Indian Sugar Mills Association welcomes Cabinet decision to raise sugar cane MSP. The Centre has decided to expand the buffer stock of sugar and simultaneously halt the trend of raising the minimum support price for sugar cane to correct demand-supply imbalances, stabilise retail prices and reduce payment arrears from mills to farmers.The two decisions taken by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs on Wednesday, were welcomed by the sugar industry.A series of bumper harvests over the past few years, combined with higher rates of sugar recovery from sugar cane, resulted in production vastly overshooting domestic demand and led to a crash in retail prices. Estimates suggest that the country will produce 32.95 million tonnes of sugar in the current
Month: July 2019
Why cardamom is on a bull run
On June 20, the cardamom market went into a tizzy thanks to a sale at the e-auction centre at Bodinayakanur, nicknamed the cardamom capital of India, at the foothill of the Western Ghats in Theni district, Tamil Nadu. Eight kilos of the evenly green, aromatic 8.5 mm capsule fetched a record ₹ 5000 for a kilo spreading equal amounts of joy and consternation in an otherwise conservative commodities market.Elite food goes populist:Amalagam Foods Limited ventured into cardamom-flavoured ice-creams in early 2000s but discontinued as the “Indian palate demands very sweet ice creams while cardamom, on its own, has very strong flavour, so two strong elements did not quite work,” says Abraham J Tharakan, group chairman.Marryam H Reshii, who has
Crop insurance claims of ₹9,046-cr paid to 80 lakh farmers in kharif 2018: Govt.
The government currently offers two crop insurance schemes– the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana and the Restructured Weather-based Crop Insurance Scheme. The government has paid crop insurance claims worth ₹9,046 crore to 80 lakh farmers for the kharif 2018 season under PMFBY and RWBCIS, Parliament was informed Tuesday.The government currently offers two crop insurance schemes– the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) and the Restructured Weather-based Crop Insurance Scheme (RWBCIS). In a written reply to the Lok Sabha, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said ₹9,046 crore worth claims have been paid to 80 lakh farmers under PMFBY and weather index-based RWBCIS for the kharif 2018 season. He said this was provisional data as some claims of kharif 2018 have
Budget 2019: The road to agriculture and rural prosperity
A truly agriculture and rural development-focussed Budget, it has adequately met the twin objectives of growth and inclusiveness. When doubling of farmers’ income agenda is being rigorously pursued by the government, a fresh slew of measures through this Budget will only firm up the prospects of the agriculture and rural development sectors. The crux of the Budget is ‘sustainability’ in every aspect, be it agriculture practices or economic viability. An announcement of formation of 10,000 new FPOs over the next five years is a step towards the same. With this, the economies of scale can be harnessed to achieve the goal of doubling farmer’s income by reduction in input costs and assuring better price realisations by the farmers for
Chambers gives a thumbs up for thrust on infra development
The budget presented by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will stimulate economic growth as it lays stress on development of infrastructure and confers several benefits upon the MSMEs, according to G. Sambasiva Rao, president of the AP Chambers of Commerce and Industry Federation.Railways and roadsWelcoming the budget, he said the proposal to improve railway infrastructure through the public-private partnership model was a good move, as ₹50 lakh crore investment would be required over the years for the purpose. ‘Bharatmala’, with an investment of ₹80,250 crore, to lay 1,25,000 km village roads was also a welcome move. The development and maintenance of transport infrastructure to reduce congestion and improve access to rural markets would have a positive ripple effect on
Union Budget 2019-20: No specific funds for Narendra Modi’s pet rural water supply scheme
The new Jal Jeevan Mission will need to converge with other Central and State government schemes. To fulfil Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s promise of piped water supply to all rural households by 2024, the new Jal Jeevan Mission — which has no budget allocation of its own — will need to converge with other Central and State government schemes, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said. The budget for the National Rural Drinking Water Mission, a key component of Jal Jeevan Mission, has been doubled from last year’s revised estimates to more than ₹10,000 crore. The allocation for the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, on the other hand, has fallen by 25%, despite the Finance Minister’s proposal to expand the mission to achieve
Budget 2019-20 first take: The road to rural prosperity
“Sustainability has largely remained at the centre of this Budget”. A truly agriculture and rural development-focused Budget has adequately met the twin objectives of growth and inclusiveness. When the agenda of doubling farmers’ income is being rigorously pursued by the government, a fresh slew of measures through this Budget will only firm up the prospects of agriculture and rural development sectors. The crux of the Budget is ‘sustainability’ in every aspect, be it agricultural practices or economic viability. An announcement of the formation of 10,000 new FPOs (Follow-on Public Offer) over the next five years is a step towards the same. With this, the economies of scale can be harnessed to achieve the goal of doubling farmers’ income by
Budget 2019: Farmers should take up zero-budget farming, says Nirmala Sitharaman
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, in her maiden budget on Friday, July 5, 2019, said the government will increase its focus on agriculture infrastructure.“Ease of doing business and ease of living should apply to farmers,” she said.In this regard, Ms. Sitharaman suggested that farmers take up zero-budget farming. “We shall go back to basics on one count: zero-budget farming. It is not a new thing. We need to replicate this innovative model. Some states have already tried it. Farmers are already being trained in this practice.“Steps such as this can help doubling farmers income by 2022, in time for our 75th year of independence,” she said.What is zero-budget farming?Zero-budget farming is a form of natural farming which is neither