Vinayak Govind Panse obtained PhD (1940) from University of London, UK. He was Statistician, Deputy Director and Director, Institute of Plant Industry, Indore; Statistical Adviser, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR); Director, Institute of Agricultural Research Statistics; and Statistical Adviser, Planning Commission.

Academic and Research Achievements: Dr Panse adapted the randomized block and split plot designs to the plant breeding material and succeeded in the development of replicated progeny and compact family block designs, bringing in more significant contributions to statistical methods in quantitative genetics. He took it a great deal farther by introducing appropriate genetic models, which helped bring out the effects of the number of segregating genes, the magnitude of their action, their modification due to dominance and the influence of environment. He evolved a method that resulted in the improvement of forecasts of cotton production in the country. He developed a method of crop-cutting surveys for improving the statistics of acreage and yield of other principal crops. He made significant contributions to the progress of the FAO-sponsored decennial census of agriculture. He also co-authored the book Statistical Methods in Agricultural Research (ICAR, 1954).

Other Contributions: Dr Panse developed yardsticks to assess the progress of agriculture in each state of the country in a series publication Index to Experiments. He served as editor of Journal of the Indian Society of Agricultural Statistics.

Awards and Honours: Dr Panse was elected Secretary of the Indian Society of Agricultural Statistics.