With the order of district deputy registrar Harishchandra Hussey to 16 Agriculture Produce Marketing Committees in 16 talukas to submit a report on the details of cotton purchase made by them during the current season, the spree of buying cotton from door to door in the villages by the private players is set to stand exposed. The price of cotton has increased to Rs 6,000 per quintal in recent past. Expecting...

Fast-growing emerging nations are taking increasingly aggressive actions to beat back rising food prices as they grow more worried of threats to stability if prices don't start to retreat. Developing-market governments have unveiled a laundry list of measures—including price caps, export bans and rules to counter commodity speculation—to keep food costs from disrupting their economies as price spikes that some had hoped were temporary have stretched into the new year. Some...

Farmers' protesting ban on cotton and onion exports on Monday created a few moments of panic as they set ablaze a trolley-full of cotton some 200 metres from the Nagpur airport building. The situation was soon brought under control and farmers dispersed after the symbolic protest. Over 2000 farmers led by Bacchu Kadu, the maverick independent MLA from Achalpur in Amravati district, marched through the busy Wardha road to airport...

The gushing in of bone-chilling cold wave has spelt disaster for the Cotton Farmers in Vidarbha. Nine farmers have killed themselves since Thursday as snow and hail ruins an almost-ready crop. "My brother was very worried after the cold winds and the hail killed the crop. Two days ago, he talked about it with my wife. We did not think he will kill himself," said Dhanraj Pohekar, a resident of Taamaswaadi...

Twenty years ago, a Maruti 800, with an air-conditioner fitted, cost a little less than Rs 2 lakh. Today it costs about Rs 2.5 lakh. Twenty years ago, a branded 1.5 tonne window air-conditioner cost about Rs 30,000; today, you can get a split AC unit for that price. Then, Videocon was offering large refrigerators for more than Rs 30,000; you can get better units today for much less. TV...