Large queues outside the ration shop across Maharashtra could become a thing of the past, if the State Government manages to implement a new scheme for distributing foodgrains in the vicinity of people's houses. Under the scheme, the two-and-a-half crore ration card holders registered under the Public Distribution System (PDS) in the State, instead of getting a monthly quota of grains from the ration shop, will get three, six or 12...
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Wholesale price dips, onion ban questioned
The Centre today sought to justify the export ban on onion by saying that the wholesale price of onion in Nashik, the country’s largest wholesale hub for the bulb crop, had declined by 33 per cent to Rs 2,500 per 100kg or Rs 25 a kg. The impact will not be felt immediately on kitchen budgets as it will take some time – “two to three weeks”, according to Sharad Pawar...
More »Rural retail gets a ‘suppat’ surprise by Antara Bose
No celebrity visits or satellite banking system? Never mind, bring on ‘suppat’. Unlike Doba, three other villages of Lohardaga district may not have been lucky enough to get Reserve Bank of India’s smart card based satellite-banking system. But they have a ‘suppat’ surprise up their sleeves. ‘Suppat’ or ‘super’ in tribal dialect, is also the name of a rural chain of mom-and-pop stores initiated by a private party, Dynamic Tarang Pvt Ltd,...
More »India-EU Deal Threatens Mom-and-Pop Retail by Ranjit Devraj
Retail giants pushing the European Union-India free trade deal promise consumers a "new and dynamic retail experience" but ignore the fate of India’s "mom-and-pop" stores and some 40 million people they employ. Four years in the making, the EU-India Bilateral Trade and Investment Agreement made serious headway during Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit to Brussels Dec. 10 and is due to be signed and sealed early 2011. But the negotiations have...
More »Record 16.5 Million tonne pulses production likely this year
India is likely to harvest a record 16.5 million tonne pulses this year. This was announced by the Agriculture Minister, Shri Sharad Pawar, at the 6th Agriwatch Global Pulses Summit here today. The Minister said that though India presently imports a large quantity of pulses, the use of new production technologies and agronomic practices, and government support will lead to self sufficiency. Shri Pawar said that more aggressive promotion of available technologies...
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