Energy Minister Angus Taylor has dismissed concerns over whether the advisory panel who recommended a gas-fired economic recovery from the pandemic will personally benefit from the plan.…
Farm Bills impact: Punjab, Haryana cut market fee for basmati and cotton
Days after the Centre passed three farm Bills in Parliament, enraging some farmer organisations, major grain producing states reacted to the changed scenario.
On Tuesday, Punjab lowered the market fee and rural development fee for basmati traders and millers from 2 per cent to 1 per cent to provide a level playing field in comparison to neighbouring Haryana.
“Chief Minister (Capt Amarinder Singh) announces reduction in market and rural development fee for Basmati. Move to provide level playing field for Punjab Basmati Traders and millers with other states in light of farm Bills,” the Punjab CM’s office tweeted. Punjab also allowed the premises of rice millers to be considered mandi yards along with host of other changes to the custom milling policy, which it said was meant to ensure seamless procurement of paddy that will start in the next few weeks.
Though basmati is not among the crops that are procured under the minimum support price (MSP) system, basmati exporters were reported to be on the warpath demanding lower taxes to remain competitive with their counterparts in Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.
ALSO READ: Nitish hails new farm
Blue Dart to hike average shipment price by over 9% from January 1
Logistics services provider Blue Dart on Tuesday announced a 9.6 per cent hike in its average shipment price from January next year to offset higher costs.
The price increase, however, will not be applicable to customers signing up with the company between October 1 and December 31, 2020, Blue Dart Express said in a release.
The upward revision in prices is part of the annual exercise undertaken to adjust inflation, fluctuation in currency and fuel price, among others, it said.
As per the General Price Increase (GPI), effective January 1, 2021, the average shipment price increase will be 9.6 per cent as compared to 2020, depending on the shipping profile, Blue Dart said.
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France To Double Paternity Leave To Almost A Month
France is to double paternity leave to 28 days, President Emmanuel Macron’s office announced Tuesday, a move bringing the country in line with progressive legislation elsewhere in Europe.
The current allocation of 14 days for fathers dates back to 2002 and at the time was much longer than in other European nations.
But much more generous leave systems have since been set up, with Nordic countries and also some southern states leading the way.
“This reform will allow France to move from a mid-ranking position in Europe to the group of leading countries, along with Spain, Sweden, Norway and Portugal,” an Elysee official said.
“Time is an essential factor in establishing an important link between the child and the parents. Currently, this 14-day period is too short,” the official added.
The official acknowledged that for Macron it is an “extremely consensual reform” since “80 percent of the population is in favour”.
Macron was due to give more details on Wednesday during a visit to a Mother and Child Health Protection Centre (PMI) in Longjumeau, a suburb south of Paris.
A commission Macron set up last November on the importance of a child’s first 1,000 days, led by the prominent French
Significant WA heritage sites 'at risk'
Traditional owners in Western Australia’s Pilbara region say they were rushed into signing a complex deal allowing Rio Tinto to mine on their land.…
MSP hike for six rabi crops inadequate: Shiromani Akali Dal chief
Shiromani Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal on Monday rejected the Centre’s hike of Rs 50 per quintal in the minimum support price of wheat by the Centre.
Badal described the hike as “utterly inadequate”, saying this came as a “huge disappointment” to the farmers who are already battling “unremunerative prices” of their produce.
For other crops, the minimum support prices announced by the Centre is “meaningless” in the absence of assured procurement of those crops, the SAD chief said in a statement.
He said the increase in MSPs would not even cover the increased costs of inputs, including diesel.
The Centre on Monday hiked the MSP for buying six rabi crops, including wheat, by up to six per cent.
The MSP of wheat has been hiked by Rs 50 to Rs 1,975 per quintal. The MSPs of lentil (masoor), gram, barley, safflower and mustard/rapeseed have also been increased.
(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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