Shipments of sunflower oil to India have started normalising after imports from war-torn Ukraine resumed beginning September after a gap of four months, leading to further normalisation of supplies. Ukraine has been the largest supplier of sunflower oil to India. However, after the Russia-Ukraine war broke out in February, supplies from Ukraine dwindled as Russia denied it access to the Black Sea ports.
Even as the Group of Seven (G7) price cap on Russian crude oil enters into force as of December 5, India has been assured it will continue to receive the existing deep discounts on Russian oil, for the time being, informed officials. "We have been assured by our Russian partners of uninterrupted crude supplies at the existing rates for the time being. "There were a lot of reports of changes in (India's) buying patterns after the global price cap took hold.
Brace for some warmth this winter as the India Meteorological Department (IMD) in its December-February forecast on Thursday said that the minimum and maximum temperatures could remain 'normal' to 'above normal' over most parts of Northwest and Northeast India. Both the minimum and maximum will remain below normal in Southern Peninsular and Central India in these winter months. While this could give some respite from the intense cold of North India, it could have a negative impact on the standing rabi crops if the temperature rise is unusual and abnormal.
The number of mobile phone subscribers in India decreased by 3.66 million in September to 1.17 billion, representing the first fall in seven months, according to the latest data released by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai). The number of subscribers had last fallen by 3.7 million back in February. In recent months, it rose by 1.08 million in August, 0.64 million in July, and 1.89 million in June.
The Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) has recommended the environmental release of the genetically modified (GM) mustard variety DMH (Dhara Mustard Hybrid)-11, paving the way for the commercialisation of the country's first GM food crop. The GEAC said the recommendation was valid for four years from the date the approval letter was issued. Further studies and coordinated trials will have to be conducted jointly with the Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR) within two years, according to the minutes of the GEAC meeting held on October 18, which was released on Wednesday.
The development marks a watershed moment in India's telecom history since fixed-line or landline connections formed the final segment where a State-owned operator was in the top spot.
Tightening Russian gas supplies to Europe has led to scramble for tankers before winter sets in.
More than 100 million users with 5G-ready smartphones wish to upgrade to a 5G subscription in 2023 while a majority of them are open to adopting a higher data-tiered plan in the next 12 months, a report by Ericsson Consumer Lab has shown. Titled "Promise of 5G in India", the study carried out in the second quarter this year reflects the views of 300 million urban smartphone users. According to the study, consumer 5G readiness remains one of the highest in the world.
Increasing sugar production shall create problems for the industry, whereas boosting ethanol output can bring rich returns, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari told sugar mills on Wednesday. Speaking at a conference on sugar and ethanol, organised by the Indian Sugar Mills Association, Gadkari surprised the audience comprising senior executives of sugar mills by stating that the future will become bleak for the industry if it continues to churn out high quantities of sugar. "We need more ethanol than sugar. Also, bio-ethanol is the way to go as it can be stored for a longer duration as compared to conventional ethanol. "If you increase sugar production, it will create more problems for you.
The southwest monsoon might finally start withdrawing from parts of North-West India over the next three days, signaling the end of its four-month journey over the country that started in June, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said. However, though the retreat might begin from next week, the rains might not descend quickly, as the met department predicted fresh spells of rains in Vidarbha, Chhattisgarh and east MP on September 21-22 and over Odisha, Coastal areas north Andhra Pradesh and Gangetic West Bengal on September 19-21. "Due to anti-cyclonic flows over northwest India at lower tropospheric levels, dry weather is very likely over west Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and Delhi during the next five days. "Hence conditions are becoming favourable for the withdrawal of Southwest Monsoon from parts of northwest India during next three days," the IMD said.
"In principle, the ask in return is that India should not support the G7 (Group of Seven) proposal. "A decision on this issue will be taken later following talks with all the partners," an official with the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said.These "substantial discounts" will be steeper than those offered by Iraq in the past two months, officials said.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) and its partners, such as Russia, collectively termed Opec+, have decided to cut crude oil production by 100,000 barrels per day (bpd) from October onwards, at a meeting on Monday. In a step that may increase prices in India, the group has decided to reduce output quotas for October, after a fall in global oil demand outlook. The cut in output is equal to 0.1 per cent of global supply.
Indian officials will focus on expanding the country's footprint in oil-rich Siberia when they meet their Russian counterparts at the four-day 7th Eastern Economic Forum beginning Monday in Vladivostok. The two sides will discuss the possibility of joint oil exploration in the area and cooperation in running offshore oil and gas fields Western companies are in the process of exiting, officials said in New Delhi. Pavan Kapoor, India's ambassador to Russia, will lead the official-level talks at the summit scheduled September 5-8.
In May, Satpal Singh, who runs a dairy business with three buffaloes in Jewar, near Noida, was worried about the steep spike in input costs. Singh said dry fodder rates, which cost Rs 1,500-2000 per tractor trolley last year, were quoting at Rs 4,500-5,000. The price of other cattle feed ingredients (that include mustard meal and similar mixes) had also gone up from Rs 2,000 per quintal to Rs 3,100-3,200 per quintal.
After becoming active over the rice-growing Indo-Gangetic plains, the southwest monsoon might witness weak phase for the next 3-4 days over the already rain-deficient region. So far, the main deficit states are Uttar Pradesh (-42 per cent), Bihar (-36 per cent), Jharkhand (-48 per cent), and West Bengal (-24 per cent). According to private weather forecasting agency Skymet, rains in west UP, Punjab, Haryana, Bihar, and Jharkhand are expected to be weak in the next 3-4 days before again picking pace.
India's plan to produce ethanol from second-generation (2G) sources -- mainly farm waste -- is taking time to materialise even as the government is set to dedicate to the nation on Wednesday a Rs 900-crore plant set up by Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) in Panipat. Though state-run oil companies had decided to set up at least 12 plants in 2016-17 with an investment of around Rs 10,000 crore, this will be the first unit coming on track while others are stuck in various stages owing to issues like capital expenditure, lack of feedstock, and high rates of finished products compared to traditional ethanol units. According to industry sources, three more second-generation plants are coming up.
The area under paddy - the biggest foodgrain during the kharif season - was almost 13 per cent lower in the week ended August 5 as compared to the same period last year despite a slight pick-up in rains in the main growing regions, triggering fears of a 10-12 million-tonne drop in final output. Sources said with the peak sowing season for paddy almost coming to an end in the big-growing states, any uptick in coverage from here onwards may not give the desired yields. With 30 per cent of normal average area in which paddy is grown every year remaining unsown till early August, there is a limited chance of a big uptick in output, trade and market sources said.
Centre's move to form a 29-member panel on making the minimum support price (MSP) mechanism effective and keeping three positions vacant in it for SKM representatives has triggered strong disapproval from it.
Trade and market players have already started factoring in at least 10 million tonnes drop in production in rice in the kharif season as compared to last year due to delayed sowing.
A head of its meeting, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) can take some solace from the softening food commodity prices. However, the events surrounding the last few weeks show that the fall may not be uniform across all commodities, and cereals like wheat and rice could be the outliers. A Reuters report said that local wheat prices jumped to a record Rs 23,547 per tonne on Wednesday. That is a 12 per cent rise from the recent lows that followed the government's surprise ban on exports on May 14.
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