Krishnaswamy Ramiah

Krishnaswamy Ramiah (15 April 1892 – 3 August 1988) was an Indian agricultural scientist, geneticist, parliamentarian and the founder director of Central Rice Research Institute, Cuttack, credited with introducing systematic hybridisation programmes in rice breeding in India. The Government of India honoured him in 1957, with the award of Padma Shri, 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 in 1970.

Biography Ramiah, born in 1892, During his tenure there, he also led the International Rice Commission, a Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) initiative. He was reported to have contributed to the FAO sponsored Indo-Japonica Hybridization programme 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. 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 (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 Padma Shri in 1957 and the third-highest honour of the Padma Bhushan in 1970. The Centre for Environmental Science and Engineering of the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay 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.