M.S. Swaminathan

The Prime Minister launched the M S Swaminathan Award for Food and Peace.
Prof Ademola A Adenle, a Nigerian scientist, has been bestowed with the first-ever MS Swaminathan Award for Food and Peace.

About M S Swaminathan

He was born on August 7, 1925, in Kumbakonam, Madras Presidency.
Witnessing the Bengal famine of 1943 inspired him to dedicate his life to ensuring food security.
Graduated with a B.Sc. in Agricultural Science from the University of Madras (1944).
Studied genetics and plant breeding at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), earning a post-graduate degree in cytogenetics (1949).
Completed his PhD (1952) and post-doctoral research abroad before returning to India in 1954.
Passed away on September 28, 2023, in Chennai at the age of 98.

High-yielding Varieties: Pioneered the transfer of genes from Japonica rice to Indica rice to improve fertiliser response and productivity under Indian conditions.
Semi-dwarf Wheat: Developed high-yielding, short-stature wheat varieties through induced mutagenesis, which enhanced productivity by reducing plant height and improving grain yield.
His scientific collaborations with international experts laid the foundation of India’s agricultural transformation.

Indica and japonica rice are two main subspecies of Asian varieties.
Indica rice is mainly cultivated in tropical and subtropical environments at lower latitudes or altitudes. On the other hand, japonica rice is grown primarily in more temperate environments at higher latitudes or altitudes.

He was called the Father of the Green Revolution in India.
He advocated a farmer-centric MSP formula. Recommended that the Minimum Support Price should be at least 50 per cent more than the weighted average cost of production.
He was awarded the first World Food Prize in 1987, and the prize money was used to set up the MS Swaminathan Research Foundation.
He established the Nuclear Research Laboratory at the IARI.
He played a key role in setting up the –
- International Crop Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics in India.
- The International Board for Plant Genetic Resources (Bioversity International) in Italy.
- The International Council for Research in Agro-Forestry in Kenya.
Co-chaired the UN Millennium Project on Hunger (2002–2005) and led the Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs (2002–2007).

After 1971, he was appointed as the director-general of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and a secretary to the Government of India.
He was made the first Asian director general of the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in the Philippines in 1982.
In 1984, he became the president and vice-president of the IUCN and World Wildlife Fund.
He was the chair of the National Commission on Farmers, constituted in 2004.
He was nominated to the Rajya Sabha by former (late) President APJ Abdul Kalam, where he served from 2007 to 2013.

1961: Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award.
1965: Mendel Memorial Medal from the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences.
1971: Ramon Magsaysay Award.
1986: Albert Einstein World Science Award.
1987: The first World Food Prize.
1991: Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement.
2000: Four Freedoms Award.
2000: Planet and Humanity Medal of the International Geographical Union.
2024: Bharat Ratna.
He was also awarded the Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan, and Padma Vibhushan awards & the Indira Gandhi Prize.