Thanks to pesticide usage falling with Bt cotton, another pest is assuming menacing proportions.

With the domestic dairy sector slated to cross Rs 500,000 crore in revenues by 2011, milk seems to have found favour with FMCG majors.

Barely a month after the West Bengal government had announced to have restrained the bird flu virus, fresh cases of the disease have been detected in the Murshidabad district of the state.

Paper manufacturers have not changed the prices of their products despite the excise duty on paper being cut by 4 per cent in the Budget this year.

Teams of engineers are working 24x7 to prevent further breakdown of transmission lines of the northern grid though such breakdowns cannot be ruled out completely, say transmission officials.

A deadly new and virulent fungus capable of affecting wheat crop has been detected in Iran, a major cereal growing area in West Asia. The fungus was previously found in East Africa and Yemen and has now moved to Iran, according to Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). The fungus is capable of destroying entire fields of wheat crop. The report could further push up global wheat prices by at least 10-15 per cent. In the spot retail market, wheat prices have surged by 40 per cent in last one year on global shortage. Countries such as Afghanistan, India, Pakistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, all major wheat producers, are most threatened by the fungus and should be on high alert as the fungus can travel to these areas thus affecting the entire output, FAO said. It is estimated that as much as 80 per cent of all wheat varieties planted in Asia and Africa are susceptible to the wheat stem rust (Puccinia graminis). The spores of wheat rust are mostly carried by wind over long distances and across continents. "The detection of the fungus in Iran is very worrisome,' said Shivaji Pandey, director of FAO's plant production and protection division. According to the Iran government, the fungus has been detected in some localities in Broujerd and Hamedan in western Iran. Laboratory tests have confirmed the presence of the fungus. The fungus first emerged in Uganda in 1999 and is therefore called Ug99. The wind-borne transboundary pest subsequently spread to Kenya and Ethiopia. In 2007, an FAO mission confirmed for the first time that Ug99 has affected wheat fields in Yemen. The Ug99 strain found in Yemen was more virulent than the one found in East Africa. Ethiopia and Kenya had serious wheat rust epidemics in 2007 with considerable yield losses. Global wheat production is estimated at 603 million tonnes in 2007, up 1.2 per cent from 2006. In Asia, the output is estimated to rise by 1.7 per cent to 928 million tonnes in 2007 compared with 912.6 million tonnes last year. Global wheat prices have strengthened since December. Tight export supplies amid strong demand continued to provide support to cereal markets. International grain prices benefited from the weak US dollar, which increases the demand for the US wheat, and a sharp decline in freight rates, which helped accelerating purchasing activities by several countries in recent weeks. Export restrictions by China and the Russian Federation coupled with the closure of the export registry in Argentina also provided support.

Despite a dearth of power in the north, small and medium entrepreneurs are not keen to profit from the energy efficiency project introduced by the State Bank of India (SBI). The energy efficiency project for energy-intensive SMEs was rolled out by SBI in the second half of 2005 in the Chandigarh circle (Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Union Territory of Chandigarh). So far, the preliminary/walk-through energy audit of 83 units has been conducted and the detailed energy audit of 10 units has been done in the past two years. It is surprising that while Punjab alone has more than 200,000 small and medium industries and has clusters of iron foundries and forging units (which make intensive use of energy), only 83 units came forward and only10 out of those implemented energy conservation measures. According to sources in SBI, 50 per cent of the cost of energy audit or Rs 50,000 per unit,whichever is less, is to be borne by the bank and remaining by the unit. There is a funding incentive also where fresh term loan up to 90 per cent of the cost of equipment (Rs 2 lakh to Rs 1 crore) for the energy conservation can be obtained at a concessional rate. The study of the SME sector in the north reveals that most of the entrepreneurs are averse to growing bigger as it would invite tax implications. For instance, if the turnover grows beyond Rs 1.5 crore, they come under the ambit of excise. "It is not the fair charges but the hidden costs, the rampant corruption in Punjab, that undermines the spirits of entrepreneurs to increase the value and volume of business', said one of the small entrepreneur. But those who undertook this project were able to cut the cost of energy consumption by 10 per cent to 20 per cent. An official of Venus Cotsyn India Limited told that they implemented all the suggestion offered by the consultants for the efficiency of steam supply, air supply and electric power and the results were fruitful. Similarly, Ludhiana-based Eastman Forging and Casting was also able to save substantially on account of energy efficiency project. A senior official at the Local Head Office of SBI Chandigarh said that despite the minimum saving of energy consumption cost of 10 per cent to 15 per cent that can go up to 25 per cent 30 per cent in specific cases, the response of industry has been lukewarm.

CITIES The suburb is creaking under the weight of its own growth A 16-and-a-half-hour power switch-off! That's what the power supplier to Gurgaon

LIFESTYLE: It will house around 50 yachts and will be the world's only marina with a golf course. Ever wondered where Vijay Mallya, the proud owner of three luxury yachts, docks his boats? Not in India, for sure, as India does not yet have a marina for private yachts. But he may soon reconsider. The foundation stone for the country's first full-fledged marina, to house around 50 yachts, was laid at Bolgatty Island in Kochi on March 1 by Kerala Chief Minister VS Achuthanandan. It will also be the world's only marina with a golf course. Next in line seems to be the Mumbai-Goa coastline, which is 7,500 km long. Indian millionaires are fast buying luxury yachts. Sujay Chouhan, co-organiser of the recent Mumbai Boat Show says, "The market for boats and luxury yachts is just about taking off in India, and besides Kochi, we also expect Mumbai-Goa coastlines to get a marina each from the government soon.' The marina in Kochi would be spread over five acres and is expected to give a huge boost to tourism in the state because it will be a stopover for all yachts that sail from West Asia to the Far East and vice versa. The eco-friendly marina, between Kochi Marine Drive and Bolgatty Island, will accommodate close to 50 luxury yachts, and provide docking, storage, maintenance and other facilities for boats. The Kerala Tourism Development Corporation (KTDC) plans to develop the marina in two stages, with the first phase to be completed in less than 18 months at a cost Rs 8 crore, of which the central government has sanctioned Rs 4 crore. KTDC has appointed Kerala Industrial and Technical Consultancy Organisation (KITCO) as the consultant for the project. Gulu Lalvani, founder and chairman of Binatone Telecom Group, believes that the Indian coastline could soon have a world-class luxury marina, complete with villas overlooking the bay, luxury condos that would have their own yacht moorings, that too right in Mumbai. Lalvani, who is the developer of Royal Phuket Marina in Thailand, has ambitious plans for India. "At around $250 million investment, I can re-create Royal Phuket Marina's Aquaminium concept, which are condominiums featuring private boat-berths within the residence itself. The property comprises three buildings and offers investors varying unit types including triplex and duplex penthouses, and two and three bedroom condominiums, and offers one of the world's most unique investment opportunities.' He is obviously looking to woo the likes of Vijay Mallya and Gautam Singhania. "Yachting can bring high spending individuals to Indian coasts and port areas,' he enthuses. According to Lalvani, it could take up to three years to develop a new marina, as regulatory approvals from environmentalists, developers and government bodies have to be obtained before developing a marina. "We expect eight projects to develop marinas along the Indian coasts, which will serve as a very integral part of the infrastructure for cities along a coast. A marina can allow more ferry services for increasing water transport. Indians can be exposed to a new lifestyle,' Chouhan notes. With almost 200 boats and about 50 yachts owned by people in Mumbai and Goa, a marina seems to be a timely construction.

We are into a period of global food shortage and rise in food prices which were not anticipated even a few years ago. A steeply rising food import bill in the medium term could well be on the cards. This is likely to put a severe strain on the Indian government's efforts to reduce poverty and more equitably distribute the economic gains of the last four years. But this challenge can be turned into an opportunity and gives the country's policy makers a chance to address and partially solve the related problems of low agricultural growth and stubborn poverty in rural areas. The challenge and opportunity are both contained in a comparison with China. Though India has 1.47 times more arable land than China, the latter uses its land much better. Its cereal yield is 2.18 times India's. If Indian farm productivity and incomes can be dramatically raised, both global poverty and food shortage will be partially mitigated. To meet the challenge, absolutely the first task is to improve water management