M. S. Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF) was registered in 1988 as a non-profit Trust. The basic mandate of MSSRF is to impart a pro-nature, pro-poor and pro-women orientation to a job-led economic growth strategy in rural areas through harnessing science and technology for environmentally sustainable and socially equitable development. The MS Swaminathan Research Foundation started its work 16 years ago in the thematic areas of coastal systems, biotechnology, biodiversity, ecotechnology, food security and information, education and communication. The Mission of M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation is use of Science for Fostering Sustainable Human Livelihood and the Conservation of Nature. The approach was based on strategic and participatory research, capacity building, networking and partnership building, based on the principles of social inclusion in access to technologies which help to enhance income and environment. Research and outreach strategies were devised to bridge the rich-poor and gender divides in the areas of information, knowledge and skill empowerment The Foundation is known for its emphasis on bottom-up participatory approach, which places people before technology. The Foundation has 20 field centers outside Chennai in the states of Tamil Nadu, Pondicherry, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Orissa. Through the Hindu Media Resource Centre the Foundation promotes public understanding of science through media practitioners.