Born in Handia, Basti, U.P. on 1 July 1928. Educated at Anglo Sanskrit High School, Basti, 1944-48; Govt. Agricultural College, Kanpur, 1948-54; North Carolina State University, 1954-57; B.Sc. (Ag) 1952, M.Sc. (Ag) 1954, Ph.D. 1957.
Assistant Plant Pathologist, Connecticut Agriculture Experiment Station, USA, 1957; Plant Pathologist, 1958-62 and Head, 1962-63, Regional Research Centre, ICAR, Kanpur; Scientist, Regional Research Laboratory, J&K, 1963-74; Scientist, 1974-75, Deputy Director, 1975-77, and Dierctor, 1977-88, CSIR Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (CIMAP), Lucknow, U.P.; Vice Chancellor, Jamia Hamdard, 1988-90; UNDP Consultant in Egypt, Syria, Iraq, Sudan and Kenya; WHO Consultant in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and UNESCO Consultant in Afganistan.
Awards/Honours: Vasvik Award, 1983.
Fellow: Indian National Science Academy; National Academy of Sciences, India.
Research Areas: Plant pathology, cultivation of medicinal and aromatic plants