The Financial Express – Online

To contain soaring domestic wheat prices that may accentuate inflationary pressures, the Centre is likely to scrap the 40% import duty on wheat soon. “There is a need to give a signal to traders that domestic prices of wheat need to be cut,” a senior government official told FE, confirming the plan to scrap the tariff. However, a duty cut may not be very effective in the current context to cool local prices as domestic prices are much cheaper than the current global prices. “Domestic prices are around Rs 23-24/kg, the landed cost of imported wheat currently is around Rs 33-34 a kg,” another official said. Although globally there hasn’t been much surplus wheat ...

News Click – Online

The farmers’ wait to double their income continues even after eight years of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s promise. But by ensuring their grains, private insurance companies have doubled their profit compared to government firms in the last five years under the Crop Insurance Scheme. As many as 10 firms, out of 13 private insurance companies empanelled under the National Democratic Alliance’s (NDA) flagship Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY), have earned Rs 24,350 crore between 2016-17 to 2020-21 with their lucrative business models. Meanwhile, two government-owned firms, out of five, made a loss of Rs 3,344 crore in the same duration, reveals Agriculture Department data presented in the Parliament. The stark difference between the profit-making ...