| Subbanna Ayyappan |
Subbanna Ayyappan (born 10 December 1955) is an Indian aquaculture scientist hailing from the Karnataka State who has held several key positions in various Govt organisations related to agricultural science. He was the Director-General of Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and Secretary to Government, Department of Agricultural Research and Education (DARE) during Jan 2010 – Feb 2016.[1] He was also the Chancellor of Central Agricultural University, Manipur. He was instrumental in bringing about the Blue Revolution in India. He was the first non-crop scientist to head the ICAR.[2]
Ayyappan holds a Ph.D., degree from Bangalore University and a master's degree in Fish Production and Management from the College of Fisheries in Mangalore. He has published several research papers in areas of fisheries, limnology, and aquatic microbiology.[3]
Ayyappan began his career in ICAR as a scientist at Central Inland Fisheries Research Institute, Barrackpore in 1978. In 1996 he was appointed as the Director, CIFA, Bhubaneswar, where he served for almost five years prior to holding the office of the Director, CIFE, Mumbai (Deemed University). He came to the ICAR headquarter in 2002 as the Deputy Director General (Fisheries) and served for almost eight years in that capacity before taking up the important post of the Secretary, DARE and Director General, ICAR on 1 January 2010. He was the founder Chief Executive of the National Fisheries Development Board, DAHD&I, Hyderabad (2006-2008).[4] Subanna Ayyappan is also Chairman of National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL).
Subbanna Ayyappan has received several recognitions and awards for his work related to aquaculture and related areas. These include:[4]