M.S. Swaminathan, known as 'The Father of Green Revolution'

In the 1960s, India was on the verge of mass famine. Mankombu Sambasivan Swaminatha along with Norman Borlaug and other scientists developed HYV seeds of wheat. This development led to the Green Revolution in India. The Indian geneticist, Swaminathan became popular as 'The Father of Green Revolution'

Hyderabad: Mankombu Sambasivan Swaminathan, eminent geneticist and agricultural scientist who transformed Indian agriculture through the ‘Green Revolution’ was born on 7th August 1925 at Kumbakonam, Tamil Nadu.

Swaminathan’s father M K Sambasivan was a surgeon and a follower of Mahatma Gandhi. He took part in the Swadeshi movement and the temple entry movement in Tamil Nadu. This instilled the idea of service into Swaminathan’s mind at a young age.

After matriculating from a local school in his native town, he took admission in a medical school. But, the Bengal famine of 1943, in which about 3 million people starved to death, changed his mind and made him take up agricultural research. He completed a graduation course in zoology from the Maharaja’s College in Trivandrum before enrolling in the Madras Agricultural College.

Here, he secured a bachelor’s degree in agricultural science. After this, he went to the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) in New Delhi to pursue his post-graduation in plant breeding and genetics

M. S. Swaminathan had two bachelor degrees. One in Zoology and the other in Agricultural Science.

Swaminathan successfully cleared the UPSC examination and was offered the Indian Police Services, but chose instead to accept the UNESCO Netherlands scholarship in the year 1948.

• He has been credited for his research on potato, rice, wheat, jute, etc.
• Swaminathan served as the Director-General of Indian Council of Agricultural Research (from 1972-1979) and International Rice Research Institute (1982-88)
• In 1979, he was the Principal Secretary of Ministry of Agriculture
• In 1988, MS Swaminathan became the President of the International Union of the Conservation of Nature and Natural resources.

He was greatly influenced by the Indian philosopher and mystic Sri Aurobindo. Speaking at Auroville in 1997, he said, "My first visit to Sri Aurobindo Ashram was on 15 August 1947. It was the day of India's independence.

Awards And Achievements of M.S. Swaminathan

Awards And Achievements of M.S. Swaminathan