August 25, 2026

Tejahswi yadav targets Bihar CM over BPSC official remark NEW DELHI: Bihar leader of opposition and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav has demanded an apology from BPSC examination controller Rajesh Kumar over his “dog-barking” remark against protesting students. While RJD scion also took a sharp dig at chief minister Samrat Choudhary, alleging official’s language “mirrors the CM’s language.”Tejashwi said immediate action should be taken against the official, warning that such comments could set a wrong precedent in Bihar and encourage officials to speak disrespectfully to students and the public.Speaking to news agency ANI, Tejashwi criticised the Bihar government over the ongoing protests linked to the 70th BPSC examination. He said the examination controller’s remarks reflected the “language of the chief minister”.“This official should be removed immediately and made to apologise,” Tejashwi said. He alleged that students and young people were being ignored and that repeated exam-related controversies had not led to anyone being held accountable.Tejashwi also accused the government of failing to fix responsibility for repeated cancellations, alleged paper leaks and irregularities in competitive examinations.’Elephant walks, dogs bark’The row began after BPSC Examination Controller Rajesh Kumar was asked about allegations of irregularities and paper leaks.Responding to questions, Kumar reportedly said: “Haathi chale bazaar, kutta bhaunke hazaar” – meaning, “An elephant walks through the market while a thousand dogs bark.”The remark angered protesting students, who raised slogans against the official and intensified their criticism of the commission.Students have been protesting at Patna’s Gardanibagh over the 70th BPSC examination, demanding its cancellation over alleged irregularities and paper leaks.Their protest has also focused on the proposed Teacher Recruitment Examination-4 (TRE-4). Students are opposing the plan to hold the examination in two phases across Bihar and are demanding that the official TRE-4 notification be released.Join conversationView All Comments →Share your thoughts in the commentsInsightfulAgreeDisagreeSkepticalConcerningPromisingWorth ReadingBig DevelopmentPost CommentBe respectful · TOI community guidelinesTejashwi’s demandsTejashwi has also written to Bihar CM Samrat Choudhary, asking the government to engage with the protesters and address their concerns instead of ignoring them.He has demanded that the TRE-4 examination be conducted in a single phase across the state.Tejashwi also called for an end to what he described as discrimination against Hindi-speaking candidates in the BPSC Civil Services Main examination and interview.Among his other demands are:Complete transparency in competitive examinations, including those conducted by the BPSC, BSSC and for police recruitment.A high-level independent probe into alleged irregularities in past examinations.Strict action against recruitment “mafias” involved in exam-related wrongdoing.Time-bound schedules for pending exams, including BSSC Intermediate, CGL, ASO, BSO, Librarian and Accountant recruitment exams.The RJD leader said the government must act quickly and hold discussions with the protesting students to find a solution to the ongoing dispute.Get the latest India News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.About the AuthorAbhishek MishraAbhishek Mishra is a Digital Content Producer at The Times of India, working with the news desk. He writes with a keen eye on foreign policy, defence developments, and the shifting currents of geopolitics-and yes, Indian politics always finds a way onto his radar too.Read MoreEnd of ArticleFollow Us On Social MediaVideosAjeet Bharti EXCLUSIVE On ‘Reservation Hatao Andolan’, Harsh Dubey, CJP & His Criticism Of BJPTMC’s Abhishek Banerjee Moves Supreme Court Over Delay In Disqualification Of 20 Rebel TMC MPsTrump Pushes $103,265 H-1B Fee; 71% Indian Professionals Brace For Major Immigration BlowJaishankar Meets Putin In Moscow, India-Russia Trade Soars As Both Sides Target $100 Billion By 2030Fresh Kashmiri Pandit Threat: Hit List Reveals Addresses, Phone Numbers, Vehicle Details OnlineDelhi-NCR Rain Fury: Gurugram Under Orange Alert, Work From Home Advisory Issued For August 25’Ram-Ram Inside, Fish Feast Outside’: Yogi Adityanath Slams Cong Over Ayodhya Event; Ajay Rai ReactsDisplaced By Ken-Betwa Project, Tribals Now Struggle For Basic Amenities | ExclusiveIn Leaked Audio, Lawrence Bishnoi’s Aide Goldy Brar Claims He Killed Hardeep Nijjar In Canada‘Watching Your Every Move’: Fresh Threat Letter Targets Kashmiri Pandits In J&K123Photostories‘They don’t love you, they love your name’:Asim Riaz takes explosive dig at ex Himanshi Khurana, calls her a ‘fame digger’First egg, now chicken? 7 things to know about the Salmonella outbreak in the UKHow to remove coconut flesh from the shell easily: 5 simple tricks without wasting the coconutFrom flamingos to puffins: 5 birds whose beaks look hand-painted by an artistMaria Sharapova to Naomi Osaka: 5 athletes who are serving major fashion moments off the courtSreeleela’s fish-cut saree just gave traditional draping a seriously savage upgrade10 beautiful baby girl names that capture a sense of wonderOptical Illusion personality test: What you spot first reveals the weak spot in your love lifePriyanka Chopra’s architectural black gown just proved that red-carpet glam needs a little more attitude10 of the world’s most colourful birds to see in the wild123Hot PicksGurgaon schoolSchool holiday todayKPMG AustraliaTrump tariffIOB LBO recruitmentNEET UG 2026Parandur airportSIM card rulesNEET PG 2026 admit cardTop TrendingBandra Parsi BungalowB Suresh GowdaRupali ChakankarKarnataka Food Licence SuspensionAllahabad High CourtMumbai Airport DemolitionRam RahimDelhi Women AccidentDelhi Gurgaon RainMaharashtra Cliff Tragedy

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Tejahswi yadav targets Bihar CM over BPSC official remark NEW DELHI: Bihar leader of opposition and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav has demanded an apology from BPSC examination controller Rajesh Kumar over his “dog-barking” remark against protesting students. While RJD scion also took a sharp dig at chief minister Samrat Choudhary, alleging official’s language “mirrors the CM’s language.”Tejashwi said immediate action should be taken against the official, warning that such comments could set a wrong precedent in Bihar and encourage officials to speak disrespectfully to students and the public.Speaking to news agency ANI, Tejashwi criticised the Bihar government over the ongoing protests linked to the 70th BPSC examination. He said the examination controller’s remarks reflected the “language of the chief minister”.“This official should be removed immediately and made to apologise,” Tejashwi said. He alleged that students and young people were being ignored and that repeated exam-related controversies had not led to anyone being held accountable.Tejashwi also accused the government of failing to fix responsibility for repeated cancellations, alleged paper leaks and irregularities in competitive examinations.’Elephant walks, dogs bark’The row began after BPSC Examination Controller Rajesh Kumar was asked about allegations of irregularities and paper leaks.Responding to questions, Kumar reportedly said: “Haathi chale bazaar, kutta bhaunke hazaar” – meaning, “An elephant walks through the market while a thousand dogs bark.”The remark angered protesting students, who raised slogans against the official and intensified their criticism of the commission.Students have been protesting at Patna’s Gardanibagh over the 70th BPSC examination, demanding its cancellation over alleged irregularities and paper leaks.Their protest has also focused on the proposed Teacher Recruitment Examination-4 (TRE-4). Students are opposing the plan to hold the examination in two phases across Bihar and are demanding that the official TRE-4 notification be released.Join conversationView All Comments →Share your thoughts in the commentsInsightfulAgreeDisagreeSkepticalConcerningPromisingWorth ReadingBig DevelopmentPost CommentBe respectful · TOI community guidelinesTejashwi’s demandsTejashwi has also written to Bihar CM Samrat Choudhary, asking the government to engage with the protesters and address their concerns instead of ignoring them.He has demanded that the TRE-4 examination be conducted in a single phase across the state.Tejashwi also called for an end to what he described as discrimination against Hindi-speaking candidates in the BPSC Civil Services Main examination and interview.Among his other demands are:Complete transparency in competitive examinations, including those conducted by the BPSC, BSSC and for police recruitment.A high-level independent probe into alleged irregularities in past examinations.Strict action against recruitment “mafias” involved in exam-related wrongdoing.Time-bound schedules for pending exams, including BSSC Intermediate, CGL, ASO, BSO, Librarian and Accountant recruitment exams.The RJD leader said the government must act quickly and hold discussions with the protesting students to find a solution to the ongoing dispute.Get the latest India News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.About the AuthorAbhishek MishraAbhishek Mishra is a Digital Content Producer at The Times of India, working with the news desk. He writes with a keen eye on foreign policy, defence developments, and the shifting currents of geopolitics-and yes, Indian politics always finds a way onto his radar too.Read MoreEnd of ArticleFollow Us On Social MediaVideosAjeet Bharti EXCLUSIVE On ‘Reservation Hatao Andolan’, Harsh Dubey, CJP & His Criticism Of BJPTMC’s Abhishek Banerjee Moves Supreme Court Over Delay In Disqualification Of 20 Rebel TMC MPsTrump Pushes 3,265 H-1B Fee; 71% Indian Professionals Brace For Major Immigration BlowJaishankar Meets Putin In Moscow, India-Russia Trade Soars As Both Sides Target 0 Billion By 2030Fresh Kashmiri Pandit Threat: Hit List Reveals Addresses, Phone Numbers, Vehicle Details OnlineDelhi-NCR Rain Fury: Gurugram Under Orange Alert, Work From Home Advisory Issued For August 25’Ram-Ram Inside, Fish Feast Outside’: Yogi Adityanath Slams Cong Over Ayodhya Event; Ajay Rai ReactsDisplaced By Ken-Betwa Project, Tribals Now Struggle For Basic Amenities | ExclusiveIn Leaked Audio, Lawrence Bishnoi’s Aide Goldy Brar Claims He Killed Hardeep Nijjar In Canada‘Watching Your Every Move’: Fresh Threat Letter Targets Kashmiri Pandits In J&K123Photostories‘They don’t love you, they love your name’:Asim Riaz takes explosive dig at ex Himanshi Khurana, calls her a ‘fame digger’First egg, now chicken? 7 things to know about the Salmonella outbreak in the UKHow to remove coconut flesh from the shell easily: 5 simple tricks without wasting the coconutFrom flamingos to puffins: 5 birds whose beaks look hand-painted by an artistMaria Sharapova to Naomi Osaka: 5 athletes who are serving major fashion moments off the courtSreeleela’s fish-cut saree just gave traditional draping a seriously savage upgrade10 beautiful baby girl names that capture a sense of wonderOptical Illusion personality test: What you spot first reveals the weak spot in your love lifePriyanka Chopra’s architectural black gown just proved that red-carpet glam needs a little more attitude10 of the world’s most colourful birds to see in the wild123Hot PicksGurgaon schoolSchool holiday todayKPMG AustraliaTrump tariffIOB LBO recruitmentNEET UG 2026Parandur airportSIM card rulesNEET PG 2026 admit cardTop TrendingBandra Parsi BungalowB Suresh GowdaRupali ChakankarKarnataka Food Licence SuspensionAllahabad High CourtMumbai Airport DemolitionRam RahimDelhi Women AccidentDelhi Gurgaon RainMaharashtra Cliff Tragedy


'Dog-barking' remark on students: Tejashwi says BPSC official 'mirrors CM's language'; demands removal
Tejahswi yadav targets Bihar CM over BPSC official remark

NEW DELHI: Bihar leader of opposition and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav has demanded an apology from BPSC examination controller Rajesh Kumar over his “dog-barking” remark against protesting students. While RJD scion also took a sharp dig at chief minister Samrat Choudhary, alleging official’s language “mirrors the CM’s language.“Tejashwi said immediate action should be taken against the official, warning that such comments could set a wrong precedent in Bihar and encourage officials to speak disrespectfully to students and the public.Speaking to news agency ANI, Tejashwi criticised the Bihar government over the ongoing protests linked to the 70th BPSC examination. He said the examination controller’s remarks reflected the “language of the chief minister”.“This official should be removed immediately and made to apologise,” Tejashwi said. He alleged that students and young people were being ignored and that repeated exam-related controversies had not led to anyone being held accountable.Tejashwi also accused the government of failing to fix responsibility for repeated cancellations, alleged paper leaks and irregularities in competitive examinations.

‘Elephant walks, dogs bark’

The row began after BPSC Examination Controller Rajesh Kumar was asked about allegations of irregularities and paper leaks.Responding to questions, Kumar reportedly said: “Haathi chale bazaar, kutta bhaunke hazaar” – meaning, “An elephant walks through the market while a thousand dogs bark.”The remark angered protesting students, who raised slogans against the official and intensified their criticism of the commission.Students have been protesting at Patna’s Gardanibagh over the 70th BPSC examination, demanding its cancellation over alleged irregularities and paper leaks.Their protest has also focused on the proposed Teacher Recruitment Examination-4 (TRE-4). Students are opposing the plan to hold the examination in two phases across Bihar and are demanding that the official TRE-4 notification be released.

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Decades after disappearing from Indian fields and kitchens, heirloom paddy is making a comeback. Biryani made with Kaima instead of Basmati, payesh made with Badshahbhog, risotto made with Assam’s Bora. With heirloom rice vanishing from Indian kitchens faster than they could be documented, this seemed, until not very long ago, nothing more than nostalgia. The Green Revolution’s push for high-yield monoculture had, over the years, pushed out many old types of rice. But now, several of those varieties, thought long gone, are staging a comeback — thanks to the efforts of farmers, conservationists, NGOs, restaurateurs, and a bit of help from some state govts.Guardians of the grainIn coastal Karnataka’s Nettanige village, Padma Shri awardee Sathyanarayana Beleri — everyone calls him ‘Seeding Sathya’ — nurtures more than 100 traditional paddy varieties in grow bags outside his house. It’s a small selection from his vast collection of over 650 seed varieties, collected from across India, Sri Lanka, Japan and the Philippines.He has strains of flood-resistant Edekunhi and Nereguli, the medicinal Dodda Byra Nellu, and Kalanamak (also called ‘Buddha Rice’). He’s distributed seeds to hundreds of farmers across Karnataka and Kerala, as well as to agricultural universities nationwide. “Rice”, he says, “can be cultivated in grow bags, just like vegetables at home. As climate change reshapes agriculture, conserving traditional, climate-resilient varieties is no longer a choice. It is a necessity.”Sathyanarayana Beleri with some of the more than 650 seed varieties he has collected from across India, Sri Lanka, Japan and the Philippines.Further inland, entire families have turned conservation into a generational commitment. In Belthangady taluk, the Rao family has conserved 180-190 traditional varieties on 5.5 acres since B K Deva Rao started a seed bank in 1988. His son, Parameshwar Rao, points to a benefit beyond biodiversity. “Paddy cultivation is among the best forms of groundwater recharge and rainwater harvesting,” he says. “Strong field bunds can retain water for nearly a week. Even two cropping cycles can substantially improve the groundwater table.” Their prized variety, Kayame — a red rice — “has a flavour rarely found in modern commercial varieties,” he adds.Some 1,300km away in Chhattisgarh, Khemlal Dewangan, a maths teacher in Rajnandgaon district, started farming traditional paddy around 15 years ago. Dewangan started with a handful of desi strains. He now has a collection of around 70 varieties.His seed collection has grown through a nationwide network of farmers — brought together on WhatsApp — who test small quantities in their fields. “I now receive 10-15 enquiries a day from social media and word of mouth,” he says.For him, the appeal goes beyond the market: he says traditional varieties are healthier, as they take longer to mature, absorbing more soil nutrients.Roots of a revivalNone of this happened by accident. Back in 2004, the UN’s second International Year of Rice, Kerala-based NGO Thanal decided something had to be done about India’s vanishing rice varieties. They launched the Save Our Rice campaign through a workshop in Kumbalangi village. Thanal teamed up with Tamil Nadu’s CREATE (a non-profit organisation) to run it, and the campaign took root in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka and Bengal, later spreading into Chhattisgarh.Members of CREATE educate farmers about heirloom rice varieties on a farm in Tamil Nadu.India had over one lakh varieties of rice in 1966, but by the time the campaign started, that number had dropped to around 30,000 — most locked away in university seed banks, rather than growing in farmers’ fields. The campaign has had a big impact on southern states. “In the last 15-16 years, there has been a revival of traditional seeds in these states,” says Jayakumar C, executive director at Thanal. “Today, there are more than 25 or 30 farmers or groups doing traditional seeds in different parts of Kerala. Thanal’s own centre in Wayanad now holds around 320- 330 varieties of rice.”That demand has started showing up in the market. Thanal runs a regular shop now in Thiruvananthapuram. Jayakumar says Kaima (also called Jeerakasala or Jeeraga Samba), a traditional variety, has become popular for biryani. Brands have caught on, too. Thondi, from a Wayanad farmer-producer company, sells online and via courier across Kerala’s cities, even as Mappila Chamba has built a following.“Traditional rice tends to be more filling,” says Jayakumar. You feel full after eating less, unlike white rice hybrids. Also, the longer shelf life and taste after cooking is winning over urban households, especially the older people.”When state stepped inIn Tamil Nadu, govt push gave the revival momentum. According to Suresh Kanna, project director at CREATE Trust, state govt began promoting six native varieties some 10 years ago under the State Heritage Rice Mission: Mappillai Samba, Karuppu Kavuni, Thooyamalli, Poongar, Kaattuyaanam and Kichili Samba. “Today, they are liked by consumers and can be seen in organic shops across the state. They also fetch good income for the farmers. A Kavuni farmer can get up to Rs 200 for a kilo. My calculation is that more than one lakh farmers in the state are now cultivating traditional paddy varieties,” Kanna says.Even in Karnataka, grassroots efforts are now finding institutional backing. KVK Dakshina Kannada has begun field trials of 10 traditional varieties sourced from Beleri, aiming to identify strains suited to the coastal region, and reintroduce them into local food systems. Karnataka’s agriculture department has documented 2,164 traditional landraces (local, traditional varieties that evolved through natural and human selection to adapt to a specific geographic and climatic environment) across 20 crops, with paddy topping the list at 1,469 varieties, under its Conservation and Promotion of Landraces Programme. Rs 1.3 crore in incentives went to 490 farmers in 2025-26 for viable seed samples. The effort centres on custodian farmers who “continued cultivating them on small patches of land,” as department director GT Puthra puts it.The department is now supporting GI registration for varieties including Kagga paddy, Rajmudi paddy, Bijapur Jola, Joni Bella and Kumbi Mudli, and plans incentives for 15 “forgotten treasure” shops.Farm to fork, fork to fameA few restaurants are actively championing rare, indigenous rice over commercial varieties. Edible Archives in Goa works with regional grains like Thavala Kannan from Wayanad (a red rice from Palakkad, whose name means “frog’s eyes” in Malayalam), and Pokkali, which brings a distinct coastal terroir.The Kolkata-based Amar Khamar, both a heritage-grain retail brand and restaurant, is entirely built around Bengal’s native rice. Its signature is ‘Chhuti-r Bhat’, an 11-course meal following the traditional sequence of a Bengali meal, centred on heirloom varieties like Sugondhi Chine Kamini Aatap.‘Chhuti-r Bhat’ in Kolkata’s Amar Khamar, which is an 11-course meal centred on heirloom rice varieties.That influence has spread to other restaurants in the city. Sienna Cafe sources Chine Kamini, Radha Tilok, Kanakchur and Tulaipanji Atop from Amar Khamar; Yokocho, a Japanese alleyway-inspired bar and BBQ, draws on Kanakchur, Tulaipanji Atop and Karpurkanti; Red Bari incorporates Shatia, Mallifulo and Khejur Chhari.Juhi Punwani, head of kitchen operations at Amar Khamar, has built a career around collecting the many myths and stories behind Bengal’s native rice varieties. “Gobindobhog is not the only heritage rice in Bengal,” she says. A rice called Radhuni Pagol literally means “the cook gone crazy”, after lore that its fragrance once filled a kitchen so completely that the cook couldn’t think of anything else.Tulaipanji of North Bengal gets its name from how the cooked rice turns light and airy like cotton (tula); Khejur Chhari is named for the date palm its grains resemble; Radha Tilok’s dark-tipped grain evokes Radha’s tilak mark. “Every rice here has a beautiful story and a journey, and that’s what we’re trying to showcase,” says Punwani, whose team has worked to bring back over 100 varieties, keeping around 50 in active rotation.A look at select traditional rice varieties and the regions they are associated with across India.This past summer, that ambition crossed continents, as Amar Khamar toured France and Germany. In Paris, working with sommelier Rajat Parr, the team built an 80-guest, 10-course tasting menu entirely around rice. Kanakchur turned up as fritters with brown butter hollandaise, Sundarbansgrown Karpurkanti and Chine Kamini appeared as aatapan alongside a jackfruit-seed mung dal, Barddhaman’s Mohansal was served boiled, the meal closing with a Jhargram Fine Black Rice phirni.In Stuttgart, the team built a fully vegan Bengali tasting menu, rice carrying the meal from a humble jhal muri to a coconut-milk Badshahbhog payesh for dessert. A separate 200-guest winery event tested whether the format could scale — from Karpurkanti-paired lentils, a Chine Kamini peas pulao to Sunday lamb curry and Badshahbhog milk-rice. “None of this would be possible without the relationships we have built with a network of farmers,” says Punwani, who executed the menu in Europe.The traceability problemBut as heritage rice travels from the farm into retail shelves, a different problem emerges: knowing whether what’s being sold is really what it claims to be. One store has built its entire business around solving exactly that. In Chennai’s Mylapore sits a store unlike any other. Spirit of the Earth calls itself a “retail store and experience centre”, where customers come to see, touch, feel and know the story of every rice. Opened in 2017, it’s the retail face of a project that Sheela Balaji, chairperson of NGO AIM For Seva, began over a decade ago, built on a principle she believes the heritage-rice surge often misses: traceability.“Unfortunately, certain grains are being sold as certain varieties, which is inaccurate,” says Balaji.“The minute you say heritage rice, people will just come and buy it. But who is taking accountability? How do you know if it’s really diabetic friendly? So, I started this project more than a decade ago, first and foremost by building a seed bank. All the rice that you see in our store is grown from our farm in Manjakkudi, a village in Tiruvarur.”Join conversationView All Comments →Share your thoughts in the commentsInsightfulAgreeDisagreeSkepticalConcerningPromisingWorth ReadingBig DevelopmentPost CommentBe respectful · TOI community guidelinesThe 40-acre operation has grown as neighbouring farmers joined in, alongside a seed bank built from years of Balaji’s fieldwork with growers in Manipur, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.For Balaji, the mission is beyond nutrition or nostalgia. “Rice in our culture is Lakshmi,” she says. “And reintroducing its forgotten names and forms, one customer at a time, is as much about restoring that reverence as it is about the grain itself.”Sheela Balaji and Parameshwar Rao explain the importance of rice and paddy cultivation. Get the latest India News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.About the AuthorSneha BhuraSneha Bhura is an Assistant Editor with The Times of India. She loves exploring stories at the intersection of culture and technology. She is also a published poet and podcaster. Her debut poetry collection ‘Velvet Grapes’ was released in 2021.Read MoreEnd of ArticleFollow Us On Social MediaVideos’People Were Shot In The Head’: Sonam Wangchuk Seeks Inquiry Report Into 2025 Ladakh ViolenceAjeet Bharti EXCLUSIVE On ‘Reservation Hatao Andolan’, Harsh Dubey, CJP & His Criticism Of BJPTMC’s Abhishek Banerjee Moves Supreme Court Over Delay In Disqualification Of 20 Rebel TMC MPsTrump Pushes 3,265 H-1B Fee; 71% Indian Professionals Brace For Major Immigration BlowJaishankar Meets Putin In Moscow, India-Russia Trade Soars As Both Sides Target 0 Billion By 2030Fresh Kashmiri Pandit Threat: Hit List Reveals Addresses, Phone Numbers, Vehicle Details OnlineDelhi-NCR Rain Fury: Gurugram Under Orange Alert, Work From Home Advisory Issued For August 25’Ram-Ram Inside, Fish Feast Outside’: Yogi Adityanath Slams Cong Over Ayodhya Event; Ajay Rai ReactsDisplaced By Ken-Betwa Project, Tribals Now Struggle For Basic Amenities | ExclusiveIn Leaked Audio, Lawrence Bishnoi’s Aide Goldy Brar Claims He Killed Hardeep Nijjar In Canada123Photostories‘They don’t love you, they love your name’:Asim Riaz takes explosive dig at ex Himanshi Khurana, calls her a ‘fame digger’First egg, now chicken? 7 things to know about the Salmonella outbreak in the UKHow to remove coconut flesh from the shell easily: 5 simple tricks without wasting the coconutFrom flamingos to puffins: 5 birds whose beaks look hand-painted by an artistMaria Sharapova to Naomi Osaka: 5 athletes who are serving major fashion moments off the courtSreeleela’s fish-cut saree just gave traditional draping a seriously savage upgrade10 beautiful baby girl names that capture a sense of wonderOptical Illusion personality test: What you spot first reveals the weak spot in your love lifePriyanka Chopra’s architectural black gown just proved that red-carpet glam needs a little more attitude10 of the world’s most colourful birds to see in the wild123Hot PicksGurgaon schoolAAP councillorsKPMG AustraliaTrump tariffIOB LBO recruitmentNEET UG 2026Sridhar VembuTrump’s SpaceXNEET PG 2026 admit cardTop TrendingBandra Parsi BungalowSuresh GowdaRupali ChakankarKarnataka Food Licence SuspensionAllahabad High CourtMumbai Airport DemolitionRam RahimDelhi Women AccidentDelhi Gurgaon RainMaharashtra Hill Tragedy

Decades after disappearing from Indian fields and kitchens, heirloom paddy is making a comeback. Biryani made with Kaima instead of Basmati, payesh made with Badshahbhog, risotto made with Assam’s Bora. With heirloom rice vanishing from Indian kitchens faster than they could be documented, this seemed, until not very long ago, nothing more than nostalgia. The Green Revolution’s push for high-yield monoculture had, over the years, pushed out many old types of rice. But now, several of those varieties, thought long gone, are staging a comeback — thanks to the efforts of farmers, conservationists, NGOs, restaurateurs, and a bit of help from some state govts.Guardians of the grainIn coastal Karnataka’s Nettanige village, Padma Shri awardee Sathyanarayana Beleri — everyone calls him ‘Seeding Sathya’ — nurtures more than 100 traditional paddy varieties in grow bags outside his house. It’s a small selection from his vast collection of over 650 seed varieties, collected from across India, Sri Lanka, Japan and the Philippines.He has strains of flood-resistant Edekunhi and Nereguli, the medicinal Dodda Byra Nellu, and Kalanamak (also called ‘Buddha Rice’). He’s distributed seeds to hundreds of farmers across Karnataka and Kerala, as well as to agricultural universities nationwide. “Rice”, he says, “can be cultivated in grow bags, just like vegetables at home. As climate change reshapes agriculture, conserving traditional, climate-resilient varieties is no longer a choice. It is a necessity.”Sathyanarayana Beleri with some of the more than 650 seed varieties he has collected from across India, Sri Lanka, Japan and the Philippines.Further inland, entire families have turned conservation into a generational commitment. In Belthangady taluk, the Rao family has conserved 180-190 traditional varieties on 5.5 acres since B K Deva Rao started a seed bank in 1988. His son, Parameshwar Rao, points to a benefit beyond biodiversity. “Paddy cultivation is among the best forms of groundwater recharge and rainwater harvesting,” he says. “Strong field bunds can retain water for nearly a week. Even two cropping cycles can substantially improve the groundwater table.” Their prized variety, Kayame — a red rice — “has a flavour rarely found in modern commercial varieties,” he adds.Some 1,300km away in Chhattisgarh, Khemlal Dewangan, a maths teacher in Rajnandgaon district, started farming traditional paddy around 15 years ago. Dewangan started with a handful of desi strains. He now has a collection of around 70 varieties.His seed collection has grown through a nationwide network of farmers — brought together on WhatsApp — who test small quantities in their fields. “I now receive 10-15 enquiries a day from social media and word of mouth,” he says.For him, the appeal goes beyond the market: he says traditional varieties are healthier, as they take longer to mature, absorbing more soil nutrients.Roots of a revivalNone of this happened by accident. Back in 2004, the UN’s second International Year of Rice, Kerala-based NGO Thanal decided something had to be done about India’s vanishing rice varieties. They launched the Save Our Rice campaign through a workshop in Kumbalangi village. Thanal teamed up with Tamil Nadu’s CREATE (a non-profit organisation) to run it, and the campaign took root in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka and Bengal, later spreading into Chhattisgarh.Members of CREATE educate farmers about heirloom rice varieties on a farm in Tamil Nadu.India had over one lakh varieties of rice in 1966, but by the time the campaign started, that number had dropped to around 30,000 — most locked away in university seed banks, rather than growing in farmers’ fields. The campaign has had a big impact on southern states. “In the last 15-16 years, there has been a revival of traditional seeds in these states,” says Jayakumar C, executive director at Thanal. “Today, there are more than 25 or 30 farmers or groups doing traditional seeds in different parts of Kerala. Thanal’s own centre in Wayanad now holds around 320- 330 varieties of rice.”That demand has started showing up in the market. Thanal runs a regular shop now in Thiruvananthapuram. Jayakumar says Kaima (also called Jeerakasala or Jeeraga Samba), a traditional variety, has become popular for biryani. Brands have caught on, too. Thondi, from a Wayanad farmer-producer company, sells online and via courier across Kerala’s cities, even as Mappila Chamba has built a following.“Traditional rice tends to be more filling,” says Jayakumar. You feel full after eating less, unlike white rice hybrids. Also, the longer shelf life and taste after cooking is winning over urban households, especially the older people.”When state stepped inIn Tamil Nadu, govt push gave the revival momentum. According to Suresh Kanna, project director at CREATE Trust, state govt began promoting six native varieties some 10 years ago under the State Heritage Rice Mission: Mappillai Samba, Karuppu Kavuni, Thooyamalli, Poongar, Kaattuyaanam and Kichili Samba. “Today, they are liked by consumers and can be seen in organic shops across the state. They also fetch good income for the farmers. A Kavuni farmer can get up to Rs 200 for a kilo. My calculation is that more than one lakh farmers in the state are now cultivating traditional paddy varieties,” Kanna says.Even in Karnataka, grassroots efforts are now finding institutional backing. KVK Dakshina Kannada has begun field trials of 10 traditional varieties sourced from Beleri, aiming to identify strains suited to the coastal region, and reintroduce them into local food systems. Karnataka’s agriculture department has documented 2,164 traditional landraces (local, traditional varieties that evolved through natural and human selection to adapt to a specific geographic and climatic environment) across 20 crops, with paddy topping the list at 1,469 varieties, under its Conservation and Promotion of Landraces Programme. Rs 1.3 crore in incentives went to 490 farmers in 2025-26 for viable seed samples. The effort centres on custodian farmers who “continued cultivating them on small patches of land,” as department director GT Puthra puts it.The department is now supporting GI registration for varieties including Kagga paddy, Rajmudi paddy, Bijapur Jola, Joni Bella and Kumbi Mudli, and plans incentives for 15 “forgotten treasure” shops.Farm to fork, fork to fameA few restaurants are actively championing rare, indigenous rice over commercial varieties. Edible Archives in Goa works with regional grains like Thavala Kannan from Wayanad (a red rice from Palakkad, whose name means “frog’s eyes” in Malayalam), and Pokkali, which brings a distinct coastal terroir.The Kolkata-based Amar Khamar, both a heritage-grain retail brand and restaurant, is entirely built around Bengal’s native rice. Its signature is ‘Chhuti-r Bhat’, an 11-course meal following the traditional sequence of a Bengali meal, centred on heirloom varieties like Sugondhi Chine Kamini Aatap.‘Chhuti-r Bhat’ in Kolkata’s Amar Khamar, which is an 11-course meal centred on heirloom rice varieties.That influence has spread to other restaurants in the city. Sienna Cafe sources Chine Kamini, Radha Tilok, Kanakchur and Tulaipanji Atop from Amar Khamar; Yokocho, a Japanese alleyway-inspired bar and BBQ, draws on Kanakchur, Tulaipanji Atop and Karpurkanti; Red Bari incorporates Shatia, Mallifulo and Khejur Chhari.Juhi Punwani, head of kitchen operations at Amar Khamar, has built a career around collecting the many myths and stories behind Bengal’s native rice varieties. “Gobindobhog is not the only heritage rice in Bengal,” she says. A rice called Radhuni Pagol literally means “the cook gone crazy”, after lore that its fragrance once filled a kitchen so completely that the cook couldn’t think of anything else.Tulaipanji of North Bengal gets its name from how the cooked rice turns light and airy like cotton (tula); Khejur Chhari is named for the date palm its grains resemble; Radha Tilok’s dark-tipped grain evokes Radha’s tilak mark. “Every rice here has a beautiful story and a journey, and that’s what we’re trying to showcase,” says Punwani, whose team has worked to bring back over 100 varieties, keeping around 50 in active rotation.A look at select traditional rice varieties and the regions they are associated with across India.This past summer, that ambition crossed continents, as Amar Khamar toured France and Germany. In Paris, working with sommelier Rajat Parr, the team built an 80-guest, 10-course tasting menu entirely around rice. Kanakchur turned up as fritters with brown butter hollandaise, Sundarbansgrown Karpurkanti and Chine Kamini appeared as aatapan alongside a jackfruit-seed mung dal, Barddhaman’s Mohansal was served boiled, the meal closing with a Jhargram Fine Black Rice phirni.In Stuttgart, the team built a fully vegan Bengali tasting menu, rice carrying the meal from a humble jhal muri to a coconut-milk Badshahbhog payesh for dessert. A separate 200-guest winery event tested whether the format could scale — from Karpurkanti-paired lentils, a Chine Kamini peas pulao to Sunday lamb curry and Badshahbhog milk-rice. “None of this would be possible without the relationships we have built with a network of farmers,” says Punwani, who executed the menu in Europe.The traceability problemBut as heritage rice travels from the farm into retail shelves, a different problem emerges: knowing whether what’s being sold is really what it claims to be. One store has built its entire business around solving exactly that. In Chennai’s Mylapore sits a store unlike any other. Spirit of the Earth calls itself a “retail store and experience centre”, where customers come to see, touch, feel and know the story of every rice. Opened in 2017, it’s the retail face of a project that Sheela Balaji, chairperson of NGO AIM For Seva, began over a decade ago, built on a principle she believes the heritage-rice surge often misses: traceability.“Unfortunately, certain grains are being sold as certain varieties, which is inaccurate,” says Balaji.“The minute you say heritage rice, people will just come and buy it. But who is taking accountability? How do you know if it’s really diabetic friendly? So, I started this project more than a decade ago, first and foremost by building a seed bank. All the rice that you see in our store is grown from our farm in Manjakkudi, a village in Tiruvarur.”Join conversationView All Comments →Share your thoughts in the commentsInsightfulAgreeDisagreeSkepticalConcerningPromisingWorth ReadingBig DevelopmentPost CommentBe respectful · TOI community guidelinesThe 40-acre operation has grown as neighbouring farmers joined in, alongside a seed bank built from years of Balaji’s fieldwork with growers in Manipur, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.For Balaji, the mission is beyond nutrition or nostalgia. “Rice in our culture is Lakshmi,” she says. “And reintroducing its forgotten names and forms, one customer at a time, is as much about restoring that reverence as it is about the grain itself.”Sheela Balaji and Parameshwar Rao explain the importance of rice and paddy cultivation. Get the latest India News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.About the AuthorSneha BhuraSneha Bhura is an Assistant Editor with The Times of India. She loves exploring stories at the intersection of culture and technology. She is also a published poet and podcaster. Her debut poetry collection ‘Velvet Grapes’ was released in 2021.Read MoreEnd of ArticleFollow Us On Social MediaVideos’People Were Shot In The Head’: Sonam Wangchuk Seeks Inquiry Report Into 2025 Ladakh ViolenceAjeet Bharti EXCLUSIVE On ‘Reservation Hatao Andolan’, Harsh Dubey, CJP & His Criticism Of BJPTMC’s Abhishek Banerjee Moves Supreme Court Over Delay In Disqualification Of 20 Rebel TMC MPsTrump Pushes $103,265 H-1B Fee; 71% Indian Professionals Brace For Major Immigration BlowJaishankar Meets Putin In Moscow, India-Russia Trade Soars As Both Sides Target $100 Billion By 2030Fresh Kashmiri Pandit Threat: Hit List Reveals Addresses, Phone Numbers, Vehicle Details OnlineDelhi-NCR Rain Fury: Gurugram Under Orange Alert, Work From Home Advisory Issued For August 25’Ram-Ram Inside, Fish Feast Outside’: Yogi Adityanath Slams Cong Over Ayodhya Event; Ajay Rai ReactsDisplaced By Ken-Betwa Project, Tribals Now Struggle For Basic Amenities | ExclusiveIn Leaked Audio, Lawrence Bishnoi’s Aide Goldy Brar Claims He Killed Hardeep Nijjar In Canada123Photostories‘They don’t love you, they love your name’:Asim Riaz takes explosive dig at ex Himanshi Khurana, calls her a ‘fame digger’First egg, now chicken? 7 things to know about the Salmonella outbreak in the UKHow to remove coconut flesh from the shell easily: 5 simple tricks without wasting the coconutFrom flamingos to puffins: 5 birds whose beaks look hand-painted by an artistMaria Sharapova to Naomi Osaka: 5 athletes who are serving major fashion moments off the courtSreeleela’s fish-cut saree just gave traditional draping a seriously savage upgrade10 beautiful baby girl names that capture a sense of wonderOptical Illusion personality test: What you spot first reveals the weak spot in your love lifePriyanka Chopra’s architectural black gown just proved that red-carpet glam needs a little more attitude10 of the world’s most colourful birds to see in the wild123Hot PicksGurgaon schoolAAP councillorsKPMG AustraliaTrump tariffIOB LBO recruitmentNEET UG 2026Sridhar VembuTrump’s SpaceXNEET PG 2026 admit cardTop TrendingBandra Parsi BungalowSuresh GowdaRupali ChakankarKarnataka Food Licence SuspensionAllahabad High CourtMumbai Airport DemolitionRam RahimDelhi Women AccidentDelhi Gurgaon RainMaharashtra Hill Tragedy

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File Photo Assam chief minister Himata Biswa Sarma met Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Monday in New Delhi. They had a discussion about the restoration of flood damaged National Highways and plans for enhancing the resilience of the state’s highway network against the floods.As per the official release, the meeting mainly focused on the immediate restoration of flood damaged National Highways as well as the long term important measures that should be taken to strengthen the infrastructure. This will help to improve the connectivity. The CM also emphasised the need for the evidence based planning to design the bridges to improve the drainage issue so that it can minimise the impact of floods and make the road connectivity smooth.”Our discussions focused on restoring flood-damaged National Highways at the earliest and building more flood-resilient highways, using evidence-based planning to improve the design and placement of culverts and bridges,” the Chief Minister said in a post on X following the meeting.Join conversationView All Comments →Share your thoughts in the commentsInsightfulAgreeDisagreeSkepticalConcerningPromisingWorth ReadingBig DevelopmentPost CommentBe respectful · TOI community guidelinesAs per the reports; the flash flooding at the Jorhat was also the main topic that was discussed between both of them for which the CM requested to redesign the highway infrastructure at the particular location and asked to provide a long term solution so that it can sustain.This meeting reviewed progress on various road projects in Assam that included the Kaziranga Elevated Corridor, the Guwahati Ring Road and the upgradation of the major highway stretches within the state. Himanta thanked Gadkari saying, “Grateful for the Hon’ble Minister’s assurance of the highest consideration and continued support in strengthening Assam’s road infrastructure.”Senior officials, including, Union Minister of state for External Affair Pabitra Margherita, chief secretary Ravi Kota, additional chief secretary K K Dwivedi, and other officials from the ministry of road transport and highways were present in the meeting.Get the latest India News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.End of ArticleFollow Us On Social MediaVideos’People Were Shot In The Head’: Sonam Wangchuk Seeks Inquiry Report Into 2025 Ladakh ViolenceAjeet Bharti EXCLUSIVE On ‘Reservation Hatao Andolan’, Harsh Dubey, CJP & His Criticism Of BJPTMC’s Abhishek Banerjee Moves Supreme Court Over Delay In Disqualification Of 20 Rebel TMC MPsTrump Pushes 3,265 H-1B Fee; 71% Indian Professionals Brace For Major Immigration BlowJaishankar Meets Putin In Moscow, India-Russia Trade Soars As Both Sides Target 0 Billion By 2030Fresh Kashmiri Pandit Threat: Hit List Reveals Addresses, Phone Numbers, Vehicle Details OnlineDelhi-NCR Rain Fury: Gurugram Under Orange Alert, Work From Home Advisory Issued For August 25’Ram-Ram Inside, Fish Feast Outside’: Yogi Adityanath Slams Cong Over Ayodhya Event; Ajay Rai ReactsDisplaced By Ken-Betwa Project, Tribals Now Struggle For Basic Amenities | ExclusiveIn Leaked Audio, Lawrence Bishnoi’s Aide Goldy Brar Claims He Killed Hardeep Nijjar In Canada123Photostories‘They don’t love you, they love your name’:Asim Riaz takes explosive dig at ex Himanshi Khurana, calls her a ‘fame digger’First egg, now chicken? 7 things to know about the Salmonella outbreak in the UKHow to remove coconut flesh from the shell easily: 5 simple tricks without wasting the coconutFrom flamingos to puffins: 5 birds whose beaks look hand-painted by an artistMaria Sharapova to Naomi Osaka: 5 athletes who are serving major fashion moments off the courtSreeleela’s fish-cut saree just gave traditional draping a seriously savage upgrade10 beautiful baby girl names that capture a sense of wonderOptical Illusion personality test: What you spot first reveals the weak spot in your love lifePriyanka Chopra’s architectural black gown just proved that red-carpet glam needs a little more attitude10 of the world’s most colourful birds to see in the wild123Hot PicksGurgaon schoolAAP councillorsKPMG AustraliaTrump tariffIOB LBO recruitmentNEET UG 2026Sridhar VembuTrump’s SpaceXNEET PG 2026 admit cardTop TrendingBandra Parsi BungalowSuresh GowdaRupali ChakankarKarnataka Food Licence SuspensionAllahabad High CourtMumbai Airport DemolitionRam RahimDelhi Women AccidentDelhi Gurgaon RainMaharashtra Hill Tragedy

File Photo Assam chief minister Himata Biswa Sarma met Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Monday in New Delhi. They had a discussion about the restoration of flood damaged National Highways and plans for enhancing the resilience of the state’s highway network against the floods.As per the official release, the meeting mainly focused on the immediate restoration of flood damaged National Highways as well as the long term important measures that should be taken to strengthen the infrastructure. This will help to improve the connectivity. The CM also emphasised the need for the evidence based planning to design the bridges to improve the drainage issue so that it can minimise the impact of floods and make the road connectivity smooth.”Our discussions focused on restoring flood-damaged National Highways at the earliest and building more flood-resilient highways, using evidence-based planning to improve the design and placement of culverts and bridges,” the Chief Minister said in a post on X following the meeting.Join conversationView All Comments →Share your thoughts in the commentsInsightfulAgreeDisagreeSkepticalConcerningPromisingWorth ReadingBig DevelopmentPost CommentBe respectful · TOI community guidelinesAs per the reports; the flash flooding at the Jorhat was also the main topic that was discussed between both of them for which the CM requested to redesign the highway infrastructure at the particular location and asked to provide a long term solution so that it can sustain.This meeting reviewed progress on various road projects in Assam that included the Kaziranga Elevated Corridor, the Guwahati Ring Road and the upgradation of the major highway stretches within the state. Himanta thanked Gadkari saying, “Grateful for the Hon’ble Minister’s assurance of the highest consideration and continued support in strengthening Assam’s road infrastructure.”Senior officials, including, Union Minister of state for External Affair Pabitra Margherita, chief secretary Ravi Kota, additional chief secretary K K Dwivedi, and other officials from the ministry of road transport and highways were present in the meeting.Get the latest India News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.End of ArticleFollow Us On Social MediaVideos’People Were Shot In The Head’: Sonam Wangchuk Seeks Inquiry Report Into 2025 Ladakh ViolenceAjeet Bharti EXCLUSIVE On ‘Reservation Hatao Andolan’, Harsh Dubey, CJP & His Criticism Of BJPTMC’s Abhishek Banerjee Moves Supreme Court Over Delay In Disqualification Of 20 Rebel TMC MPsTrump Pushes $103,265 H-1B Fee; 71% Indian Professionals Brace For Major Immigration BlowJaishankar Meets Putin In Moscow, India-Russia Trade Soars As Both Sides Target $100 Billion By 2030Fresh Kashmiri Pandit Threat: Hit List Reveals Addresses, Phone Numbers, Vehicle Details OnlineDelhi-NCR Rain Fury: Gurugram Under Orange Alert, Work From Home Advisory Issued For August 25’Ram-Ram Inside, Fish Feast Outside’: Yogi Adityanath Slams Cong Over Ayodhya Event; Ajay Rai ReactsDisplaced By Ken-Betwa Project, Tribals Now Struggle For Basic Amenities | ExclusiveIn Leaked Audio, Lawrence Bishnoi’s Aide Goldy Brar Claims He Killed Hardeep Nijjar In Canada123Photostories‘They don’t love you, they love your name’:Asim Riaz takes explosive dig at ex Himanshi Khurana, calls her a ‘fame digger’First egg, now chicken? 7 things to know about the Salmonella outbreak in the UKHow to remove coconut flesh from the shell easily: 5 simple tricks without wasting the coconutFrom flamingos to puffins: 5 birds whose beaks look hand-painted by an artistMaria Sharapova to Naomi Osaka: 5 athletes who are serving major fashion moments off the courtSreeleela’s fish-cut saree just gave traditional draping a seriously savage upgrade10 beautiful baby girl names that capture a sense of wonderOptical Illusion personality test: What you spot first reveals the weak spot in your love lifePriyanka Chopra’s architectural black gown just proved that red-carpet glam needs a little more attitude10 of the world’s most colourful birds to see in the wild123Hot PicksGurgaon schoolAAP councillorsKPMG AustraliaTrump tariffIOB LBO recruitmentNEET UG 2026Sridhar VembuTrump’s SpaceXNEET PG 2026 admit cardTop TrendingBandra Parsi BungalowSuresh GowdaRupali ChakankarKarnataka Food Licence SuspensionAllahabad High CourtMumbai Airport DemolitionRam RahimDelhi Women AccidentDelhi Gurgaon RainMaharashtra Hill Tragedy

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SC flags private access to sensitive PF, I-T data, asks Centre to prevent misuse by firms NEW DELHI: Supreme Court Monday expressed concern about a commercial technological ecosystem which allegedly accesses, retrieves and verifies sensitive individual information on provident fund and income tax returns and told the Centre about the desirability of devising an antidote to the problem with the assistance of domain experts.Hearing a PIL by Piyush Sharma, a bench of CJI Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana noted the matter essentially fell within policy domain but termed private access to sovereign data – individual information given to govt under legislative mandate – and its commercial exploitation as worrisome.Petitioner said his personal inquiry into the issue had revealed that “upon merely furnishing PAN and UAN details to a private verification workflow, the petitioner received complete employment history corresponding the said identifiers. No OTP authentication was generated. No explicit consent was obtained. No visible authorisation-based identity verification process was undertaken”.Without blaming govt agencies for any leakage of data, the petitioner highlighted the insecure status of individual data given to govt under the mandate of different laws, as they are accessed at will by private entities.Join conversationView All Comments →Share your thoughts in the commentsInsightfulAgreeDisagreeSkepticalConcerningPromisingWorth ReadingBig DevelopmentPost CommentBe respectful · TOI community guidelines”Despite the statutory architecture governing EPFO and I-T data, there appears to be an emerging and concerning pattern wherein private employment verification ecosystems rely upon data corresponding to statutory employment and financial records for purposes such as employment verification, moonlighting detection, dual employment screening, labour market profiling and employment decision-making,” he said.SC agreed it was a serious matter but said it must be dealt with through a policy decision. On learning the petitioner sent two comprehensive representations on the issues to Centre, it asked govt to take “necessary steps to prevent misuse of individual data by private enterprises.”Get the latest India News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.End of ArticleFollow Us On Social MediaVideosTMC’s Abhishek Banerjee Moves Supreme Court Over Delay In Disqualification Of 20 Rebel TMC MPsTrump Pushes 3,265 H-1B Fee; 71% Indian Professionals Brace For Major Immigration BlowJaishankar Meets Putin In Moscow, India-Russia Trade Soars As Both Sides Target 0 Billion By 2030Fresh Kashmiri Pandit Threat: Hit List Reveals Addresses, Phone Numbers, Vehicle Details OnlineDelhi-NCR Rain Fury: Gurugram Under Orange Alert, Work From Home Advisory Issued For August 25’Ram-Ram Inside, Fish Feast Outside’: Yogi Adityanath Slams Cong Over Ayodhya Event; Ajay Rai ReactsDisplaced By Ken-Betwa Project, Tribals Now Struggle For Basic Amenities | ExclusiveIn Leaked Audio, Lawrence Bishnoi’s Aide Goldy Brar Claims He Killed Hardeep Nijjar In Canada‘Watching Your Every Move’: Fresh Threat Letter Targets Kashmiri Pandits In J&KChennai Murder Mystery: Woman’s Remains Found on Tamil Nadu Express, Police Hunt Couple in Odisha123PhotostoriesSreeleela’s fish-cut saree just gave traditional draping a seriously savage upgrade10 beautiful baby girl names that capture a sense of wonderOptical Illusion personality test: What you spot first reveals the weak spot in your love lifePriyanka Chopra’s architectural black gown just proved that red-carpet glam needs a little more attitude10 of the world’s most colourful birds to see in the wildBlood sugar running high despite cutting back on sweets? Doctors explain 5 nutrients that may help your body manage glucose better‘She believed in the old nuskhas’: Karisma Kapoor reveals her grandmother’s skincare secret that the Kapoor clan adoptedArchana Puran Singh’s son Aaryamann Sethi set to buy his first luxurious house; tells Parmeet, ‘Your son is becoming a man’Kiara Advani’s black velvet saree is proof that gothic glam looks better with a desi twistFrom water filters to kitchen bowls: 5 practical uses of coconut shell123Hot PicksTCS laptop monitoring softwareSchool holiday todayKPMG AustraliaTrump tariffIOB LBO recruitmentNEET UG 2026Parandur airportSIM card rulesNEET PG 2026 admit cardTop TrendingMumbai Auto Driver ProtestReservation Hatao AndolanKurukshetra MurderPunjab SIRCM VijayDelhi ITO AccidentChennai MurderGodhani Water Plant Gas LeakAmravati Hospital FireAston Martin Crash

SC flags private access to sensitive PF, I-T data, asks Centre to prevent misuse by firms NEW DELHI: Supreme Court Monday expressed concern about a commercial technological ecosystem which allegedly accesses, retrieves and verifies sensitive individual information on provident fund and income tax returns and told the Centre about the desirability of devising an antidote to the problem with the assistance of domain experts.Hearing a PIL by Piyush Sharma, a bench of CJI Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana noted the matter essentially fell within policy domain but termed private access to sovereign data – individual information given to govt under legislative mandate – and its commercial exploitation as worrisome.Petitioner said his personal inquiry into the issue had revealed that “upon merely furnishing PAN and UAN details to a private verification workflow, the petitioner received complete employment history corresponding the said identifiers. No OTP authentication was generated. No explicit consent was obtained. No visible authorisation-based identity verification process was undertaken”.Without blaming govt agencies for any leakage of data, the petitioner highlighted the insecure status of individual data given to govt under the mandate of different laws, as they are accessed at will by private entities.Join conversationView All Comments →Share your thoughts in the commentsInsightfulAgreeDisagreeSkepticalConcerningPromisingWorth ReadingBig DevelopmentPost CommentBe respectful · TOI community guidelines”Despite the statutory architecture governing EPFO and I-T data, there appears to be an emerging and concerning pattern wherein private employment verification ecosystems rely upon data corresponding to statutory employment and financial records for purposes such as employment verification, moonlighting detection, dual employment screening, labour market profiling and employment decision-making,” he said.SC agreed it was a serious matter but said it must be dealt with through a policy decision. On learning the petitioner sent two comprehensive representations on the issues to Centre, it asked govt to take “necessary steps to prevent misuse of individual data by private enterprises.”Get the latest India News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.End of ArticleFollow Us On Social MediaVideosTMC’s Abhishek Banerjee Moves Supreme Court Over Delay In Disqualification Of 20 Rebel TMC MPsTrump Pushes $103,265 H-1B Fee; 71% Indian Professionals Brace For Major Immigration BlowJaishankar Meets Putin In Moscow, India-Russia Trade Soars As Both Sides Target $100 Billion By 2030Fresh Kashmiri Pandit Threat: Hit List Reveals Addresses, Phone Numbers, Vehicle Details OnlineDelhi-NCR Rain Fury: Gurugram Under Orange Alert, Work From Home Advisory Issued For August 25’Ram-Ram Inside, Fish Feast Outside’: Yogi Adityanath Slams Cong Over Ayodhya Event; Ajay Rai ReactsDisplaced By Ken-Betwa Project, Tribals Now Struggle For Basic Amenities | ExclusiveIn Leaked Audio, Lawrence Bishnoi’s Aide Goldy Brar Claims He Killed Hardeep Nijjar In Canada‘Watching Your Every Move’: Fresh Threat Letter Targets Kashmiri Pandits In J&KChennai Murder Mystery: Woman’s Remains Found on Tamil Nadu Express, Police Hunt Couple in Odisha123PhotostoriesSreeleela’s fish-cut saree just gave traditional draping a seriously savage upgrade10 beautiful baby girl names that capture a sense of wonderOptical Illusion personality test: What you spot first reveals the weak spot in your love lifePriyanka Chopra’s architectural black gown just proved that red-carpet glam needs a little more attitude10 of the world’s most colourful birds to see in the wildBlood sugar running high despite cutting back on sweets? Doctors explain 5 nutrients that may help your body manage glucose better‘She believed in the old nuskhas’: Karisma Kapoor reveals her grandmother’s skincare secret that the Kapoor clan adoptedArchana Puran Singh’s son Aaryamann Sethi set to buy his first luxurious house; tells Parmeet, ‘Your son is becoming a man’Kiara Advani’s black velvet saree is proof that gothic glam looks better with a desi twistFrom water filters to kitchen bowls: 5 practical uses of coconut shell123Hot PicksTCS laptop monitoring softwareSchool holiday todayKPMG AustraliaTrump tariffIOB LBO recruitmentNEET UG 2026Parandur airportSIM card rulesNEET PG 2026 admit cardTop TrendingMumbai Auto Driver ProtestReservation Hatao AndolanKurukshetra MurderPunjab SIRCM VijayDelhi ITO AccidentChennai MurderGodhani Water Plant Gas LeakAmravati Hospital FireAston Martin Crash

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India restores nearly 22 million hectares of degraded land, says Bhupender Yadav at UN conference NEW DELHI: India has restored nearly 22 million hectares of degraded and deforested land during the 2011-20 period as against its target of restoring 26 million hectares by 2030, said Union minister Bhupender Yadav at a UN conference Monday, reports Vishwa Mohan.While addressing the 17th session (CO) of the UNCCD conference in Ulaanbaatar in Mongolia, he also pitched for “diversified, adequate, predictable and sustained international finance” for land restoration and drought resilience, saying it is not a cost, but an investment in food, water, biodiversity, livelihood and long-term resilience.Underlining how the country’s restoration efforts had generated approximately 1.2 billion person-days of employment during the 2011-20 period, he said these figures demonstrated restoration could deliver both environmental and socio-economic outcomes by reviving degraded landscapes while creating employment and supporting rural livelihoods.Get the latest India News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.About the AuthorVishwa MohanVishwa Mohan is Senior Editor at The Times of India. He writes on environment, climate change, agriculture, water resources and clean energy, tracking policy issues and climate diplomacy. He has been covering Parliament since 2003 to see how politics shaped up domestic policy and India’s position at global platform. Before switching over to explore sustainable development issues, Vishwa had covered internal security and investigative agencies for more than a decade.Read MoreEnd of ArticleFollow Us On Social MediaVideosTMC’s Abhishek Banerjee Moves Supreme Court Over Delay In Disqualification Of 20 Rebel TMC MPsTrump Pushes 3,265 H-1B Fee; 71% Indian Professionals Brace For Major Immigration BlowJaishankar Meets Putin In Moscow, India-Russia Trade Soars As Both Sides Target 0 Billion By 2030Fresh Kashmiri Pandit Threat: Hit List Reveals Addresses, Phone Numbers, Vehicle Details OnlineDelhi-NCR Rain Fury: Gurugram Under Orange Alert, Work From Home Advisory Issued For August 25’Ram-Ram Inside, Fish Feast Outside’: Yogi Adityanath Slams Cong Over Ayodhya Event; Ajay Rai ReactsDisplaced By Ken-Betwa Project, Tribals Now Struggle For Basic Amenities | ExclusiveIn Leaked Audio, Lawrence Bishnoi’s Aide Goldy Brar Claims He Killed Hardeep Nijjar In Canada‘Watching Your Every Move’: Fresh Threat Letter Targets Kashmiri Pandits In J&KChennai Murder Mystery: Woman’s Remains Found on Tamil Nadu Express, Police Hunt Couple in Odisha123PhotostoriesSreeleela’s fish-cut saree just gave traditional draping a seriously savage upgrade10 beautiful baby girl names that capture a sense of wonderOptical Illusion personality test: What you spot first reveals the weak spot in your love lifePriyanka Chopra’s architectural black gown just proved that red-carpet glam needs a little more attitude10 of the world’s most colourful birds to see in the wildBlood sugar running high despite cutting back on sweets? Doctors explain 5 nutrients that may help your body manage glucose better‘She believed in the old nuskhas’: Karisma Kapoor reveals her grandmother’s skincare secret that the Kapoor clan adoptedArchana Puran Singh’s son Aaryamann Sethi set to buy his first luxurious house; tells Parmeet, ‘Your son is becoming a man’Kiara Advani’s black velvet saree is proof that gothic glam looks better with a desi twistFrom water filters to kitchen bowls: 5 practical uses of coconut shell123Hot PicksTCS laptop monitoring softwareSchool holiday todayKPMG AustraliaTrump tariffIOB LBO recruitmentNEET UG 2026Parandur airportSIM card rulesNEET PG 2026 admit cardTop TrendingMumbai Auto Driver ProtestReservation Hatao AndolanKurukshetra MurderPunjab SIRCM VijayDelhi ITO AccidentChennai MurderGodhani Water Plant Gas LeakAmravati Hospital FireAston Martin Crash

India restores nearly 22 million hectares of degraded land, says Bhupender Yadav at UN conference NEW DELHI: India has restored nearly 22 million hectares of degraded and deforested land during the 2011-20 period as against its target of restoring 26 million hectares by 2030, said Union minister Bhupender Yadav at a UN conference Monday, reports Vishwa Mohan.While addressing the 17th session (CO) of the UNCCD conference in Ulaanbaatar in Mongolia, he also pitched for “diversified, adequate, predictable and sustained international finance” for land restoration and drought resilience, saying it is not a cost, but an investment in food, water, biodiversity, livelihood and long-term resilience.Underlining how the country’s restoration efforts had generated approximately 1.2 billion person-days of employment during the 2011-20 period, he said these figures demonstrated restoration could deliver both environmental and socio-economic outcomes by reviving degraded landscapes while creating employment and supporting rural livelihoods.Get the latest India News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.About the AuthorVishwa MohanVishwa Mohan is Senior Editor at The Times of India. He writes on environment, climate change, agriculture, water resources and clean energy, tracking policy issues and climate diplomacy. He has been covering Parliament since 2003 to see how politics shaped up domestic policy and India’s position at global platform. Before switching over to explore sustainable development issues, Vishwa had covered internal security and investigative agencies for more than a decade.Read MoreEnd of ArticleFollow Us On Social MediaVideosTMC’s Abhishek Banerjee Moves Supreme Court Over Delay In Disqualification Of 20 Rebel TMC MPsTrump Pushes $103,265 H-1B Fee; 71% Indian Professionals Brace For Major Immigration BlowJaishankar Meets Putin In Moscow, India-Russia Trade Soars As Both Sides Target $100 Billion By 2030Fresh Kashmiri Pandit Threat: Hit List Reveals Addresses, Phone Numbers, Vehicle Details OnlineDelhi-NCR Rain Fury: Gurugram Under Orange Alert, Work From Home Advisory Issued For August 25’Ram-Ram Inside, Fish Feast Outside’: Yogi Adityanath Slams Cong Over Ayodhya Event; Ajay Rai ReactsDisplaced By Ken-Betwa Project, Tribals Now Struggle For Basic Amenities | ExclusiveIn Leaked Audio, Lawrence Bishnoi’s Aide Goldy Brar Claims He Killed Hardeep Nijjar In Canada‘Watching Your Every Move’: Fresh Threat Letter Targets Kashmiri Pandits In J&KChennai Murder Mystery: Woman’s Remains Found on Tamil Nadu Express, Police Hunt Couple in Odisha123PhotostoriesSreeleela’s fish-cut saree just gave traditional draping a seriously savage upgrade10 beautiful baby girl names that capture a sense of wonderOptical Illusion personality test: What you spot first reveals the weak spot in your love lifePriyanka Chopra’s architectural black gown just proved that red-carpet glam needs a little more attitude10 of the world’s most colourful birds to see in the wildBlood sugar running high despite cutting back on sweets? Doctors explain 5 nutrients that may help your body manage glucose better‘She believed in the old nuskhas’: Karisma Kapoor reveals her grandmother’s skincare secret that the Kapoor clan adoptedArchana Puran Singh’s son Aaryamann Sethi set to buy his first luxurious house; tells Parmeet, ‘Your son is becoming a man’Kiara Advani’s black velvet saree is proof that gothic glam looks better with a desi twistFrom water filters to kitchen bowls: 5 practical uses of coconut shell123Hot PicksTCS laptop monitoring softwareSchool holiday todayKPMG AustraliaTrump tariffIOB LBO recruitmentNEET UG 2026Parandur airportSIM card rulesNEET PG 2026 admit cardTop TrendingMumbai Auto Driver ProtestReservation Hatao AndolanKurukshetra MurderPunjab SIRCM VijayDelhi ITO AccidentChennai MurderGodhani Water Plant Gas LeakAmravati Hospital FireAston Martin Crash

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