Ashok Singh is former Director and Vice Chancellor of the Indian Agricultural Research Institute in New Delhi (India). He holds B.Sc. and M.Sc. (Plant Genetics and Breeding) degrees from Banaras Hindu University (India) and a Ph.D. degree in Plant Breeding from the Indian Agricultural Research Institute. Ashok has been actively involved in many facets of rice improvement and is responsible for the development of many improved Basmati rice varieties, including several derived using marker-assisted selection. He has been extremely active in helping to develop the next generation of plant breeders, having been very involved with teaching and both post-doctoral and graduate student advisement.