9th Prof. M. S. Swaminathan Award Conferred on Dr Ch. Srinivasa Rao in Hyderabad

Dr Ch. Srinivasa Rao, Director and Vice-Chancellor of the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), New Delhi, was conferred the 9th Prof. M. S. Swaminathan Award at a ceremony held in Hyderabad on 19 April 2026. The award honours outstanding agricultural scientists who advance India's food security and farm sustainability.

Dr Rao was recognised for his work on climate-resilient agriculture and natural resource management. His contributions include designing the National Innovations in Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA) project, preparing district-level agricultural contingency plans for over 650 districts, and scaling soil-health and resource-conservation technologies across rainfed regions. Together, these efforts seek to insulate Indian farming from heat stress, erratic monsoons and groundwater depletion.

The award was instituted by the Retired ICAR Employees Association in collaboration with Nuziveedu Seeds Limited. The 2026 edition carries special weight because it coincides with the birth centenary of Prof. M. S. Swaminathan, the agricultural scientist widely regarded as the father of India's Green Revolution.

For policy, the award underscores a quiet but important shift in Indian agriculture — from a production-centric model focused on grain self-sufficiency to a resilience-centric model that must also handle climate shocks, soil degradation and shrinking water tables. NICRA, MSP recalibration, the National Mission on Sustainable Agriculture and the per-drop more crop component of PMKSY all sit on this same axis.

Exam angle: Likely questions on the recipient (Dr Ch. Srinivasa Rao), his institute (IARI), the award number (9th edition), the centenary link (Prof. M. S. Swaminathan), and NICRA. Useful for UPSC GS-3 (agriculture, food security, climate change) and SSC/Banking GA.