Former director general of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and Padma Shri recipient Dr Subbanna Ayyappan was found dead under suspicious circumstances on May 10. The police were informed on Saturday, after a body was spotted in the River Cauvery near Sai Ashram in Karnataka's Srirangapatna.
Dr Ayyappan, lived in Mysuru with his wife, was reported missing since May 7. On Saturday evening, authorities were alerted after his body was identified. His scooter was also found abandoned on the riverbank, which is 20 Km away from his house, further raising the suspicion surrounding his death. The Srirangapatna police have filed a case and launched a probe to ascertain the cause of his death.
Subbana Ayyappan was born on December 10, 1955, in Yelandur, Chamarajanagar district of Karnataka, Ayyappan began his career after completing a Bachelor of Fisheries Science (BFSc) in 1975 and a Master of Fisheries Science (MFSc) in 1977 from Mangaluru. He later completed his PhD in 1998 from the University of Agricultural Sciences, Bengaluru.
Ayyappan was widely acknowledged as a principal architect of India’s ‘Blue Revolution’, Dr Ayyappan created new and better ways for fish farming. His contributions uplifted rural livelihoods, bolstered food systems and increased productivity across both coastal and inland regions. He was awarded the Padma Shri in 2022 for his contributions in the areas of aquaculture and aquatic microbiology.
He also served as director of the Central Institute of Freshwater Aquaculture (CIFA) in Bhubaneswar and of the Central Institute of Fisheries Education (CIFE) in Mumbai. He was also the founding chief executive of the National Fisheries Development Board (NFDB) in Hyderabad and later held the position of Secretary in the Department of Agricultural Research and Education (DARE), Government of India.
Later, he chaired the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL) and served as Vice-Chancellor of the Central Agricultural University (CAU) in Imphal.
