Dr. Cherukumalli Srinivasa Rao, Director and Vice-Chancellor of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research – Indian Agricultural Research Institute (ICAR-IARI), New Delhi, was conferred the 9th Prof. M. S. Swaminathan Award for the period 2024-25 in a ceremony in Hyderabad on April 19, 2026. The award recognises his outstanding contributions to climate-resilient agriculture, natural resource management, soil carbon sequestration, dryland farming systems and capacity building of agricultural scientists across India and the Global South. Instituted by the Retired ICAR Employees Association in collaboration with Nuziveedu Seeds Limited, the Prof. M. S. Swaminathan Award is regarded as one of the highest honours for agricultural scientists in the country and is named after Dr. M. S. Swaminathan, widely called the Father of India's Green Revolution. The award comes during the on-going birth-centenary celebrations of Dr. Swaminathan and reinforces ICAR-IARI's leadership in the Mission for Climate Resilient Agriculture and Mission Sankalp programmes that target adaptation in rainfed and water-stressed districts. Dr. Srinivasa Rao previously headed the ICAR-NAARM Hyderabad and ICAR-CRIDA, where he led foundational work on the National Innovations on Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA) project. The honour places renewed emphasis on the Indian agricultural research system's pivot from yield-only metrics to climate adaptation, soil health and farmer income.