Production this year likely to be 24.5 million tonnes, compared to internal demand of 23 MT The Centre has allowed export of 5 lakh tonnes of sugar. It has asked sugar mills to register themselves for seeking the Release Order for exports under Open General Licence (OGL). They have been allowed to export raw, white and refined sugar, but no export subsidy will be given. Export only from new output The OGL export...

An intense cold wave has gripped northern India, claiming more than thirty lives already. Five more deaths were reported across Uttar Pradesh as the Mercury dipped due to rains at some places. While a 70-year-old man and a two-year-old boy died in Bahraich and Farukkhabad districts respectively, one death each was reported from Sitapur, Mahoba and Chitrakoot in the last 24 hours. Etawah was the coldest at 6.1 degrees, Lucknow was...

In recent years, the agricultural growth rate has tended to be lower than the population growth rate. This year, the forMer is nearing the target of 4%. But we still have a very large percentage of undernourished children, women and men. Poverty and destitution also remain stubborn. The Indian food security enigma rises from the mismatch between the grain mountains and the hungry millions. What are the prospects for ensuring...

The economy shows consistent signs of growth. The challenge in the new year is to make development more equitable and broad-based… 2010 was a year of relief that soon grew into despondency. We were relieved that India had pulled out of the deepest post-War recession relatively unscathed. The soundness of its cautious macro-economic management was underlined once again and the US economy is also looking like getting slowly back on...

The sentencing of Dr. Binayak Sen involves unverified charges, and unreasonable and unconstitutional findings. The constitutional validity of the charges of sedition and conspiracy that were used to implicate rights activists such as Binayak Sen Merely for their anti-establishment political thoughts needs to be challenged. The action ridicules the constitutional guarantee of freedom of expression. The sections of the Indian Penal Code that deal with “conspiracy to wage war against the government”...