Under organic farming so far
NEW DELHI: Calling upon farmers to practice organic farming instead of chemicalsbased farming, Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh said that the government has initiated several schemes to promote organic farming in the country.
“The organic farming has become a national and global requirement for providing nutritious food to people as well as to maintain sustainable production and soil health. It's the result of government's proactive moves to promote organic farming that about 22.5 lakh hectares have been brought under such cultivation so far,” the minister said while addressing the representatives of 110 countries and 2,000 Indian delegates at Organic World Congress 2017 on Thursday.
Raising the concern that excessive use of chemicalsbased fertilisers, insecticides and pesticides is affecting soil health and environment as well as human beings, the minister said, “Food security is not an issue anymore in the country, but we still have the challenge of providing healthy and nutritious food to the growing population.”
Singh noted that India is one of the oldest organic agricultural nations of the world and a large part of the country still practices traditional organic farming. Singh highlighted that currently 22.5 lakh hectares have been brought under organic farming and 3,60,400 farmers have benefited under the Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana.
“The government aims to bring 50,000-hectare area under organic farming in the northeast region and 45,863 hectares have been brought so far under such farming. In Uttar Pradesh, Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana was launched in 2015-16 and so far 28,750 farmers have benefited from 28,750 acres of land,” the minister said, who launched the mega organic show in the presence of Sikkim Chief Minister Pawan Kumar Chamling and Uttar Pradesh agriculture minister Surya Pratap Shahi.
“The government acknowledges that indiscriminate and excessive use of chemicals during last several decades has posed a question- “how long can we continue to do farming like this?,” Singh asked. He also informed that the government is allocating Rs 5 lakh per district to set up sales outlets for the marketing of organic products. MUMBAI: The Reserve Bank will soon launch an awareness campaign -- Suno RBI Kya Kehta Hai -- through SMSES to warn the public against falling prey to unsolicited and fictitious offers from fraudsters.
The drive comes amid rising instances of fraudsters trying to dupe gullible customers by promising them lucrative financial gains and prize money through e-mails and SMSES, and even through phone calls.
"The Reserve Bank of India India's central bank - will soon launch a public awareness campaign through SMSES to educate members of the public about various banking regulations and facilities available to them," the RBI said.
To begin with, the central bank will send messages cautioning people against falling victim to such unsolicited and fictitious offers. The cautionary messages will be sent from 'RBISAY' sender ID.
In the past also, the central bank has been alerting the public against such offers through press releases issued from time to time.
"This is the first time it will use the same media (SMS and e-mails) as those used by fraudsters," the RBI statement said.
People can also give a missed call to 8691960000 to get more information through Interactive Voice Response System (IVRS) on fake calls or e-mails as "well as investing wisely and cautiously in chit funds", it added. MUMBAI: Homegrown auto major Tata Motors on Thursday reported a threefold jump in consolidated profit at Rs 2,502 crore in the quarter to September from Rs 848 crore in same quarter last fiscal.
Consolidated revenue grew 10.34 per cent to Rs 70,156 crore as against Rs 63,577 crore a year ago, Tata Motors said in a release.
The sales (including exports) of commercial and passenger vehicles stood at 1,52,979 units, a growth of 13.8 per cent.
Medium and heavy commercial vehicle segment grew by 28 per cent, while ILCV surged 35 per cent and small commercial vehicle volumes rose 38 per cent, the company said. Passenger vehicles grew 14.4 per cent over the same period last fiscal.
"After a challenging first quarter, Tata Motors has demonstrated impressive results with month-on-month growth in sales and market share, enabled by a slew of new product launches and customer centric initiatives." Guenter Butschek, MD & CEO, said.