Protests marked the 10th anniversary of the introduction of genetically modified (GM) Bt cotton in the country. Angry farmers urged parliamentarians to hold a special session to discuss the issue and ban the technology.

Charging a few seed companies, particularly Monsanto, with monopolising the seed industry and setting the agenda for the government, social activists urged policy-makers and farmers to reject the hype around Bt cotton and demanded a comprehensive review.

Diesel will be less taxing on your pockets as it will be cheaper by 50 paise per litre from April 1. But, get ready to pay more for cigarettes, beedies and other tobacco products.

Gold, noble metals, precious and semi-precious stones will cost less with the State government deciding to reverse the one per cent hike in VAT effected last year.

Committee fears more textile mills, importing nations may switch to polyester

India’s recent flipflop over a ban on cotton exports has created uncertainty in the market, according to countries that produce, trade and consume the item. The twin development could, in the long term, encourage more textile mills around the world, especially in importing countries, to switch to polyester where supplies are more stable, says the International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC)

The path drawn up by the government’s first-ever official agriculture survey in suggesting more private investment in farming is likely to find resonance in this year’s Budget.

Officials said apart from infrastructure and skill development, agriculture could be the next big focus area. In 2009-10, private sector investment in agriculture stood at Rs 1.09 lakh crore, constituting 82 per cent of the total investment in the farm sector.

New Delhi A report on ‘State of Indian Agriculture 2011-12’, tabled in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, has called for reforms to ensure that the sector grows in tandem with the overall GDP of the country. The report says that “achieving an 8-9% rate of growth in the overall GDP may not deliver much in terms of poverty reduction unless agricultural growth accelerates”.

Bathinda: The cotton price here witnessed a forward leap of about Rs 230 per quintal today as the Centre yesterday lifted the ban on its export.

New Delhi: Bowing to political pressure, the government on Monday opened the window for cotton exports for 10 days but decided against registering fresh consignments for shipments outside the count

Allows outbound shipment of only those consignments that have already been registered

Maintaining that ballooning cotton exports were used for stockpiling abroad, the commerce ministry today gave a partial relief to exporters by allowing outbound shipment of only those consignments that were already registered, and, only after revalidation of certificates.

Notification today; GoM will work out riders

Allies of the ruling United Progressive Alliance have again forced the Manmohan Singh government to take a step back, this time over the ban on cotton exports. The government has now announced that a new notification revoking the ban imposed on March 5 will be issued on Monday, in what is considered a victory for Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, who stoutly opposed the decision,