100 % FSQ for small growers

The government tonight announced that small growers of coffee owning less than 10 hectares would be allowed to market their entire produce under the free sale quota (FSQ) system. Up to 98 per cent of all registered growers would be covered by this liberalisation, the Commerce Minister, Mr. P. Chidambaram, said in a statement. The remaining growers would be allowed an FSQ of 70 per cent. They will have to pool the remaining 30 per cent with the Coffee Board in the larger interest of the industry. Such pooling was expected to yield about 20,000 tonnes of coffee per year, the statement said.

Maruti planning berth at Kandla

Maruti Udyog Ltd is planning to set up or acquire a dedicated berth at the Kandla port in order to facilitate export of the automakers cars and to significantly reduce the long-cooling period for the vessels waiting in the sea to carry the vehicles. Top Surface Transport Ministry officials told Business Line that the passenger car leader had approached them to carry out a feasibility study on the best available options for an unfettered and uninterrupted access to a berth at Kandla. The study would also suggest how best Maruti could recover its investment in a dedicated port.

Cogentrix — basic issues yet to be resolved

The Ministry of Power has asked Cogentrix to consider the option of an indigenous fuel linkage while tying up the fuel supply arrangements for its 1.000 MW coal-based power project at Mangalore in Karnataka. The fuel linkage issue came up for discussion at a meeting convened by the Ministry in New Delhi on Wednesday last to take stock of the progress made towards implementation of the project under the private power development policy.

Related Topics