FCI offloading wheat and rice to private buyers under OMSS in Karnataka
Bengaluru (PTI): The regional office of the Food Corporation of India is offloading wheat and rice to private buyers under the Open Market Sale Scheme (OMSS-Domestic) via e-auction on every Wednesday to keep the retail price under check, Bhupendra Singh Bhati, General Manager at the FCI's Karnataka office here said on Wednesday.
According to Bhati, the reserve price of wheat has been fixed at Rs 2,150 per quintal for Fair and Average Quality (FAQ) and Rs 2,125 per quintal for the Under Relaxed Specifications (URS) variety across the country up to December 31.
The reserve price of rice has been fixed at Rs 3,100 per quintal (Rs 73 per quintal shall be added to the reserve price for fortified rice) for private parties across the country up to October 31.
During the e-auctions conducted on June 28, July 5 and July 12, a quantity of 13,470 MT, 13,600 MT and 14,570 MT of wheat was offered and a quantity of 3,260 MT, 3,930 MT and 5,830 MT was sold respectively, Bhati said.
He said as on July 1, the stock position in respect of rice in Karnataka was 6.49 LMT and regarding wheat, it was 0.63 LMT.
The all-India stock position of rice is 253.49 LMT and that of wheat is 301.45 LMT.
No damaged foodgrain stock accrued in the Karnataka region in the last one year, Bhati said.
"For the last one year, a quantity of 1.69 LMT of fortified rice has been issued from the depots under the divisional offices of FCI, Karnataka under various welfare schemes.
"For the last one year, a quantity of 22,24,404 MTs of non-fortified rice has been issued under various government schemes and also for ethanol production," the FCI general manager said.
For 2022-23, a total of 43.85 LMT of foodgrains has been moved into Karnataka, whereas during 2023-24, a total of 6.03 LMT of foodgrains has been moved into the state till June 2023.
Further, a total of 0.05 LMT of foodgrain stocks were moved to the Lakshadweep islands from the Mangalore port by ocean vessels for the PDS beneficiaries during the FY 2022-23, Bhati explained.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
===================
The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
