The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), the country’s top research organization in the region, faced a security violation earlier this year, due to the loss of “important data” related to many areas, from recruitment to research projects, Indian Express has learned.
Documents reviewed by this newspaper show that ICAR formed a six-member committee this month, to present “recommendations” about “DC (Data Center) and DRC (Disaster Recovery Center)” Non-Karmapta “. The panel was also asked to ensure data security and suggest “appropriate measures” to “prevent the recurrence of such events in the future”.
The committee, which was directed to submit its report by 31 July, is yet to be met, one of its members told the newspaper.
According to sources, it was breeted in April and impressed its server in the ICAR website, Delhi and its replication server at the National Academy of Agriculture Research Management (NAARM) in Hyderabad.
“Recruitment related data, from technical officers to deputy directors General (DDG) and job applications sought last year, missing. Missing data includes a large number of projects and related information, presented by online scientists and preserved in the repository. It includes email communication,” sources said.
The Indian Express spoke to several ICAR scientists from Lucknow, Karanal, Hyderabad, Pune and Delhi, and all of them said that there were “problems on the portal” and they have raised the issue many times. A senior scientist said, “This is not only our email communication system that is not working. The problem is that the important data of recruitment, finance, scientists, research projects and administrative functions has disappeared from the server and replication server.”
When contacted, ML Jat, Secretary, Director General of Department of Agricultural Research and Education and ICAR, told The Indian Express: “A few months ago, there was some hacking of our website. Currently, everything is normal. The ministry has formed a committee in the follow -up of our data policy. It is a continuous process.”
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A senior member of the Council’s Knowledge Management Division said: “Our website icar.org.in was restored in mid -May this year, but another website is still not working.”
The ICAR, which marked its 97th Foundation Day in New Delhi on 16 July, describes itself as an organization that “is leading agricultural research, education and expansion activities for productivity growth and diversification of Indian agriculture”.
Sources said that the affected figures were mainly related to the Agricultural Scientific Recruitment Board (ASRB), the Indian Agricultural Statistics Research Institute (IASRI) and the National Academy of Agriculture Research Management (NAARM), which all work under the ICAR.
The then DDG RC Agrawal of ICAR, who was also the director of NAARM, said, “I am now supernaund. I can’t comment.” IASRI director Rajendra Prasad refused to comment. An official at NAARM said, “We know about this data disintegration and are facing problems. But I can’t tell you anything else.”
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According to sources, security violations were raised during the annual general meeting of the ICAR Society under the chairmanship of Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan in Delhi on 7 July. Chauhan later Dr. DK Yadav, DDG (Crop Science), directed the formation of a six -member committee under the leadership of ICAR.
Yadav did not respond to the requests from the Indian Express to comment. A member of the committee said, “We are not yet holding a meeting because we are busy with many things. But we are planning one soon.”
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