The Hindu : Front Page : Pachauri takes over as agro foundation council chief

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Friday, May 08, 2009
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Pachauri takes over as agro foundation council chief

Special Correspondent

CHENNAI: R.K. Pachauri, chairman, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), and director-general, The Energy and Resources Institute, has taken over as chairman, governing council, National Agro Foundation (NAF), a press release issued by the Foundation said.

Founded by the late C. Subramaniam, who has been hailed as an architect of India’s Green Revolution, the NAF has been involved in multi-pronged rural development initiatives in around 250 villages in Tamil Nadu. The foundation started with two clusters in two districts covering technology-based agriculture, watershed development, and dairy development. Now, along with comprehensive social development initiatives, including the formation of self-help groups, income generating projects and functional literacy, the Foundation has expanded its scope of training over all of Tamil Nadu.

Keeping the NAF hub in Tamil Nadu as a base, replicating the model in other parts of India is being actively pursued with possible cooperation with the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), the Baba Atomic Research Centre and Nokia-India, the release said. International linkages were also being envisaged following discussions in Manila with the managing director-general of the Asian Development Bank and the director-general of the International Rice Research Institute.

In the context of the ongoing centenary celebrations of Subramaniam, the appointment of Dr. Pachauri, who accepted the Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of the IPCC, has a special significance, the release said. He “is expected to energise the Foundation into newer activities at the national level,” the release added.

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