Latest news with #Ravishankar
The Hindu
3 days ago
- General
- The Hindu
Paddy diversity, agricultural heritage highlighted in Mysuru desi rice mela
The two-day desi rice mela commenced in Mysuru on Saturday, with seed conservators expressing concern that commercial crops were pushing the traditional paddy varieties to the brink. The objective of the mela is to highlight the paddy diversity that existed in the Old Mysuru region, and how scores of indigenous paddy varieties are going out of vogue due to the proliferation of hybrid varieties and shifting consumer preference to white polished rice. With over 200 paddy varieties on display, the mela is being held at Nanjaraja Bahadur Choultry, and has been organised under the aegis of Sahaja Samrudha and the Save Our Rice Campaign. Also on display are traditional rice varieties from different States, including rare types such as red rice, aromatic rice, black rice, medicinal rice, and bold-grained rice, along with value-added rice products. Paddy conservators from across the State are selling their own desi rice directly. Seeds of popular varieties like Rajamudi, Burma Black, Sidda Sanna, Ratnachudi, Navara, Govind Bhog, HMT, and Sindhoor Madhusale are also on display and for sale. The mela was inaugurated by B.P. Ravishankar, a seed conservator from Hudoor in Ponnampet, Kodagu. He has preserved as many as 57 desi rice varieties. 'Paddy cultivation is becoming increasingly expensive. With the arrival of commercial crops, traditional paddy varieties are being pushed to the margins and the government must provide necessary support to bring these desi rice varieties back into farmers' fields', said Mr. Ravishankar. Unveiling medicinal rice varieties, Shridevi Annapurna Singh, former Director of the Central Food Research Institute, said that traditional varieties are rich in nutrients, while the black and red rice varieties have medicinal properties, and called for their inclusion in people's diets. Presiding over the event, G. Krishna Prasad, Director of Sahaja Samrudha and the Organic Farmers' Collective, said that farmer-breeders in Karnataka have developed excellent paddy varieties like Sidda Sanna, Sindhoor Madhusale, Andanoor Sanna, and NMS-2. 'The government must take steps to release these varieties, which are popular among farmers,' he said. Mr. Prasad also cautioned against any attempts by the government to introduce transgenic paddy varieties that pose risks to the environment and consumer health. Farmers and consumers must remain vigilant to prevent transgenic paddy from entering farmers' fields, he added. C. Shanthakumar, the coordinator of Save Our Rice Campaign, said that Karnataka was the home of paddy diversity, but hundreds of varieties have been lost due to lack of demand. ''The desi rice mela has been organised to create awareness among farmers and consumers about nutrient-rich, traditional paddy varieties suited to local food habits,' he added. The mela also offers millets, vegetable seeds, tubers, organic products, and fruit saplings that are for sale.
Hindustan Times
02-08-2025
- Hindustan Times
Meerut man kills pregnant wife, surrenders before police
A 28-year-old man was arrested on Saturday for allegedly killing his 25-year-old pregnant wife in Amheda village under Ganganagar police station limits in Meerut. The victim, Sapna, was seven months pregnant and had been married to the accused, Ravishankar Jatav, for just eight months, police said. Accused Ravishankar Jatav with his wife Sapna (Sourced) According to police, Ravishankar visited his in-laws' house on Saturday morning, where Sapna had been staying for the Teej festival. He reportedly convinced her to close her eyes under the pretext of placing a locket around her neck and then allegedly slit her throat before stabbing her multiple times. Soon after the incident, Ravishankar called the police control room and said, 'I have killed my wife. Her dead body is at home. Come and take it.' When police arrived, they found the house locked from the inside. Upon breaking the door, they discovered Ravishankar sitting beside Sapna's body, with a blood-stained knife nearby. Circle officer (CO) Sadar Shiv Pratap confirmed Ravishankar's arrest. 'During initial questioning, the accused said he entered while Sarita was outside washing clothes, then went upstairs and killed his wife,' the CO said. Police said Sapna had lost her parents 18 years ago and had been raised by her elder sister Sarita and brother-in-law Munna, who also arranged her marriage earlier this year on January 23. She had come to their Amheda home seven days ago for the festival. Ravishankar, the accused, who runs a general store in Kinha Nagar under Bhavanpur police station limits, called Munna earlier in the day to check if he would be home. After confirming he would be away, Ravishankar contacted Sapna, citing a bad dream as the reason for his visit. He reached the house around 9 am. Munna, who had raised Sapna since childhood, expressed disbelief. 'I treated her like my daughter. Ravishankar called in the morning, saying he was coming. I cannot believe he did this,' he said. Police are yet to determine the exact motive. Initial investigation suggests possible jealousy or suspicion of an affair. The body has been sent for post-mortem examination and further inquiries are ongoing.
Mint
02-08-2025
- Business
- Mint
Nikhil Ravishankar faces racist attacks after historic appointment as Air New Zealand CEO
Nikhil Ravishankar is making headlines after the new chief executive officer of Air New Zealand became the centre of racist remarks on social media following his appointment. He made history by becoming the first Indian-origin person to get promoted to this position in the island country, located in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. He will be succeeding Greg Foran and will reportedly be assuming the new role and responsibility from October 20, 2025. This landmark achievement of the Indian-origin business executive was met with criticism and the country's media claimed that they had to disable comments on social media after a barrage of racist remarks targeted Ravishankar's ethnicity. After New Zealand Herald, Radio New Zealand and TVNZ's 1News digital service also disabled comments to restrict insulting, inflammatory or derogatory comments on the post. "We appreciate the high level of interest in this story but cannot safely moderate it at this time," New Zealand Herald news outlet said in a Facebook post. "Under RNZ's comments policy, we will proactively disable comments on posts which may attract abusive or harmful comments or when resources are required elsewhere," Otago Daily Times quoted a spokesperson as saying. 1News spokesperson said that the publication was forced to restricting comments as sufficient monitoring of inappropriate comments wasn't possible. "The vast majority were appropriate, however some were not. With our news team diverted to cover the tsunami event yesterday afternoon and evening we opted to turn comments off given sufficient monitoring wasn't possible," the spokesperson of the news outlet informed Otago Daily Times. According to Nikhil Ravishankar's, LinkedIn profile, he has been with Air New Zealand for nearly five years as Chief Digital Officer. Before this, he worked as chief digital officer at Vector New Zealand. Ravishankar attended Mount Albert Grammar School in New Zealand's largest city and went on to secure bachelor's degrees in science and commerce from the University of Auckland.
Time of India
01-08-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Indian-origin Nikhil Ravishankar becomes airline boss, New Zealand media disables comments on social media for massive trolling
After Indian-origin Nikhil Ravishankar was appointed as the new chief executive of Air New Zealand, the country's media said they had to disable comments on social media as there was a barrage of racist remarks targeting Ravishankar's ethnicity. Ravishankar was the chief digital officer of Air New Zealand before getting the major promotion which is the first for an Indian-origin person in the country. New Zealand Herald, Radio New Zealand, 1News said they had to disable comments as they can't allow hatred. The New Zealand Herald issued a statement in which it clarified that there were several racist comments owing to which they had to take the extreme step. "We appreciate the high level of interest in this story but cannot safely moderate it at this time," the news outlet said in a post in the comment thread. "We want to foster a safe online community by reducing instances of hate, racism, abuse and misinformation. We welcome your feedback on articles but there has to be some parameters, and these are explained in our community house cannot tolerate hate. We cannot tolerate abuse towards individuals in our stories or other commenters," the company's social media policy says. Radio New Zealand had to do the same on the social media post on Ravishankar's appointment. "Under RNZ's comments policy, we will proactively disable comments on posts which may attract abusive or harmful comments or when resources are required elsewhere," a spokesperson for RNZ said. "In this instance, the comments were disabled after our monitoring found racist comments," the spokesperson said. "We want people to feel safe and respected on our community forums and will continue to proactively disable comments where necessary. We will not tolerate harmful communications." 1News said it received a large number of comments on the post that announced Ravishankar's appointment and a vast majority were inappropriate. Who is Nikhil Ravishankar? Nikhil Ravishankar was born in India but brought up in New Zealand. He studied in New Zealand -- holds a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and a Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) from the University of Auckland. Before joining Air New Zealand, Ravishankar was Chief Digital Officer at Vector New Zealand (from 2017), and also worked as a Managing Director at Accenture across Hong Kong, Australia, and New Zealand, and in senior technology roles at Spark (formerly Telecom NZ).
Otago Daily Times
01-08-2025
- Business
- Otago Daily Times
Air NZ appointment of new boss sparks backlash
The appointment of Nikhil Ravishankar as Air New Zealand's incoming chief executive has caused a stir, after major news outlets were forced to disable comments on their social media platforms due to receiving a barrage of racist remarks. Ravishankar, chief digital officer at company, was tapped to lead the national carrier - one of the country's most respected corporate brands - after Greg Foran steps down in October. However, the appointment of the Indian-origin insider to the airline's top job has attracted a torrent of abuse online, with many zeroing in on Ravishankar's ethnicity. The abuse forced the country's leading media organisations to restrict or disable the ability to comment on the social media posts announcing the news. New Zealand Herald disabled comments on the Facebook post announcing the appointment "due to racist comments". "We appreciate the high level of interest in this story but cannot safely moderate it at this time," the news outlet said in a post in the comment thread. A spokesperson at New Zealand Herald later pointed RNZ towards the company's policy on social media comments. "We want to foster a safe online community by reducing instances of hate, racism, abuse and misinformation," the media organisation's policy said. "We welcome your feedback on articles but there has to be some parameters, and these are explained in our community house rules. "These clearly explain that we will not publish comments that are insulting, inflammatory or derogatory or those that spread misinformation or include personal attacks. "We cannot tolerate hate. We cannot tolerate abuse towards individuals in our stories or other commenters." RNZ was also forced to disable comments on the social media post regarding Ravishankar's appointment. "Under RNZ's comments policy, we will proactively disable comments on posts which may attract abusive or harmful comments or when resources are required elsewhere," a spokesperson said. "In this instance, the comments were disabled after our monitoring found racist comments. "We want people to feel safe and respected on our community forums and will continue to proactively disable comments where necessary. We will not tolerate harmful communications." TVNZ's 1News digital service took similar action in terms of restricting comments on the post. "We received a large number of comments on this post," a spokesperson for 1News said. "The vast majority were appropriate, however some were not. With our news team diverted to cover the tsunami event yesterday afternoon and evening we opted to turn comments off given sufficient monitoring wasn't possible." Ravishankar holds bachelor's degrees in science and commerce from the University of Auckland after attending Mount Albert Grammar School in New Zealand's largest city. He sits on the board of New Zealand Asian Leaders and is an advisory committee member of The Auckland Blues Foundation. Ravishankar has been with Air New Zealand for nearly five years and been involved in strengthening its technology, loyalty and customer services. Before joining the airline, Ravishankar was chief digital officer at Vector New Zealand, leading the company's digital and information technology function and its transformation programme from 2017. He was previously managing director at Accenture in Hong Kong, Australia and New Zealand, and held technology strategy and transformation leadership roles at Spark New Zealand. Ravishankar highlighted the deep legacy of the company he would soon lead in his first public comments after his appointment was announced. "This airline is an institution with a deep legacy but also a fantastic future," he said. "It's a privilege to step into the CEO role and take on that responsibility for our people, our customers and our country. "At the end of the day, we are a people business - purposeful, ambitious and deeply rooted in Aotearoa New Zealand, and I'm excited to help shape what this next stage of Air New Zealand looks like." RNZ has approached Air New Zealand for comment. Latest Census data in 2023 showed that the Indian population had leapfrogged the Chinese community to become the third-largest ethnic group in New Zealand. A total of 292,092 people in the country identified as a member of the Indian community in the 2023 Census, an increase of 22% since 2018. The New Zealand European ethnic group remained the largest, with a population of 3,099,858, followed by Māori with 887,493. Auckland's Indian population grew by 13% between 2018 and 2023, rising from 154,824 in 2018 to 175,794 five years later.
