-The Business Standard Cautious optimism about the revival of the monsoon A progressive improvement in the monsoon, after a dismal June that saw rainfall deficient by over 30 per cent, has eased some worries over kharif crop production. Since then the rainfall deficit has been halved to 15 per cent, dispelling fears of a situation as bad as in 2009, when severe drought lowered foodgrain production by seven per cent. In addition,...
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Herbal oil ads: Govinda tells FDA he was unaware of laws
-Mid Day Last month, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had filed 67 complaints at police stations across the state under various sections of the Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable advertisements) Act, 1955. These include complaints against advertisements of products such as 'Sandhi Sudha plus', 'Step up herbal oil' and 'Power Prash', which are promoted by leading Bollywood stars. The FDA had lodged complaints, demanding action against the drug manufacturers, scriptwriters and...
More »We should not forget that prices which consumers pay are not what farmers get
-The Times of India Union steel minister Beni Prasad Verma's claim, that he was happy with inflation as higher food prices have helped farmers, borders on the ludicrous. A few weeks back P Chidambaram also attracted flak when he said that consumers have to pay more for sugar, rice and wheat as procurement prices are raised to benefit farmers. Linkages between high food prices and farmers' welfare is dubious because there...
More »Basudeb Acharia, Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Agriculture interviewed by Gargi Parsai
-The Hindu The debate on the pros and cons of genetically engineered/modified crops is universal. In India, in the face of vociferous protests, the controversy has only deepened leading to a moratorium on cultivation of Bt Brinjal crop — the first GM food crop sought to be commercialised. Gargi Parsai spoke to Basudeb Acharia, Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Agriculture, on its new report, “Cultivation of Genetically Modified Food...
More »Low monsoon rains in India means less rice for the world in 2012–UN agency
-The United Nations The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said today that global rice paddy production for 2012 is expected to be lower than originally expected, owing to below-normal monsoon rains in India. The July 2012 issue of the Rice Market Monitor, released by FAO today, says that production is expected to total 724.5 million tonnes – a 7.8 million tonne downward revision compared to the original forecast in April....
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