Gur Control Order back from Nov 1

To avert an impending sugar crisis, the Centre has decided to promulgate the Gur Control Order (GCO) under the Essential Commodities Act, imposing stock holding and turnover limits on traders. The move is aimed at arresting the massive cane diversion to gur and khandsari units, especially in Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The GCO will be effective from November 1, say sources. The GCO was last promulgated in mid-1994, when the country was reeling under a sugar crisis due to a shortfall in domestic production.

Grain subsidy phase-out taking off

The Centre’s plans to phase out the subsidy on foodgrains supplied to the ‘non-poor’ through PDS network has finally made some headway, with a few States actually lifting additional grains from FCI at its “economic cost”. The States that have blazed the trail include Tamil Nadu and a few North-Eastern ones. Tamil Nadu has lifted over 40,000 tonnes of wheat in the last two months at Rs. 8.70 a Kg, which covers the FCI’s entire economic cost of procuring, handling and transporting the grain to the State.

India may attract funds by default

The currency and stock markets crash in Hong Kong and South-East Asian countries is unlikely to spread to India. On the other hand, it is likely to attract funds to India from foreign institutional investors by default, fund managers say. With the falling values in stock markets and depreciating currencies in South-East Asia, the weightage given to countries such as the Philippines, Indonesia and Thailand might fall. The relatively stable currency in India may find the weightage increasing, without exhibiting any positive aspect on the growth front, a fund manager said.

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