologist. He studied at Little Flower High School in Kumbakonom and later at Maharajas College in Trivandrum. He graduated in 1944 with a degree in zoology. He had his education in Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, University of Wisconsin-Madison, University of Cambridge,. Maharaja's College, Ernakulam. Founder/Co-Founder MS Swaminathan Research Foundation at Chennai.

In 1947, he joined the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), New Delhi and completed his post-graduation in genetics and plant breeding in 1949. He received a UNESCO Fellowship and went to Wageningen Agricultural University, Institute of Genetics in the Netherlands. There, he continued his IARI research on potato genetics and was successful in standardizing procedures for transferring genes from a wide range of wild species of Solanum to the cultivated potato, Solanum tuberosum. In 1950, he joined the School of Agriculture, University of Cambridge, U.K. and earned his PhD in 1952 for the thesis titled “Species Differentiation and the Nature of Polyploidy in certain species of the genus Solanum – section Tuberarium.” He then became a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Wisconsin, U.S.A. He was offered a full time faculty position at the university; he refused it and returned to India in early 1954.

From 1954 to 66, he was a teacher, researcher and research administrator at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), New Delhi. He became the Director of IARI in 1966 and continued till 1972. Meanwhile, he was also associated with the Central Rice Research Institute at Cuttack, from 1954–72.

From 1971–77, he was a member of the National Commission on Agriculture. From 1972–79, he was Director-General of Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) under Government of India.

From 1979–80 he was Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation, Government of India. In mid 1980s, he also acted as Deputy Chairman of Planning Commission of India.

From June 1980 to April 1982, he was a member of Planning Commission – (Agriculture, Rural Development, Science and Education) of India. At the same time, he was also Chairman of Science Advisory Committee to the Cabinet of India.

In 1981, he became the Chairman of Working Group on Control of Blindness and Chairman of Working Group on Control of Leprosy. From 1981–82, he was Chairman of National Biotechnology Board. From 1981–85, he was Independent Chairman of Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Council.

From April 1982 to January 1988, he was Director-General of International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), Philippines. From 1988–89, he was Chairman of Steering Committee for Environment and Forestry of the Planning Commission. From 1988–96, he was President, of World Wide Fund for Nature–India.

From 1984–90, he was President of the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources.

From 1986–99, he was Chairman of the editorial advisory board, World Resources Institute, Washington, D.C. He conceived the first ‘World Resources Report’.

From 1988–99, he was Chairman of Commonwealth Secretariat Expert Group. He organised the Iwokrama International Centre for Rainforest Conservation and Development.

He has umpteen awards to his credit. To mention a few:

Awards 1987 - World Food Prize

2013 - Indira Gandhi Award for National Integration

1999 - Indira Gandhi Prize

2010 - CNN-IBN Indian of the Year Lifetime

1986 - Albert Einstein World Award of Science

He has received the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Award for Community Leadership

in 1971, the Albert Einstein World Science Award in 1986, the UNESCO Mahatma Gandhi Prize in 2000 and the Lal Bahadur Sastri National Award in 2007, among other achievements.

He is the recipient of national honours like Padma Shri in 1967, Padma Bhushan in 1972 and Padma Vibushan in 1989. Moreover, he has received over 70 honorary PhD degrees from worldwide universities.

Dr. M.S. Swaminathan is a renowned Indian geneticist and administrator, who made a stellar contribution in the success of India's Green Revolution program; the program went a long way in making India self-sufficient in wheat and rice production. He was deeply influenced by his father who was a surgeon and social reformer. After graduating in zoology, he enrolled in Madras Agricultural College and graduated with a B.Sc. in Agricultural Science. His choice of career as a geneticist was influenced by the great Bengal famine of 1943 during which scarcity of food resulted in many deaths.

Philanthropic by nature, he wanted to help poor farmers increase their food production. He began his career by joining the Indian Agricultural Research Institute in New Delhi and eventually played the lead role in India's ‘Green Revolution’, an agenda under which high-yielding varieties of wheat and rice saplings were distributed to poor farmers. In the decades that followed, he held research and administrative positions in various offices of Government of India and introduced the Mexican semi dwarf wheat plants as well as modern farming methods in India.

He has been acclaimed by the TIME magazine as one of the twenty most influential Asians of the twentieth century. He has also been honoured with several national and international awards for his contribution to the field of agriculture and biodiversity.

procedures for transferring genes from a wide range of wild species of Solanum to the cultivated sp.

Dr. Swaminathan is celebrated as the leader of India's ‘Green Revolution’ program. He is also a resourceful writer. He has written several research papers and books on Agricultural Science and Biodiversity like ‘Building a National Food Security System, 1981’, ‘Sustainable Agriculture: Towards an Evergreen Revolution, 1996’, etc.

Dr. Swaminathan has received several awards for his contribution to the field of Agricultural Science.

Dr. Swaminathan is married to Mrs Mina Swaminathan since 11 April, 1955. The couple has three daughters together.

Biography