Katarni rice (chawal in Hindi) is a unique tasting, aromatic, short grain rice grown in India, in the state of Bihar. Grown natively in the Bhagalpur and Banka districts, Katarni rice is not only demanded in Bihar, but throughout the country.

Despite its uniqueness, Katarni rice is facing the threat of extinction. Since 1991–92, there has been significant decrease in the area of Katarni rice cultivation, mainly due to:  increased irrigation cost, higher production of other paddy varieties; declining demand in local as well as global market due to introduction of adulterated variety in the market. It has recently been tagged with Geographical Indication for certain blocks under Bhagalpur, Banka and Munger districts of Bihar. Due to unique quality characteristics, it has immense export potential.

In view of the lower yield of traditional aromatic rice varieties in Bihar declining area under Katarni paddy over the years and most of the good quality aromatic rice varieties either being lost or facing the threat of extinction for it the Startup Mr. subodh kumar choudhary who is a farmer from Tarapur munger district,  he is doing  working on katarni  for control of adulteration from last two years and try to solve few aspects as :

to assess the potential area of Katarni paddy, to find out socio-economic characteristics of the farmers, who cultivate Katarni paddy., to study the economics of Katarni paddy , to identify the marketing channels of Katarni paddy , and identified the constraints in raising the area under Katarni paddy and   suitable measures for the development of Katarni paddy on it from 2018. He has started cultivation of original katarni in three district as of Bihar (Bhagalpur, Banka, and Munger). And the farmers produce are being channelized to market so that proper return to the farmers is ensured. With the help of SABAGRIs and Bihar Bihar Agriltural University, Sabour he will be able to spread his market and provide pure product to all consumers in near future.