Mumbai, Jun 7 (PTI) India is expected to remain a major sugar producer globally and the industry is expected be a net exporter in 2015-16 marketing year, says a report.

“India will continue to be a major sugar producer in the world and is expected to be a sugar surplus country for the sixth consecutive Sugar Season (SS), (which runs from October- September).

“Indian Sugar Industry (ISI) is expected be a net exporter in 2015-16, and sugar imports, if any, will be negligible,” said the Care Ratings report.

The average sugar recovery rate for cane (planted in both tropical and sub-tropical regions) is also expected to improve during the year.

On the consumption side, the report pointed out that strong domestic demand from soft drink manufacturers, confectioneries, hotels, bakeries and ice-cream manufacturers will support higher levels of consumption.

“India’s relatively strong economic growth, stable political situation, rising incomes, a young population, and changing consumer consumption patterns are envisaged to be the key drivers encouraging higher sugar consumption,” it said.

However, the report said that sugar prices in the country are expected to remain weak due to surplus sugar stock in both domestic and global markets.

It said the government’s intervention will become necessary to revive the sugar industry, which has been reeling under the twin impacts of high sugarcane prices and low sales realisation on sugar leading to recurring losses by sugar mills and mounting cane arrears.

In order to boost the industry, Care said the government needs to take steps such as increasing ethanol blending, providing flexibility for use of sugarcane as feed-stocks for ethanol production, building buffer stocks, incentivising exports through higher subsidy, restructuring debt of sugar manufacturers and implementation of recommendation of the Rangarajan Committee for linking the prices of cane to actual realisation of sugar.

India produces around 300-350 million tonne sugarcane, 24-26 million tonne white sugar and 6-8 million tonne jaggery and khandsari annually.

Moreover, the sugar industry produces about 2,700 million litres of alcohol, 2,300 Mega Watt power and multiple allied products.

New Delhi, Jun 7 (PTI) Reserve Bank is all set to issue first set of licences for small and payment banks in the next two months, a move aimed at promoting financial inclusion.

The RBI had received 72 applications for small finance bank licences and 41 applications for payment bank licences.

The applicants include Department of Post, Tech Mahindra, Videocon Group and stock exchange NSE, besides big corporates like Ambanis and Birlas.

NRI businessman M A Yusuff Ali’s Lulu Group and microfinance company Ujjivan Financial Services Private are also in the fray among 113 applicants.

The objective of licensing small banks is to promote financial inclusion by offering saving vehicles and credit to small business units and other unorganised sector entities.

“I hope (we would) be able to announce a new set of bank licences, at least one set of bank licences by August-end. We are undertaking a review of all regulations governing markets to see where there is scope for further liberalisation once macroeconomic uncertainty diminishes,” RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan had said after the monetary policy review last week.

Small finance banks will primarily undertake basic banking activities of acceptance of deposits and lending to unserved and under-served sections including small business units, small and marginal farmers, micro and small industries and unorganised sector entities.

Payment banks would be allowed payment and remittance services through various channels. However, such lenders cannot issue credit cards or undertake lending activities.

Differentiated banking entails going beyond the current universal banking framework and to serve specific purposes.

The idea was first suggested by Nachiket Mor committee in January 2014.

The move to allow such differentiated banks came after the RBI had found just two entities — infra player IDFC and micro-lender Bandhan from among over two dozen applicants — eligible for setting up commercial banks.

The RBI issued this limited set of licences on April 1, 2014, after a decade. Both applicants are yet to begin their operations even after a year as they have time till October.

Commercial banks comprise 27 public sector banks, 20 private, 44 foreign, 4 local area banks and 56 Regional Rural Banks.

ianli, Jun 7 (PTI) China today held a mourning ceremony for the victims of its worst shipping disaster in 70 years after the death toll in the cruise ship that capsized in the mighty Yangtze river jumped to 431.

Only 14 people have been found alive, while another 11 people remain missing, according to the rescue headquarters in Jianli, central China’s Hubei Province.

The solemn ceremony was held in remembrance of those who died and were still missing after the 2,200-tonne Eastern Star cruise ship carrying 456 people on an 11-day trip capsized on June 1 in the Yangtze River in a storm.

Ship horns wailed as hundreds of people stood at the accident site and observed a three-minute silence after the ship was lifted with the help of the huge cranes.

Over 1,400 relatives of the deceased passengers joined the mourning for their dear ones at the event attended by China’s transport minister Yang Chuantang.

Rescue workers in white hooded surgical suits could be seen on board ship, while others in work gear, orange safety vests and military-style fatigues formed columns on the decks of massive crane vessels that raised the ill-fated ship.

According to Chinese tradition, the seventh day after one’s death is an occasion for the deceased’s relatives to mourn the passing of their loved one.

More than 3,400 soldiers, 1,700 paramilitary people together with 149 vessels, 59 machines and a helicopter had joined the rescue mission.

The body of the youngest victim of the tragedy, a three- year-old girl, was among the hundreds of bodies retrieved from the murky waters after disaster response teams stabilised the cruiser in an upright position on Friday.

Authorities have requested that river traffic and others along the river alert them if they noticed any floating bodies.

Authorities have attributed the overturning of the ship to sudden, severe winds, but have placed the captain and his first engineer under police custody pending investigation.

Jiang Zhao, legal representative of Chongqing Dongfang Shipping Company that owns the Eastern Star, on Friday apologised to all the victims and their families and promised to cooperate with any investigation.

The 76.5-meter vessel had been in service for nearly 20 years and can carry up to 534 people. It went through an annual maintenance in late 2014, and was qualified to cruise until April 25, 2016, according to Jiang.

In a sign of mourning, China’s state and other major TV channels have suspended some entertainment programmes.

The Eastern Star disaster became China’s worst since the sinking of the SS Kiangya off Shanghai in 1948, which is believed to have killed anywhere from 2,750 to nearly 4,000 people.

New Delhi, Jun 7 (PTI) In the wake of the Maggi row, RSS affiliate Swadeshi Jagran Manch today targeted MNCs, including those from China, charging them with doing “unethical” business in India and “disrespecting” its laws to make profit, and demanded stern action against them.

It also sought a thorough probe into all food products sold in India by Chinese companies.

The Manch said foreign multi-national corporations were “disrespecting the country’s laws and indulging in unethical practices with the sole objective of making profits” and demanded formulation of strict safety and quality standards for their food products.

It also accused Swiss multi-national Nestle, the makers of Maggi, of engaging in “inhumane” business practices and “playing with lives of people” after its instant noodles was found flouting food safety norms.

“Swadesh Jagran Manch demands that strict safety norms and standards be fixed for all foreign companies in the business of food products and drinks. We clearly feel that foreign companies are disrespecting the country’s standards and are indulging in unethical business practices,” Manch national co-convener Ashwani Mahajan told PTI.

He cited the example of Bhopal gas tragedy where owners and officials of the multi-national company responsible for the incident got away without being arrested.

“Running away from its responsibility after the Bhopal Gas tragedy, making a mockery of the law and leaving the victims at the mercy of God reflects the character of these MNCs.

“We congratulate the states which registered cases against the company (Nestle) and urge them that the guilty should not be allowed to go scot free this time,” he said.

The Manch, he said, wanted a thorough probe into the food products sold in India by Chinese companies which were aggressively marketing their wares.

Mahajan alleged that foreign MNCs were vying with each other to capture the nearly Rs 2.5 lakh crore Indian food and drinks market while “playing” with the health of the people.

New Delhi, Jun 7 (PTI) Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar today met Rahul Gandhi at his residence here as the talks on alliance to take on BJP in Bihar polls gained momentum.

Kumar had reached Delhi yesterday. RJD chief Lalu Prasad, who arrived here today, said he will be meeting leaders on the alliance issue.

JD(U) chief Sharad Yadav, who had on Thursday asserted that RJD, JD-U and Congress will fight the Bihar Assembly polls together, is already back in the national capital having rounds of negotiations with leaders of other parties in Bihar.

The top leaders of RJD and JD(U) are expected to hold back to back meetings in the national capital to thrash out differences soon.

The leaders are likely to hold a meeting at the residence of SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav as well to resolve the Bihar alliance issue.

The SP chief was chosen by the six splinter groups of the Janta Parivar, including these parties, to work out their grand merger plan to take on a resurgent BJP, which has made deep inroads into their vote banks in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and even Haryana.

The issue of merger of the six parties is for the time being slowed down with the focus shifting on first firming up the alliance for Bihar, the cradle of social engineering.

Amid speculation over the alliance, JD(U) President Sharad Yadav had on Thursday asserted that his party will fight the Assembly polls together with RJD and Congress to challenge BJP.

Just days before, there was a bitter war of words between leaders of JD(U) and RJD amid speculation that the RJD chief was not keen to project Nitish Kumar as the chief ministerial candidate of the alliance.

RJD Vice-President Raghubansh Prasad Singh, who had openly expressed his reservations against declaring Kumar as the chief minister candidate of the alliance outraging the JD(U), later appealed to Congress President Sonia Gandhi to hammer out a solution and give shape to the anti-BJP alliance in Bihar.

The leaders from the two parties are expected meet the Congress leadership here as well but time is yet to be finalised.

Under one of the seat-sharing formulae that is being discussed, both RJD and JD(U) could contest 100 seats each while 43 could be left for Congress, CPI-M, CPI and the NCP.

Bihar Assembly has 243 seats

Dhaka, Jun 7 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi today offered prayers at the famous 12th century Dhakeshwari national temple, the most revered place for Hindu community in Bangladesh.

The Prime Minister spent around 15 minutes at the temple, which is considered an essential part of Dhaka’s cultural heritage and one of the major ‘Shaktipeeths’ of the region.

The name “Dhakeshwari” means “Goddess of Dhaka” and experts said the Bangladesh capital derived its name from Dhakeshwari.

Since the destruction of Ramna Kali Mandir in 1971 by the Pakistan army during the Bangla Liberation War, the Dhakeshwari temple has assumed status as the most important Hindu place of worship in Bangladesh.

Members of the temple authorities felt Modi’s visit to Dhakeshwari signified a message of solidarity to the Hindu community.

Modi was felicitated by the priests and authorities of the temple. He was given a replica of Goddess Dhakeshwari and a shawl besides other memorabilia.

A number of people here said Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina visits the temple once every year.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj had visited the temple when she came here in June last year.

The Dhakeshwari temple was built in the 12th century by Ballal Sen, a King of Sena dynasty.

The temple, which is thronged by thousands of people daily, was closed for around one hour for common public in the morning due to Modi’s visit.

In 1996, Dhakeshwari temple was given the status of national temple following a major campaign by Hindu groups who had been demanding official recognition for the most revered Hindu place of worship.

Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasreen said Wednesday she had left her home in India for the United States after receiving death threats from Islamists behind the recent murders of atheist bloggers in her home country.

Ms. Nasreen, who fled to Europe in 1994 after protests against her work by Muslim extremists and who now lives in New Delhi, tweeted that she did not feel safe in the Indian capital.

“Was threatened by Islamists who killed atheist bloggers in B’desh. Worried,” she tweeted. “Will be back when feel safe.”

Ms. Nasreen, 52, said she had asked for a meeting with India’s Home Minister Rajnath Singh after receiving death threats but had received no response.

The move came weeks after masked attackers hacked secular blogger Ananta Bijoy Das to death in Bangladesh, the third such deadly attack by suspected Islamist since February.

Mr. Das had written a poem eulogizing Ms. Nasreen, who left the Muslim-majority country after she was accused of blasphemy over her novel Lajja (Shame), which depicts the persecution of a Hindu family.

Bangladesh is an officially secular country but more than 90 per cent of its 160 million population are Muslims.

The country has seen a rise in attacks by religious extremists in recent years.

Since 2013, at least five bloggers have been attacked by Islamist after a hardliner group, Hefazat-e-Islam, publicly sought the execution of atheists who organized mass protests against the rise of political Islam.

After leaving Bangladesh, Ms. Nasreen spent a decade in Europe and the United States before India granted her a temporary residential permit in 2004.

The gynecologist-turned-author holds Swedish citizenship, but she has long been seeking permanent residence in India, which she describes as her “cultural home”.

A women who was attacked by her brother in law and three friends relates her horrific story. Reshma’s sister was in the process of a divorce with her husband. One day Reshma was walking along the railway station with her sister.
Suddenly they saw her brother in law with his three friends with acid on their hands. Reshma’s sister shouted at her to run but before she could do that she was pushed to the ground by the three man and acid was poured all over her face. Reshma at that time was at a tender age of 17.

She received no medical help or compensation from the Government. An NGO by the name of “Make Love not Scars” gave her moral support and Reshma credits her mentor from the NGO called Ria. Reshma says she changed her life and taught her to be a fighter. She wanted to educated herself. She says she wants other victims like her to fight it out.

New Delhi, Jun 4 (PTI) When biologist Seema Bhatt picked up a “cute and innovative” frog shaped cane pot holder from Kenya, little did she know that it marked the start of a lifetime of collecting frog shaped mementoes.

“As I travelled both within and outside India, I found myself picking up a frog or two almost everywhere I went. It was the perfect souvenir, and added to what was to become ‘my frog collection’,” says Bhatt.

Over a span of 30 years the biologist, a Fullbright scholar who has worked with the WWF and USAID, says her collection now totals over 400.

Ranging from solid, stolid, metallic frogs to delicate, fragile ones made from glass and crystal and others made of ceramic and clay, stone and wood, Bhatt’s collection contains all possible renditions of the amphibian from over 30 countries.

Her initial liking towards frogs, says Bhatt, turned into a passion when she understood the animal’s significance in the ecosystem.

“Frogs contribute to the diversity of life and serve as indicators of biodiversity loss,” she says.

Bhatt says her resolve towards expanding her collection strengthened after a shopkeeper who sold her a frog memento in Costa Rica, told her that a percentage of the sale would go to the protection of the country’s forests.

While amphibians are among the most threatened group of animals, frogs in particular need very specific places to live and breed in both on land and water.