ms swaminathan

Father of Green Revolution in India, M.S. Swaminathan ji passed away on September 28, 2023 at 11.20 am in Chennai. Inspired by his father, he made many important contributions in the field of agriculture.

Mankombu Sambasivan Swaminathan, a well-known agricultural scientist and the founder of the country's 'Green Revolution', died on September 28, 2023, at 11.20 a.m., at his home in Chennai. Swaminathan was 98 years old when he died. He has three daughters: Soumya Swaminathan, Madhura Swaminathan, and Nitya Rao. His wife, Meena Swaminathan, had already died.

Who inspired Dr Swaminathan to step into Agriculture

For your knowledge, Swaminathan was born on August 7, 1925 in Kumbakonam to MK Sambasivan, a surgeon, and Parvati Thangammal, and received his education there itself. Swaminathan, who had an interest in agricultural science, was encouraged to seek higher study in this subject by his father, who was a participant in the liberation fight, and also inspired by  Mahatma Gandhi. However, he previously worked for a position in the police department, for which he was qualified in the late 1940s. Swaminathan held two graduate degrees, one from the Agricultural College in Coimbatore (now Tamil Nadu Agricultural University).

Also to read: The Green Revolution led India to be the second largest producer of Wheat.

Dr. Swaminathan did special work on major crops of Green Revolution

Dr. Swaminathan collaborated closely with two Union Agriculture Ministers, C. Subramaniam (1964-67) and Jagjivan Ram (1967-70 and 1974-77), to ensure the success of the 'Green Revolution', which resulted in the establishment of several agricultural companies in India. Worked to put agricultural successes into action. He worked to increase wheat and rice productivity by heavy use of chemical-biological technologies. Norman Borlaug, a well-known American agricultural scientist and Nobel Prize laureate in 1970, made significant contributions to this field.

On behalf of the Government of India, the family of former Prime Minister Narasimha Rao and Chaudhary Charan Singh have thanked the government and expressed happiness over the announcement. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday (January 9, 2024) announced the names of three more people for Bharat Ratna. Former Prime Minister Narasimha Rao, Chaudhary Charan Singh, and M.S., known as the father of the Green Revolution. Swaminathan will be honored with Bharat Ratna. After this announcement by the Government of India, his family members expressed their happiness and expressed gratitude to the government. 

Vani Rao, daughter of former Prime Minister Narasimha Rao, said that this is a very happy moment. He said that this was supposed to happen already, but it is said that in the house of God there is delay, but there is no darkness. Vani Rao further said, 'It is a very happy day, the whole of Telangana is happy. I thank the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. His good thing is that no matter how much someone lives in a corner, bringing him into the limelight and respecting him is the greatness of Modi ji.

The emotional reaction of the family to Narasimha Rao receiving Bharat Ratna 

BJP leader and PV Narasimha Rao's grandson NV Subhash said that PM Modi has announced to give him the Bharat Ratna award even though he was a Congressman. He said, 'I condemn the UPA government that was in power from 2004 to 2014 and especially the Gandhi family for not honoring me with an award.' He said that he is very happy and emotional about being given the Bharat Ratna award to Narasimha Rao. NV Subhash said that we thought there would be a delay in this, but this is happening due to the efforts of Telangana BJP. He has also thanked Telangana BJP.

Also read: Under this scheme, financial assistance of Rs 12,000 annually will be provided to married women.

Chaudhary Charan Singh's grandson Jayant Chaudhary also expressed happiness.

Jayant Chaudhary, grandson of former Prime Minister Chaudhary Charan Singh, has also expressed happiness over the announcement. He has expressed his happiness by posting on X. While sharing Prime Minister Narendra Modi's tweet, Jayant Choudhary wrote in the caption, 'Heart won!' The Government of India has announced the names of five people for Bharat Ratna this year. 

On February 3, PM Modi announced the award of Bharat Ratna to senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and former Deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishna Advani. Before that, it was announced that former Bihar Chief Minister Karpoori Thakur would be honored with Bharat Ratna posthumously on his 100th birth anniversary on January 24. Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the award of Bharat Ratna to Narasimha Rao, Chaudhary Charan Singh, and MS Swaminathan on February 9. In his tweet, he wrote that it is our government's good fortune that he is being honored with Bharat Ratna.

The Government of India recently honored the great agricultural scientist M.S. Swaminathan posthumously with the Bharat Ratna for his contribution to the cause of farmers. Today, farmers demanding MSP law for crops are demanding payment of the MSP amount under MS Swaminathan's C2+50% formula.

Farmers from across the country are marching to Delhi in support of 12 demands, including making a law to guarantee purchase at the minimum support price. The borders have been sealed at many places for farmers. This is not the first time that farmers have taken to the streets. Farmers have always been raising their demands through agitation. Farmers are demanding the implementation of the recommendations made by the MS Swaminathan Commission on MSP. Let us know about the Swaminathan Commission and its recommendations.

The National Commission on Farmers was a commission formed in November 2004.

A commission was formed under the chairmanship of famous agricultural scientist MS Swaminathan in November 2004 to study the problems of farmers. It was called 'The National Commission on Farmers’. From December 2004 to October 2006, this committee submitted six reports to the government. Many recommendations were made in these.

Also Read: Withdrawal of agricultural laws, five demands also accepted, farmers movement postponed

Swaminathan Commission in its recommendation had recommended giving 50 percent more of the crop cost to the farmers to increase their income. This is called the C2+50% formula. The agitating farmers are demanding the implementation of the MSP Guarantee Act based on this formula.

What is Swaminathan's C2+50% formula?

It is known that to calculate this formula, the Swaminathan Commission divided the cost of the crop into three parts i.e. A2, A2+FL, and C2. A2 costs include all cash expenses incurred in producing the crop. In this, all the costs ranging from fertilizer, seeds, water, and chemicals to labor, etc. are included. 

In the A2+FL category, along with the total crop cost, the estimated cost of labor of the farmer family is also included. Whereas in C2, apart from cash and non-cash costs, lease rent of land and interest on related things are also included. Swaminathan Commission had recommended giving MSP by adding one and a half times the cost of C2 i.e. 50 percent of the cost of C2. Now farmers are demanding to give them MSP under this formula. However, at present there does not seem to be any solution to this issue between the government and the farmers.