Aug 24, 2025: BAIF team represents mini-India, stated Ramon Magsaysay and Padma Shree recipient, Dr. Prakash Amte at the 59th Foundation Day celebration of BAIF Development Research Foundation at Uruli Kanchan, Pune, while hailing the graphical rise of BAIF. Dr. Amte traced the genesis of tribal upliftment in the disadvantaged region of Gadchiroli in Maharashtra, their right to education and strong value system.

Aug 15, 2025: The 79th Independence Day of our great motherland and its entry into the 80th year of independence, was celebrated with patriotic pride and enthusiasm in all the operational areas of BAIF in the country.

The flag hoisting ceremony at the BAIF Head Office in Pune, was marked by a ceremonial guard of honour followed by the unfurling of the national flag at the hands of Dr. Bharat Kakade in the presence of Mr. Shrinivas Kulkarni, Dr. Avinash Deo, Mr. Mukul Baviskar and the Administrative and Programme staff and their children. Dr. Kakade called upon the need for streamlining women through entrepreneurship development, innovations, skilling, promotion of technologies in rural areas and their greater role in sustainable development. He also emphasised on the role of rural youth in the development of the country and their active involvement in the programmes of BAIF and especially through social enterprises. He highlighted the outreach of BAIF which is 4 million families at present and cumulative 7 million families and BAIF’s Vision 2030 which aims at bringing about a positive change in the lives of 10 million rural families and our alignment with Viksit Bharat@2047 for unprecedented prosperity and sustainable development. Mr. Shrinivas Kulkarni expressed the need to focus on People’s Organisations, FPOs, SHGs, innovations, role of social enterprises which has emerged as a strong pillar of BAIF and promotion of the products of our SHGs for their empowerment. He along with Dr. Deo made a plea to promote swadeshi products and to initiate this at the home, local community and at the society and organisational levels. Others who spoke on the occasion included Mr. Baviskar, Prashant Dudhade and Sucharita Dhar.

July 17: Mr. Christian Jack, Deputy Consul-General and Ms. Garima Shewkani, Economic Diplomacy and Visits Manager from the Australian Consulate-General, Mumbai, visited BAIF, Pune to explore the scope for strengthening Indo-Australian collaboration in the development sector. The visit also rekindled the relationship which was established 45 years ago.

Dr. Bharat Kakade, President, BAIF, highlighted the opportunity for BAIF to host satellite centres of Australian technical skilling institutions in India and the potential for joint initiatives in knowledge transfer, curriculum co-creation and capacity building for rural youth.

Mr. Christian Jack, expressed hope in strengthening social, economic, financial and networking ties with BAIF by exploring partnerships between BAIF and academic institutions, startups, scientific and research organizations and venture capital firms based in Australia and with the Australian Chamber of Commerce for potential partnerships with corporates. He presented the Certificate of Achievement to BAIF under the Australian Consulate-General, Mumbai’s Direct Aid Program 2024–25 for the initiative “Empowering Rural Communities for Agricultural Resilience and Sustainable Livelihoods” in 10 villages of Wardha district, Maharashtra. BAIF had received the Consul-General, Australian Consulate-General, Mumbai, to the project area in October 2024.

Mr. Shrinivas Kulkarni, Group Vice President – Finance, shared BAIF’s plan to incubate 30 rural-focussed startups in FY 2025–26 through the BAIF Incubation Centre, set up in collaboration with the Maharashtra State Innovation Society (MSInS). He also emphasized on the scope for strategic collaboration with Australian incubators and accelerators in the agri-tech space. Dr. Rajashree Joshi, Programme Director, presented BAIF’s integrated development model. Ms. Pritam Chandak, Mr. Sanwarmal Chejara, Mr. Dharmesh Bhavsar, Mr. Yogesh Sawant and Ms. Sucharita Dhar also interacted with the delegation.

July 9-11, 2025: In the Knowledge Summit held in 2018 in Delhi, experts from India and France shared their concerns on facing nutrition and food security resulting from the increasing frequency of extreme climatic events. They recognized agroecology transition as a key lever to face these challenges and agreed on the need to enhance innovation capacities by combining scientific research with the expertise of stakeholders. The project entitled “Towards Climate-smart and Nutrition Sensitive Food Systems” (CliNSFoodS) is a living lab initiative to experiment agroecology in a stakeholder innovations context. BAIF established the CliNSFoodS living lab in 2021 at Bilikere in Mysuru district of Karnataka with the support of Indo-French research collaboration.

In this background, an experience-sharing workshop was organised by the Indo-French Cell for Water Science, Bangalore and BAIF Development Research Foundation, Pune to update the status of the living lab and explore the way forward. The workshop was held during 9-10 July 2025 at the Interdisciplinary Center for Water Research, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, followed by the field visit to the project location at Bilikere on 11 July 2025.

Living lab initiatives with an emphasis on agroecological transitions from India, Senegal and Morocco were presented and future course of action to counter changing climatic conditions and ensure agricultural sustainability were discussed. Experts from diverse domains shared their experiences in ensuring farm sustainability and building resilience. The farmers practicing agroecological practices on their farms also shared their views on the need to ensure farm sustainability.

The workshop participants included Dr. Laurent Ruiz (Indo-French Cell for Water Science), Dr. Shekhar Muddu (Indian Institute of Science), Dr. Bharat Kakade and the living lab project team of BAIF, Dr. Smitha Krishnan (Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT), Mr. Mame Birame Sene (Dytale, Senegal), Mr. Kolade Akakpo (CIRAD, Morocco) and representatives from ATREE, WASSAN and Rainforest Alliance.

June 06, 2025: In a landmark collaboration, the Government of Maharashtra, BAIF Development Research Foundation and Axis Bank Foundation signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for inclusive development of Gadchiroli, Maharashtra in the presence of Hon’ble Chief Minister, Shri Devendra Fadnavis at Gadchiroli.

The event was graced by Mr. Avishyant Panda, District Collector, Gadchiroli, Dr. Bharat Kakade, President, BAIF, Dr. Raviraj Jadhav, Regional Director, BAIF, Mr. Advait Majmudar, Senior Vice President & Group Head, Government Coverage Group, Axis Bank and Mr. Kapil Bhatra, Assistant Vice President & State Head, Rest of Maharashtra, Government Coverage Group, Axis Bank. Mr. Shailesh Bhagat, Chief Programme Manager, BAIF, was also present on the occasion.

This partnership blends the strategic intent of Axis Bank Foundation’s Sustainable Livelihood Programme with BAIF’s strength of sustainable rural transformation. Together, this collaboration is committed to enhance livelihoods through resilient agricultural practices, improved livestock management, development of micro-enterprises and stable market linkages. The partnership focuses on scalable, sustainable solutions to improve the lives and livelihoods of rural communities of Gadchiroli.

Hon’ble Chief Minister Shri Devendra Fadnavis emphasized, “This alliance exemplifies how government, corporate, and civil society can unite to drive transformative change.”

Dr. Bharat Kakade, President BAIF, highlighted BAIF’s role in ensuring “Policy and finance translate into tangible improvements in people’s lives.”

Ms. Dhruvi Shah, Executive Trustee and CEO, Axis Bank Foundation, said, “Through our partnership with BAIF, we are working to enhance income-generating opportunities for rural households in Gadchiroli driven by collective efforts with local stakeholders.”

The ceremony concluded with a pledge to track measurable progress and publish annual impact reports, ensuring transparency and accountability in Gadchiroli’s development.

BAIF is committed to sustainable development and climate action for the reversal of the chronic poverty plaguing rural communities and guiding them towards improved livelihood opportunities through promotion of climate-smart technologies. BAIF along with NABARD, State Bank of India Foundation, R G Manudhane Foundation for Excellence and Cargill Business Services, has been implementing various development programmes for upliftment of Gadchiroli district.

June 02, 2025: BAIF Development Research Foundation with its strong commitment to Development Research and significant contribution to this sector, has once again been certified as a Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (SIRO) by the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR), Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India. This certification, valid for the period 2025 – 2028, enables legitimate access to technical support, resources and expertise, ensuring expansion of BAIF’s research capabilities, greater credibility and scope for global branding.

April 27, 2025: BAIF Rural Innovation Centre (BRIC) at Urulikanchan, Pune in Maharashtra, the first-of-its-kind Rural Knowledge Centre in a peri-urban area, was inaugurated by Shri. Giriraj Singh, Hon. Union Minister for Textiles, on April 27, 2025 in the presence of Dr. Bharat Kakade, President, BAIF, Shri. Sarveshwar Prasad Singh, MLC, Bihar, Shri. Ravi Madan, MD and Mr. Sanjay Agrawal, FiveF Agroecology LLP, senior officials from the Textiles Ministry and BAIF.

The Hon. Minister highlighted how a self-reliant rural economy can make a significant contribution to the Hon. Prime Minister’s mission of Atmanirbhar Bharat. He  emphasized the importance of scalable, replicable models implemented by BAIF through its on-going field programmes and by those being demonstrated at the Innovation Centre such as cactus value chain, plant propagation techniques, agrivoltaics, energy alternatives, soil enrichments, animal nutrition, animal genetics and land degradation neutrality initiatives in fostering climate mitigation and adaptation pathways while augmenting rural livelihoods. He encouraged BAIF to extend the high potential demonstrations at the Innovation Centre to various parts of the country.

Dr. Kakade in his address, stated that this innovation centre has evolved from the need to respond to the well-being and empowerment of the rural communities. He further stated that this unique centre will serve as a knowledge hub by providing information, resources and training on renewable and non-conventional energy technologies, livestock and dairy management demonstration. This centre will help generate employment opportunities for village youth through social enterprises and skills development, provide access to cutting-edge technologies and innovations and ensure scope for collaborative research. This innovation hub spread on 24 ha, will also focus on natural and organic farming practices along with artificial intelligence-driven technologies for promotion of sustainable climate-smart agricultural practices among the rural communities.

Apart from BAIF Senior team – Dr. Jayant Khadse, Mr. Rakesh Warrier, Mr. Pramodkumar Takawale, Dr. Vitthal Kauthale, Dr. Sachin Joshi, Dr. Shivaji Sontakke, Dr. Rahul Bahulikar and Mr. Sadashiv Nimbalkar, progressive leaders of Urulikanchan region were also present on this occasion.

April 16, 2025: The community-led climate actions of BAIF once again received national recognition! BAIF became a recipient of the prestigious JSW-The Times of India Earth Care Award among more than 1500 entries. The 12th edition of the awards, held on April 16, 2025 in Mumbai, honoured BAIF for its community-oriented approach towards climate action with solutions which are replicable in various parts of the country as well as in other developing countries. BAIF received the award at the hands of Sangita Jindal, Chairperson, JSW Foundation, Rajat Gupta, Senior Partner-Sustainability Practice, McKinsey & Company and Sivakumar Sundaram, CEO (Publishing) of the Times Group and were joined by the Programme-supporting organisation – HUL Prabhat team on this occasion.​

The community-based project entitled “Breakthrough solutions for natural resource management and effective use of water” which is being implemented by BAIF with the support of Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) in 25 villages of Khamgaon, Buldhana, Silvassa in Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Kutch since 2019, has proved to be a boon for 12,243 farmers as it has led to conservation of 6.46 billion litres of water and saved 9.9 billion litres through suitable soil and water conservation measures, groundwater recharge and micro-irrigation systems such as drip and sprinkler irrigation systems. Crop diversification, improved agricultural practices on 8556 ha, vegetable cultivation and promotion of agri-horti-forestry have given a boost to the crop yield and income of farmers of Rs. 42 crores, while nurturing the environment.​

In his address, President of BAIF, Dr. Bharat Kakade, highlighted the vulnerability of the communities – almost 60% of whom are dependent on agriculture which is again dependent on the vagaries of nature. BAIF is working on adaptation measures for building resilience and livelihood of 4 million families across about one lakh villages in various parts of the country, to fight against climate impact by reducing methane through livestock management and by reducing carbon emission through water, soil and crop management for ensuring natural resource management. He expressed his gratitude to HUL for their wholehearted support and to JSW and The Times of India for recognising the good work of BAIF.

April 07, 2025: BAIF Napier Hybrid-26 (BNH-26) has been recommended by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Government of India, for cultivation and release as an agricultural crop in Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh vide its notification of April 7, 2025. BAIF Central Research Station, Urulikanchan, Pune, is a designated Centre of the All India Coordinated Research Programme on Forage Crops (AICRP) of ICAR, for more than four decades. Its advanced research studies on agricultural crops, have helped farmers all over the country to cultivate improved fodder varieties with higher returns.​

January 26, 2025: Republic Day, a day of introspection, was celebrated by BAIF at its Head Office in Pune as well as in all its operational states. In Pune, after the ceremonial guard of honour, Mr. Shrinivas Kulkarni, Group Vice President, Finance, hoisted the flag. He urged the BAIF team to respond to emerging development opportunities in general and Maharashtra in particular and highlighted the scope for sustainability and development through CSR blended with a sound value system and well-being of employees. Dr. Avinash Deo, Programme Organiser, highlighted the need to focus on climate change and mitigation as changing climate has repercussions on livestock, agriculture and horticulture development. Ms. Sucharita Dhar, Senior Manager – Information and Communication, highlighted the technological advancement in the country starting with the first space mission and the transition from traditional communication channels to digital media. Mr. Rakesh Shinde, Senior Human Resources Manager, highlighted the inherent values of equality, liberty and independence enshrined in the Indian Constitution, in BAIF Programmes. Mr. Chetan Dubey, Associate Programme Manager – CSR, emphasised on the theme of the 76th Republic Day – Swarnim Bharat – Virasat aur Vikas. Ms. Sujata Kangude, Thematic Programme Executive – Women & Development while compering the event, also reiterated the need to focus on empowerment of women in all the programmes. Ms. Sharmila Jadhav, Senior Administration Officer, BAIF proposed the vote of thanks.

Republic Day was also celebrated with pride at other operational areas of BAIF. In Nashik, Maharashtra, the flag was hoisted by Dr Raviraj Jadhav Jadhav, Regional Director, West; in Sambalpur, Odisha by Mr. Rakesh Warrier, Regional Director, East; in Ranchi, Jharkhand, by Shri. Dharmendra Tiwari, State Head and in Patna, Bihar by Mr. Sanjeet Sinha and the state team. In Karnataka, Mr. Malathesha Kulkarni, State Head, chaired the Republic Day celebration at the Head Office in Tiptur. Celebrations were also organised at the Lakkihalli campus, Dharwad Regional Office and Grama Chetana Training Centre, Surashettikoppa. Republic Day was celebrated under the Digital Sakhi Project in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar with interactive events such as Rangoli and drawing competitions evoking tremendous enthusiasm among children.

Pan BAIF Celebrations

BAIF Livestock Technician, Sri. Bhaskar Padhan, is the proud recipient of the prestigious National Gopal Ratna Award for “Best Artificial Insemination Technician” for the year 2024. This award, instituted by the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Government of India, is a recognition of his excellent service to the rural community through efficient breeding and advisory services at their doorsteps, resulting in improved herd productivity, milk yield and enhanced income for the families.

With a background in Arts, Mr. Bhaskar Padhan, an Artificial Insemination (AI) Technician from Kanpur village, Ulunda block of Sonepur district of Odisha, took up farming as an occupation. The turning point in his life came in 2011 when he joined the BAIF Livestock Development Programme as a self-employed youth (SEY) with the S. Mahada Cattle Development Centre. Since then, Bhaskar has been providing breeding services to 1500 to 2000 families in 32 villages within a radius of 8 to 10 km. With adoption of cutting edge technologies such as sex sorted semen, genomic evolution and goat AI, he has improved the herd productivity as well as income of livestock keepers. His significant achievements include conducting 26,800 cattle AIs recording birth of 11,200 calves and performing 2,800 Sorted Semen (SS) inseminations which have resulted in the production of 1,120 calves.

Bhaskar has been making news for a long time with ”Best AI Technician Award” by the Animal Resources Development Department in 2021, “Best Dairy Farmer Award” for Sonepur district by the F&ARD Department in 2011 and multiple state-level recognitions by BAIF, including first position in Conventional Semen (2017) and second position in Sorted Semen (2017). Bhaskar has been constantly upgrading his skills through various training programmes conducted by BAIF and The Odisha State Cooperative Milk Producers’ Federation Limited (OMFED).

With this national recognition, Bhaskar’s dedicated services have transformed the lives of countless farmers and also brought glory to BAIF Odisha for the third consecutive time. He is a role model for livestock technicians across Odisha as well as in the country.

BAIF Development Research Foundation, Pune, an accredited Observer Organization of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (UNCBD), participated in the 16th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP16) in Cali, Colombia from October 22 to 26, 2024.

BAIF Representatives Mr. Pramodkumar Takawale and Mr. Sudhir Wagle were invited to attend side events on mitigating the agricultural drivers of biodiversity loss, leveraging nature positive agriculture to achieve sustainable food system and meet multiple GBF targets and making the case for ecological benefits: community language for nature positive solutions. They highlighted BAIF’s native crop diversity conservation in conjunction with livelihood enhancement models of livestock development, climate-resilient agri-horti-forestry water-centric land degradation neutrality initiatives and promotion of rural enterprises, green and renewable energy for achieving sustainable and resilient agri-food systems. They also shared BAIF’s collaborative project for implementing Nature Positive Solutions in Maharashtra state of India in collaboration with the Alliance Bioversity and CIAT, other CGIAR partners. BAIF elaborated various Nature-based Solutions adopted by it to conserve, manage, restore and recycle with focus on six “C” approaches of agrobiodiversity, integration of livestock in farming system for sustainability, circularity, livelihood, climate resilience and building ecosystems.

The thematic discussions organised by CGIAR focussed on the benefits of adopting nature-positive agriculture for achieving the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), adapted to local conditions and cultures and the challenges and opportunities for scaling up these approaches across regions. The participating organisations unanimously agreed that global challenges posed by industrial agriculture had put to risk the nutrition and livelihoods of millions of smallholder farmers and that it was only nature-positive approaches leveraging traditional knowledge and innovative technologies and practices which could restore the health of the ecosystem, build resilience against climate change and conserve biodiversity. It was evident from the presentations at COP16 that community-based solutions for nature and climate action by indigenous people and local communities have been leading efforts in agrobiodiversity conservation in various countries. A discussion on multilateral collaboration for a regional biodiversity conservation was also focussed on.

BAIF delegation engaged in discussions with representatives of several global programmes and donor agencies that will help expand our pro-livelihood and climate action programmes while protecting the precious biodiversity of the country.