Hybrid annuity projects, renewable energy, slowing down on kharif acreage take precedence this week
By Abin Daya The power sector in India is one which has been classified as a ‘negative’ industry by a number of lenders due to the woes surrounding ailing thermal power producers. However, the renewable energy segment was always looked upon favourably due to the phenomenal growth exhibited in the past few years. This segment too might be going through a period of change as we see in this week’s update. While wind energy might be looking at a period of slow growth, changes in duty structures are what the solar power generators might have to encounter. On the infrastructure side, some good news for developers who have been trying to avail financing for projects under the Hybrid Annuity Model. While lenders ...
Odisha targets to procure record 60 lakh MT paddy this year
The Dollar Business Bureau Positive to set a record this year to procure around 60 lakh metric tonne (MT) of paddy, the government of Odisha said on Tuesday that the exercise for Rabi crop would begin from May 1. P K Mohapatra, Secretary, Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare said that the Odisha State Civil Supplies Corporation Ltd (OSCSC) would be going for the 2nd phase of procurement of Rabi paddy from May 1 to June 30. The procurement of the paddy would be done from the farmers of 19 districts of the state, he added. “Odisha is going to procure record quantity of paddy this year. While total 42 lakh metric tonne (MT) paddy were collected during the Kharif season ...
Wheat sowing rises 7%, pulse acreage up 11% this Rabi season
The Dollar Business Bureau Notwithstanding the government’s demonetisation scheme, sowing area of wheat increased 7% to 313.14 lakh hectares this season, while that of pulses also went up 11% to 157.68 lakh hectares so far during the ongoing Rabi (winter-sown) season. "As per preliminary reports received from the states, the total area sown under Rabi crops as on January 20, 2017, stands at 628.34 lakh hectares as compared to 592.36 lakh hectare this time in 2016," said an official statement. On November 8, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the demonetisation of Rs.500 and Rs.1000 notes, generating countrywide speculations that the cleanup drive will enormously hit the country’s agriculture sector. But thanks to good monsoon and higher support price, wheat was sown in 313.14 lakh hectares ...
Rabi crops sowing crosses 327 lakh hectare
The Dollar Business Bureau Notwithstanding the demonetisation and its speculated impact on the country’s agriculture sector, the total sown crops under rabi as on November 25, 2016 grew marginally to 327.62 lakh hectares as against 313.17 lakh hectare till the corresponding period of last year. “Wheat has been sown/transplanted in 127.15 lakh hectares, rice in 6.82 lakh hectares, pulses in 95.09 lakh hectares, coarse cereals in 34.35 lakh hectares and area sown under oilseeds is 64.21 lakh hectares,” Ministry of Agriculture said in a statement. The government announced this information at a time when the demonetisation of Rs.500 and Rs.1000 has had a significant impact across all the sectors. Several industry analysts had earlier predicted that the demonetisation will have a significant impact ...
Govt. hikes MSP for pulses to boost production
The Dollar Business Bureau The government on Wednesday hiked the minimum support price (MSP) of pulses by up to Rs. 425 per quintal for the year 2016-17 to boost domestic production and check price rise.It has also announced a bonus on the cultivation of pulses and oilseeds, payable over and above the agreed MSP, in order to incentivise the cultivation of these items.The decision to raise MSP was taken after Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP), which considers the production cost, domestic and international prices, overall demand and supply, inter-crop price parity, effect of the price policy on economy, and terms of trade between agricultural and non-agricultural sectors, came out with the MSP recommendation for kharif crops 2016-17. Other factors, ...
Govt sets high targets for foodgrains output
The Dollar Business Bureau With hopes of abundant rainfall after two straight years of drought, the Centre aims to reach a target of 270.10 million tonnes of food grain production in the Crop Year 2016-2017. The country had touched a new record with an output of 265.04 million tonnes in Crop year 2013-14. However, the output in Crop Year 2015 and 2016 plunged to 252.02 and 253.23 million tonnes, respectively. The reason behind the falling figures of output was the droughts witnessed in over ten states. For the crop year 2016-17, the Indian Meteorological Department has predicted a better monsoon, the arrival of which in Kerala is likely to be delayed by a week. The ambitious target set for 2016-2017 crop year is not ...
Excess food grain stocks set to meet domestic needs
The Dollar Business Bureau The total stock of food grains in the Government of India’s central pool, in February, stood against and more than the minimum buffer storage, resulting in an adequate requirement that is expected to meet the domestic supplies. In a recent official release, it was notified that the stock of food grains in the central pool as on February 16, 2015 was 353.67 lakh tons, which is against and more than the minimum buffer storage of 214.10 lakh tons, for January-March quarter in 2015. The adequate storage is expected to help the government in meeting the requirements under Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS) and other welfare schemes. For a better TPDS, the government is also implementing a scheme ...
