Today, India commemorates the birth centenary of MS Swaminathan, the agriculture scientist and administrator credited for seeding India’s Green Revolution. The government of India will issue a ₹100 commemorative coin to honour his contributions. This milestone also marks the country’s hard-earned journey toward food self-sufficiency, a transformation that began with the Green Revolution.

The Green Revolution, launched in the mid-1960s, stands as one of the most significant turning points in India’s history and a landmark in global agricultural transformation. It remains a powerful example of what science — when applied strategically and in close partnership with farmers — can accomplish.

Food sufficiency was the most urgent and fundamental challenge that India and its 330 million people faced immediately after Independence. The country’s existence was described as ship-to-mouth, as it literally waited for food shipments, especially wheat from the US, to dock at its ports. This heavy dependence on the US PL-480 programme, a food aid initiative, painted a grim picture for a nation where over 70% of the population was engaged in agriculture but unable to feed itself.

The mid-1960s marked a pivotal shift, as the Green Revolution began primarily in Punjab, Haryana, and western Uttar Pradesh. A series of innovations........

© hindustantimes