Hari Krishan Jain

Hari Krishan Jain (28 May 1930 - 8 April 2019) 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.

Biography Hari Krishan Jain, born on 28 May 1930 in a Jain family in Gurgaon, in the Indian state of Haryana to Nemi Chand Jain and Chameli Devi, graduated in botany (BSc hons) from the University of Delhi in 1949 after which he secured an associate-ship from the Indian Agriculture Research Institute (IARI) in 1951. Subsequently, he pursued his doctoral studies at the Aberystwyth campus of the University College of Wales, on a Science Research Scholarship of the Royal Commission, London to secure his PhD and returned to India to start his career as a cytologist at IARI in 1956. He stayed at IARI until his superannuation from service as its Director in 1983 during which time he served as the Head of Genetics Division from 1966 to 1978. In 1984, he became associated with the International Service for National Agricultural Research of the Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) where he served as the deputy director general. Later, he continued his academic life at the Rajasthan College of Agriculture of Maharana Pratap University of Agriculture and Technology, Udaipur until he was appointed as the chancellor of the Central Agricultural University, Imphal. He authored five books which included Plant Breeding: Mendelian to Molecular Approaches Genetics: Principles, Concepts and Implications, and Green Revolution: History, Impact and Future and several articles which document the body of his work.

Jain has served as a member of the Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC-C) to the Government of India (1982–83) and the Uttar Pradesh State Planning Commission (1978–80). He chaired the Food and Agriculture Committee of the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (1980–83) and the Indian chapter of the Man and the Biosphere Programme of the UNESCO (1978–83) and has been a member of the advisory committee on biotechnology of the Department of Science and Technology (1982–83). He chaired the consultative group on agriculture of the International Council for Science (ICSU) (1973) and is an Emeritus scientist of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, having been elected to the position in 1993. He also sat in the council of the Indian National Science Academy from 1979 to 1981

Books

Awards and honors Jain received the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology, the highest award of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research in 1966 for his contributions to biological sciences. The Government of India included him in the Republic Day honors list for the civilian award of the Padma Shri in 1981 and he received the Borlaug Award in 1982. The Om Prakash Bhasin Award reached him in 1986 and the National Academy of Agricultural Sciences honored him with Dr. B. P. Pal Award in 1999. He is also a recipient of the B. P. Pal Memorial Award of the Indian Science Congress Association which he received in 2004. Two more Indian academies, the National Academy of Sciences, India and the National Academy of Agricultural Sciences elected him as their fellow in 1988 and 1991 respectively.