India (Commonwealth Union)_ Indian scientist Dr Soumya Swaminathan has been elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society in London, becoming only the second Indian woman in history to receive one of the world’s highest scientific honours. The recognition marks a major milestone not only for Indian science but also for the Swaminathan family, as her father, the late Dr M S Swaminathan, was also elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1973. This makes them the first Indian father-daughter pair to achieve the distinction. Founded in 1660, the Royal Society is among the oldest and most respected scientific academies in the world. Scientists are elected through a rigorous peer-review process conducted by existing fellows, and those selected carry the title of Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) for life. Over the centuries, the institution has honoured some of the most influential scientific minds globally.
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Dr Soumya Swaminathan is recognized for her work in medicine, infectious diseases, and global public health. She is a trained paediatrician and medical researcher, and has held a number of important leadership roles in India and internationally. Previously she was the Director General of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and then Chief Scientist of the World Health Organization (WHO). During the Covid-19 pandemic, she emerged as one of the leading scientific voices guiding global health policy and public communication. Her research and policy work have focused strongly on tuberculosis and HIV, two diseases that continue to affect millions worldwide. As Principal Adviser to India’s National Tuberculosis Elimination Programme, she has played a key role in shaping strategies aimed at controlling and eventually eliminating the disease in the country.
Dr Soumya’s father, Dr M S Swaminathan, remains one of India’s most celebrated agricultural scientists. Often called the “Father of India’s Green Revolution,” he helped transform Indian agriculture during the 1960s and 1970s by improving wheat and rice production. His efforts were instrumental in helping India overcome severe food shortages and reduce the threat of famine. He also promoted the idea of an “Evergreen Revolution,” which focused on increasing agricultural productivity while protecting the environment. Dr Soumya also followed her father’s footsteps, and her achievement has been widely praised by members of India’s scientific community. Former CSIR Director General Dr Raghunath Mashelkar described the honour as a proud moment for the country. In a message posted on X, he noted that Dr Soumya Swaminathan is only the second Indian woman scientist to become an FRS in the Royal Society’s long history, following Professor Gagandeep Kang, who was elected in 2019.
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Additionally, Professor Manindra Agrawal, Director of IIT Kanpur, was also elected to the Royal Society’s 2026 cohort. A noted computer scientist, Agrawal is internationally recognized for his contributions to algorithms, cryptography, and computational number theory. He shot into limelight in 2002 for his seminal contributions in the field of theoretical computer science and has been awarded with several prestigious awards such as the Gödel Prize, Infosys Prize, and the Padma Shri. Additionally, Professor Gagandeep Kang was the first Indian woman to be elected to Royal Society in 2019. India’s connection with the Royal Society dates back nearly two centuries. The first Indian elected as a Fellow was civil engineer Adaseer Cursetjee Wadia in 1841. Other prominent fellows from India include mathematical genius Srinivasa Ramanujan and Nobel laureate C V Raman whose discoveries had a lasting impact on science around the world.
