Business
Demand for India’s rice likely to shoot up in global market as floods hit crop in Southeast Asian nations

Demand for Indian rice is expected to increase amid heavy flooding in countries such as Thailand and Vietnam, which have been dominant players for this staple grain in the global export market. The heavy floods along the Mekong River belt have caused severe damage to crops in the two Southeast Asian countries. The paddy fields have been particularly washed away giving rise to concerns over food security amid surging global food prices driven by the Russia-Ukraine war.
Even as sowing of the grain in India this year is estimated to be 17 per cent lower due to inadequate rains in states such as Bihar and Orissa, analysts said that there is no cause for any worry as the country is sitting on adequate stocks from last year. However they maintained that New Delhi must refrain from taking any “sudden decisions.”
“Such adhoc and knee jerk reaction and banning of outbound shipment create problems for Indian exporters, they find it difficult to get orders in the future,” Anil Ghanwat, senior leader of Shetkari Sangathana, a Maharashtra based farmers union earlier told India Narrative.
India accounts for about 40 per cent of the global rice supply.
“India’s rice #exports to benefit & rise to ~$10-12 bn as key competitors ie Thailand & Vietnam suffer from loss in yields & cost surge. #India likey to #export 22 out of the 53 MT #rice demanded globally with market share of 40% in 2022,” Sachchidanand Shukla, Chief Economist, Mahindra Group said in a tweet.
Indian rice is also less expensive compared to the grain sold by Thailand and Vietnam.
According to World Grain, an analysis website, shrinking the price spread with Thailand and Vietnam, Pakistani quotes rose $40 to $420 per tonne amid steady demand from China. “Indian quotes rose minimally by $5 to $350 per tonne and remain the lowest globally with large supplies,” it said.
Even as the price of Thai rice fell amid the uncertainties, it was more than the Indian rate.
The problem of flooding is not specific to Southeast Asia. Even Bangladesh and parts of India � especially the northeast have been in the grip of floods. But at the same time there are states which have received less rain.
“Sowing of paddy has been lower this year but a 17 per cent less sowing is nothing to cause any alarm. We have ample stocks, left from the last year’s yields�in fact due to large stocks, many farmers in Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu are also considering whether or not to sow paddy as then there will be problems related to storing. Our stocks are more than enough to feed our own people and export,” Ghanwat said.
Meanwhile, news organisation , Vietnam Plus as the Mekong River water level is rising steadily and people living along its two banks in Thailand have been warned to be ready for dealing with floods that can happen at any time.
The Mekong River belt is crucial for multiple crops. Besides paddy, beans, leafy vegetables, watermelon, chilies, various herbs, and many other varieties of vegetables are grown.
National
Maha govt tables bill to set up Gadchiroli district mining authority

Mumbai, June 30: The Maharashtra government on Monday tabled the bill for the establishment of the 16-member Gadchiroli District Mining Authority for the coordination and supervision of orderly and rapid development of the mineral-bearing area and execution of plans and projects.
The authority will be headed by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who is also the Gadchiroli district guardian minister. The government’s move is important as it hopes to finish the Left Wing Extremism (LWE) and develop Gadchiroli as the next steel city of India.
The district is endowed with abundant minerals such as iron ore, hematite, magnetite, BHQ, limestone, Dolomites and coal, which are used as raw materials for various manufacturing industries.
Further, Gadchiroli district, which is rich in iron ore, has the potential to be developed as a hub for mineral-based industries, especially the steel industry, said the bill.
“Currently, the absence of an integrated administrative mechanism hampers the swift execution of the mining project. Hence a need was felt for the establishment of a unified authority comprising of certain ministers and secretaries of the relevant departments under the chairmanship of the Chief Minister to expedite mining approvals and foster the growth of mineral based industries such as steel and cement, thereby accelerating the holistic development of the Gadchiroli district and consequently of the state,” said the bill.
It pointed out that the authority will act as a catalyst in speeding up the process of operationalisation of approved mining leases, and will also generate employment in the district and boost the revenue of the state.
According to the bill, the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957, and rules framed thereunder govern the development and regulation of mines and minerals. The major mineral blocks are auctioned following the Mineral (Auction) Rules, 2015. The mining concession holder is required to obtain various clearances and no-objection certificates from various departments and district officers of the government and local authorities within the timelines prescribed in the rules.
If the bidder fails to meet the prescribed timeline, the alloyed major mineral blocks will have to be auctioned again.
The Chief Minister last week at the industry conference said, “Gadchiroli 10 years ago was zero industrial area, nobody thought that it would become an Industrial magnet. Due to a slew of policies, Gadchiroli is becoming a new steel city of India to produce one-third of India’s steel that will change the entire outlook of the district.”
National
Hindi cannot be forced now in Maharashtra: Uddhav Thackeray

Uddhav Thackeray
Mumbai, June 30: Shiv Sena(UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Monday said the Hindi language cannot be forced upon people now as the power of the Marathi people has compelled the state government to withdraw two of its resolutions on introducing Hindi along with Marathi and English for Classes 1 to 5.
Thackeray, who attended the Monsoon Session of the state legislature on its first day, said, “We will announce in two to three days what exactly the victory rally or victory march will be like and where on July 5 it will be held (as the joint morcha has been cancelled due to the government’s decision). We are also talking to everyone about that. The Marathi traitors raise their heads as soon as they realise that we are a little scattered. Yesterday, we crushed this head. If we don’t want them to come back, then we should maintain this unity instead of waiting for another crisis. We will not stop until we create a vision of this unity on July 5. We will definitely celebrate the victory. Everyone forgot their party differences and came together with us during the movement. We need to show the same unity in the victory march.”
“Love for the mother language should be beyond the party, the government has made a lot of efforts. Still, I thank them. A new committee has been appointed under the chairmanship of Narendra Jadhav (former Planning Commission member). I am telling the government that this is a matter of education, and you have appointed a committee of an economist. Whatever the committee, the issue of compulsion is over now. Even if a committee is formed now, Hindi cannot be forced on us; the power of the Marathi people has shown this yesterday,” said Thackeray at the press conference.
Thackeray said that the slogan of ‘Jai Maharashtra’ has once again been raised in every village and corner of Maharashtra.
“Shiv Sena and Shiv Sainiks were at the forefront in raising this slogan of Maharashtra. But along with that, I sincerely thank all the political parties and Marathi-speaking people who forgot their party differences and participated. We will know in the coming days whether the government has shown wisdom or not. But they immediately cancelled the government resolution on making Hindi compulsory. It was achieved due to the unity of the Marathi people. If they had not cancelled it, many Marathi lovers from the BJP, Shinde group and Ajit Pawar group would have participated in the July 5 morcha, which now will become a victory rally,” he added.
Thackeray on Sunday said the government’s power faced defeat before the power of Marathi Manoos on the contentious issue of the introduction of Hindi as a third language after Marathi and English for Classes 1 to 5. “Now this unity of Marathi people should continue,” asserted Thackeray.
“The BJP’s hidden agenda was to divide the Marathi people and attract the non-Marathi voters by raking up the Marathi vs Non-Marathi issue. But the good news is that the Marathi people took a sensible stance. They are not against the Hindi language, but against coercion. Since there was a movement against coercion, there was no division. The government thought that the division of the Marathi people would be beneficial to it,” claimed Thackeray.
Crime
CBI books ex-SBI branch manager in Assam for illegal assets of Rs 80 lakh

CBI
New Delhi, June 30: The CBI has booked a former manager of the State Bank of India branch in Assam for possessing allegedly illegal assets worth over Rs 80 lakh, an official said on Monday.
Pinku Kumar, former Branch Manager, SBI, Ramkrishnanagar Branch, Karimganj, is also facing a separate investigation over his alleged collusion in a multi-crore scam involving sanction of loans using forged documents, the official said.
CBI’s Shillong-based Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) registered the latest Disproportionate Assets case against Pinku Kumar on June 27 after receiving a complaint from a preliminary investigator.
The complaint alleged commission of criminal misconduct by Pinku Kumar while intentionally enriching himself illicitly, during the check period from April 1, 2019 to March 27, 2025.
During this period, he was found in possession of pecuniary resources/property, disproportionate to his known sources of income which he cannot satisfactorily account for, to the tune of Rs 99.20 lakh -(81.84 per cent DA), said the CBI FIR filed against the former bank manager.
Taking note of the preliminary probe conducted in the matter of criminal misconduct, the CBI’s FIR said, “The facts mentioned in the aforesaid complaint, prima facie, reveal commission of congnizable offences, punishable under Section 13(2) read with 13(1)(b) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (as amended 2018) on the part of Pinku Kumar.”
Section 13 of the Act defines various forms of criminal misconduct by public servants. These include actions like abusing their position, misappropriating property, or possessing assets disproportionate to their known sources of income.
Earlier in March, the CBI booked Pinku Kumar twice in separate corruption cases naming two brokers Sumen Paul and Jadab Paul, along with the former, in each of the cases.
Raids conducted by the federal agency in these two cases led to seizure of 481 grams of gold, 11.11 gram of diamond-studded jewellery and 1,092 gram silver.
The CBI investigation showed that the former bank manager conspired with the two brokers and allegedly approved loans base on forged papers, leading to a loss of crores of rupees to the SBI.
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