It prided itself for being the land of orchards. This year, however, many in Karnikhera village in the border district of Ferozepur in Punjab did not go for kinnows or guavas but chose basmati
NEW DELHI: On a day when the commercial release of Bt Brinjal was recommended by the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee, the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) denied that Pusa Basmati 1121 rice (exported to the Middle East) was genetically modified as was reported in a section of the Iranian Press.
In a minor revolution in the agrarian history of the Kashmir Valley, the farmers in the region harvested the legendary Basmati rice for the first time this autumn. The aromatic indigeneous variety of rice recently introduced in the area, scientists claim is going to change the fortunes of Kashmiri farmers so far restricted to coarse rice varieties.
THIS is the variety of rice without which biryani, the royal gastronomical delight, would not feature so prominantly in the history pages on Mughal influence in India. Aromatic, long-grained, nonsticky are the words that describe it. It is the Basmati. India grows 1.6 million tonnes annually. Two-thirds is exported every year. India claims its traditional knowledge of the climate, the
Traders today heaved a sigh of relief with the Iranian Hygiene Ministry giving a clean chit to Indian basmati but Punjab and Haryana farmers, who have banked heavily on this variety by doubling the area under it, may suffer badly this season with the prices of the popular 1121 variety expected to come down steeply.
Iranian Media Questions Quality Of Imported Rice; Exporters Urge Govt To Take Steps
BASMATI exporters, who recently won a battle against the government over reduction of the minimum export price to $900/tonne from $1,100/tonne, are facing fresh trouble.
The government has lifted the ban on the export of basmati, which was imposed in April last year, with immediate effect. This would benefit about 36,000 farming families, mostly in Jammu district.
Qamar Ali Akhoon, Minister for Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution (CAPD), announced this in the Legislative Assembly here today.
A heavy dose of taxes has made the rice industry economically unviable in the state and were being forced to move out of other states where the tax structure was more rational.
- Aroma tied to non-South Asia variety but mystery lingers
Biryani made with Basmati rice
The fragrance of Basmati has its roots in an ancestral form of Japonica rice and not in Indica, a distinct group widely cultivated in South Asia, a new study of rice genes has suggested.
