Committee on MSP to be set up ‘very soon in near future’: Agriculture Secretary
A committee on the minimum support price (MSP) and other farm issues, including the promotion of zero budget natural farming, will be set up “very soon in the near future”, Agriculture Secretary Sanjay Agrawal said on Monday.
“The Prime Minister has announced this. It has to be taken on a mission mode and the zero budget natural farming also. Very soon in near future, it (the committee) will be set up,” Agrawal told the media here.
Agrawal was briefing about a three-day national event with focus on natural farming to be held at Anand, Gujarat, from December 14. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to address virtually the valedictory function on December 16.
Coloured teas become a menace in South India, Maharashtra
Coloured teas or teas mixed with colours to give them a rich golden hue are becoming a menace in the southern states and Maharashtra. The apex body of packet tea players, Federation of All India Traders Association (FAITTA), which has representatives from some of the leading packet tea players such as Tata Global Beverages, HUL and Wagh Bakri, has taken up the issue with the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) so that sales of coloured teas can be checked and consumers are not duped.
“In recent times, coloured teas have become a real problem in South India and Maharashtra. In Gujarat, the situation has improved overall. There may be some stray cases, but it is not as rampant as in South India and Maharashtra,” FAITTA chairman Viren Shah told ET. “We have taken up the matter with the FSSAI and the Tea Board. The only way to curb this problem is to take legal action against unscrupulous traders and retailers.”
The FSSAI’s regulation on tea says, “The product shall be free from extraneous matter, added colouring matter and harmful substances.”
Assam specialty tea auctioned for ‘record’ Rs 99,999 per kg
A specialty tea from Assam’s Dibrugarh district was on Tuesday auctioned for Rs 99,999 per kg, the “highest price” ever fetched in any tea auction in the country, an official said.
The Manohari Tea Estate sold 1 kg of its ‘Manohari Gold’ variety to Sourabh Tea Traders, Gauhati Tea Auction Centre (GTAC) Secretary Priyanuz Dutta said.
“This is the highest auction price fetched in tea selling and buying in the country so far,” Dutta said.
