Dr. Swaminathan's work in crop genetics and sustainable agricultural development in India and throughout the South has earned him numerous honors: the first World Food Prize in 1987; the Tyler and Honda Prizes in 1991; and the UNEP Sasakawa Award in 1994.

The Special Issue of TIME issued a powerful tribute:

"The father of the Green Revolution used his skills in genetic engineering and his powers of persuasion to make famine an unfamiliar word in Asia."

In the mid-1960s, Dr. Swaminathan brought into India seeds developed in Mexico by Nobel Laureate, Norman Borlaug and, after cross-breeding them with local species, created a wheat plant that yielded much more grain than traditional types. Scientists at IRRI accomplished the same miracle for rice. Instead of facing chronic food shortages, a new era of agricultural productivity dawned in Asia, paving the way for the economic miracle of the 1980s and 90s.

For nearly five decades, Dr. Swaminathan has worked with scientists and policy makers on a wide range of problems in basic and applied plant genetics as well as agricultural research and development. As Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperation, he developed a strong food security system in India. He served as the director of the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (1966-72), the director general of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (1972-1980), and Indias secretary of agriculture (1980-81). He also served as the independent chairman of the FAO Council (1981-85) and the president of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (1984-1990). In addition, he chaired the UN World Food Congress in Rome in 1974 and was president of the National Academy of Agricultural Sciences of India.

After serving with IRRI from 1982 to 1988, Dr. Swaminathan returned to India to devote his efforts to environmental protection and sustainable agriculture through the Madras-based, M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF). Today, the MSSRF has developed as a foundation without walls, with its activities taking place at a wide range of institutions as well as at the village level. Dr. Swaminathan also serves as an Ambassador for Future Harvest.

Joining Dr. Swaminathan on the TIME list of the 20 Most Influential Asians was former Philippine President, Mrs. Corazon Aquino, Indian leader Mohandas Gandhi, Chinese leaders Sun-Yat Sen, Mao Zedong, and Deng Xiaoping, King Rama V of Thailand, former Presidents Sukarno of Indonesia and Ho Chi Minh of Vietnam, and the Dalai Lama of Tibet.