New Delhi, Sep 14 - Terming the death of agricultural scientist and Nobel laureate Norman Borlaug as the end of an era, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Monday described him as one with a 'towering intellect' who 'helped millions of people escape from a life of hunger and deprivation'.

'With the passing away of Norman Borlaug an era has ended, in which he spearheaded a scientific revolution in agriculture,' the prime minister said in a message.

'At a time in the '60s when the country was facing the spectre of severe food shortages, the introduction of Borlaug's high yielding varieties of seeds set in motion a technological revolution in Indian agriculture that led eventually to the country achieving self-sufficiency in foodgrain,' he said.

Borlaug developed a type of wheat that helped feed the world, engendering a movement that is credited with saving up to one billion people from starvation.

He was known as the father of the Green Revolution, which transformed agriculture through high-yield crop varieties and other innovations.