CHENNAI: Only an effective transfer of "lab-to-land" agricultural technology can ensure that small and medium farmers in south India reaped the full benefits of the Green Revolution, Governor Surjit Singh Barnala said.

Releasing the book "Opportunities Unbound," written by former Orissa Governor M.M. Rajendran, at a function organised by the Utkal Association of Madras here on Saturday, he said Haryana and Punjab benefited from the Green Revolution, sufficient technology transfer had not been brought into practice in the south. "Every technology should be useful to a large number of persons and the country at large. If it favours only a privileged few, it will result in social and psychological disturbances."

N. Ram, Editor-in-Chief, The Hindu , received the first copy.

Describing Mr. Rajendran as an "able administrator," Mr. Barnala said the author's advocacy of nano-technology was a laudable one as "countries (debuting) into newly evolving technologies... can leapfrog into the most advanced technologies directly, without having to go through various stages of technology development."

Earlier, commenting on the book's contribution to "development policy literature,' M. Anandakrishnan, chairperson of the Madras Institute of Development Studies, said it covered an array of issues such as education, economics, culture, religion and administration.

The book's analysis of the changing requirements of education emphasised the need for those in higher education to do things differently and innovatively and for inculcating social responsibility in learners of higher education.

Mr. Ram said the book was not just a formal collection of speeches (of the author). It was an astute analysis of several issues such as the one concerning the media on how to balance the pursuit of freedom of expression and fulfilling social responsibilities. Its commentary on how to bring together the modern and the traditional in Indian society showed a deep appreciation of the civilisational underpinnings of India. It also carried a frank appraisal of the evolution of Orissa from a backward State to one of dynamic development.

Dr. K.P. Misra, cardiologist, felicitated the author.

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