Norman Ernest Borlaug was an American agronomist who led initiatives worldwide that contributed to the extensive increases in agricultural production termed the Green Revolution. Borlaug was awarded multiple honors for his work, including the Nobel Peace Prize, the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Gold Medal.
Mankombu Sambasivan Swaminathan was an Indian agronomist, agricultural scientist, plant geneticist, administrator, and humanitarian. Swaminathan was a global leader of the green revolution. He has been called the main architect of the green revolution in India for his leadership and role in introducing and further developing high-yielding varieties of wheat and rice. Swaminathan's collaborative scientific efforts with Norman Borlaug, spearheading a mass movement with farmers and other scientists and backed by public policies, saved India and Pakistan from certain famine-like conditions in the 1960s. His leadership as director general of the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in the Philippines was instrumental in his being awarded the first World Food Prize in 1987, recognized as one of the highest honours in the field of agriculture. The United Nations Environment Programme has called him "the Father of Economic Ecology".
Subrahmaniam Nagarajan is an Indian wheat pathologist. He studied in Chennai till high school and completed his early education at the Agriculture College, Coimbatore, then pursued his masters at the Indian Agriculture Research Institute, New Delhi and received his doctorate in Agriculture from the Delhi University. He is the Project Director of the All India Wheat program and author of more than 120 research papers, 50 book chapters and two textbooks.
The Bidhan Chandra Roy Award was instituted in 1962 in memory of Dr. B. C. Roy by the Medical Council of India. It is presented by the President of India in New Delhi every year on July 1, National Doctors' Day. It is also the highest honour that can be achieved by a doctor in India.
Idupuganti Venkata Subba Rao M.Sc. Ph.D. was an eminent Agricultural scientist.
Suman Sahai is an Indian activist and the founder of Gene Campaign.
Dr. Sanjaya Rajaram was an Indian-born Mexican scientist and winner of the 2014 World Food Prize. He was awarded this prize for his scientific research in developing 480 wheat varieties that have been released in 51 countries. This innovation has led to an increase in world wheat production – by more than 200 million tons – building upon the successes of the Green Revolution. The Government of India awarded him India's fourth- and third-highest civilian awards Padma Shri (2001) and Padma Bhushan (2022).
Krishna Lal Chadha is an Indian horticultural scientist, author and a former National Professor of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research. He was honored by the Government of India, in 2012, with the fourth highest Indian civilian award of Padma Shri.
Atmaram Bhairav Joshi was an Indian agricultural scientist and academic, known for his contributions to the field of wheat and other crop breeding. He was the vice-chancellor of Mahatma Phule Krishi Viswavidyalaya, Rahuri and the chairman of the Research Advisory Committee of the Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi. The Government of India awarded him the fourth highest Indian civilian award of Padma Shri in 1975.
Virender Lal Chopra was an Indian biotechnologist, geneticist, agriculturalist and a director-general of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), known to have contributed to the development of wheat production in India. He was the chancellor of Central University of Kerala, a Chancellor of the Central Agricultural University, Imphal and a member of the Planning Commission of India. An elected fellow of several science academies such as Indian Academy of Sciences, Indian National Science Academy, National Academy of Agricultural Sciences, National Academy of Sciences, India, European Academy of Sciences and Arts and The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS), he was a recipient of a number of honors including Borlaug Award, FAO World Food Day Award and Om Prakash Bhasin Award. The Government of India awarded him the third highest civilian honour of the Padma Bhushan, in 1985, for his contributions to agricultural science.
Kasturi Lal Chopra was an Indian materials physicist and a former director of the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur. He was the founder of the Thin Film Laboratory at Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi and the Microscience Laboratory at IIT, Kharagpur and held several US and Indian patents for his research findings. Author of a number of books on thin film technology, he was a recipient of Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize, the highest Indian award in the science and technology categories. The Government of India awarded him the fourth highest civilian honour of the Padma Shri, in 2008, for his contributions to science and engineering.
Neelamraju Ganga Prasada Rao was an Indian geneticist and plant breeder, known for his efforts in developing hybrid varieties of sorghum, which earned him the moniker, the Father of Hybrid Sorghum. He was the vice chancellor of Vasantrao Naik Marathwada Agricultural University and chaired the Agricultural Scientists Recruitment Board of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research. He was a recipient of several national honors including Rafi Ahmed Kidwai Award and the VASVIK Industrial Research Award. The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, the apex agency of the Government of India for scientific research, awarded him the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology, one of the highest Indian science awards, in 1966, for his contributions to biological sciences.
Hari Krishan Jain was an Indian cytogeneticist and plant breeder, known for his contributions to the field of genetic recombination and the control of interchromosome level. He is a former chancellor of the Central Agricultural University, Imphal, a former director of the Indian Agriculture Research Institute and a recipient of honours such as Rafi Ahmed Kidwai Award, Borlaug Award and Om Prakash Bhasin Award. The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, the apex agency of the Government of India for scientific research, awarded him the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology, one of the highest Indian science awards, in 1966, for his contributions to biological sciences. He received the fourth highest Indian civilian honor, the Padma Shri, in 1981.
Ganugapati Sree Rama Subba Rao is an Indian natural product chemist and a former chair of the department of sciences at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc). He is known for his researches on dihydroaromatics obtained through Birch reduction of aromatic compounds and is an elected fellow of the Indian National Science Academy, and the Indian Academy of Sciences. The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, the apex agency of the Government of India for scientific research, awarded him the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology, one of the highest Indian science awards, in 1982, for his contributions to chemical sciences.
Trilochan Mohapatra is an Indian biotechnologist, geneticist, former government secretary of the Department of Agricultural Research and Education (DARE) and former director general of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research. Known for his studies in the fields of molecular genetics and genomics, Mohapatra is an elected fellow of the National Academy of Sciences, India, the National Academy of Agricultural Sciences, the Indian National Science Academy and the Indian Society of Genetics and Plant Breeding. The Department of Biotechnology of the Government of India awarded him the National Bioscience Award for Career Development, one of the highest Indian science awards, for his contributions to biosciences in 2003.
Azra Quraishi was a leading botanist from Pakistan. She worked on the improvement of potato production in Pakistan and became known for her work on tissue culture. She was given the Borlaug Award in 1997 and the Ordre des Palmes académiques in 2002. She is credited with raising potato production in Pakistan by 5%.
Rattan Lal is a soil scientist. His work focuses on regenerative agriculture through which soil can help resolve global issues such as climate change, food security and water quality.
Dr Ashok Kumar Singh is an Indian scientist specializing in the field of Plant Genetics and Breeding. He is well known for his contribution to Basmati rice breeding. He is currently the director and vice-chancellor of the Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, a deemed to be university. Dr Singh is an alumnus of Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi where he did his bachelor's degree and Masters Program in agriculture with specialisation in plant genetics and breeding. He received doctorate degree from Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi for his research on rice breeding.
