Centre imposes stock limit on sugar for Sept, Oct to check hoarding
The Dollar Business Bureau In order to prevent hoarding of sugar and to check the prices during the upcoming festive season, the Government on Tuesday imposed limit on stock holding on sugar producers for September and October. “In exercise of the powers conferred by section 3 of the Essential Commodities Act, 1955 (10 of 1955) read with the clause 5 of the Sugar (Control) Order, 1966, the Central Government hereby directs that no producer of sugar shall hold any stock of sugar in excess of quantities,” said Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution said in a notification. By the end of September, sugar mills will not be permitted to stock more than 21% of the total sugar available with them during ...
Govt to further import 80,000 MT Masur, 90,000MT Tur
The Dollar Business Bureau In a bid to buffer stock of pulses, the Government of India has directed a further import of 80,000 MT masur and 90,000MT tur. The development was given a green signal during a meeting of Price Stabilization Fund, which reviewed the procurement and distribution of pulses from buffer stock. The meeting was chaired by Union Consumer Affairs Secretary Hem Pande. The government will be fetching the pulses via imports to the tune of 1, 81,000 MT, out of which 36,000 MT have already arrived. The domestic market and farmers have also contributed to the stock with 1,20,000 MT pulses. The Department of Consumer Affairs has asked the National Cooperative Consumers' Federation of India (NCCF) and National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation ...
Sugar exports still low despite surplus stock
Sharath Chowdary India is not only the second biggest producer of sugar but also one of the top sugar consumers in the world. With the increased prices in the country, the sugar merchants prefer selling in domestic markets rather than exporting to other countries, said experts from the industry. This is also because of the drought conditions prevailing in the country and low sugar prices globally. The government has set a target to export 32 lakh tonnes sugar in this sugar season (1 October 2015 to 30 September 2016). Due to less production and higher domestic prices, the sugar mills have exported only 15 lakh tonnes sugar till now in this sugar season, Sanjeev Babar, Managing Director of Maharashtra State Cooperative Sugar ...
Food items to have key info on 40% pkt area
The Dollar Business Bureau The Government of India has made amendments in the packaged food commodities rules and insists that food manufacturing units should prominently display six key details, including retail price and quantity, on at least 40% of the area on the packet. According to an official release, the norms for packaged products have been revised by the Consumer Affairs Ministry. The new norms will be put into effect from July this year. Ram Vilas Paswan, Union Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution has given directions to the officials in the Ministry to make sure that the amended norms are positively put into effect from July. In a meeting of the Bureau of Indian Standards’ (BIS) governing body on Friday at Mussoorie, ...
Twenty-five states yet to meet Food Security Act requirements
The Dollar Business Bureau The Government of India is currently examining the recommendations made by the Committee on Food Corporation of India, with regard to the distribution of food grains under Public Distribution System. This was informed by Ram Vilas Paswan, Union Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, GoI, to the Rajya Sabha on Friday. As per the recommendations by the Shanta Kumar Committee, the government is expected to defer the implementation of the National Food Secutiry Act (NFSA) in the States those have not completed the preparatory methods that are required for the implementation of the Act. According to the Minister, all the States/Union Territories are required to complete the preparatory methods and will have to ...
Centre to bring new laws to protect consumer interests: Union Minister
The Dollar Business Bureau In a move to address consumers’ concerns and protect their interests, the government will soon clear amendment bills of Consumers Protection Act and Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) Act. The Union Minister of Consumer Affairs, Ram Vilas Paswan, said that the bills are currently lying with the cabinet. The government has plans to form the Consumer Protection Authority (CPA) which will have investigative and regulatory powers to deal with cases related to consumer rights. “The CPA will have investigative as well as powers to frame rules and will look into the matter of protecting consumer interests, while consumer courts will take care of individual grievances,” said the minister, according to reports. The CPA will also be ...
Committee Report for FCI restructuring submitted to PM
The Dollar Business Bureau The High Level Committee for Restructuring of Food Corporation of India (FCI), on Wednesday, submitted its report to the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister, in response to that, has asked the Department of Food and Public Distribution to expeditiously give their comments on the report, so that it can then be implemented in a time-bound manner. The Committee was aimed at examining the present day administrative, functional and financial structure of FCI and modus operandi of its various operations. The Committee was also required to suggest a model for restructuring FCI to improve its operational efficiency and financial management, and suggest measures for overall improvement in management of food grains by FCI. The eight-member Committee, chaired by Member ...
Indian government plans new laws for e-commerce
The Dollar Business Bureau Several e-commerce companies such as e-Bay and Amazon have urged the government to ease customs procedures to boost India’s exports The $3.5 billion e-commerce industry in India is expected to change significantly with a series of government plans underway to structure the largely unregulated sector. The Ministry of Consumer Affairs has stated that the government has constituted an Inter Ministerial Committee for considering the requirement of separate legislation in respect of Direct Selling/Multi-Level Marketing. Raosaheb Patil Danve, Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, informed the Parliament yesterday some e-commerce businesses have come under the purview of the Prize Chits & Money Circulation Schemes (Banning) Act, 1978 administered by Department of Financial Services, which could give rise to ...
