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Former chief minister Jagadish Shettaralleged that the previous state government led by Siddaramaiah passed a resolution in a Cabinet meeting in March to allow big textile companies to supply school uniforms to schoolchildren studying from class 1 to 8, and snatched the rights of school development and monitoring committees (SDMCs) to procure school uniforms of their choice.
Shettar told reporters here on Saturday that SDMCs, comprising of the school headmaster and parents whose children are studying in the said school, were procuring school uniforms. “They were procuring the uniform at nearby shops. They were selecting the colour of their choice. After procuring them, they would entrust local tailors, many of them women, with stitching the uniform after taking proper measurement of children. The cost of each uniform was Rs 200. This practice was smooth. However, the Siddaramaiah government bowed down to the lobby of big textile companies from various parts of the country and allowed them to supply uniform,” he alleged.
Shettar said the state government earmarked Rs 96.31 crore for the procurement of uniform. “In order to dissuade small companies from participating in the bidding and snatch the rights of SDMCs, the government has imposed many conditions, including turnover of not less than Rs 23 crore for supplying uniform in Bengaluru division, Rs 14.36 crore for Mysuru division, Rs 32 crore for Belagavi division and Rs 26 crore for Kalaburagi division,” said Shettar.
The former CM said he will urge chief minister H D Kumaraswamy to set aside the order and allow SDMCs to procure uniforms and thereby help local tailors. “Otherwise, it will be clear that the chief minister is also the part of the irregularities,” he said.
On crop insurance
Shettar termed the way crop insurance units are formed in Hubballi under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana as unscientific. He said that 22 villages have been included under Hubballi ULB Insurance Unit. “When some villages of the unit get less and some get sufficient rain, there will be confusion in deciding crop insurance. Hence, I urge the re-modification of the unit and include the 22 villages in three separate units,” he said.
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Chakri Bai of Arjunnayak hamlet near Zaheerabad in Telangana cannot help teasing the assembled crowd which has travelled 120 kilometres from Hyderabad. “You people are not able to withstand this mild sun even for a while, you have already become shrivelled. But barring a two-hour break during the day, we women farmers are in the field from dawn to dusk. We can withstand it because of the food we eat. You people are like broiler chicken, we are like country chicken,” said Bai.
Saturday was a special day for Bai and 250 farmers like her. She was part of a signing ceremony between farmers and consumers where cultivators pledged to give customers a basket of produce every year for a certain amount of money. This is the first time in India that a group of urban consumers have decided to look beyond organised markets for organic food and decided to partner in the production process with farmers. The financial support from the 100-odd customers will also reduce the dependency of farmers on money lending agencies and state sops.
Two packages are on offer: Rs 25,000 and and Rs 12,500. As part of the plan, six varieties of grains, four varieties of pulses, two kinds of oilseeds and jaggery are provided at periodic intervals. For instance, the Rs 25,000 package includes 24 kilograms of flour made from jowar/bajra, 30 kilograms of ragi rava, 40 kilograms of tur dal, 40 kilograms of green moong dal, 25 kilograms of urad dal, 8 kilograms of jaggery and much much more. Under the Rs 12,500 package, you get half the produce.
“What I am conveying by part of this bond is that I am with my farmer,” said Telugu TV host Jhansi Rani. “And I am not looking at it as a capital investor from which I want returns. The idea is not to approach this with a consumer mindset but that of a supporter who also desires a change in lifestyle.”
In fact, that is the hidden agenda. At a time when fitness challenges are taking the virtual world by storm, the idea is to make India healthy. That Indians should cut down on consumption of rice and wheat and shift to more healthy grain options, which are also not input resource intensive, in terms of water and fertilisers. So, this pact is not just about putting money in the pockets of farmers, but also about making a promise to lead a more healthy lifestyle by changing breakfast, lunch and dinner options.
“Frankly, farmers could have done with just one or two varieties of grain or pulses, and pledged to provide that to the consumer. But then the idea is to transfer our biodiversity of agriculture, the multiplicity of crops to the table as well and provide an escape route for the consumer who has been fed only cheap rice,” said PV Satheesh, director of the Deccan Development Society (DDS). The memorandum of understanding is the brainchild of the DDS.
What this pact means is that these select consumers have understood the soul of agriculture, and they are understanding the process instead of merely receiving the product. And over a period of time, it will hopefully lead to personality changes, understanding of issues, empathy for farmers and respect for land and crops.
“It is an effort to move from feeling good about buying organic foods to feeling better that you have supported that as a lifestyle. This was long overdue,” said Vinod Pavarala, professor of communication at Hyderabad University. “This will also lead to an alternative socio-economic model of agriculture, with consumers picking up a greater stake in it through this expression of solidarity.”
The overhead is less, which means farmers will not get pushed into a debt trap. The seeds they use are indigenous, passed down through generations, with the women of the community deciding what works best in different conditions. In the past 30 years that DDS has been working with farmers, there has not been a single agrarian distress-related suicide in these parts.
The irony is that just a few kilometres away in neighbouring Medak and Warangal districts, several hundred farmers take the extreme step every year. When it comes to farmer suicides, Telangana figures in the top three states. The big difference is that farmers here, largely women who call themselves millet sisters, have not lost their spirit for agriculture. How different is this pact from the K Chandrasekhar Rao government’s decision to give Rs 8,000 per acre to the farmer every year to reduce his dependence on external lending agencies?
“Any rupee put into farmer’s pocket is important,” agreed Satheesh. “But the question is: Through this incentive, what kind of farming are you encouraging? What we are seeing now in most parts of India is toxic agriculture: Pushing poison into the soil with no respect for the earth. The support has to be more nuanced, you cannot put the millet and the cotton farmer on the same page.”
As Mallamma, her husband and daughter plough their field ahead of sowing, they hardly look skywards. The family is not unduly worried about the monsoon playing truant. Though farming in this part is largely rain-fed, they are confident their different 15 to 20 varieties of seeds can survive even in a stingy monsoon season. Other varieties will survive even if there is a downpour, providing them with an insurance cover of sorts. Confident they now have the consumers’ backing, they want to ensure this model of community-supported agriculture tastes success.
Small and medium weaving businesses are facing difficulty to continue their trade amid rising prices of raw materials and the decline in sales of their products, said some weaving business owners in Amarapura township in Mandalay Region.
The prices of raw materials such as silk yarn, has increased sharply compared to the cotton price, and that is why the silk weaving business has almost stopped, said Ko Thae Ko Ko, a businessman in Pangyi village tract in Amarapura.
“Silk thread price has increased up to about K160,000 (US$117.50) per pack, and it was about K80,000 per pack three years ago. Cotton thread price has increased to about K47,000 per pack, and it was about K42,000 per pack before.
“Lowering the selling prices of finished products also affected the weaving businesses. There is no problem if businesspersons can store finished products in this difficult situation; however, there is problem for those who have to run their businesses with the money they earn from selling the finished products,” said Ko Thae Ko Ko.
Small and medium weaving business people said although the prices of raw material have increased, they cannot raise the prices of finished products due to competition from products from other countries such as China and India.
“Weaving machines can produce about seven longyis. If there are 10 machines, nearly 70 longyis can be produced. The number of subsistence scale looms is increasing. Retail merchants cannot take in large amounts as there are plenty of products. We need to wait for them when they tell us to do so. But we have to pay wages for the workers. We are managing our work although the raw material prices are increasing. Now, we are nearly at a standstill in our industry,” said Ko Thae Ko Ko.
Trade has been declining badly for the past six months. Although the raw and finished material prices are unstable, wages are being paid depending on the designs of the textiles, said U Nyunt Wai, owner of a loom in Amarapura township.
“As the number of looms is enormous, some looms cannot resist the market forces. It is very sad as the skilled loom owners have shut down. According to my experience, the market sometimes drops, especially for hand-loomed silk. But it gradually becomes lucrative again. We are keeping our business going and expecting a good market,” said U Nyunt Wai, whose family has been in the weaving business for generations.
Although local looms produce garments that are better quality than Chinese-made garments, the prices cannot be raised too much. Local cotton fabrics weaved by machine cost around K5000 but Chinese-made ones cost only about K2000, said Ko Thae Ko Ko.
AHMEDABAD: With steady decline in arrivals of cotton amid strong domestic and export demand, cotton prices in the state have further firmed up to a six-year high. The price of Shankar-6 cotton variety jumped to Rs 48,500 per candy (a candy weighs about 356 kg) on Friday, which was ruling at Rs 44,000 per candy last month.
“The price of good quality Shankar-6 cotton has increased to Rs 48,500 per candy, which is the highest since 2011-12. Dwindling arrivals as the season nears end and strong domestic and overseas demand have pushed up the price of cotton in local market,” said Arun Dalal, a city-based cotton trader. In 2011-12, the price had touched Rs 54,000 per candy.
Increase in consumption of cotton by textile mills in the country and rise in exports have supported cotton prices this season. Cotton exports from India is likely to touch 70 lakh bales (one bale equals 170 kg) in 2017-18 with 62 lakh bales already been shipped. The exports were estimated to be around 60 lakh bales in 2016-17.
“If we talk about cotton consumption of textile mills in Gujarat, it has increased by 15 lakh bales this year and exports have also been encouraging. Mills are also operating on low stock keeping the demand buoyant,” said Dilip Patel, president, All Gujarat Cotton Ginners Association.
“The sentiment continues to remain bullish as China is expected to increase its cotton purchases next year. There is a strong likelihood that cotton exports next year (2018-19) may increase by 15-20%,” added Dalal. Anticipation of increased overseas demand, especially from China, amid low carry-over stock for the next year has kept cotton prices firm.
According to Cotton Association of India (CAI) cotton production in India is estimated to be 365 lakh bales and 108 lakh bales in Gujarat for 2017-18.
The textile units that have got Tiruppur the name of ‘Dollar city of Tamil Nadu’ are operating with a capacity of 80 lakh spindles every year. But the recent hike in cotton price has put producers in distress.
The unprecedented increase in cotton price has made knitwear production industries in Tiruppur to raise the price of their products to 10% from June 15. Earlier, the exporters’ association from Tiruppur declared the rate of export had dipped to Rs 24,000 crore last year, which was about Rs 26,000 crore in the previous year allegedly because of demonetisation and the Goods and Service Tax (GST).
Due to the export of textile-based products like knitwear, apparels and other fabric items, Tiruppur got the tag of ‘Dollar city of Tamil Nadu’. The textile units are operating with a capacity of 80 lakh spindles every year. But the recent hike in cotton price has put producers in distress.
V Ponnusamy, general secretary, South Indian knitwear manufacturers association, said, “As cotton price reached Rs 48,000 per candy (355kg) on Monday, we decided to increase our product’s price to 10%. Unless the Cotton Corporation tried to stock the cotton for domestic needs, the price would further increase. Already the mill owners had increased the price of yarn in terms of Rs 15 per kg.”
He said the annual requirement of cotton for Tiruppur and its adjacent districts is one and half crore bale (one bale is equal to 170kg).
Prabhu Damodaran, coordinator, Indian Texpreneurs Federation based in Coimbatore, said, “Last November, we paid Rs 38,500 per cotton candy (355kg). We purchased the same quantity for Rs 46,500 last week. As there is no adequate quantity of cotton available in Tamil Nadu, we are heading to Karnataka, Telangana, Maharashtra and Gujarat to purchase it. So, we have to spend Rs 1,500 per cotton candy for transportation. If we are achieving a turnover of Rs 100 crore, it means we are spending around 65% to 70% for raw materials.”
He further pointed out that the reason for the sudden rise is highly connected with the international market. “As China avoided purchasing cotton outside their nation, the cotton price in New York (in United States) has increased, which is reflecting in our market,” Prabhu added.
Tirupur: The Tirupur Exporters and Manufacturers Association (Teama) has called upon the Central government to ban the export of cotton and yarn as uncontrolled exports caused severe increases in the prices of cotton and yarn in the domestic market.
In a representation to Prime Minister, Mr. Narendra Modi, Teama president M P Muthu Rathinam said, “garment manufacturing industries in Tirupur are facing many problems in both domestic as well as export business. Yarn price hike is a major problem now. Some knitwear manufacturers are under pressure to close their units without bearing further losses.”
According to him, export of cotton and yarn in huge quantities creates shortage for these raw materials for the domestic textile industry. He said, “raw material exports should be permitted after fulfilling requirements for the domestic textile industry in the country. It will ensure adequate raw materials for local industries and control cotton and yarn prices.”
Gadwal: The Task Force police in Jogulamaba Gadwal district have cracked a whip on traders who have allegedly hoarded spurious seeds. The police on Friday seized 10 quintals of cotton seeds from a house.
Acting on a tip-off, the Task Force police raided the house of a trader in Dyagadoddi village under Dharur mandal and found 10 quintals of cotton seed stocked illegally in his house. The Task Force, comprising officials Agriculture Department, seized the illegal stocks and booked a case against Basi Reddy, the seed trader
There have been many instances of illegal cotton seed being stocked in the district. We have been continuously keeping an eye on those people and ensuring that the farmers are not duped by these fraudulent seed traders.
We are also creating awareness among the farmers not to approach the unregistered seed sellers for getting seeds getting attracted for low price. Farmers have been told to procure seeds only from registered sellers,” said Rema Rajeshwari, SP Gadwal.
Surat: Residents in the Diamond City run the risk of serious health problems from the high levels of particulate matter (PM) in the atmosphere thanks to industrial emissions and noxious fumes of vehicles, particularly in the last two years.
Gujarat Pollution Control Board’s (GPCB) annual PM10 data of 2017-18 shows that the particle pollution recorded from 10 locations in the city was much higher than national average.
The mean of particulate matter at two locations at Pandesara, which houses the textile mills, is 174 and 184 per micrograms per cubic meter of air (ug/m3) per annum as against the national average of 100 ug/m3.
Sachin, which houses over 50 textile mills, has the highest mean of 188 UG/M3 followed by Delhi Gate at 164 ug/m3, Garden Silk Mills at 184 ug/m3 etc. The PM10 levels in the Diamond City in 2015-16 was in the average of 90 ug/m3.
GPCB officials said apart from vehicular pollution, air pollution from textile mills was mainly responsible for higher particle pollution in the Diamond City.
Anil Patel, vigilance officer, GPCB, told TOI, “We have made emission monitoring system mandatory for all textile units. It is directly connected to GPCB. The moment the pollution exceeds the prescribed limit, we come to know. I have issued notices to 36 textile mills in the past six months for violating pollution norms. Textile mills causing air pollution must be moved out of residential zones to protect the health of the residents.”
Many residents living near the textile mills have breathing problems, asthma and lung-related diseases.
Paresh Ghaswala is a resident of Rustompura. Krishnaram Textile Mill is located in the area. He said, “My wife is suffering from severe asthma for the last 10 years. The doctor has advised us to change the house, but there are no buyers.”
In the walled city area of Varachha and Pandesara, the PM10 levels are exceedingly high at 184 ug/m3.
Particulate matter pollution is made up of tiny particles – the tiniest are about 30 times smaller than the width of hair – that come from vehicles, factories, biomass combustion and construction dust etc. They can penetrate deep into our lungs, and cause heart and lung diseases in us.
Air Quality Life Index (AQLI), created by Energy Policy Institute at University of Chicago, presents the effect of particulate matter on lifespans around the world, calculating how many life years could be saved if local governments meet the World Health Organization’s (WHO) and their own national standards for air pollution.
The AQLI is based on the results of a new study of pollution and life expectancy near Huai River in China, published last year in the proceedings of National Academy of Sciences. The study isolated the effect of air pollution on lifespans, revealing that an increase of 10 micrograms of PM10 (particulate matter that is 10 micrometers or less in diameter) per cubic meter of air (ug/m3) reduces life expectancy by 0.64 years.
Also, the WHO has set the standard of PM 2.5 at 10 ug/m3 and its implementation may help increase the lifespan in cities. However, Surat’s annual average PM 2.5 level at 50 ug/m3 is frightening.
Delhi has become the third state to double the threshold for electronic-way (e-way) bill for intra-state movement of goods to Rs 1 lakh of the cargo value.
After West Bengal and Tamil Nadu, Delhi has become the third state to double the threshold for electronic-way (e-way) bill for intra-state movement of goods to Rs 1 lakh of the cargo value. Experts said the move poses a threat to seamless implementation of a unified, pan-India GST.
States are legally allowed to amend these rules and also give item-wise exemptions from e-way bill requirements, subject to ceilings. However, tax practitioners said the move could create confusion among taxpayers and make compliance more complex for businesses having consumer bases in multiple states.
FMCG companies, white-goods manufacturers and auto companies will bear the brunt if more states follow suit and digress from the e-way bill norms approved by the GST Council. The tacit understanding at the council is that such digressions are best be avoided. Sources said Tamil Nadu and West Bengal have notified state-specific exemptions.
The E-way bill mechanism mandates that supplier or recipient of good worth over Rs 50,000 inform the GST Network about details of movement of such merchandise. The system would allow the government to detect under-reporting of sales in business-to-consumer transactions, and is estimated to shore up monthly GST revenue by as much as Rs 10,000 crore.
E-way bill rules came into effect on April 1 for inter-state movement of merchandise.
A rise in receipts of petroleum, engineering and pharmaceutical products boosted May’s export growth figures to a six-month high of 20.18 per cent, up from 5.71 per cent in April.
Even then the trade deficit widened to a four-month high of $14.62 billion, compared to the $13.7 billion deficit in April as imports rose by 14.85 per cent during the month, compared to the 4.60 per cent rise in April. This could pressurise the current account deficit in the first quarter of the current financial year after it stood at 1.9 per cent of GDP in the fourth quarter of 2017-18, compared to 2.1 per cent in the third quarter.
However, within exports, major labour-intensive sectors, such as gems and jewellery and ready-made garments, continued to see declines, which might affect jobs.
The export growth rate had peaked at over 30 per cent in November last year. Since then, the rate has fallen continuously until March. However, growth in outbound trade strengthened in May, with India exporting goods worth $28.86 billion.
After major refining units remained shut for over two months, India finally managed to take advantage of rising global crude oil prices in May when petroleum exports rose by over 104 per cent to $5.23 billion. It had declined by 4.48 per cent in April.
The same rising oil prices led to a much higher import bill of $43.48 billion in May. A major part of this was due to the $11.5 billion crude oil import bill, which jumped nearly 50 per cent, up from the 41 per cent rise in April.
The cost of overall oil imports is expected to grow in coming months. Experts predict that India’s oil bill will continue to rise in the current financial year as external pressures, such as the fallout of the Iran deal and a possible cut in production by oil producers, might heat up prices.
The aftershocks of the Rs 140-billion Nirav Modi scam continued to affect the gems and jewellery sector. Gold imports fell by a large margin. Imports reduced by 29.85 per cent in May to $3.48 billion although the rate of fall decreased from 33.05 per cent in the previous month. However, non-oil and non-gold imports, denoting domestic industrial demand, jumped 13.09 per cent. It had fallen by 0.14 per cent in the preceding month, after rising continuously in the few months before. It had risen by 12.2 per cent in March and 7.28 per cent in February. The rise in May might affect the index of industrial production, which rose 4.9 per cent in April
“The growth of non-oil non-gold merchandise imports rebounded to double-digits in May 2018, driven by inputs such as iron and steel, non ferrous metals, fertilizers, chemicals, coal, machinery and transport equipment.” Aditi Nayar, Principal Economist at ICRA said.
As a result of low inbound gold shipments, gems and jewellery exports contracted 6.47 per cent, which was lower than the 16.95 per cent fall in April. On Friday, Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Pabhu said the sector continued to suffer from unavailability of bank credit. He added the government was working towards resolving the situation.
Apparel exports dropped by 16.62 per cent in May. While the rate of contraction has slowed from 22.76 per cent in April, experts pointed out that the sector had seen a downturn since last October.
Engineering goods exports rose by 14.77 per cent in May to ship out merchandise worth $7.14 billion, down from the 17 per cent rise in April. Pharma exports rose by 25.67 per cent, building on the 13.56 per cent rise in the previous month.
“MSME sectors are still facing the liquidity crunch as banks and lending agencies have continuously been tightening their lending norms, as reflected in sharp reduction in exports credit, which does not augur well for their exports.” Ganesh Kumar Gupta, President of the Federation of Indian Exports Organization said. Of the 30 major product groups, 23 recorded growth in May, up from the 16 a month ago.
