A Punjab taxi driver got Rs 9,806 cr in his Jan Dhan account - just for a day

November 29, 2016

Nov 29: Balwinder Singh, a taxi driver in Punjab, was in for a big surprise on 4 November when he got a whopping Rs 9,806 crore in his Jan Dhan account in State Bank of Patiala. However, the amount was withdrawn the very next day.

Singh has told the newspaper that when he visited the bank branch, the staff took his passbook and issued another one without entering the Rs 9,806 crore credit and subsequent debit.

"My balance usually is around Rs 3,000,” Singh has been quoted as saying in the report.

The bank has not yet given a convincing explanation for the freak transaction.

“The account holder happens to be a designated vendor for the bank. While passing a credit entry of Rs 200, an assistant manager (accounts) wrongly inserted the bank's 11-digit internal Banking General Ledger account number in the amount column. The mistake was noticed the next day, following which the entry was reversed,” lead bank manager Sandeep Garg has been quoted as saying in the report.

It is to be noted that there is suspicion that tax evaders are misusing the Jan Dhan accounts ever since the government announced the demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes on 8 November.

According to the government, the total deposits in Jan Dhan accounts have increased to Rs 64,252.15 crore as of 16 November.

The sudden surge in deposits in these accounts is being scrutinised by the income tax officials. Prime minister Narendra Modi, in his Mann Ki Baat, had warned against misuse of these accounts for money laundering.

The RBI had long back cautioned that opening of bank accounts without proper documentation may encourage tax evaders to make use of the poor to launder their ill-gotten wealth.

However, it is not yet clear whether the freak transaction, which made Singh a billionaire for just a day, was indeed related to evading taxes.

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Elusive bamboo shrimp resurfaces in Mangaluru estuary after 70 years

News Network

December 7,2025

Mangaluru, Dec 7: A rare bamboo shrimp has been rediscovered on mainland India more than 70 years after it was last reported, confirming for the first time the presence of Atyopsis spinipes in the country. The find was made by researchers from the Centre for Climate Change Studies at Sathyabama Institute of Science and Technology, Chennai, during surveys in Karnataka and Odisha.

The team — shrimp expert Dr S Prakash, PhD scholar K Kunjulakshmi, and Mangaluru-based researcher Maclean Antony Santos — combined field surveys, ecological assessments and DNA analysis to identify the elusive species. Their findings, published in Zootaxa, resolve decades of taxonomic confusion stemming from a 1951 report that misidentified the species as Atyopsis moluccensis without strong evidence.

The shrimp has now been confirmed at two locations: the Mulki–Pavanje estuary near Mangaluru and the Kuakhai River in Bhubaneswar. Historical specimens from the Andaman Islands, previously labelled as A. moluccensis, were also found to be misidentified and actually belong to A. spinipes.

The rediscovery began after an aquarium hobbyist in Odisha spotted a shrimp in 2022, prompting systematic surveys across Udupi, Karwar and Mangaluru. Four female specimens were collected in Mulki and one in Odisha, all genetically matching.

Researchers warn the species may exist in very small, vulnerable populations as freshwater habitats face increasing pressure from pollution, sand mining and infrastructure development. All verified specimens have been deposited with the Zoological Survey of India for future reference.

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