Putin is keen on establishing a good personal rapport with Trump and anchor a meaningful US-Russia partnership, realistic enough to accept that Trump is as good an American president as Russia would ever get, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The Assam government has banned the serving and consumption of beef in restaurants, hotels, and public places. The decision was made at a meeting of the state cabinet to amend the existing law on beef consumption. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said the current law is strong but there has been no prohibition on beef consumption at restaurants, hotels, and religious or social gatherings. The new law aims to put a complete ban on consumption of beef in public places in Assam.
One of the politically sensitive issues on which the United Progressive Alliance government will have to decide soon is the subsidy increase on phosphatic fertilisers by up to Rs 1,000 crore (Rs 10 billion) to keep a check on domestic prices.
In a terse note to the prime minister, Union Minister of Fertilisers M K Alagiri has opposed the UPA-2 government's move to decontrol urea that was left out from the 2010 policy enforced on the phosphatic and potassic fertilisers known as NPK, pointing out the disaster of allowing the manufacturers and importers instead of the government to fix the maximum retail price of these fertilisers.
'Due to this sudden phenomenon, guests stopped visiting the homes of these villages, girls and boys from these villages were not getting proposals; students were reluctant to attend schools and colleges for fear of being shamed.'
The growth in production of eight key infrastructure sectors entered a negative zone after three-and-a-half years, contracting 1.8 per cent in August 2024 due to decline in output of coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, cement and electricity, according to official data released on Monday. The growth rate was 6.1 per cent in July. The growth of core sectors -- coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertiliser, steel, cement and electricity -- was 13.4 per cent in August 2023.
'I always cook from my heart,' says New York Chef Vijaya Kumar who won his third Michelin Star recently.
Edamame + truffle oil + basmati rice = an exquisite combo.
Farmer representatives and agricultural stakeholders urged the government to provide cheaper long-term credit, implement lower taxes, and double the PM-KISAN income support during a comprehensive pre-budget consultation with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday. The two-hour meeting saw a detailed discussion of proposals, aimed at addressing multiple challenges in the agricultural sector, with key demands focusing on financial relief, market reforms, and strategic investments.
The director of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras, V Kamakoti, has sparked controversy after making a remark about the "medicinal value" of cow urine, or "gomutra." Kamakoti, while speaking at an event celebrating Maatu Pongal (a festival dedicated to cows and bulls), cited an anecdote about a sanyasi who was cured of a fever by consuming gomutra. He also claimed that gomutra has "anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, and digestive properties." The remark has been widely condemned by rationalist organizations, political leaders, and medical professionals who have criticized Kamakoti's statements as "pseudoscience" and "regressive." The controversy highlights the ongoing debate in India around traditional beliefs and scientific evidence.
The growth of these core sectors -- coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertiliser, steel, cement and electricity -- was 4.6 per cent in April 2023.
The growth in production of eight key infrastructure sectors slowed down to a 20-month low of 4 per cent in June this year due to a decline in the output of crude oil and refinery products, according to official data released on Wednesday. The core sectors' production grew by 6.4 per cent in May 2024. The growth of core sectors -- coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertiliser, steel, cement and electricity -- was 8.4 per cent in June 2023.
The growth in production of eight key infrastructure sectors slowed down to 6.1 per cent in July this year due to a decline in the output of crude oil and natural gas, according to official data released on Friday. The growth rate, however, is up from 5.1 per cent in June.
The real intention of the 'Tariff Man' (as Trump calls himself) may not even be to put the 'Tariff King' (as he describes India) on the mat with a knockout punch but to arm-twist the Indian leadership to agree to some multi-billion dollar mega arms deal, argues Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Rs 35,000 crore investment to increase capacity by 75%.
The growth of eight key infrastructure sectors slowed to 6.7 per cent in February, compared to the same month in 2023, on account of poor performance of some sectors like fertiliser, according to official data released on Thursday. However, the growth rate is higher than January this year.
A factory in Kolkata turns scrap leather into nitrogenous fertiliser.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has brought down the budgetary allocation for the fertiliser subsidy for FY21 to Rs 71,309 crore, from the RE of Rs 79,998 crore for FY20, while increasing food subsidy to FCI through "ways and means advance" to Rs 50,000 crore for FY21, from Rs 36,000 crore in RE for FY20, and under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) to Rs 77,982 crore, from Rs 75,000 crore.
Instead of working to reduce the subsidy bill, various political elements seem to be pushing for even higher subsidies.
Amidst optimism about the growth prospects of the agricultural sector and consequently the fertiliser industry, policy environment continues to remain fluid.
Already, the government's resources are strained due to various fiscal stimulus and the Survey has separately noted that high growth environment creates scope for partial rollback of these stimuli.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Sunday promised to enact an-anti conversion law with stringent provisions in Maharashtra, and also assured a skill census for training as per industry needs as well as free ration to low-income families.
This will be the first full-year Budget of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance government since it came to power for a third consecutive term in July last year.
Several Indian fertiliser companies are in talks with foreign firms to set up production units jointly, the government said.
Many bureaucrats in Sashtri Bhavan where the fertiliser ministry is housed are totally disenchanted and disgruntled over the unique behaviour of the union minister of fertilisers.
https://www.rediff.com/business/report/quality-control-orders-what-does-this-mean-for-domestic-industry/20240425.htm
Fertiliser production dropped sharply by 11.5 per cent, crude oil by 5 per cent and natural gas by 0.9 per cent in October over the year-ago month
He did not announce any rollback on diesel price hike.
Fertiliser ministry officials on Monday briefed the new minister Ram Vilas Paswan about the pending decision on increasing subsidy on phosphatic fertilisers by upto Rs 1,000 crore (Rs 10 billion) to keep a check on domestic prices.
Several leading scientists, academicians, and agriculturalists have called for raising government support for research and development to make Indian agriculture future-ready.
With the government on Thursday hiking retail prices of urea by Rs 50 to Rs 3,360 per tonne, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said she has lost count of how many times the price has been raised and condemned it.
The eight key infrastructure sectors' growth rose by 6.3 per cent in May on healthy expansion in the production of coal, natural gas, and electricity, though the growth rate is lower than in April, according to official data released on Friday. The production of the eight sectors grew 6.7 per cent in April. The growth of these core sectors -- coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertiliser, steel, cement and electricity -- was 5.2 per cent in May 2023.
In a bid to encourage the fertiliser industry to increase its production volumes, the government has extended the system of actual freight reimbursement to all types of fertilisers. Currently, only urea enjoys this concession.
The growth of eight key infrastructure sectors slowed to a 15-month low of 3.6 per cent in January, on account of poor performance of sectors like refinery products, fertiliser, steel and electricity, according to the official data released on Thursday. The growth of eight core sectors -- coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertiliser, steel, cement and electricity -- was 4.9 per cent in December. It was 9.7 per cent in January 2023.
Jackfruit season heralds the arrival of its tasty stirfry on our tables or better as part of banana leaf meals
Coromandel Fertilisers Ltd fixed March 24 record date for interim dividend.
In their letter to Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar, the Congress leaders said during a discussion on the functioning of the ministry of agriculture and farmers' welfare on August 2, "misleading and incorrect assertions" were made by the minister.
