MS Swaminathan, a prominent Indian scientist also known as Father of Green Revolution, recently passed away at the age of 98. According to medical reports, Swaminathan was residing in his Chennai house and passed away due to old age ailments.
Green revolution is one of the most successful achievements in India’s history right after independence in 1947 mastered by MS Swaminathan. He obtained PhD in Genetics from Cambridge University in 1952. Soon after 2 years Swaminathan returns to India and continued his research in Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) where he pursueded his post graduation degree in plant breeding and genetics.
He is credited with starting India’s Green Revolution for his work on creating high-yielding wheat cultivars that helped India in achieving the goal of high production level of wheat and rice. He was the driving force behind the creation of the “evergreen revolution” with the MS Swaminathan Research Foundation.
India’s highest form of awards like the Padma Shri, the Padma Bhushan, and the Padma Vibhushan have all been awarded to Swaminathan. Along with various international honors including the Ramon Magsaysay Award (1971) and the Albert Einstein World Science Award (1986), he is also the recipient of the H K Firodia Award, the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Award, and the Indira Gandhi Prize. He was also awarded the first World Food Prize in 1987.