New Delhi: M.S. Swaminathan, considered the chief architect of India’s ‘green revolution,’ died at 11.20 am today, September 28. He was 98.Swaminathan’s research on high-yielding rice, wheat and potato varieties went a long way into alleviating India’s food scarcity problems.Swaminathan is recipient of several top global honours, including the Ramon Magsaysay Award (1971) and the Albert Einstein World Science Award (1986).He was given the first World Food Prize in 1987 – the highest award in the field of agricultural research.In the course of his illustrious career, Swaminathan headed and helped set up various national and global bodies of research into agricultural sciences, among which were the genetics division of the Indian Agricultural Research Institute, where he also established the Nuclear Research Laboratory.He had also headed the International Rice Research Institute in the Philippines, the International Union for Conservation of Nature and the World Wildlife Fund.He was also instrumental in the setting up of International Crop Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics in India, the International Board for Plant Genetic Resources in Italy and the International Council for Research in Agro-Forestry in Kenya.Swaminathan is survived by his three daughters, Soumya, Madhura and Nitya. From 2019 to 2022, Soumya Swaminathan served as the chief scientist at the World Health Organization. His wife, the educationist Mina Swaminathan, passed away last year.
