Swarup K Mukherjee was born in Jamshedpur on the 9th of December 1955 to Krishna and Amiya Kumar Mukherjee. His father was a 'steelman' who worked most of his life for Tata Iron and Steel Co. SKM the younger of two children of his parents had an elder sister and the family lived in a huge traditional Bengali joint family home set up by his grand-father who was recruited from Bengal Engineering College, Sibpur by Sir Dorabji Tata to help manage their then fledgling steel manufacturing unit in Jamshedpur.

As a child SKM suffered from a serious bout of Ricketts which permanently affected his skeletal system - his bones were malformed and his growth was severely retarded. Of course, SKM tried very hard not to let his physically infirm body come in the way of his doing anything that his cousins and friends did.

He went to school in Jamshedpur at the Loyola School and did very well for himself at school. He was a naturally gifted scientist and this showed early in his life when he was selected for the prestigious National Science Talent Scholarship (NSTS). 
Click here to view SKM's NSTS project report and insight into a brilliant scientific mind in the making.

Loyola School, Jamshedpur where SKM went to school

As a NSTS Scholar SKM would have the liberty of studying anywhere in India and having the Government of India pay for his education from Graduation through to his Ph.D. After school he chose to study Agriculture at the G B Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar. When asked why he chose Agriculture as a field of study SKM once said it was because he wanted to take the 'path less trodden' since most students wanted to study Engineering or Medicine he would try and find interesting ways to improve the lot of the Indian farmer.