ARCHIVED MEDIA RELEASE
PA/19/2001 6 November 2001
President inaugurates Australia-India lecture series
The contribution of eminent Australian the late Sir John Crawford to India's Green Revolution has been honoured in a lecture series inaugurated by President Narayanan.
Introducing the first Crawford Lecture at Vigyan Bhawan last night (5 November), the President recalled his contact with Sir John Crawford from his posting to Australia as a diplomat in the 1960s. He described Sir John as a brilliant public servant, academic and agricultural economist.
The inaugural lecture was given by Dr Lloyd Evans, a distinguished Australian scientist who was closely associated with Sir John Crawford and his work, including in India.
The lecture, on the subject "Malthusian Concerns and Agricultural Revolutions", recalled the contributions of Sir John Crawford to assisting the transformation of agriculture in India in the 1960s to meet the country's food needs. The lecture assessed the Green Revolution and explored the challenges facing what Dr Evans called "the next agricultural revolution".
This new series of occasional lectures will range across policy issues important to both countries. It is aimed at strengthening contact, understanding and intellectual exchange between Australia and India, complementing the Narayanan Oration, a series of lectures by distinguished Indians in Australia launched by President Narayanan in 1994.
The Crawford Lecture is arranged and funded by a partnership of the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) and the Australia-India Council (AIC).
Acting Australian High Commissioner Bryce Hutchesson said that the new lecture series was being launched at an ideal time, with ties between the two countries stronger than ever. He said Australia was doubly honoured by the President of India's role in launching both this series and the Narayanan Oration, and he praised NCAER's vision in supporting and developing the new program.
Mr Hutchesson noted that through practical programs such as those of the Australian Council for International Agricultural Research and its Indian collaborative institutions, Australia was remaining true to Sir John Crawford's objective of furthering human wellbeing through efficient agriculture.
Other speakers at the lecture included NCAER President and Governor of the Reserve Bank Dr Bimal Jalan. The audience included senior representatives from Indian agricultural and academic institutions and international agencies, and a range of distinguished Indian political figures and senior officials.
For further information, including the lecture text, please contact First Secretary Rory Medcalf or Public Affairs Manager Shekhar Nambiar, on tel. 6888223, ext. 197 or 460.