To facilitate investors in obtaining time-bound permissions and making the procedures less cumbersome, Himachal Government will now only accept online common application forms (CAF) for investment proposals
An earthquake measuring 3.5 on the Richter scale hit some parts of the district this noon. However, no loss of life or property was reported. This is the first earthquake since the past one year. "Several residents rushed out of their houses at around 1.13 pm, when the quake was felt, claimed Kuldeep Singh, a local resident. The quake lasted for about 20 seconds.
During this biting cold what can be better than a dish of black-tiger prawns cooked in oriental style for dinner or just batter fried along with your evening drink. But then, be prepared to shell out a huge sum as black-tiger prawns supply is going down with stagnant production over the past several years. India is the leading producer of black-tiger prawns in the world but today the prawn farmers are faced with the problem of stagnant production due to lack of quality seeds and financial support from the government. According to I.P.R. Mohan Raju, president of the Prawn Farmers Federation of India, "Although India is the leading producer of black-tiger prawns in the world, the production in our country is stagnant for the past few years. The primary reason for the stagnation is the inadequate supply of quality seeds. The hatchery operators depend on the supply of wild brood stock for the production of seeds. The quality and quantity of this wild brood stock has deteriorated over the past few years.' The hatchery operators depended on the supply of wild brood stock for the production of seeds but the quality and quantity of this had deteriorated over the past few years. The federation, the first national platform for prawn farmers constituted by state federations of the 10 maritime states and union territories, would collaborate with the hatchery operators and the government to address this issue, he said. India has over 1,50,000 hectares under prawn cultivation with around 1.2 to 1.4 million hectares potential brackish water area available. More than 91per cent of the 1,00,000 plus farmers are small scale with land holding of less than two hectares. About 6 per cent of the farmers' own land only between two to five hectares and the remaining three percent own land over five hectares. Total production is around 1,35,000 tons with an average production of less than 1000 kg per hectare. Farming methods are mostly extensive or modified extensive with less than 20 per cent of the farms having electricity connections. Black-tiger (Penaeus monodon) is the major species cultivated constituting over 97 per cent of the total production. More than 90 per cent of the 135,000 tons produced and over 94 per cent of the value of exports come from small-scale farmers. Said V. Balasubramaniam, general secretary of the federation, "Lack of institutional finance and insurance coverage is a big deterrent for the growth of the small farmers. More than 90 per cent of the over Rs 3,000 crore invested in prawn farms in India is from the pockets of the small farmers or borrowed from unorganised money lenders. More over, more than 90 per cent of the production cost is financed by credit from the dealers of inputs and companies, since the farmer does not get any type of crop loan from financial institutions. "This drives the cost of production up by 20 to 30 per cent, since credit is involved at various levels in the chain of crop input supplies. If farmers get institutional financing and insurance coverage for their crop, the accrued benefits will make him more competitive in the world market,' he said.
Raise farm productivity THE Rs 60,000-crore agricultural loan waiver and one-time settlement announced in the budget for 2008-09, welcome as it is, will not be enough to mitigate distress among farmers. According to the C. Rangarajan Committee, only 27 per cent of the farm households take loans from formal sources. Most others borrow from private moneylenders, who charge heavy interest rates and also force the borrowers to sell their crops to or through them at lower-than-market prices. Haryana has passed the Rural Indebtedness Act to check exploitation of small farmers by moneylenders. Punjab only toyed with the idea and then dropped it. Debt is only one part of the problem that has got highlighted due to suicides by farmers. Irrigation is another. There are farmers, particularly in arid and other areas where irrigation facilities are absent or inadequate, who own more than two hectares but are poor because of low productivity or frequent crop failures. They will not benefit from the loan waiver. Though the budget provides more funds for irrigation, it is the states that have to take steps to conserve water resources and meet the irrigation needs of farmers. Farm productivity in India is below global standards. There is need to use biotechnology to improve the quality of seeds as has been done in the case of cotton and strengthen extension services to provide expert advice to farmers on what to grow and how. If farmers are to be rescued from relapsing into a debt trap and agriculture has to be made remunerative, the practice of artificially suppressing farm prices will have to be given up. While the government must ensure payment of the minimum support prices, if global prices are higher the growers must not be denied the added benefit. Last year the government paid much more for imported wheat than what was paid to local farmers. The government burden can be contained if the food, power and fertiliser subsidies are limited to the needy. The M.S. Swaminathan panel has laid the road map for rejuvenating agriculture and this merits closer attention.
THE Budget 2008-09 was projected long before as a "kisan budget' that would announce relief measures adequate enough to mitigate the misery of our farmers who have been reeling under a debt-trap.
Chandigarh, Karnataka, Andhra keen on project
The Indian government has announced a loan waiver in the budget for small and marginal farmers to the extent of Rs 60,000 crore
Yamuna Jiye Abhiyaan (YJE) has raised questions about environmental implications of yesterday's land deal in NOIDA, which is being termed as the biggest land deal in the entire country.
Loan-waiver or one-time settlement for the farm sector is not something new or a unique step taken for the farm sector in this year's Central budget.
Despite massive investments in plantations for the past more than 10 years, Punjab continues to have one of the lowest forest cover in the country in terms of percentage.
At least six persons were killed and eight injured when a huge rock rolled down from the Nehru Kund hill on the Manali-Rohtang highway, about 5 km from here, this evening.
