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Domestic oil prices on decline, mustard oil outlier

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Even when the international prices of edible oils have gone up in the range of 1.95 per cent to 7.17 per cent after the import duty reduction, the decreasing trend in domestic prices and net effect (ranges for 3.26 per cent to 8.58 per cent declined) after duty reduction is quite substantial, the government said on Friday.

“Necessary policy intervention by Central government with reference to duty reduction is proving to be beneficial for the general consumers,” the government said in a release.

“International prices of Soyabean oil, Sunflower oil, Crude Palm oil and RBD Palmolein increased by 1.85 per cent, 3.15 per cent, 8.44 per cent and 10.92 per cent respectively over the month.

After the import duty reduction (effective from September 11) on imported edible oils, domestic retail and wholesale prices reduced in the range of 0.22 per cent to 1.93 per cent. However, Mustard oil is purely domestic oil, and its prices are expected to soften with number of other measures the government is contemplating,” the release from Department of Food and Public Distribution (DFPD) said.

Similarly, the wholesale and retail price of wheat decreased by 5.39 per cent and 3.56 per cent respectively over the year. Wholesale price of rice decreased by 0.07 per cent while retail price of rice increased by 1.26 per cent over the month.

The wholesale and retail prices of wheat decreased by 7.12 per cent and 4.37 per cent respectively over the year. Despite the fact that MSP for rice & wheat has gone up (from Rs 1,868 / quintal to Rs 1,940 / quintal for rice and from Rs 1,925 / quintal to Rs 1,975 / quintal for wheat, the price of rice and wheat has decreased in the market, which is a comforting factor for consumers, the government said.

Also, as on October 6, taking the reference as on May 17, the retail prices of gram, tur, urad and moong decreased by 1.08 per cent, 2.65 per cent, 2.83 per cent and 4.99 per cent, respectively.

Regarding the prices of onion, potato and tomato, the all-India average retail prices of potato decreased by 44.77 per cent over the year, the all-India average retail prices of onion decreased by 17.09 per cent over the year, the all-India average retail prices of tomato decreased by 22.83 per cent over the year, the release said.

Business

ICEA launches industry-wide initiative to foster tech and AI innovation

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New Delhi, June 3: The India Cellular and Electronics Association (ICEA) on Tuesday announced a unique industry-wide initiative to collaboratively foster tech and AI innovation for the benefit of India’s manufacturing sector.

The programme will connect companies with transformative innovations across domains such as advanced manufacturing, AI, IoT, energy efficiency, materials science, and more.

The ICEA launched Venture Access Labs — a technology innovation access programme in collaboration with venture capital fund Caret Capital.

This initiative aims to empower India’s electronics and appliances manufacturing companies by enabling them to discover, curate, and adopt cutting-edge technologies and innovations from across the world.

“Through Venture Access Labs, ICEA is proud to champion and unlock global innovation to strengthen India’s position as a global hub for manufacturing and electronics with a vision to build Indian Champions,” said Pankaj Mohindroo, Chairman, ICEA.

“By opening the door to international technological advancements and building an innovation pipeline, we aim to accelerate India’s electronics manufacturing capabilities and global competitiveness so as to capture a larger global market share,” he added.

The comprehensive programme will cover several functions including procurement, planning, manufacturing, supply chain, finance, HR, legal and ESG.

Through this programme, companies will benefit from innovation trend spotting, curated access to high-impact startups and Ips, strategic matchmaking and pilot opportunities, tailored adoption pathways for new technologies, and facilitated investments in strategically relevant, vetted high-potential startups.

“It is time for the Indian electronics and appliances manufacturing to transit to tech first-led global leadership,” said Salil Kapoor, Co-founder and Chief mentor of Venture Access Labs.

It will be the innovation catalyst and partner, scanning and curating the latest tech and game-changing startups from across the world for Indian manufacturing companies to engage with, at a fraction of the cost if they were to do it on their own,” he mentioned.

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Calcutta HC refuses ad-interim bail to law student held for hurting religious sentiments, seeks case diary

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Kolkata, June 3: The Calcutta High Court on Tuesday denied ad-interim bail to Sharmistha Panoli, the 22-year-old law student arrested recently by Kolkata Police on charges of hurting religious sentiments and promoting disharmony and hatred.

As her counsel approached the High Court, challenging the trial court’s order last week sending her to judicial custody till June 13, the matter came up for hearing before the vacation bench of Justice Partha Sarathi Chatterjee.

However, Justice Chatterjee denied any relief to Panoli, observing that the freedom of speech in the country does not allow anyone to hurt anyone’s religious sentiment.

An FIR was registered against Panoli at Garden Reach Police Station on May 15 for posting an Instagram video, where she made some comments on ‘Operation Sindoor’ that had reportedly hurt the religious sentiments of a particular community.

In the face of strong criticism, she deleted that video and also tendered a public apology for the matter. However, based on the FIR registered, the police first sent her a notice, which failed since she had gone into hiding in Gurugram by then.

Thereafter, an arrest warrant was issued against her, and finally, she was arrested from Gurugram by Kolkata Police on Saturday morning and was brought back to Kolkata on transit remand on the same day.

Rejecting the ad-interim bail, Justice Chatterjee observed that the video posted on social media had reportedly hurt the religious sentiments of a section of people. “We have freedom of speech, but that doesn’t mean you will go on to hurt others. Our country is diverse, with all people. We must be cautious,” he said.

He directed the police to submit the case diary in the matter by the next date of hearing on June 5.

The vacation bench also directed the state government to ensure that police do not pursue any other complaint filed against Panoli in any other police station. It also directed the police not to register any fresh complaints in the same matter.

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Bodies of three workers recovered from flooded illegal coal mine in Jharkhand’s Hazaribagh

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Hazaribagh, June 3: Thirteen days after they were trapped, the bodies of three workers have been recovered from an illegal coal mine in Keredari block of Jharkhand’s Hazaribagh district, officials said on Tuesday.

The deceased, whose bodies were recovered late on Monday night, have been identified as Pramod Shah, 45, Umesh Kumar, 25, and Naushad Ansari, 24 — all residents of Kandaber village under the Keredari police station area.

The three men were reportedly swept into the mine on May 21, when heavy rainfall caused the Khawa River to swell.

Villagers said the strong current pushed the workers into one of the numerous illegal tunnels that dot the region, many of which are controlled by coal mafias and continue to operate despite the risks involved.

The mine shaft where they were trapped was more than 100 feet deep and quickly flooded, making rescue efforts extremely challenging.

The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) conducted a three-day operation to locate and retrieve the bodies but had to suspend efforts due to waterlogging.

Subsequently, the task of dewatering the mine was taken up by NTPC and a private company. After days of continuous pumping, the water level finally receded, which enabled local villagers to recover the bodies late on Monday night.

On Tuesday morning, police sent the bodies for autopsy to Sheikh Bhikhari Medical College and Hospital in Hazaribagh. After the post-mortem, the bodies were brought back to Kandaber and cremated on Tuesday afternoon.

The incident plunged the village into mourning, with relatives and neighbours breaking down as the news spread.

There were scenes of chaos and wailing as the bodies were brought into the village.

Following the recovery, villagers renewed calls for compensation and the provision of government jobs for one dependent of each deceased worker.

Despite repeated incidents, illegal mining continues unabated in the Khawa river belt of Keredari, drawing hundreds of locals desperate for work and vulnerable to exploitation.

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