He started his professional career as the co-founder of the Department of Botany that moved to Khalsa College, Amritsar, soon after the partition of India.
[1] In 1982, he became the Secretary of the newly created Department of Environment in Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's cabinet with the responsibility of developing a pro-active environmental policy for the country.
In 1985, he joined TERI as a Distinguished Fellow and contributed to public policy discussions at national as well as international forums.
Over the course of five decades, he authored more than 250 research papers on plant genetics and evolution, biomass, energy, forestry, conservation and the utilization and management of natural resources.
[citation needed] His book 'Mahatma Gandhi: An Apostle of Applied Human Ecology', published in 1996, was widely applauded for the practical relevance of Gandhian philosophy in today's world.