The food subsidy bill for 2010-11 could shoot up by nearly Rs 25,000 crore to touch Rs 80,000 crore, putting further pressure on the government’s finances, a food ministry official said on Tuesday. The government has budgeted Rs 55,578 crore for the current fiscal. The sharp increase in the subsidy is because of higher minimum support price ( MSP )) for crops and the government holding food stock that are nearly three times...
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Speculators at work by Alok Ray
If the price rise is due to production shortfall, how does one explain the near doubling of the price within a few days? The sharply rising onion prices have raised the suspicion that speculators are manipulating a shortage situation. First, a few facts. In retail markets, onion prices have soared from Rs 10-11 per kg in June to as high as Rs 70-80 on Dec 21. Even more significantly, prices zoomed by...
More »Maize, sunflower prices likely to remain stable
Officials of the Domestic and Export Market Intelligence Cell (DEMIC) of the University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad, have said that the prices of rabi maize and sunflower are likely to remain stable till harvest. While the assessment has been made with regard to maize based on the data collected from Jamkhandi market, the leading market for maize for the past 15 years, the likely price for sunflower post harvest has been...
More »Onion exports suspended to check price rise
Retail price of onions has surged to Rs. 60-70 a kg within a couple of days NOCs will not be issued to exporters till January 15 Minimum Export Price raised to $1,200 a tonne The government on Monday announced suspension of onion exports till January 15 in a last-minute effort to cool prices of the poor man's essential vegetable from the prevailing high of Rs. 60-70 a kg. In a twin strategy, while the...
More »Naidu on hunger strike, demands relief for calamity-hit farmers
TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu today launched an indefinite hunger strike demanding that the state and the central governments immediately provide succour to hapless farmers and artisans who faced the brunt of nature's fury in the last one year. The former Andhra Pradesh chief minister expressed serious displeasure over the relief announced by Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy and demanded higher compensation as the loss was enormous. Naidu, the Leader...
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