Khem Singh Gill (1 September 1930 – 17 September 2019) was an Indian academic, geneticist, plant breeder and Vice-Chancellor of the Punjab Agricultural University. He was known for his contributions to the Green Revolution in India. Instrumental for breeding new strains of wheat, linseed, and sesame, he was the author of the book Research on wheat and triticale in the Punjab along with several additional articles on the subject. He was also the vice-president of The Kalgidhar Trust and The Kalgidhar Society, Baru Sahib, which is one of the largest Sikh charities. A Sant Teja Singh Chair Professor in Sikhism of the Eternal Global University and a founding fellow of The World Academy of Sciences, he was a recipient of Rafi Ahmad Kidwai Memorial Prize, Team Research Award of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), FICCI Award, ICAR Golden Jubilee Award and Silver Jubilee Award of the Indian Society of Oilseeds Research. In 1992, the Government of India awarded him the third highest civilian honor of the Padma Bhushan for his contributions to science.
Biography Born 1 September 1930 at Kaleke, a small village in the Punjab State of India (presently in Moga district), Khem Singh Gill graduated in Agricultural Science (BSc) from Khalsa College, Amritsar in 1949 and secured his master's degree (MSc) from Punjab University in 1951. He started his career as a research assistant at the Department of Agriculture in Nagrota Bhagwan (Kangra district, Undivided Punjab)under Noted Rice breeder Dr Sohan Singh Saini and later moved to Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) as Assistant Oilseed Breeder before taking a break from work to pursue his doctoral studies at the University of California in 1963. After obtaining his PhD in genetics from the university in 1966, he returned to India and joined Punjab Agricultural University as a professor and the head of the Department of Genetics (1966-1968). Dr. Gill later became a professor and the head of the Department of Plant Breeding (1968–79), Dean of the College of Agriculture (1979–83), Director of Research (1983–87), and Director of Extension Education (1987–89). He eventually earned the post of Vice Chancellor of PAU in 1990. Dr. Gill Served as Vice Chancellor until 1993. During his tenure at the university, he contributed to the development of the Department of Plant Breeding into a Center of Excellence. His contributions were also reported in the introduction of research programs the Hisar and Ludhiana campuses of the institution. He headed the Wheat Improvement Program of the state government. On the research front, his work assisted in the development of improved cultivars of linseed, sesame, and wheat and in the genetic improvement of pearl millet, barley and triticale. His researches were documented by way of over 475 scientific papers and articles and many books, including Development of triticales for stability of yield and improved quality of grains: Final technical report and Research on wheat and triticale in the Punjab. He also guided 17 doctoral and 8 master's students in their researches. While serving as the head of the Department of Plant Breeding at PAU, Dr. Gill founded the Crop Improvement Society of India in 1974. He served as its president until 1979, while remaining a loyal patron ever since. He was associated with the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center as a member of its program committee and board of trustees (1988–93). He was the evaluator of two UNDP programs: sorghum and millets improvement program of International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) in Hyderabad (1981) and rice program of the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in the Philippines (1983). Dr. Gill served as the Senior Vice President of the International Triticale Association from 1988 to 1994. He was a council member of the Indian National Science Academy from 1983 to 1985. He was the founding board member of the Kalgidhar Trust, Baru Sahib, an international non-profit charitable organization along with Baba Iqbal Singh who was the president of the board. He was associated with Baba Iqbal Singh since early college days and they both found their mentor in Sant Teja Singh, (MA LLB AM Harvard). Since 1994, Dr. Gill served as chairman of 129 Akal Academies under The Kalgidhar Trust/Society in the rural areas of Northern India.
Scientific contributions Dr. Khem Singh Gill worked with Nobel Peace Laureate Norman Borlaug in the 1960s to develop new varieties of wheat. Under his leadership, the Department of Plant Breeding received recognition at the international level. His main focus area, however, remained the wheat improvement program. Dr. Gill carried out excellent work in the development and identification of improved varieties of wheat, which revolutionized wheat production in Punjab and several other parts of India and Pakistan. He was one of the main contributors to the Green Revolution in India, which made India a self-reliant country with an added capacity to export grains to other countries. Dr. Gill has over 300 research publications and has authored many books in the area of his expertise (K. S. Gill, personal communication, 22 November 2016).
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