'India earned Rs 18,000 cr every year through Basmati exports'
New Delhi, July 16 : India has earned over Rs 18,000 in foreign exchange every year from export of Pusa basmati 1121 rice variety, developed by Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh said on Monday.
"The Pusa basmati 1121 variety of Basmati rice developed by ICAR has helped India earn more than Rs 18,000 crore in foreign exchange every year. During 2010-14, India earned Rs 62,800 crore in foreign exchange from exports, which rose to Rs 71,900 crore in 2014-18," Singh said at the 90th Foundation Day ceremony of the ICAR here, as per a release.
He also said the country was also moving forward in pulses production and with around 23 million tonnes of pulses production this year, it had reached close to self-sufficiency.
"Due to this, the import of pulses has gone down from 10 lakh tonnes in 2016-17 to 5.65 lakh tonnes in 2017-18, saving the country Rs 9,775 crore in foreign exchange," he said.
He also said foodgrain production has touched 275.68 million tonnes in 2017-18, which is 10.64 million tonnes more than 265.04 million tonnes recorded in 2013-14.
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Section of TN hotels declare holiday citing shortage of LPG cylinders
Chennai, Mar 11 (PTI): A section of hotels and restaurants operating in Chennai and parts of Tamil Nadu on Wednesday declared a holiday following the lack of commercial LPG supply to the establishments, employees said.
Early morning customers who had come for tea and coffee expressed disappointment over the closure of the hotels and expressed hope that the Centre would take up measures to ease the situation.
"Due to lack of LPG supply, March 11, 2026 has been declared a holiday," a notice displayed in a popular hotel in the city said on Wednesday.
"If this is the case for commercial LPG, then it may impact the domestic LPG supply also. Already, the booking period for domestic gas has been extended from the existing 21 days to 25 days. We do not know what we will do," a resident who had come for a coffee said, after the hotel in Thiyagaraya Nagar declared a holiday.
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On March 10, the hotel association had voiced concern over sustaining their businesses as the existing stock of commercial LPG "would be sufficient to run the outlet only for one or two days".
Most of the restaurants have also cut the number of food items offered to customers and opted to prepare foods that require minimal usage of the commercial LPG cylinders.
"We have prepared idli, sambhar and vada. We have removed dosa varieties. In the afternoon and dinner, the menu will be variety rices only, since dosa and fried rice items require a continuous supply of LPG," a hotel owner in the famous East Coast Road said.
Representatives of Tamil Nadu Hotels Associations, a body representing the hotels and restaurants in the state, called on Chief Minister M K Stalin on March 10 and apprised him about the situation.
Following his interaction with the representatives, Stalin said he had requested the Union government to ensure that the shortage of commercial LPG does not affect the public, commercial establishments or MSMEs.
