Gurcharan Singh Kalkat Biography 
Gurcharan Singh Kalkat was an Indian agricultural scientist from Punjab. He is the founder chairman of the Punjab State Farmers Commission which has been instrumental in bringing green revolution to Punjab. Kalkat is a recipient of Padma Shri in 1981 and Padma Bhushan in 2007 for his contributions towards Indian agriculture.
Gurcharan Singh was born on 17 June 1926 in Punjab. He studied agriculture from Punjab Agricultural College, Lyallpur. He later took Master’s in agriculture from University of Punjab in 1956 at the age of 30. He received Rockefeller Fellowship which helped him to go abroad for higher studies. He completed his doctoral studies at Ohio State University and obtained a PhD in agricultural entomology in 1958. Once research works were completed, he moved back to India and started his profession in the field of agriculture.
He joined as the deputy director of agriculture with the Government of Punjab in 1960. 11 years later he became its director. In 1973 he was appointed as the Agricultural Commissioner in the Indian Ministry of Agriculture in New Delhi. He held the post for next 5 years. He has worked as senior agriculturist with the World Bank during his stint in Washington, DC and later attended numerous agricultural programs. He returned to India and became the vice chancellor of the Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana in 1988 and worked there till 2001.
He became the founder chairman of Punjab State Farmers Commission in 2005. He is known for the co-ordination between PAU and farmers, and introduced to them modern agricultural methods. Coordination between the local cooperatives and the Punjab State Cooperative Marketing Federation for the supply of materials is yet another contribution. He has also worked with Norman Borlaug.
Published: January 28, 2019
Updated: January 31, 2019
