-PTI/ Moneycontrol.com The estimates were finalised after discussion with state food secretaries and Food Corporation of India (FCI) officials in a meeting chaired by Union Food Secretary Sudhanshu Pandey here. The government fixed the rice procurement estimate for the central pool at 518 lakh tonnes (LT) for the current Kharif season, up by 1.60 per cent from the last year despite production concerns. The estimates were finalised after discussion with state food secretaries...

-The Hindu Business Line Experts say current manual methods are error-prone, moot scientific process The advance crop estimate made by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare usually differs between the first and subsequent three ones before it comes out with the final estimate. However, the difference has seldom caused problems in the agricultural markets or led to complaints of not reflecting what the trade has felt is the ground reality. But some...

-Business Standard There is a possibility of a 10-15-million tonne drop in kharif rice production due to drought in several major growing states in eastern India Wheat prices in some markets have touched Rs 2,522 a quintal and cereal inflation is expected to remain sticky in the months ahead due to low wheat stocks in central granaries. Nomura India in a report said lower rice output will put pressure on domestic rice...

-Financial Express Due to the steep rise in raw material prices, many small enterprises have crossed the threshold of small enterprises and graduated to medium, making them ineligible for government subsidies. Federation of Indian Micro and Small & Medium Enterprises (FISME) is calling for suggestions to put before the central government as they seek to revise the definition of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in the country. The criteria for Udyam...

Is India going to face inflation in cereal prices during the rest of the current financial year? Experts differ on this. An analysis by Nomura Global Economics and CEIC finds that a below normal monsoon does not always translate into high retail inflation in food. Similarly, an above normal southwest monsoon does not always bring down the rate of food inflation. However, some agricultural experts (please click here, here and...