Kalidas Mitra obtained his MBBS (1925) from University of Calcutta and specialized in medical science and public health. He served as the Officer in charge, Public Health Section, Bihar Medical Services; Officer in charge, Nutrition Scheme (1938); Director of Nutrition, Ministry of Food (1945); Advisor (Nutrition), Director General of Health Services, New Delhi. Academic and Research Achievements: Mitra’s contributions relate to: (i) diet and nutrition survey; (ii) determination of the food value of edibles consumed in Bihar; and (iii) deficiency diseases with a view to developing cheap preventives. A remarkable achievement, which will stand to his credit, is the setting up of the first nutrition laboratory in Patna where he laboriously worked out food values for the various components of common diets in those areas and tried to establish a ‘norm’ for essential ingredients and caloric needs of the population. Other Contributions: Mitra took to popularizing the importance of balanced diet for a healthy growth and development of society. He served as an expert (nutrition) member of an FAO team to Philippines. Awards and Honours: Mitra was conferred MBE (1943). He was a Fellow, Royal Statistical Society, Indian Standards Institution (1967); President, Bihar Provincial Medical Conference (1943) and served as President, Physiology Section, Indian Science Congress (1944).