M. S. Swaminathan

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Prof. Monkombu Sambasivan Swaminathan (born August 7, 1925) is an Indian agricultural scientist and heads the MS Swaminathan Research Foundation. Swaminathan is known as 'Father of Indian Green Revolution' for his contributions to the Green Revolution movement in India.

He graduated from Cambridge in 1952 with a PhD in genetics. Swaminathan's contributions to the agricultural renaissance of India have led to his being widely referred to as the scientific leader of the green revolution movement. He is now widely known for his advocacy of environmentally sustainable agriculture and sustainable food security.

Following the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake, he had advised India to plant mangrove groves along the shoreline to minimise damage from future tsunamis.

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Works

Some of his published work including one claiming the introduction of high lysine content into wheat has been questioned. This work is analyzed in detail by Broad and Wade in their book on scientific fraud.

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Boards

Swaminathan was Chairman of the UN Science Advisory Committee set up in 1980 to take follow-up action on the Vienna Plan of Action. He has also served as Independent Chairman of the FAO Council and President of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. He is the current President of the Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs (the first person from a third world country to be elected the president). He is also on the Board of Trustees of Alexandria Bibliotheca - the only non-White and non-Arab on the board.

Swaminathan is a Fellow of the Royal Society of London and the U S National Academy of Sciences. He currently holds the UNESCO Chair in Ecotechnology at the M S Swaminathan Research Foundation in Chennai (Madras), India. He is the chairman of the National Commission on Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Security of India.

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Awards and recognition

The International Association of Women and Development conferred on him the first international award for significant contributions to promoting the knowledge, skill, and technological empowerment of women in agriculture and for his pioneering role in mainstreaming gender considerations in agriculture and rural development.

Swaminathan has received other awards and prizes:

3 civilian awards from the Government of India:

and 46 honorary doctorate degrees from universities around the world.

Swaminathan has been described by the United Nations Environment Programme as "the Father of Economic Ecology" and by Javier Perez de Cuellar, Secretary General of the United Nations, as "a living legend who will go into the annals of history as a world scientist of rare distinction".

He was also included in TIME Magazine's 1999 list of the world's 100 most influential Asian people.

Honorary Degrees - Prof MS Swaminathan

The Sardar Patel University, Vallabh Vidyanagar (1970) The Andhra Pradesh Agricultural University, Hyderabad (1971) The Andhra University, Waltair (1972) The Haryana Agricultural University, Hissar (1973) Pant University, Pantnagar (1974) Jodhpur University, Jodhpur (1976) Marathwada Krishi Vidyapeeth, Parbhani (1975) Kumaon University, Nainital (1975) Burdwan University, Burdwan (1976) Agra University, Agra (1978) Kerala Agricultural University, Trichur (1978) Sri Venkateshwara University, Tirupati (1979) University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore (1980) Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi (1981) Technical University of Berlin, Berlin (West) (1981) Mahatma Phule Agricultural University, Rahuri (1982) Chandrasekhara Azad Agricultural University, Kanpur (1983) University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, U.S.A (1983) Delhi University, Delhi (1984) University of he Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines (1984) Asian Institute of Technology, Bangkok, Thailand (1985) Doctorate of Technology University of Mangalore, Mangalore (1986) University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad, (1987) Agriculture University, Wageningen, The Netherlands (1988) Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat, Assam (1988) Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon State,U.S.A (1988) Tamilnadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore (1989) Rajasthan Agricultural University, Bikaner (1989) Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, (1989) Pondicherry University, Pondicherry (1989) University of Tuscia, Viterbo, Italy (1990) North Eastern Hill University, Shillong (1991) University of Bologna, Italy (1992) Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana (1994) Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (1997) Hemvati Nandan Bahuguna Garhwal University, Garhwal, UP (1997) The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel (1998) University of Calcutta, Calcutta (1998) Kakatiya University, Andra Pradesh (2000) University of Massachusetts, USA (2001) Dr Panjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Vidyapeeth, Akola (2001) Gujarat Agricultural University, Ahmedabad (2002) University of Bonn, Germany (2002) Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya, West Bengal (2003) Soka University, Japan (2003)

Positions Held - Prof MS Swaminathan

Teacher, Researcher and research administrator at the Central Rice Research Institute, Cuttack and at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi (1954-72) Director General, Indian Council of Agricultural Research and Secretary to the Government of India, Department of Agricultural Research and Education (1972-79) Principal Secretary to the Government of India, Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation (1979-80) Acting Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission, Government of India. (April-June, 1980) Member (Agriculture, Rural Development, Science and Education) Planning Commission, Government of India (June 1980-April 1982) Director General, International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) Los Banos, Philippines, (April 1982-January 1988) Chairman, M S Swaminathan Research Foundation (1989 onwards) UNESCO Chair in Ecotechnology (1994 onwards)

Honorary Positions in International Committees/ Organisations

Vice Chairman, Technical Advisory Committee to the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) (1971-77) Vice Chairman, Protein-Calorie Advisory group of United Nations, (1972-77) Chairman, Committee of the Whole, UN Conference on Desertification, Nairobi (1977) Chairman, U.N. Advisory Committee on Science and Technology for Development (1980-83) President, International Federation of Agricultural Research Systems for Development (IFARD) (1976-1983) President, International Bee Research Association (IBRA) (1978-1990) Independent Chairman, FAO Council (1981-1985) Member, Scientific and Technical Advisory Committee, Tropical Diseases Research, World Health Organisation (1983-1985) Chairman, Governing Board, CAB International (1991-94) Andrew D. White Professor-at-Large of the Cornell University, United States of America (1989-95) Trustee of the Ford Foundation (1989-97) Chairman of the Global Hunger Project (1994-2000) Founder Chairman of the Trustees of the Iwokrama International Centre for the Sustainable Management of Rainforests, Guyana (1992-99) Member, China International Council for Sustainable Development (1992-2002) Chairman, Genetic Resources Policy Committee of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (1994-2002)


Honorary Positions in organizations devoted to Nature Conservation and Sustainable Development

Founder Member and later Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the International Council for Research on Agro-forestry (1977-1982) Founder-Chairman, Society for the Promotion of Wasteland Development, India (1982-86) Chairman, Advisory Panel on Environment, Forestry and Food Security of the World Commission on Environment and Development (1984-1986) Trustee, World Resources Institute (1985-1994) Chairman, Editorial Advisory Panel for the World Resources Report (1986-1998) Trustee, Better World Society (1986-1992) Honorary Vice-President, World Wild Life Fund International (1985-1987) President, International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (1984-1990) President, International Society for Mangrove Ecosystems (1990-1993) President, World Wide Fund for Nature-India (1989-1996)

Recognition by Scientific Academies

Fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences (F.A.Sc.) (1957) Fellow of the Indian National Science Academy (FNA) (1962) Honorary Fellow of the National Academy of Sciences, India (1976) General President, Indian Science Congress, Waltair (1976) Honorary Fellow of the Swedish Seed Association, Sweden (1971) Fellow of the Royal Society of London (FRS) (1973) Foreign Associate, National Academy of Sciences of the United States (1977) Foreign Member, All-Union Academy of Agricultural Science, USSR (1978) Russian Academy of Agricultural Sciences (1992) Founding Fellow, Third World Academy of Sciences (1983) President, XV International Congress of Genetics, New Delhi (1983) Foreign Member, Royal Swedish Academy of Agriculture and Forestry (1983) Foreign Honorary Member, National Academy of Arts and Sciences, Massachusetts (1984) Foreign Fellow, National Academy of Sciences of Italy (Academia Nazionale delle Science della Dei XL - 1985) Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, London (1985) Honorary Research Professor of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (1987) Honorary Research Professor in Genetics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (1987) Fellow, European Academy of Arts, Sciences and Humanities (1988) Fellow, Bangladesh Academy of Sciences (1992) International Member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (1992) President, National Academy of Sciences, India (1988-90) President, National Academy of Agricultural Sciences, India (1991 - 1996) Corresponding Member, Academia dei Georgofili, Italy (1994) Fellow of the Linnean Society of London (1994) Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (1994) Honorary Fellow of the Crop Science Society of America & the American Society of Agronomy (1996) Vice-President, XVIII International Congress of Genetics, Beijing (1998) Honorary Fellow of Association of Aquaculture (1998) Fellow, Madras Science Foundation (1999) Fellow, Indian Society for Plantation Crops (2000) Honorary Member of the World Innovation Foundation (2002)

National Scientific Awards - Prof MS Swaminathan

Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award for contributions to Biological Sciences (1961) Birbal Sahni Medal of the Indian Botanical Society for contributions to Applied Botany (1966) Silver Jubilee Commemoration Medal of the Indian National Science Academy for contributions to genetics and agricultural research (1971) Barclay Medal of the Asiatic Society for contributions to genetics (1978) Moudgil Prize for contributions to standardisation (1978) Borlaug Award (1979) Meghnad Saha Medal of the Indian National Science Academy (1981) Rathindranath Tagore Prize of Visva Bharati University (1981) R.D. Misra Medal of the Indian Environmental Society (1981) "Krishi Ratna" Award for serving the farming community by the Bharat Krishak Samaj/World Agriculture Fair Memorial Trust Society (1986) Dr. J.C. Bose Medal, Bose Institute (1989) Lal Bahadur Shastri Deshgaurav Samman (1992) Jawaharlal Nehru Birth Centenary Award of the Indian Science Congress Association (1992) Charles Darwin International Science and Environment Medal (1993) Dr. B.P. Pal Medal for unique contributions to agricultural research and development of the National Academy of Agricultural Sciences, India (1997) V. Gangadharan Award for outstanding contributions to National Development (1997) B.P. Pal Memorial Award of the Indian Science Congress Association (1998) Shatabdi Puraskar in the field of Agricultural Sciences of the Indian Science Congress Association (1999) Prof P N Mehra Memorial Award (1999) Legend in his Lifetime Award by the World Wilderness Trust (1999) Asutosh Mookerjee Memorial Award for 1999-2000 by the Indian Science Congress Association Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development (2000) - for his outstanding contribution, in the domain of plant genetics and ensuring food security to hundreds of millions of citizens in the developing world. Millennium Alumnus Award by the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (2000) Millennium Scientist Award by the Indian Science Congress Association (2001) Lokmanya Tilak Award by the Tilak Smarak Trust, Pune (2001) Indira Gandhi Gold Plaque (2002) by the Asiatic Society for his significant contribution towards human progress. BioSpectrum Life Time Achievement Award (2003)

Awards by the President of India

Padma Shri (1967)

Padma Bhushan (1972)

Padma Vibushan (1989)

International Awards

Mendel Memorial Medal of the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences for contributions to Plant Genetics (1965) Ramon Magsaysay Award for Community Leadership (1971) : in recognition of contributions, as "Scientist, educator of both students and farmers, and administrator towards generating a new confidence in India's agricultural capability" Bennett Commonwealth Prize of the Royal Society of Arts (1984) for contributions to household nutrition security Bicentenary Medal of the University of Georgia, U.S.A. (1985) Albert Einstein World Science Award by the World Cultural Council (1986) Award for serving the cause of Women in Development (1985) : First recipient of the Award instituted by the Association for Women in Development, Washington, D.C., United States, for "outstanding contributions to activities which foster development for women" First World Food Prize : On October 6, 1987, Dr. Swaminathan received the First World Food Prize at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C. This prize is the foremost international award to recognize, encourage and reward outstanding individual achievement in improving the world food supply. The prize was instituted in 1986 for serving as the "equivalent of a Nobel Prize in the field of food and agriculture" The Golden Heart Presidential Award : On 10 November 1987, Her Excellency Corazon C. Aquino, President of the Republic of the Philippines, conferred on Dr. Swaminathan the Golden Heart Presidential Award in recognition of his "contribution in resolving a wide range of problems in basic and applied genetics and agricultural research and development in the Philippines, for his accomplishments in the area of agricultural science and research highly beneficial to Philippino farmers and for having expanded considerably IRRI's capacity for upstream research to bring to all the Asian rice farmers the fruits of recent advances in science and technology" In recognition of Dr. Swaminathan's contributions to the research, training and technology transfer programmes of the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), the Board of Trustees named the Training and Technology Transfer Building of the Institute as "M.S. Swaminathan Hall". The IRRI Trustees also established a special fund for providing scholarships in the name of Dr. M.S. Swaminathan for candidates who wish to do research in the area of women in rice farming systems. This is in recognition of his services to the cause of women in agriculture Commandeur of the Order of the Golden Ark of the Netherlands (1990): Appointed to this order to honour special services rendered to the conservation of the flora and fauna in the world The Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement : Awarded the 1991 Tyler Prize in recognition of life-long contributions to increasing biological productivity on an ecologically sustainable basis and to promoting the conservation of biological diversity Honda Prize of the Honda Foundation, Tokyo, Japan in 1991 for outstanding services to the development of eco-technologies in the field of agriculture Asian Regional Award by the Asian Productivity Organisation (1994) for contributions to the improvement of agricultural productivity in Asia UNEP - Sasakawa Environment Prize, 1994 for outstanding global contribution to the management and protection of the environment and to conservation and sustainable development World Academy of Art and Science, 1994 - Special Award for exceptional contributions to global civilisation and leadership in thought that leads to action Global Environmental Leadership Award-1995 by the Climate Institute, Washington, DC, USA, for encouraging village level responses to environmental issues China : 1997. "Highest award for International Cooperation on Environment and Development, for outstanding contributions to the lofty cause of environmental protection and development, and for his signal accomplishments in the field of international cooperation" France : 1997. Ordre du Merite Agricole created in 1883 to honour persons having rendered services of the highest quality to the cause of agriculture and its development and amelioration USA : 1998. Henry Shaw Medal awarded by the Board of Trustees of the Missouri Botanical Garden in consideration of important service to humanity through emphasis on sustainability in agriculture Sweden / USA : 1999. The VOLVO Environment Prize for his achievements as a plant breeder and administrator which led to dramatic increases in crop yields, his international leadership in agriculture and resource conservation, his deep concern for the poor and disadvantaged, and his continuing research and leadership to ensure that they get the opportunities needed to develop in ways that enhance the natural environment on which they depend. France : 1999. UNESCO Gandhi Gold Medal for his outstanding work in extending the benefits of biotechnology to marginalized and poverty-stricken populations in developing countries, and in securing a sound basis for sustainable agricultural, environmental and rural development. Franklin D Roosevelt Four Freedoms Award by the Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute (2000) "for brilliant leadership that has established a goal for the new millennium - a hunger free world, an international structure of cooperation among nations, a determination to use the miraculous technology of our times to help those in need; for dynamism and compassion that have given new meaning to Franklin D Roosevelt's commitment to a better world where all nations will understand and strive for Freedom from want". Planet and Humanity Medal of the International Geographical Union (2000) for significant contribution to environmentally relevant issues. The Economic Times Awards for Corporate Excellence - Lifetime Achievement (2002) for nurturing a revolution in a highly conservative sector, for laying the foundation for food security, and for using biodiversity for sustainable prosperity. Japan: Toda Award for Peace Achievement, Japan, for contributions to wide-ranging and inter-related concerns as the eradication of poverty, preserving regional ecosystems, promoting technological innovation and research for sustainable agriculture.

Major Scientific Contributions

Has worked in collaboration with colleagues and students on a wide range of problems in basic and applied plant genetics, agricultural research and develeopment and the conservation and enhancement of natural resources over a period of 50 years. Among the more important contributions are:

Elucidation of the origin and differentiation of potato species (1952); Improving the yield potential of indica rice through crosses between indica and jopanica varieties (1954); standardisation of techniques for the induction of polyploidy (i.e., doubling the number of chromosomes) in several economic plants, including tuber-bearing solanum species (1950); accomplishment of difficult crosses in potato species, resulting in alien gene transfer for frost resistance (1953); elucidation of the factors influencing the induction and recovery of mutations in wheat and rice and elaboration of the relationships between the secondary effects of food irradiation and the assessment of the wholesomeness of irradiated food (1958); understanding of genetic relationships among wheat species (1960); identification of the barriers to high yields in wheat and the initiation of the wheat breeding programme involving the "Norin" dwarfing genes obtained from Mexico(1963); initiation of a rice breeding programme designed to transfer the non-lodging plant type to basmati strains (this led ultimately to the release of Pusa Basmati) (1965); development of the concept of "crop cafeterias", "mid-season corrections in crop-scheduling", risk distribution agronomy and alternative cropping strategies for different weather conditions(1966); purposeful manipulation of genes in improving the yield, quality and stability of performance of wheat, rice and potato(1949 - 1989); development of whole village or watershed operational research projects based on principles of ecology and economics and promotion of the concepts of ecological economics and economic or developmental ecology(1972); development of disaster management strategies based on relief and rehabilitation measures in the most seriously affected (MSA) areas, and improved crop productivity in the most favourable (MFA) areas, and elaboration of the concepts of "drought code" and "good weather code"(1975); management of the disastrous drought of 1979 as Secretary to the Government of India in the Ministry of Agriculture and Development of a scientific Monsoon Management Strategy(1979); collection and conservation of plant genetic resources, particularly of potato, rice, wheat and mangrove species (1949 onwards); development of the National Demonstration, Lab to Land programmes and while village, watershed operational research projects for the effective field testing and dissemination of research results among small farmer households(1964); organisation of coastal systems research and biovillages(1990); organisation of Genetic Resources Centres for Sustainable agriculture and for adaptation to sea level rise(1991); promotion of a job-led economic growth strategy based on a pro-nature, pro-poor and pro-women orientation to technology development and dissemination(1992); Organisation of Resource Centres for Farmers' Rights and Ecotechnology(1993); Organisation of Biovillages and Community Centred natural resources management strategies (1993); Establishment of computer-aided and internet connected Rural Knowledge Centres (1997); Organising a Community Gene, Seed and Grain management strategy, involving concurrent attention to conservation, sustainable use and equitable sharing of benefits(1998).


The results of the above research studies and extension efforts have been published in over 500 scientific papers in national and international journals as well as in several books.


Contributions to Education and Extension

Over 68 students have done their Ph.D thesis work under the guidance of Dr. Swaminathan. In 1972, he introduced the "Techniracy" concept of imparting training in the latest technical skills entirely through work experience, in order to bypass the problems created by illiteracy and fostered the establishment of a chain of Krishi Vigyan Kendras (Farm Science Centres) for this purpose by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research. He also initiated the Lab to Land Programme and the whole village operational Research Projects, when he was the Director General of ICAR.

During 1980-2002, Dr. Swaminathan chaired the following National Committees set up by the Government of India

Expert Group on programmes for the alleviation of poverty Task force for the study of eco-development in the Himalayan Region Task Force for developing an eco-development plan for Goa Committee for the development of water resources of Western Ghats Expert Group on perishable agricultural commodities Study Group on fuel wood requirements Working Group on control of blindness (1981) Working Group on control of leprosy (1981) Chairman, Science Advisory Committee to the Cabinet of India (1980-82) Chairman, National Biotechnology Board (1981-82) Member, National Commission on Agriculture (1971-77) Chairman, Steering Committee for Environment and Forestry of the Planning Commission (1988-89) Chairman, Core Committee for the preparation of a National Environment Policy, Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India (1989-90) Chairman, High Level Committee for the review of the Central Ground Water Board (1989-90) Chairman, Expert Group for the preparation of a draft national population policy (1993-94) Chairman, Government of India Committee for Research on Agricultural Exports in the context of the World Trade Agreement (1994 -97) Chairman, Government of India Committee on Remedying Regional Imbalances in Agriculture (1996-98) Chairman, Committee to restructure agricutural education (1996-97) Chairman, Committee to draft a National Biodiversity Act (1998) Chairman, Tenth Plan Steering Committee in the area of Agriculture and allied sectors (2000-2001)

Acknowledgements

Dr. N.E. Borlaug

On the occasion of his receiving the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970, Dr. Borlaug wrote, "The green revolution has been a team effort and much of the credit for its spectacular development must go to Indian officials, Organisations, Scientists and farmers. However, to you, Dr. Swaminathan, a great deal of the credit must go for first recognising the potential value of the Mexican dwarfs. Had this not occurred, it is quite possible that there would not have been a green revolution in Asia".

Secretary General of the United Nations

On the occasion of the presentation of the First World Food Prize to Dr. Swaminathan in October 1987, the Secretary General of the United Nations, Mr. Javier Perez de Cuellar wrote, "Dr. Swaminathan is a living legend. His contributions to Agricultural Science have made an indelible mark on food production in India and elsewhere in the developing world. By any standards, he will go into the annals of history as a world scientist of rare distinction".

Present Honorary Positions

Chairman, National Commission on Farmers, Government of India Chairman of the M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation established with the funds associated with the World Food Prize. UNESCO-Cousteau Professor in Ecotechnology for Asia Trustee, Board of Trustees, National Foundation for India Chairman, Maharashtra Agriculture Commission Chairman, Kerala Commission WTO Concerns in Agriculture Chairman, Jharkhand Agriculture Reforms, Research & Development Commission Chairman, Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs Chairman, Global Steeing Committee for the Fish-for-All Initiative (ICLARM) Co-Chair, Inter-Academy Council Panel on Technology and Agricultural Productivity in Africa. Co-Chair, Panel on the elimination of hunger, UN Millennium Goals Task Force.

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References

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External link

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