M. S. Swaminathan Research Foundation

The work done under the six major Programme Areas of MSSRF during the period 1st July 2003 to 30th June 2004 is summarised in this Report. At the outset, I wish to record our gratitude to the State Government of Tamil Nadu and the Government of India, as well as to the various organizations and bilateral and
multilateral donors listed at the end of the report, for their generous encouragement and financial support. I also wish to record our indebtedness to all who have contributed to the corpus fund of MSSRF. The interest from the corpus fund and from the various special endowments helps us to ensure the continuity
of our core programmes. The corpus fund also helps to build and retain a team of dedicated and distinguished core staff. With interest rates declining, the need for an adequate endowment fund cannot be over-emphasized. This is why we are particularly grateful to all who have contributed to the corpus and endowments.