Mankombu Sambasivan Swaminathan, popularly known as M.S. Swaminathan passed away recently.
He is the legendary agricultural scientist and a key architect of the country’s ‘Green Revolution.’
In 1954, Dr. Swaminathan joined the Central Rice Research Institute (CRRI), Cuttack and later, IARI.
In July 1966, he became IARI Director, the post he held till 1972.
He worked as Principal Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture (1979-80), Acting Deputy Chairman and later Member (Science and Agriculture), Planning Commission (1980-82) and Director General, International Rice Research Institute, the Philippines (1982-88).
In 2004, Swaminathan was appointed as chair of the National Commission on Farmers, a commission setup to look into farmer distress amid alarming suicide cases.
He was awarded the first World Food Prize in 1987.
Swaminathan has been conferred with the Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan and the Padma Vibhushan.
He is also the recipient of the H K Firodia award, the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Award and the Indira Gandhi Prize.
Apart from several international awards including the Ramon Magsaysay Award (1971) and the Albert Einstein World Science Award (1986).