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After almost a decade, India’s capital, which witnesses rarely any rain in the month of February, was hit by a heavy hailstorm accompanied by rains, lashing several parts of Delhi-NCR on Thursday. The maximum temperature in New Delhi and adjoining areas remained at 19 degrees celsius on Thursday, four notches below the season's average "This is happening after at least a decade that heavy hailstorm occurred at several areas in Delhi and adjoining areas. Areas like Noida, Faridabad, Ghaziabad, Gurugram, and Palam received the maximum amount of hail and rains on Thursday evening, while central Delhi was lashed by heavy rains," Mahesh Palawat, Director at private weather agency Skymet, told IANS. Here are some recent pictures from Delhi-NCR - <div type="Slideshow" msid="67895339" hostid="261" title="In pics: Chilling pictures of climate change in India’s national capital" firstImageMsid="67895340" slideCount="5"></div>

In pics: Chilling pictures of climate change in India’s national capital

New Delhi [India], April 25 (ANI): Constrained supplies of milk and wheat, coupled with a volatile international crude oil market with OPEC+ countries deciding to cut crude oil production from May 2023 are factors that may, going forward, influence the inflation outlook in India, Ministry of Finance's Monthly Economic Review report put out on Tuesday noted. Milk inflation in India has remained elevated for several months due to a growing supply-demand mismatch. Milk production has been impacted by a Lumpy Skin Disease (LSD) infecting millions of cattle in late 2022, its prices also rose because of high fodder and transportation costs. To meet the growing demand and considering the fact that the supply of milk in the ensuing summer season being a lean season may be less, the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying earlier this month said there were demands from several dairy cooperatives for the import of conserved dairy commodities - milk fat and powder. The ministry also added since the process of import takes time, the necessary back-end processes for need-based imports are being put in place to timely manage the situation in case of any eventuality. For wheat, there were reports from various key growing states that unseasonal rains have flattened standing crops in some regions. Wheat, a rabi crop was in an advanced maturing stage and was expected to hit mandis in a fortnight or so. "Although the second advance estimate has projected a record foodgrain production, the crop damage caused by unseasonal rains and hailstorms in some parts of the country since mid-March may constrain wheat production, besides perishable items such as fruits and vegetables," the Ministry of Finance's monthly report said. A survey conducted by Agri Watch, an Indian market information and analysis firm specialising in agricultural commodities, has estimated India's wheat production of 102.89 million tonnes in the 2022-23 crop season, reduced from 104.24 million tons (estimated in March 2023) due to unseasonal rains and hail storm faced by key wheat producing states towards the end of March. The estimates were based on the survey conducted in two phases across nine states- Bihar, Gujarat, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal. Notably, last year, too, the wheat crop was affected, not due to rains but heatwaves. That came on top of the conflict in Ukraine. Global <keyword id="3854307" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="wheat-prices" source="Orion">wheat prices</keyword> have shown substantial volatility in the past year as both the countries -- Ukraine and Russia -- are two major suppliers of wheat. Multiple rounds of heat waves in several wheat-growing regions in India before the rabi harvest last year affected crops. Wheat pods in the mature stage typically shrink if overexposed to heat. To manage the overall food security of the country as well as meet the needs of the neighbouring and other vulnerable countries amid the double whammy, India then amended the export policy of wheat by putting its export under the "prohibited" category, which is still in force. RBI has been engaged in necessary policy actions to counter inflationary pressures and support growth. The Reserve Bank of India, in its first monetary policy review meeting in 2023-24, decided to keep the key benchmark interest rate -- the repo rate -- unchanged at 6.5 per cent, to assess the effects of the policy rate tightening done so far on various macroeconomic parameters. Barring the recent pause, RBI has so far raised the repo rate, the rate at which it lends to banks, by 250 basis points cumulatively since May 2022 in the fight against inflation. In the US, the interest rate is currently at 4.75 to 5.00 per cent, which was near zero during the initial days of the pandemic. Raising interest rates is a monetary policy instrument that typically helps suppress demand in the economy, thereby helping the inflation rate decline and vice versa. The RBI sees retail inflation declining to 5.2 per cent in the full year of 2023-24, lower than the 5.5 per cent attained in 2021-22 -- which was mostly free of the impact of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. In India, headline consumer price index-based (CPI) inflation (or retail inflation) has gradually declined from its peak of 7.8 per cent in April 2022 to 5.7 per cent in March 2023. (ANI)

Constrained milk, wheat supplies amid volatile crude market raise inflation concern in India

New Delhi, Feb 11 () About 63.99 lakh hectares of farm land has been affected by floods in 15 states, while 7.91 lakh hectares of agriculture land has been hit by drought in two states so far in the ongoing 2019-20 crop year (July-June), union minister Narendra Singh Tomar said on Tuesday. "There have been extreme weather events in the recent past including extended dry period, flood, hailstorm, cyclonic rains and wind, etc. However, there was no significant reduction in the production of foodgrains during last three years," Agriculture Minister Tomar said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha. As per the report of Inter-Ministerial Central Teams (IMCTs) constituted by the central government, an estimated area of 63.99 lakh hectares was affected by floods in 15 states during 2019-20, he said. These states include Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and West Bengal, he added. Due to drought, the minister said about 7.91 lakh hectares of farm land hit in Rajasthan and Manipur in the current year. On crop loss caused by wild animals in Uttarakhand, Tomar -- in a separate reply -- said the quantum loss of crops destroyed by stray cattle and wild animals are managed by concerned state governments. The Uttarkhand government has paid Rs 59.90 lakh compensation to farmers till October 2019, he said. The minister also mentioned that the central government, however, has taken various steps to prevent and check damage to crops by wild animals. The Union Environment Ministry has approved a project for undertaking 'Immuno-contraceptive measures' for population management of wild animals. That part, assistance is provided for construction/erecting of physical barriers, such as barbed wire fence, solar powered electric fence, bio-fencing using cactus and boundary wall to prevent the entry of wild animals into crop field, he added. LUX MKJ

About 72 lakh hectares farm land hit due to floods, drought in ongoing crop year: Govt

New Delhi, Feb 19 () The government on Wednesday made its flagship crop insurance schemes voluntary for farmers with existing crop loans or those willing to take new ones, as it seeks to address the concerns raised by farmers' body and states in implementation of these programmes."The Union Cabinet has approved revamping of 'Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY)' and 'Restructured Weather Based Crop Insurance Scheme (RWBCIS)' to address the existing challenges in implementation of crop insurance schemes," an official statement said. Under the PMFBY, which was launched in February 2016 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, it is mandatory for loanee farmers to take insurance cover under this scheme. The PMFBY provides comprehensive crop insurance from pre-sowing to post-harvest period against non-preventable natural risks at extremely low premium rate of 2 per cent for kharif crops, 1.5 per cent for rabi crops and 5 per cent for horticulture and commercial crops.The Cabinet approved modification of certain parameters/provisions of ongoing PMFBY and RWBCIS schemes."Enrolment under the scheme to be made voluntary for all farmers (both PMFBY/ RWBCIS)," Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar told reporters here.He said currently 58 per cent of total farmers are loanee and the remaining 42 per cent are non-loanee. The number of farmers opting for these crop insurance schemes may drop immediately but the enrolment would eventually pick up, Tomar said.The minister said the government would launch a campaign for creating awareness among farmers about the need to take a crop insurance policy. These modifications will help in addressing the concerns raised about the PMFBY scheme by farmers organisations and states, he said.Among other modification, Tomar said the allocation of business to insurance firms through tender process would be done for three years as against the current policy of one to three years."Central share in premium subsidy to be increased to 90 per cent for north eastern states from the existing sharing pattern of 50:50 (Both PMFBY/RWBCIS)," the statement said.Tomar said States will not be allowed to implement these schemes in subsequent seasons in case of considerable delay in release of requisite premium subsidy to insurance companies beyond a prescribed time limit. Cut-off dates for invoking this provision for Kharif and Rabi seasons will be 31st March and 30th September of successive years, respectively. The Cabinet also approved provisioning of at least 3 per cent of the total allocation for the scheme to be made by the Centre and implementing state governments for administrative expenses. For estimation of crop losses/admissible claims in the PMFBY, two-step process will be adopted based on defined deviation matrix using specific triggers like weather indicators, satellite indicators, etc, for each area along with normal ranges and deviation ranges. Only areas with deviations will be subject to crop cutting experiments (CCEs) for assessment of yield loss.Technology solutions like Smart Sampling Technique (SST) and optimization of number of CCEs would be adopted in conducting CCEs. In case of non-provision of yield data beyond cut-off date by the States to implementing insurance firms, claims will be settled based on yield arrived through use of technology solution.The central subsidy under PMFBY/RWBCIS to be limited for premium rates up to 30 per cent for un-irrigated areas/crops and 25 per cent for irrigated areas/crops. Districts having 50 per cent or more irrigated area will be considered as irrigated area/district.States have been given flexibility to implement the schemes with option to select any or many of additional risk covers/features like prevented sowing, localised calamity, mid-season adversity, and post-harvest losses. Further, States/UT can offer specific single peril risk/insurance covers, like hailstorm etc, under PMFBY even with or without opting for base cover (Both PMFBY/RWBCIS). "As the scheme is being made voluntary for all farmers, therefore, to provide financial support and effective risk mitigation tools through crop insurance especially to 151 districts which are highly water stressed including 29 which are doubly stressed because of low income of farmers and drought, a separate, scheme in this regard would also be prepared," the statement said. The concerned provisions/parameters of scheme and operational guidelines of the PMFBY and RWBCIS would be modified to incorporate these modifications and made operational from Kharif 2020 season."With these changes, it is expected that farmers would be able to manage risk in agriculture production in a better way and will succeed in stabilizing the farm income. These changes will also enable quick and accurate yield estimation leading to faster claims settlement," the statement said. NKD MJH ANZ MR

Govt makes crop insurance schemes voluntary for farmers

India signs the biggest <keyword id="47374" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Wheat">wheat</keyword> import deal in over a decade, despite surplus stocks at home, with a deal with Indian flour millers and the local units of global trading giants to import 5,00,000 tonnes of premium Australian wheat since March, trade sources said. 
 

	Flour millers in the country's southern ports were the first to place the orders amidst concerns that untimely rains in February and March would cut wheat output, especially of high-protein varieties grown in central India.
 Attractive prices then prompted traders such as <keyword id="76102" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Cargill">Cargill</keyword> , Louis Dreyfus and Glencore to follow, said three sources directly involved in the deals. The traders and millers could import another 500,000 tonnes from France and <keyword id="6358826" type="COUNTRY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Russia">Russia</keyword>, where harvests are around the corner. The deals could further push up benchmark prices that have jumped recently on concerns about crop quality in the <keyword id="6356955" type="COUNTRY" weightage="80" keywordseo="united-states">United States</keyword>. 

	"There are strong chances French and Russian wheat will find their way to India because of attractive prices and surplus stocks there, and if the euro goes down, I expect more French wheat coming to India," said one source. 
 

	Almost half of the already-contracted quantity, bought at $255 to $275 per tonne, has reached India and the rest is scheduled for July delivery, according to sources.
 Although rains and hailstorms wilted the wheat crop, India, the world's second-biggest <keyword id="6356809" type="POSITION" weightage="20" keywordseo="producer">producer</keyword> of the grain, has large stockpiles accumulated after eight straight years of bumper harvests. 

	Industry and government officials estimate this year's wheat output at about 90 million tonnes, nearly 5 percent lower than the 2014 harvest, but still exceeding domestic demand of about 72 million tonnes. 
 

	Since wheat is largely grown in India's central and northern plains, flour millers from southern states, hemmed in by the Indian Ocean, sometimes find it attractive to import high-protein grades from Australia. 
 

	But this year's unusually large volumes have surprised some. 
 

	"Other than large amounts of wheat that we're importing, we see two other significant changes," said one of the sources. "Perhaps for the first time some imports are taking place in vessels and perhaps for the first time millers will end up buying French and Russian wheat as well." 
 

	At about $185 to $190 a tonne free on board, French and Russian wheat is attractive for India, said another source. 
 

	High-protein wheat in India costs more than $300 a tonne and imports could ebb if prices fall to about $283, the sources said. 
 

	But Russian wheat may not meet India's quality requirements, despite its higher protein content than French wheat, said Tajinder Narang, a New Delhi-based trade analyst.

	 
	(image credits: wallpaperscraft.com)

India signs deal to import 5,00,00 tonnes of wheat: Biggest wheat imports deal in over a decade

Have you started compromising on your meat diet and the spicy gravies on weekends? If not yet, you might soon have to as the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Fears-of-Onion-prices-shooting-up-to-Rs-100/kg-linger/articleshow/48619146.cms">onion prices are sky rocketing</a> at a breakneck speed. While buying onions at your neighbourhood markets are making you teary, nation's biggest wholesale market for onions, Lasalgaon in <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/topic/Nashik">Maharashtra's Nashik</a> district has recorded Rs 57 for a kg of onions, which is quite high. Just like an annual trend, the beginning of August has recorded a steep increase in <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Onions-are-here-to-make-you-cry-again/articleshow/48234909.cms">price of onions as 80% supplies have fell</a>. And what’s worse? Neither the farmers nor the traders see any any respite at least until the end of September - when early kharif crop will start arriving. 
 
Consumers pay between Rs 50 and Rs 80 for a kilo of onion. When the wholesale price hit the previous record in 2013, the retail price had reached as high as Rs 100 a kg and remained uncomfortably high from August till October. Since onions are essential to most Indian recipes, any spike in the little bulb's price causes resentment among consumers and headache to the government. 
To arrest the crazy rise in price, state-run trading agency MMTC has floated a tender for the import of 10,000 tonnes of onions from countries such as Pakistan, China and Afghanistan. Many traders in the Delhi market have already stared sourcing onions of Afghan origin via Pakistan. Those in Mumbai are expected to receive consignments from Egypt next week. 
On Saturday, when the average wholesale price at Lasalgaon touched Rs 57 a kg, the best quality onion quoted as high as Rs 62. It took less than a month for the Lasalgaon prices to move up from Rs 25 (on July 25) to the record high. In 2013, it had taken more than a month and half. 
 
"Many farmers from our village have already sold their produce thinking that the government will not let prices rise this year too. I was lucky to have my stocks still with me, which happened accidentally as my deal with a trader had been cancelled," said Anand Ostwal from Satana in Nashik district. 
While the price would be a pain for buyers, the farmers aren’t gaining much profit from the hike in price. Due to deficient rains last year and hailstorm in summer season, a large number of farmers had lost their crop or could not keep it for long due to quality issues. Many also expected the government to take steps to keep prices under control. 
 
 
"Deficient rains in Maharashtra have strengthened the anticipation of traders (for higher prices). The kharif crop is likely to be delayed," said a central government official, who did not want to be identified. "The concerned department of Maharashtra government has not yet shared the onion sowing data with us," an official told the financial daily.

​Onions at Rs 100/kg! Hoarders having a field day?

NEW DELHI: Despite inflation level dipping consistently, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is widely expected to maintain a status quo on key rates in its monetray policy review on Arpil 1. 
 
RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan, who has made clear that his primary goal is to tame prices, may hold the repo rate at 8% citing inflationary expectations, according to an ET poll. There won't be any change in the repo rate, said 19 of 20 institutions polled by ET. 
 
The broad consensus is that the uncertainty of the election outcome, persistent global economic and geo-political concerns and the likelihood of an upward trend in the inflation trajectory will force the RBI to take a cautious stance. 
 
We take a look at four reasons why Raghuram Rajan may not tinker with key rates: 
 
1) Inflationary expectations: Rajan is living up to the anti-inflation tradition of the Chicago School. A committee headed by deputy governor Urjit Patel has suggested targeting consumer inflation at 4% in a two percentage point band, as part of an evolving monetary policy framework. Although this has not been adopted formally, Rajan has given enough signals that he's inclined to follow that trajectory. 
 
"Whatever level it comes down to, the path is to bring it down to 8% by the end of this year, and 6% by the end of the succeeding year," Rajan has said. 
 
Consumer price inflation, which has averaged about 10% for nearly three years, is showing signs of easing with increasing supplies and a lower increase in support prices. 
 
Retail inflation, as measured by the consumer price index, eased to a two-year low of 8.10% in February from 8.79% in January, having touched a high of 11.24% in November. Inflation based on the wholesale price index fell to a nine-month low of 4.68% in February on the back of a drop in food and fuel prices, having been at 5.05% in January. But data from Barclays shows inflationary expectation is running at 12%, the highest in recent memory. 
 
Sashi Krishnan, CIO at Birla Sun Life Insurance told ET Now, "I do not expect RBI to cut rates at this point of time because though inflation has come down from 8.6 to 8.1 and the trajectory is downwards, the concerns still remain." 
 
"But given the fact that a lot of the macro variables have come under control, especially the fact that our foreign exchange reserves are moving up and have been fairly comfortable, current account deficit is no longer a problem, RBI would be more neutral than hawkish," he added. 
 
"If the RBI intends to guide CPI (consumer price index) inflation down to less than 6% over the next couple of years, as per the recommendation of the (Urjit) Patel committee, more tightening will be needed," said Leif Eskesen, economist at HSBC. "Monetary policy is currently in neutral gear but eventually needs to venture into contractionary territory." 
 
2) Fears of El-Nino: Above average monsoon last year, came as a boon for the Indian farmers. They not only had a good Kharif crop but also had enough water back-up for rabi crops as well. 
 
However, the El Nino phenomenon may turn out to be a spoiler for Indian economy. Historically, average agricultural GDP growth has declined by 2-2.5 per cent, Y-o-Y during El Nino years. 
 
In fact, Rajan may warn that the price decline could easily be reversed if food prices resume their upward climb as rain and hail in some states and El Nino weather conditions crimp farm output in the coming quarters. 
 
SK Ghosh, chief economic advisor at SBI has said, "Inflation has come down due to the base effect." "There is a lot of damage due to hailstorm-like phenomena, which in turn will push up food prices. There is no possibility of rate cut before the December quarter." 
 
"The hailstorm is likely to result in an estimated crop failure of about Rs 12,000 crore (0.1% of the full year GDP) and this could reverse the recent downtrend in retail price inflation," said Jyotivardhan Jaipuria, managing director and head of research at Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BoA-ML), in a report earlier this month. 
 
Add El- Nino factor to it and we have a tough situation ahead. 
 
"While the next Government has many challenges to address, El Nino is perhaps the last thing that the economy needs now," said a CLSA report. According to the report, potential spike in food inflation due to a possible drought could worsen inflation and rate outlook. 
 
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3) Full budget/election outcome: Furthermore, monetary authorities may also wait for signals from the new government that will present a full budget once it takes office in May. How quickly rate cuts may begin will also depend a lot on how efficient the new government will be in managing its finances. 
 
"Once a new government comes, it will frame its fiscal policy," said Mohan Shenoy, head of treasury at Kotak Mahindra Bank. "Monetary policy will be shaped by the direction of new fiscal policy. Both policies have to go hand-in-hand." 
 
Hopes of a decisive government has led to more than $8.8 billion pouring into Indian markets this year. That could accelerate after May if a stable government takes charge. 
 
"Post June, I expect RBI to begin lowering rates assuming no uncertainties come up in the western world," said Keki Mistry, vice chairman and CEO at HDFC. Still, there's a possibility of the unexpected happening, "which may cause a spike in oil prices or some untoward event that one cannot foresee at this point in time like a bad monsoon." 
 
4) Global concerns: Although the continued tapering of bond purchases by the Federal Reserve is having little impact on India, international factors such as Ukraine, or a shakeup in the US markets could adversely affect the outlook on rates. 
 
(With inputs from Saikat Das, ET Bureau)

You Searched For "Delhi hailstorm" and got 7 results

In pics: Chilling pictures of climate change in India’s national capital

BI India Bureau

Constrained milk, wheat supplies amid volatile crude market raise inflation concern in India

ANI

About 72 lakh hectares farm land hit due to floods, drought in ongoing crop year: Govt

PTI

Govt makes crop insurance schemes voluntary for farmers

PTI

India signs deal to import 5,00,00 tonnes of wheat: Biggest wheat imports deal in over a decade

BI India Bureau

Onions at Rs 100/kg! Hoarders having a field day?

BI India Bureau

Four Reasons Why Raghuram Rajan May Not Tinker With Rates On April 1

Economic Times

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You Searched For "Delhi hailstorm" and got 7 results

In pics: Chilling pictures of climate change in India’s national capital

BI India Bureau

Constrained milk, wheat supplies amid volatile crude market raise inflation concern in India

ANI

About 72 lakh hectares farm land hit due to floods, drought in ongoing crop year: Govt

PTI

Govt makes crop insurance schemes voluntary for farmers

PTI

India signs deal to import 5,00,00 tonnes of wheat: Biggest wheat imports deal in over a decade

BI India Bureau

​Onions at Rs 100/kg! Hoarders having a field day?

BI India Bureau

Four Reasons Why Raghuram Rajan May Not Tinker With Rates On April 1

Economic Times

Popular Keywords

Buying Guides

Onions at Rs 100/kg! Hoarders having a field day?