M S Swaminathan, father of India's Green Revolution, passes away at 98

M S Swaminathan was instrumental in developing high-yielding varieties of paddy that helped ensure India's low-income farmers produce more yield

M S Swaminathan, known as the father of India's Green Revolution, passed away on Thursday at 11:20 a.m. in Chennai. He was 98.

Swaminathan was instrumental in developing high-yielding varieties of paddy that helped ensure India's low-income farmers produced greater yields.

In the 1950s, his analysis of the origin and evolutionary processes of the potato was a significant contribution; he studied its origin as an autotetraploid and its cell division behaviour. The Genetics Division of the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) under Swaminathan gained global renown for its research on mutagens.

He was awarded the first World Food Prize in 1987, following which he established the M S Swaminathan Research Foundation in Chennai. Swaminathan received the Mendel Memorial Medal from the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences in 1965. He also received the Ramon Magsaysay Award in 1971 and the Albert Einstein World Science Award in 1986.

Between 1950 and 1980, Swaminathan published 46 single-author papers. In total, he had 254 papers to his credit, of which he was the single or first author of 155. His scientific papers are in the fields of crop improvement (95), cytogenetics and genetics (87), and phylogenetics (72).

Swaminathan is survived by his wife, Mina, and three daughters — Soumya Swaminathan, Madhura Swaminathan, and Nitya Swaminathan.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote on X (formerly Twitter): "Deeply saddened by the demise of Dr. MS Swaminathan Ji. At a very critical period in our nation’s history, his groundbreaking work in agriculture transformed the lives of millions and ensured food security for our nation."