Small spinners up in arms
South India Small Spinners Association (SISSPA) condemned the "consistent attack" by SIMA and ICMF on small spinners, for all the problems and troubles faced by the textile industry. In a statement, SISSPA president, UG Kanakarajan criticised the statements and advertisements released by these organisations, on the theme that all the ills pervading the industry were only due to the small spinners, besides charges on excise duty evasion and poor yarn quality. He said that the Central excise exemption was a well thought move by the Government, to prepare and protect the small scale sector from the onslaught of foreign competition, as well as the vagaries of the market.

Effective agri techniques urged With about 27 million people going hungry every day even in a country like US, there is a need to adopt more effective agricultural techniques, without damaging the environment to usher in an era of "doubly green revolution", former Chairman, Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research, Ismail Serageldin said. Sustainable precision agriculture with the help of science, was required for transition from the present green revolution to a "doubly green revolution," Mr Serageldin said speaking at the plenary session of the Science Congress on "Harnessing Science for Food Security" here.

India basmati still favourite
American and Thai companies marketing certain native varieties of rice as `basmati' have failed to capture consumer acceptance, giving Indian 'basmati' a sway over the global market. Giving this assessment, Mr Anoop K Gupta, joint managing director of India's top basmati exporting firm KRBL Ltd, said a legal battle against the patenting was still on as basmati was a specific Indian genetic variety. ``Even the Pakistani variety of basmati is commanding a much lower premium in the global market compared to its Indian counterpart,'' he pointed out. The Indian variety of basmati is grown in the himalayan region, with its unique soil and water quality and is impossible to be replicated or produced the same kind of aromatic rice, Mr Gupta noted. KRBL has entered the domestic market as basmati by-products had a good market in the country, he added.

Tobacco crop may exit from India
Tobacco, the world's most hated and ostracised `dying crop', is likely to make its exit from India too, during the next decade and half. Pleading tobacco's case at the 88th Indian Science Congress, noted agriculturist Mr MS Swaminathan said India should have an alternative to this crop facing extinction, because of campaigns launched by various world organisations, including the World Health Organisation, to `roll back' tobacco. Consumption had come down drastically in developed countries and it would take more than 15 years for the crop to follow suit in India too. Terming tobacco as a `wonder crop,' Dr Swaminathan said several lakh farmers in Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Karnataka were dependent on tobacco farming and it wasn't just used for making cigarettes but also for preparing pesticides. Such being the case, India must prepare herself with alternative ways of using tobacco, he added.