Krishnaswamy Ramiah (15 April 1892 – 3 August 1988) was an Indian agricultural scientist,

geneticist A geneticist is a biologist or physician who studies genetics, the science of genes, heredity, and variation of organisms. A geneticist can be employed as a scientist or a lecturer. Geneticists may perform general research on genetic processes ...

, parliamentarian and the founder director of Central Rice Research Institute,

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, credited with introducing systematic hybridisation programmes in rice breeding in India. The

Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...

honoured him in 1957, with the award of

Padma Shri Padma Shri ( IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is conf ...

, the fourth-highest Indian civilian award for his services to the nation and followed it up with the third-highest civilian honour of the

Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "distinguished service ...

in 1970.

Biography

Ramiah, born in 1892, started his career, in 1914, as a member of research staff at the Paddy Breeding Station in Coimbatore,

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...

. In three years time, by 1917, he produced new crossbreeds of rice though pure line selection and breed improvement. Later, he introduced systematic hybridisation programmes, known to be the first Indian scientist to pursue such a protocol in rice breeding. When the Government of India established the Central Rice Research Institute in 1946, Ramiah was selected to head the institution as its founder director and continued at his post when the institute was later brought under the

Indian Council of Agricultural Research The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) is an autonomous body responsible for co-ordinating agricultural education and research in India. It reports to the Department of Agricultural Research and Education, Ministry of Agriculture. Th ...

. During his tenure there, he also led the International Rice Commission, a

Food and Agriculture Organization The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)french: link=no, Organisation des Nations unies pour l'alimentation et l'agriculture; it, Organizzazione delle Nazioni Unite per l'Alimentazione e l'Agricoltura is an intern ...

(FAO) initiative. He was reported to have contributed to the FAO sponsored Indo-Japonica Hybridization programme which yielded the nitrogen responsive rice varieties of Mahsuri, Malinja, ADT 27 and Circna, the first two released in Malaysia, the third in India and the last one, in Australia. He also evolved a number of varieties of rice which include GEB 24, ADT 3, CO 4 and CO 25. The GEB 24 variety is a progenitor for 83 rice varieties developed across countries. Ramiah was one of the first scientists who advocated for standardisation of gene symbols for rice. Serving as the FAO expert based in

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, he was involved with the rice breeding in many countries. He was known to have conducted advanced research on

X-ray An X-ray, or, much less commonly, X-radiation, is a penetrating form of high-energy electromagnetic radiation. Most X-rays have a wavelength ranging from 10 picometers to 10 nanometers, corresponding to frequencies in the range 30&nb ...

induced mutation of rice and established a

gene bank Gene banks are a type of biorepository that preserves genetic material. For plants, this is done by in vitro storage, freezing cuttings from the plant, or stocking the seeds (e.g. in a seedbank). For animals, this is done by the freezing of ...

for rice. He was the author of two books on the subject, ''Rice in Madras'' and ''Rice Breeding and Genetics''. The British government appointed Ramiah a Member of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(MBE) in the 1938 Birthday Honours list. After India's independence, the Government of India recognised his services by awarding him the fourth-highest civilian honour of

in 1957 and the third-highest honour of the

in 1970. The Centre for Environmental Science and Engineering of the

Indian Institute of Technology Bombay The Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT Bombay or IITB) is a public research university and technical institute in Powai, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. It is considered as one of the best engineering universities in India and is top rank ...

has instituted Ramiah Memorial Lecture, an annual lecture event, in his honour. He died on 3 August 1988, survived by his five sons and two daughters and their families; his wife had predeceased him.

Biography

See also

References

External links

Further reading