-The Hindu Though there are improvements in employment and labour conditions on the work floor and in workers’ hostels in textile mills and garment factories in the State, “major labour abuses continue to occur,” according to the latest report by non-government watchdogs. The Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations (SOMO) and the India Committee of the Netherlands (ICN) published a report, ‘Captured by cotton’, in May 2011 on the exploitation of Dalit...

-Reuters Corn Exports from India could hit a record 3.5 million tonnes in the 2011/12 marketing year to September, spurred by higher global prices and a bumper harvest, the India representative of a major US grains Export association said on Thursday. India is Asia's second-largest grower of corn after China but it is not a significant global Exporter of the grain. It mainly sells to Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam, which seek small...

-The Hindu Business Line The Government may consider imposing stockholding limits on various agri-commodities to curb rising prices. It may also review the Export policy on agri-commodities such as sugar and rice in August by which time there will be a clearer picture on the monsoons. “We are reviewing the price situation and are in constant touch with the State Governments. We will also examine the option of imposing stockholding limits on...

-The Hindustan Times Recently, at a rally of gram panchayat chiefs, agriculture minister Sharad Pawar told the audience, “Improving the well-being of farmers is difficult unless agriculture sheds some of its population. At least one member from the farmer’s family should seek livelihood opportunities outside agriculture.” He has often made this appeal to farmers in Maharashtra, pointing out how rich industrial countries have a small proportion of their labour force in...

-PTI Goa cannot have unlimited mining given its ecological sensitivity, the Mashelkar Committee said, demanding that the cap should be such that it will protect the environment and social well being of the state Panaji: A committee of experts constituted by the Goa government has recommended a cap on extraction of iron ore in the coastal state to 20-25 million metric tonnes (MMT), which is almost half the existing Exports, reports PTI.   The...