Born in Delhi, India on 23 July 1940. Educated at Agarwal Intermediate College, Allahabad 1953-57; Allahabad University, Allahabad 1957-64; Rothamsted Experimental Station, Harpenden, U.K. 1964-67; B.Sc. 1959; M.Sc. 1961; Ph.D. 1967.
Applied Plant Virologist FAO, Nigeria 1979-81; Professor of Virology, 1984-86, Professor of Plant Pathology, 1986-88, Head, Division of Plant Pathology, 1988-95, Dean, 1995-2000, ICAR National Professor, 2000-05, INSA Senior Scientist, 2005-10, INSA Honorary Scientist and IARI Adjunct Professor, 2010 to 2013; INSA Emeritus Scientist and Advisor, ANASTU Programme of Government of India, Advanced Centre for Plant Virology, Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, 2013 to date.
Awards/Honours: FAO/IAAS: World Food Day Award, 1985; VASVIK Award, 1989; O.P. Bhasin Award, 1992; James Wallace Award, Int. Org. Citrus Virol., 1999; NASI: R.N. Tandon Award, 2000; INSA: T.S. Sadasivan Award, 2002; ISCA: Millennium Plaque of Honour Award 2006; IVS: K.S. Bhargava Award 2007; PNASF: Gold Medal Award, 2009; INSA: Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Medal, 2010; IPS: Prof. A.P. Misra Lifetime Achievement Award, 2011; NASI: BP Pal Memorial Award, 2013. Chair, International Council for Science (ICSU) Regional Committee for Asia and the Pacific, 2006-08.
Fellow: Indian National Science Academy; National Academy of Sciences, India; Indian Phytopath. Soc.; Indian Virol. Soc.
Research Areas: Plant virology, plant pathology, plant biotechnology, crop protection