CleanupBot II at 08:09, 14 August 2023

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{{Use Indian English|date=April 2018}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2018}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Gurcharan Singh Kalkat
| birth_date = {{birth date|1926|6|17|df=y}}
|birth_place = [[Punjab Province (British India)|Punjab]], [[British Raj|British India]]
|death_date = {{death date and age|2018|1|27|1926|6|17|df=y}}
|death_place = [[Chandigarh]], Punjab, India
| occupation = Agricultural scientist
| awards = [[Padma Shri]]<br>[[Padma Bhushan]]
}}
'''Gurcharan Singh Kalkat''' (17 June 1926 – 27 January 2018)<ref>https://www.nyoooz.com/news/chandigarh/1019749/green-revolution-harbinger-kalkat-dies-at-91/</ref> was an Indian agricultural scientist and the founder chairman of the Punjab State Farmers Commission (PSFC), known for his contributions in bringing the [[green revolution]] to Punjab.<ref name="Punjab acquires 10,000-hectare agri land annually">{{cite web | url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/chandigarh/punjab-acquires-10-000-hectare-agri-land-annually/article1-1230238.aspx | title=Punjab acquires 10,000-hectare agri land annually | publisher=Hindustan Times | date=17 June 2014 | access-date=1 July 2015}}</ref> The [[Government of India]] awarded him the fourth highest Indian civilian honour of [[Padma Shri]] in 1981<ref name="Padma Shri">{{cite web | url=http://mha.nic.in/sites/upload_files/mha/files/LST-PDAWD-2013.pdf | title=Padma Shri | publisher=Padma Shri | date=2015 | access-date=18 June 2015}}</ref> and followed it up with the third highest Indian civilian award of [[Padma Bhushan]] in 2007.<ref name="Padma Awards 2007">{{cite web | url=http://www.outlookindia.com/article/padma-awards-2007/233715 | title=Padma Awards 2007 | publisher=Outlook | date=2007 | access-date=1 July 2015}}</ref>

==Biography==
Gurcharan Singh was born on 17 June 1926 in the Indian state of Punjab.<ref name="Dr. Gurcharan Singh Kalkat">{{cite web | url=http://www.pbplanning.gov.in/pdf/Biodata%20GS%20Kalkat.pdf | title=Dr. Gurcharan Singh Kalkat | publisher=Punjab Planning Board | date=2015 | access-date=1 July 2015}}</ref> He graduated in agriculture from Punjab Agricultural College, [[Lyallpur]] in 1947 and secured a master's degree in agriculture from the [[University of Punjab]] in 1956. Receiving the [[Rockefeller Fellowship]], he went to US and completed his doctoral studies at [[Ohio State University]], Columbus, to obtain a PhD in agricultural [[entomology]] in 1958.<ref name="Dr. Gurcharan Singh Kalkat" /> Returning from US, he started his career as the deputy director of agriculture with the [[Government of Punjab (India)|Government of Punjab]] in 1960 and became the director in 1971.<ref name="Dr. Gurcharan Singh Kalkat" />

Two years later, he was shifted to the Indian [[Ministry of Agriculture (India)|Ministry of Agriculture]] in New Delhi as the Agricultural Commissioner, a post he held till 1978. After a stint in Washington, DC, as senior agriculturist with the [[World Bank]] with the responsibility of attending to the agriculture development programmes in Ghana and Nigeria and subsequently in India and Nepal, he returned to India to take up the post of the vice chancellor of the [[Punjab Agricultural University]], Ludhiana in 1998 and worked there till 2001.<ref name="Dr. Gurcharan Singh Kalkat" /> When the [[Government of Punjab (India)|Government of Punjab]] established the Punjab State Farmers Commission in 2005, Kalkat was appointed its founder chairman.<ref name="Punjab acquires 10,000-hectare agri land annually" />

Kalkat is known to have initiated the cooperation between Punjab Agricultural University and the farmers for fast dissemination of modern agricultural methods.<ref name="Dr. Gurcharan Singh Kalkat" /> He is also credited with initiatives for coordination between the local cooperatives and the Punjab State Cooperative Marketing Federation for smooth disbursal of farming credits and supply of materials.<ref name="Dr. Gurcharan Singh Kalkat" /> During his stint as the agricultural commissioner, he got the [[Indian Council of Agricultural Research]] and National Seeds Corporation involved in various state level agricultural programmes.<ref name="Dr. Gurcharan Singh Kalkat" /> He has also worked with [[Norman Borlaug]] when the [[Nobel Laureate]] was working on high yielding wheat varieties in the 1960s.<ref name="National Geographic Learning Reader: Environment: Our Impact on the Earth">{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9akWAAAAQBAJ&q=Gurcharan+Singh+Kalkat&pg=PA110 | title=National Geographic Learning Reader: Environment: Our Impact on the Earth | publisher=National Geographic | date=2015 | isbn=978-1285605784 | access-date=1 July 2015}}</ref>

The [[Government of India]] awarded him the civilian honour of [[Padma Shri]] in 1981.<ref name="Padma Shri" /> Twenty six years later, he was again included in the [[Indian honours system|2007 Padma honours list]] for [[Padma Bhushan]] award.<ref name="Padma Awards 2007" />

==See also==
{{Div col|colwidth=30em}}
* [[Norman Borlaug]]
{{div col end}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Padma Shri Award Recipients in Science & Engineering}}
{{PadmaBhushanAwardRecipients 2000–09}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kalkat, Gurcharan Singh}}
[[Category:Recipients of the Padma Shri in science & engineering]]
[[Category:1926 births]]
[[Category:2018 deaths]]
[[Category:Scientists from Punjab, India]]
[[Category:Indian agriculturalists]]
[[Category:Rockefeller Fellows]]
[[Category:University of the Punjab alumni]]
[[Category:Heads of universities and colleges in India]]
[[Category:World Bank people]]
[[Category:Ohio State University alumni]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in science & engineering]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian biologists]]

Gurcharan Singh Kalkat - Revision history

CleanupBot II at 08:09, 14 August 2023