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As much as 10 million tonnes (MT) of wheat, half of the Food Corporation of India’s (FCI) stock of the grain, is stored in the open and runs the risk of getting spoilt. The government is expected to procure another 24 MT of a record estimated 82 MT wheat output that will start arriving in the markets in April. Mountains of grain will be built and rot, even as food prices stay stubbornly up.
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The buffer stocks of cereals are way too large — for wheat, five times the norm, and for rice, at 24 MT, twice the requirement. At any rate, we must quickly put an end to food mountains that rot or feed the rodents even as food prices soar. ET 150310
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Pawar rules out wheat exports, favours stepping up allocation :
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Food and Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar today ruled out exporting surplus wheat lying in the godowns to reduce the stock and
instead favoured stepping up allocation to Above Poverty Line (APL) families. |
As on March one, the wheat stock in the Central Pool was 184 lakh tonnes, much more than the buffer requirement of 40 lakh tonnes till April one, according to government data.
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The minister also indicated that the government will extend duty free import of wheat beyond March 31 - a move that was introduced in 2008 to increase wheat availability in the domestic market to cool prices. PTI 180310
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Farm growth only 2% in first three years of XI Plan Period : |
| Farm growth in the first three years of the XI Plan period (FY 2008-10) adds up to a growth of 2%. The underlying rate of growth of agriculture in the country (which is growth independent of the base effect) was well in excess of 3%, but not yet 4%. Agriculture has grown at rate of 4 per cent during F Y 2005-2008 as against 2 per cent from 1997 to 2002. Abhijit Sen |
PSBs focus more on indirect Agri Finance : |
| Through most of the nineties and the early noughties, the focus on commercial performance meant that PSBs cut back on their initiatives in rural areas. In recent years, they have succeeded in pushing more credit into agriculture but much of this is indirect lending. TT Ram Mohan, ET Bureau 190310 |
High value food products main drivers of Food Inflation :
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“Farmers are not benefitting from higher food prices. Evidence shows that the margins between farm and wholesale prices and wholesale and retail prices are going up, with benefits going to the traders.” C P Chandrasekhar
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With growth in the overall economy, the demand for high value food items has gone up much faster than the supply. The basic supply deficiency is understood, as over the last 10 years, capital formation in agricultural investment has been below average.
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High-quality foods constitute 10 per cent of the overall index, while foodgrains, including rice, constitute 7.4 per cent of the index. In calendar 2009, the rate of rise in prices of these articles accelerated than that of foodgrains.
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The average rate of inflation in food articles was 12.42 per cent. Foodgrains, which constitute cereals and pulses and have 5 per cent weight in the entire index, registered an average inflation rate of 14.27 per cent, up from 6.4 per cent in 2008. |
| The average rate of inflation for eggs and meat has been 14.57 per cent in 2009, up from 3.7 per cent in 2008. Milk, which has had an annual average inflation rate of 6 per cent for three years, registered an average annual rate of inflation of 9.03 per cent in 2009.BS 150310 |
| Milk powder, butter oil imports liberalized : |
| Duty-free imports of up to 30,000 t milk powder, 15,000 t butter oil. Foreseeing shortages in milk supplies to cities ahead of the summer season, the Centre has permitted duty-free imports of up to 30,000 tonnes of milk powder and 15,000 tonnes of butter oil. 160310 |
| Millions lifted out of slums : |
India has lifted 59.7 million people out of slum conditions since 2000. Slum prevalence fell from 41.5 per cent in 1990 to 28 per cent in 2010. This is a relative decrease of 32 per cent, the study found, according to the report called State of the World’s Cities 2010/2011. |
| Bank NPAs may increase to Rs 1.10 lakh crore FY 11 : |
The overall NPAs have increased to Rs 80,023 crore at the end of December 2009 from Rs 61,647crore at the end of December 2008, an increase of over 30%. A recent report by Fitch ratings on ‘banks’ restructuring loan portfolio’ pointed that restructured bank loans worth Rs 30,675 crore may turn bad in 2010-11. |
| 8% DA hike for 50 lakh govt staff from Jan ‘10 : |
| The combined impact on the exchequer on account of both dearness allowance and dearness relief would be to the tune of Rs 6,969.36 crore per annum and Rs 8,131.20 crore in 2010-11. PTI 190310 |
