With opposition mounting, the government has decided to lift the cotton export ban imposed last week.

NEW DELHI: The commerce ministry said on Friday it would allow cotton cleared by customs before March 4 to be exported, easing a controversial blanket ban the world's second largest producer had im

New Delhi A day after agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar said he was kept in the dark about the ban on cotton exports, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday directed a group of ministers to “urgently review” the controversial decision.

Singh’s directive, made public by a statement on his office website, came amid strong protests by leaders of key cotton-producing states cutting across political parties, including Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi, fearing an adverse impact of the ban on farmers’ earnings.

New Delhi A panel of ministers will on March 9 review the ban on cotton exports, textile secretary Kiran Dhingra said on Tuesday, after agriculture minister Sharad Pawar said he was kept in the dark about the decision and sought Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s intervention to lift the restriction.

A committee of top bureaucrats, comprising the secretaries of commerce, textile and agriculture, took a “unanimous view” to ban cotton exports in the year through September after meeting twice and taking a holistic view of domestic supplies in case the shipments aren’t curbed, Dhingra told in a news

Competition is tough in the seed market, which may explain why marketing gimmicks are often used to woo farmers.

Striking against rising global protectionism, India has dragged both Turkey and Egypt to the World Trade Organisation for imposing special import duties on Indian cotton yarn, lowering competitiven