Ms Swaminathan

Biography

Monkombu Sambasivan Swaminathan received BSc (1944) from University of Travancore, BSc (Agriculture) (1947) from University of Madras and Postgraduate Diploma of Associate (1949) from Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), New Delhi. He worked as UNESCO Fellow (1949-50) at the Agricultural University, Wageningen, the Netherlands. He did his PhD (1952) from the University of Cambridge while working on the origin of the cultivated potato and on species differentiation in tuber bearing Solanum. He worked as a Project Associate in Genetics at the University of Wisconsin, USA (1953-54). On returning to India in 1954, Swaminathan served the Central Rice Research Institute, Cuttack; later joined IARI as Cytogeneticist, became Head of the Division of Botany in 1961, Director of IARI (1966) and Director General of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (1972). During 1979-80, he served as the Principal Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture and as Acting Deputy Chairman and Member of the Union Planning Commission (1980-82). He has been Director General of the International Rice Research Institute, the Philippines (1982-88), Chairman of the MS Swaminathan Research Foundation at Chennai (1989- ) and UNESCO Chair in Ecotechnology. He has received 66 honorary doctorate degrees from Universities in Asia, Europe and North America. He served as Chairman of the National Commission on Farmers during 2004-06 and is currently a nominated Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha)

Research Interest

Genetics & Agriculture