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Rutam Vora  Ahmedabad | Updated on January 30, 2020 Chetan Padhiar, a potato farmer from Deesa in North Gujarat has faced all those losses that other potato growers in the country had to bear when prices slumped to a record low of less than a rupee for a kg. “In the past four years, potato prices have remained low due to over-production. Farmers experiment with new varieties and believe that their variety may be absorbed by processors at higher prices. But eventually, they end up flooding the market with their rejected potato, causing prices to tumble,” Padhiar told Businesline, who was attending the 3rd Global Potato Conclave 2020 being held in Gandhinagar on January 28-30. Padhiar grows table potato (used for household consumption) variety on his 100 acres of land. “I'll first watch other farmers succeed in processing variety of potatos before venturing into it,” he said. The concerns, according to farmers, are on two fronts. One is the availability of quality seeds...

M Somasekhar  Hyderabad | Updated on January 31, 2020 Bioseed, the hybrid seeds business of DCM Shriram, plans to launch four to five new hybrid seeds every year with focus on vegetable hybrids, while strengthening corn and rice, the main drivers. Eggplant, tomato, bitter gourd and watermelon are some of the products in the pipeline. The company will invest more on bioinformatics and molecular breeding capabilities as it diversifies into newer crops. At present, it is strong in corn, cotton, hybrid rice and select vegetables with its R&D lab in Hyderabad driving its developments, says Paresh Verma, Executive Director & Chief Executive, Bioseed South East Asia, and Research Director BRI. With the changing consumption patterns the share of vegetables is growing. Hybrid technology helps in making tailor-made changes in the produce and improve farmer incomes, he told BusinessLine. The DCM Shriram group set up the biotech lab at the ICRISAT about 12 years...

TV Jayan  New Delhi | Updated on January 31, 2020 Economic Survey calls for increasing mechanisation of farming to improve productivity Even though the growth in agriculture was estimated to be lower in 2019-20 at 2.8 per cent as compared to 2.9 per cent in the previous year, the share of agriculture in the overall pie moved up to 16.5 per cent from 16.1 per cent in 2018-19, indicating that the bigger malaise is experienced by the other segments of the economy. In 2019-20, the gross value added (GVA) of agriculture and allied sectors in current prices is expected to be ₹30.47 lakh crore against ₹27.76 lakh crore in 2018-19, according to the Economic Survey on Friday. It pointed to a need for bringing in a shift in focus in agriculture to commercial farming from subsistence farming as India has long addressed concerns associated with food security. In this regard, the Survey called for increasing mechanisation of farming in the country. While China and Brazil have ac...

Rutam Vora  Ahmedabad | Updated on January 31, 2020 Exporters look to increase share in other markets The outbreak of coronavirus, which spread from China to over a dozen countries, is unlikely to pose a major threat to India’s cotton exports as India’s rates are competitive in the international market and the exports can be diverted from China to other markets, a trade body has said. Downplaying the threat from coronavirus and its impact on the export trade, the Cotton Association of India (CAI), the apex trade body, said there are no specific concerns. ‘No worries’ “On the export front, we are doing good and there is no concern over China virus scare. Exports are going on smoothly and we have so far exported about 600,000 bales (each of 170 kg) to China. Total exports stand at about 22 lakh bales, which means we will be able to achieve our export target very comfortably,” Atul Ganatra, President, CAI, told BusinessLine. The CAI in its latest estimate has pro...

Hemani Sheth  Mumbai | Updated on January 29, 2020  SHARE SHARE SHARE EMAIL SHARE COMMENT Joker’s Stash, a fraud forum, has said data of US, European, and global cards, including geolocation, cardholder’s state, city, and ZIP Code would be sold In one of the biggest card breaches reported till date, credit and debit card data of more than 30 million cardholders was leaked to be put online for sale, according to a report by a cyber intelligence company Gemini Advisory. In a breach titled titled “BIGBADABOOM-III,” Joker’s Stash, one of the largest carding fraud forums on the dark web advertised that it had credit and debit card details of more than 30 million American cardholders and over one million foreign cardholders on Monday. Gemini Advisory published a report detailing the data breach that identified the source of the breach as Wawa, an east coast-based convenience store and gas station chain. Wawa data breach Wawa had admitted to being hack...

G Chandrashekhar  | Updated on January 30, 2020 A deadly combination of two ‘C’s has hit the palm oil market. A rapid decline in crude oil prices and the upheaval over the rapid spread of China-centred Wuhan Coronavirus has pummeled the palm oil market, bringing the bull run of the last three months to a premature end. Crude palm oil (CPO) rates have seen a sharp correction of 10 per cent from their recent peak, which translates to roughly $70 a tonne. Hopes of a decisive return to over $700 a tonne are turning slim, as there are uncertainties relating to global crude oil market and Chinese purchases of palm oil in the months ahead. Bull run CPO market started its upward trajectory sometime in October because of a host of factors, including concerns of slower output growth, rise in Chinese demand, anticipated fall in inventory and ambitiously targeted biodiesel programme in Indonesia. From around $560/t, equivalent to roughly Malaysian ringgit 2,300/t, the mar...

Ahmedabad | Updated on January 30, 2020 SOPA raises concerns over possible cut in import duty Edible oil trade body has voiced concern over move to reduce the customs duty on edible oil imports, terming it an exercise against national interest. In a letter to the Union Commerce Ministry, the Soybean Processors Association of India (SOPA) has stated that edible oil import over the years at low custom duty has discouraged Indian farmers from growing oilseeds and dissuaded them from making any efforts towards increasing productivity. This has resulted in India’s continued dependence on imported edible oil. Such imports have kept edible oils prices low, making it un-remunerative to grow oil seeds. Edible oil import bill “India’s edible oil import bill is already over ₹75,000 crore per annum and with rising demand and population, this will further increase, unless all steps are taken to increase oilseed production in the country. Keeping edible oil prices slightly higher i...

TS Ramakrishnan/Aditya Malhotra  | Updated on January 31, 2020 As the growth in oil demand is set to decline, divestment should be done over the next two years to maximise returns The strategic disinvestment of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) was announced in November 2019. As there is not enough time this fiscal year, it would probably be carried out in FY 2020-21. Some have raised concerns about the government not meeting the targeted disinvestment for FY 2019-20, stating that if the government is not ready to slip on the fiscal deficit of 3.3 per cent of GDP, it could dent government spending and, thereby, not stimulate consumption growth. When a party forms the government after electioneering, the financial year is shortened to almost six months as the next Budget is to be presented by February 1. Thus, the government failing to achieve its disinvestment target in FY 2019-20 cannot be faulted. However, FY 2020-21 is a different ball game. The government’...

PT Jyothi Datta  Mumbai | Updated on January 29, 2020 Bulk of drug intermediates used in medicines are sourced from China Indian drugmakers are not pushing the panic button yet, but are closely monitoring the evolving ground situation in China, following the coronavirus outbreak. That’s because a lion’s share of drug intermediates used in making finished medicines are sourced from China. And the dependence could affect medicine supplies and prices, if the coronavirus-caused lockdown in China continues or worsens, caution pharma industry veterans. Health security The India pharma industry’s reliance on China for its bulk drugs and active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and the risk this poses to India’s health security has been a subject of policy discussions for many years now, but with little follow-up action. The current situation is a “call for action” for India to shore up its strength when it comes to drug intermediates, since India imports over 60 pe...

Hemani Sheth  Mumbai | Updated on January 30, 2020 Targets includes the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the UN's Geneva and Vienna offices The United Nations on Wednesday confirmed that it had been targeted by a group of hackers across multiple office locations, according to a report in The New Humanitarian. TNH had discovered the hack back in 2019 and was able to acquire a confidential document, confirming that a group of hackers were able to gain access to dozens of servers across the UN’s Geneva and Vienna offices. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) had also been targeted. The UN  confirmed the data breach and  released a statement detailing its attempts to contain the situation. The hackers had allegedly taken advantage of a flaw in Microsoft's SharePoint software and had gained access to the servers through an unknown malware in July 2019, Engadget reported. The UN ha...

Sangeetha Chengappa   Bengaluru   January 31, 2020 Flexible working is emerging as the new, unlikely weapon in the fight against climate change. As the growth of flexi-working explodes in areas outside of major cities, new research reveals that, by 2029, ‘outer city’ office spaces will reduce carbon emissions by the equivalent of 12,80,000 transatlantic flights between London and New York each year. That’s 25,60,000 tonnes of carbon stopped from entering the atmosphere annually, just by working nearer to home. For India, the carbon-saving will see a reduction of 1,81,000 tonnes of carbon emissions per year. Cities like Delhi where pollution routinely reaches hazardous levels, will witness a significant impact on air quality. The Suburban Economic Study, commissioned by Regus, a flexible workspace provider, and conducted by independent economists, projected the environmental benefits of locating flexible workspaces in smaller towns, cities and suburb...

S Ronendra Singh   New Delhi January 31, 2020 Survey says this should be integrated into Make in India to create 4 cr jobs by 2025 To boost exports, India must focus on a set of industries, referred to as ‘network products’, where production processes are fragmented but controlled by leading MNCs within their “producer driven” global networks. The Economic Survey has suggested integrating ‘Assemble in India for the World’ plan into the Make in India programme so that the country can raise its export market share to about 3.5 per cent by 2025 and 6 per cent by 2030. “In the process, India would create about four crore well-paid jobs by 2025 and about eight crore by 2030,” the Survey said. It further said the incremental value added in the economy from the target level of exports of network products, which is expected to reach $248 billion in 2025, would make up about one-quarter of the increase required for making India a $5-trillion economy by 2025. ...

Maitri Porecha   New Delhi  January 31, 2020 Survey urges government to opt for bulk procurement to provide affordable drugs If the government accepts the suggestion made by Chief Economic Advisor Krishnamurthy Subramanian and opts for bulk procurement of drugs, it will bring down the prices of those drugs. The government’s bid to impose price controls on drugs backfires when such drugs become costlier, over the years, than those whose prices are left to the mercy of the market forces. Effective intervention The Economic Survey 2019-20 has mooted for the government — a major buyer of drugs — to plan bulk procurement. It urges the government to intervene more effectively to provide affordable drugs by combining all its purchases and exercising its bargaining power. The Drug Price Control Order (DPCO), 2013, does more harm than good, according to the latest Economic Survey. The DPCO comes under the Essential Commodities Act (ECA), which the sur...

Bindu-Shajan-Perappadan JANUARY 31, 2020 12:02 The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Thursday declared the novel coronavirus outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. The WHO declares a Public Health Emergency of International Concern when there is "an extraordinary event which is determined… to constitute a public health risk to other states through the international spread of disease.” The last time WHO declared a global health emergency was in 2019 for the Ebola outbreak in eastern Congo that killed more than 2,000 people. The agency also declared global emergencies for the 2016 Zika virus, the 2009 H1N1 swine flu, and the 2014 polio and Ebola outbreaks. The WHO Committee agreed that the novel coronavirus outbreak now meets the criteria for a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. WHO has now noted that it expected that further international exportation of cases may appear in any country. So what does this entail? All...