The government on Wednesday announced a high-level probe into alleged presence of deadly pesticides in various brands of bottled drinking water, saying the matter is 'disturbing and very serious.'
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday held deliberations with Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP president J P Nadda amid speculation about a reshuffle in the Union cabinet, an exercise Modi has not undertaken since forming the government for a second time in May 2019.
Inviting the business community of Commonwealth nations to invest in India, Minister of State for Agriculture and Consumer Affairs K V Thomas said opportunities for business during sports events are very large.
rediffGURU Kanchan Rai, founder, Let Us Talk, offers advice on how to navigate problems in a relationship.
In order to check the abnormal surge in edible oil prices during Diwali festivities, as many as 18 states are in the process of imposing stock holding limits on oilseeds and edible oils after being empowered by the Centre for doing so. Of the 18 states that are in the process of imposing stock limit on my edible oils apart from UP, include Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Odisha, Kerala, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Tripura and the Union Territory of Chandigarh. Of the 18, Uttar Pradesh, has already imposed stock limits on edible oils, the Centre was informed with as many as 23 states to discuss ways and means to ensure further easing of edible oil prices.
India's commodity bourses -- Multi-Commodity Exchange and National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange -- are gearing up to launch futures trading in carbon credits.
President Pranab Mukherjee on Friday accepted the resignation of Minister of State for Consumer Affairs and Food and Public Distribution, Raosaheb Dadarao Danve, from the Union Council of Ministers.
The prices of tomato are continuously moving up with the onset of monsoon due to strained supplies and higher wholesale prices in key producing states.
Business chamber Assocham has asked the government to accord industry status to organised retail sector, which would improve investment inflows into the sector and increase its share in this segment. The move would increase the share of organised retail in the overall sector to 20-22 per cent from the current 3 per cent, Assocham said.
Retail tomato prices are ruling at Rs 80 per kg in most cities across India but the rates have shot up to as high as Rs 120 per kg in few southern states because of widespread rains, according to government data. In Chennai, retail price of tomato was at Rs 100 per kg, Puducherry Rs 90 per kg, Bengalure Rs 88 per kg and Hyderabad Rs 65 per kg. In Kerala, retail prices of tomato are ruling at Rs 120 per kg in Kottayam, Rs 110 per kg in Ernakulam, Rs 103 per kg in Tiruvananthapuram, Rs 100 per kg in Palakkad, Rs 97 per kg in Trissure, and Rs 90 per kg in Wayanad and Kozikode.
The first Global Agro-Industries Forum will be organised in New Delhi from 8 to 11 April 2008.
The Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, has taken strong objection to the fact that despite a "No" to OOXML by a majority of the Bureau of Indian Standardsmembers, the software giant "continued to make representations to the top Indian leadership (read Ministry of Consumer Affairs), pressuring them to change the Indian vote".
The finance ministry on Wednesday reimposed expenditure curbs on ministries and government departments for July-September quarter. There will be no spending restrictions on the ministries of health, rural development, agriculture, MSME (micro, small and medium enterprises) and railways as part of a two-pronged strategy. "The existing guidelines for expenditure control have been reviewed. "Keeping in view the evolving situation arising out of Covid-19 and anticipated cash position of the government, it is felt essential to regulate Quarterly Expenditure Plan (QEP)/Monthly Expenditure Plan (MEP) of specific ministries/departments for July-September, 2021," the Department of Economic Affairs in the finance ministry said in a notification.
The inflation rate inched closer to 7%. the government has started pulling out all stops to boost domestic supply situation by withdrawing incentives on export of at least 40 items, including steel, cement and non-basmati rice. The Commerce Ministry withdrew or temporarily suspended the tax refund scheme - Duty Entitlement Pass Book. Besides measures to discourage exports, the government is considering more fiscal steps to improve supplies and rein in inflation, he indicated.
According to Santosh Kumar, the superintendent of police of Saran district, three persons each have died in Isuapur and Mashrak police station areas after allegedly consuming spurious liquor on Tuesday night.
In its consultation paper Trai addressed three key points including the bundling of channels under bouquets, rampant discounting within bouquets, and the lack of consumer choice.
'Revision of the base year for both CPI and GDP are long overdue.' 'The basic data that went into the 2011-2012 series were mainly from surveys done in 2011 or earlier.' 'We have since seen the emergence of new sectors like platform-based work and online marketing.' 'The employment surveys and the consumption surveys need to reflect these adequately.'
Last week, after months of scrutiny, the Forward Markets Commission, the regulator for futures trading in commodities, approved a proposal from state-owned MMTC Ltd and finance-to-real estate group Indiabulls to set up a national multi-commodity exchange.
Poor rain threatens recovery in production this season, sugar prices at three-month high
The government on Monday said it has no plans to ban more farm commodities from futures market and hoped that suspension of trading in soya oil, chana, potato and rubber would not be extended beyond four months.
The external affairs minister promptly responded: 'Brother, I cannot help you in matters of a refrigerator. I am very busy with human beings in distress.'
The wholesale prices of food items surged by 15 per cent during the week ended on September 26 against the same period last year, the government's inflation data shows.
Close to 202,000 new entities have registered under the GST Network
Farm commodity prices monitored by the Department of Consumer Affairs have generally remained steady or have shown mixed trend in different centers across the country in the week ending June 5.
The Reserve Bank of India is likely to issue the guidelines for allowing foreign investors to pick up stake in the country's commodity exchanges within a fortnight, a top government official said on Thursday.
Labayendu Mansingh, Chairman of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board, is an amicable yet tough man. In his 5 months as the petroleum & natural gas regulator, Mansingh announced to the oil & gas industry his intention of proving that the regulatory board is more than a toothless tiger. The board will come out with its first set of regulations, which will lay down rules for the distribution of gas to households, vehicles & industries in cities by middle of this month.
The IAS officer, who was posted for nearly 15 months in the sports and youth affairs department, headed by Minister Anil Vij, has been transferred over 45 times in his career so far.
India's Parliamentary Standing Committee on Food and Consumer Affairs has called for a complete ban on futures trading in essential commodities like wheat, rice and sugar.
Speaking at Assocham's international retail summit, Rakesh Kacker, additional secretary in the Department of Consumer Affairs, said the government would take a decision at an "appropriate time". He did not specify the time-frame. The move has been in abeyance due to protests from across the political spectrum.
Making a weak opening, shares of FTIL further tanked 45 per cent to Rs 105.5 -- its fresh 52-week low on the BSE.
However, official sources said the Assam Rifles -- a border guarding force -- primary mandate or task is not drug law enforcement.
The consumer affairs ministry has assured the pepper and jeera traders that it would look into their demands.
Farm commodity prices have shown a mixed trend in different centers throughout the country, according to a data released by the Department of Consumer Affairs.
He said the recently held round table conference in New Delhi and the Pugwash conference in Islamabad sent clear indications that a meaningful peace process is afoot to resolve the long pending Kashmir issue.
The action against the Lucknow passport officer was a hasty reckless decision taken by an establishment playing to the gallery to appease the pseudo-secular elite of the country, the Lutyens Delhi lobby intent on discrediting the Hindu identity, and an action that blatantly violated the basic tenets of justice, argues Vivek Gumaste.
Recently, the finance ministry waived off basic customs duty and health cess on imported oxygen and related equipment for three years.
Mansingh, a 1970-batch IAS officer from Gujarat cadre, was the number one choice for the post of chairman of PRB at the screening done by the Search Committee headed by Planning Commission Member (energy) Kirit Parikh, top officials said.
While rising food inflation is a matter of grave concern for a significant chunk of the population and for policy makers as well, it marks a turnaround in the fortunes of the farmer, reports Sanjeeb Mukherjee.
