Government Raises Minimum Support Price for Rabi Crops

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on Thursday raised the minimum support price (MSP) for rabi crops such as mustard seeds, grams and lentils by seven-20 per cent. However, the CCEA did not take a decision on the wheat MSP for the 2013-2014 crop marketing season (April-March).

An official statement said that the CCEA approved raising the MSP of grams and masur (lentil) by Rs 100-200 a quintal to Rs 3,000 for gram and Rs 2,900 for lentil for the April 2013-March 2014 marketing year. The Cabinet has also approved increasing the MSP of mustard seeds from Rs 2,500 crore a quintal to Rs 3,000 a quintal for the 2013-14 marketing year and from Rs 2,500 to Rs 2,800 for safflower.

Among cereals, the official statement said that the CCEA has frozen the support price of barley at Rs 980 a quintal for 2013-14.

Carrying Identity Card Mandatory for Reserved Train Tickets

In a major initiative to further facilitate the travel of bonafide and legitimate passengers and to reduce the scope for misuse of reserved ticketing system by unscrupulous elements/middlemen, the Ministry of Railways has decided to extend the condition of carrying original proof of identity during travel on reserved tickets issued through Passenger Reservation System (PRS) for all reserved classes including ‘Reserved Second Class (2S)’, ‘Sleeper Class (SL)’, ‘III Economy Class (3E)’ and ‘First Class (FC)’.  This change in policy will come into effect from 1st December 2012.

Further, the Ministry of Railways has also decided to expand the list of prescribed proofs of identity to include photo identity cards having serial numbers issued by public sector undertakings of State/Central Government, District Administrations, Municipal Administrations and Panchayat Administrations.

The expanded list of the prescribed proofs of identity for undertaking journey on Tatkal ticket and other reserved classes will now be as follows:

1.    Voter Photo identity card issued by Election Commission of India.
2.    Passport.
3.    PAN Card issued by Income Tax Department.
4.    Driving Licence issued by RTO.
5.    Photo identity card having serial number issued by Central/State Government which include the following:
(i)               Pension Pay Order s(PPO)
(ii)              Ration Card with photographs
(iii)             Senior Citizen cards
(iv)             Below Poverty Line (BPL) cards
(v)              ESI cards (with photograph) issued for taking treatment in ESI dispensaries.
(vi)             CGHS Cards (with photograph) issued to individual family members of Central Govt. employees.
6.    Student Identity Card with photograph issued by recognized School/College for their students.
7.    Nationalized Bank Passbook with photographs.
8.    Credit Cards issued by Banks with laminated photograph.
9.    Unique Identification Card “Aadhaar”.
10.     Photo identity cards having serial number issued by Public Sector Undertakings of State/Central Government, District Administrations, Municipal bodies and Panchayat Administrations.

In this way,  the new provision to be effective from 1st December, 2012 will be as follows :-

“Any one of the passengers booked on a PNR for undertaking journey in any reserved class has to produce any one of the above mentioned prescribed proofs of identity in original during the journey failing which all the passengers booked on that ticket will be treated as travelling without ticket and charged accordingly.  The existing provision of the Tatkal scheme where the passenger is required to show the same original proof of identity as indicated on the ticket shall continue.”

It may be mentioned that presently only the following categories of passengers travelling in reserved classes have to produce original proof of identity during the journey:-
Passengers travelling on e-tickets.
Passengers travelling on Tatkal tickets.
Passengers undertaking journey in AC classes on the tickets issued through the computerized Passenger Reservation System (PRS) {except in III Economy -3E class}.

With the new provision, the condition of carrying one of the prescribed identity cards has now been extended additionally to other classes of travel namely - Reserved Second Class(2S), Sleeper Class(SL),  III Economy Class(3E) and First Class(FC).

The above change in the policy is aimed at facilitating the travel of bonafide and genuine passengers and simultaneously to check the scope for travel on transferred tickets.  It is also considered that the proposed change shall also be useful from the security point of view.

Sun sets on Analogue Cable TV Networks in 4 Metros

Analogue Cable Television signals were switched off by the Broadcasters and Multi System Operators (MSOs) at midnight of 31st October, 2012 in Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata. Analogue Cable TV signals were allowed to continue in Chennai due to the interim stay granted by the Hon’ble High Court of Madras. 

A total of 64.31 lakh Set Top Boxes (STBs) have been installed in the 4 metro cities in the first phase of digitization during the span of about 10 months from November 2011 i.e from the date of notification .First phase of digitization covers 4 metro cities of Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai. As per 2011 Census figures, a total of 103.76 lakh households are there in 4 metro cities. At an average rate of 80% TV penetration as per the Census, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting had estimated that about 82.59 lakh households will have TV sets. After deducting 28.14 lakh DTH connections , it was estimated that there would be 65.34 lakh Cable TV subscribers who would require Set Top Boxes. 

As per the data provided by the MSOs , the percentage of digitization in Delhi has gone up to 101%. In Mumbai it is 118% whereas in Kolkata it is 85% and in Chennai it stands at 63%. 

The ‘Blackout Advertisement’ carried out by the Ministry on all prominent Television channels created a massive public awareness about the digitization deadline. More than 200 channels carried the ‘blackout advertisement’ of the Ministry on the same day and time in a synchronized fashion which is a record of sorts. 

Ministry has been closely monitoring procurement and progress of installation of STBs by various MSOs regularly. Additionally, data was also collected from DTH operators on a daily basis. A Special Task Force was constituted to steer the entire process which consisted of various stakeholders. The Task Force met on fortnightly basis and held 20 meetings so far. 

Digital Cable TV system has a number of inherent advantages such as Electronic Programme Guide (EPG) which gives the information for the current programme as well as the programmes to come up. It also provides features like Movies-on-Demand and Games. A cable subscriber in digital system has facility to log in their complaints either on the Toll free number or in the Subscriber Complaint Redressal System on the web, wherein redressal of the complaint can be tracked. The consumer has a choice to select channel packages as per their choice or to select from a-la-carte list. The bill is generated by the system as per the channels chosen by the Cable subscriber. In addition to these special features the digital cable TV system provides superior picture and sound of digital quality and the consumer have a choice to select from a wide range of channels which was limited to only about 80-90 channels in an analogue system. The consumer can also subscribe to the HD channels. Digital Cable TV system will also enable the provision of Triple Play services on the same Cable TV network wherein in addition to the TV programmes, internet, radio, telephony etc., would also be available through the same cable line. 

Ministry has instructed all MSOs to certify that their analogue signals have been switched off completely. They have also been asked to set up canopies/kiosks in poorer colonies to ensure Set Top Boxes are made available to them at the determined price of Rs 799/-on the spot. MSOs have also been asked to ensure the consumer is not overcharged for the Set Top Boxes. MSOs have also been advised to advertise their complaint number so that nobody takes any undue advantage of the situation. 

The technical teams deployed by the Ministry in the field are constantly on the move to inspect the head ends of the MSOs in Delhi and Mumbai. It has been reported that analog signals have been switched off from all the head ends in Delhi and Mumbai while Kolkata has given mixed reports. 

Commexes turnover down 4.5% till October 15 in FY'13

The turnover of commodity bourses has declined 4.5 per cent to Rs 94.72 lakh crore till October 15 this fiscal due to sluggish investor participation in gold and silver futures, according to regulator FMC.

The exchanges had clocked a turnover of Rs 99.18 lakh crore in the year-ago period.

Except for bullion, there was substantial increase in the turnover of energy, metals and agricultural commodities during the period under the review, the Forward Markets Commission (FMC) said on its website. 

The business from energy items like crude oil rose by 42 per cent to Rs 20.79 lakh crore during the April-October 15 period of the 2012-13 fiscal, against Rs 14.61 lakh crore in the same period corresponding year.

While turnover from metals like copper increased 23 per cent to Rs 17.29 lakh crore from Rs 14.10 lakh crore, the business from farm items rose by 28 per cent to Rs 12.88 lakh crore from Rs 10.09 lakh crore in the period under the review, according to the FMC data.

However, turnover from bullion fell 28 per cent to Rs 43.75 lakh crore during the period, from Rs 60.36 lakh crore a year ago.

On falling business volumes, FMC Chairman Ramesh Abhishek had recently said that the regulator was "more concerned about quality of turnover not on quantity".

At present, the country has five national and 16 regional level commodity exchanges in the country. Recently, the FMC gave approval to the Universal Commodity Exchange to operate as a national bourse.

India's import of vegetable oils up by 18%

As per the latest data released by the Solvent Extractors’ Association of India (SEA), import of vegetable oils (edible & non-edible) during first eleven months of current oil year indicates 17.80% increase in import. Import during September 2012 is reported at 993,912 tonnes compared to 912,341 tonnes in September 2011, consisting of 976,417 tonnes of edible oils and 17,495 tonnes of non-edible oils i.e. up by 8.94%. The overall import of vegetable oils during November 2011 to September 2012 is reported at 9,156,457 tonnes compared to 7,773,184 tonnes i.e. up by 17.80%.

Surged in Import of Sunflower Oil:

During Nov., 2011 to Sept., 2012 import of sunflower oil is reported at 1,049,181 tonnes compared to 739,173 tonnes during the same period of last year. Sunflower oil is a major contributor in meeting demand for soft oil, as sunflower oil prices have been attractive compared to soybean oil. Currently the premium on sunflower oil over soybean oil is just US$ 11 per ton and also sunflower oil is preferred oil by housewives in India. Also, India has started importing canola oil and bought about 90,000 tonnes during last 8 months compared to 3,601 during same period of last year, mainly due to lesser local crushing of rapeseed due to disparity.

Stock Position at Port and in Pipelines:-

Current stock of edible oils as on 1st October, 2012 at various ports is estimated at 880,000 tonnes (CPO 510,000 tonnes, RBD Palmolein 110,000 tonnes, Degummed Soybean Oil 130,000 tonnes, Crude Sunflower Oil 115,000 tonnes and Canola Rape Oil 15,000 tonnes) and about 570,000 tonnes in pipelines. Total stock, both at port and in pipelines is decreased by 100,000 to 1,450,000 tonnes due to reduced local production and festival demand compared to last month.

Import of Non-edible oils during September 2012 is reported at 17,495 tonnes compared to 33,472 tonnes during the same period last year. The overall import of non-edible oil during Nov., 2011 to Sept., 2012 is reported at 193,104 tonnes compared to 279,524 tonnes during the same period of last year i.e. down by 31%.