Agriculture Groups

Govt. to change the fertiliser price structure to restore the balance in nutrient application

The new government would soon change the fertiliser price structure to restore the balance in nutrient application The changes in the fertiliser prices since 1991 had led to an imbalance nutrient use. The ratio of the application of nitrogen, phosphorus and potash, which should ideally be 4:2:1, stood at present at an alarming 8:4:4:8:1..

The government would also consider raising the banks' minimum priority lending rate from 18 per cent to at least 20 per cent. The government intends to bring about the second green revolution by boosting farm productivity in the rainfed areas which accounted for nearly two-thirds of the country's total arable land and which had hither to be bypassed by the development process.

Indian Tea industry faces difficult times , says World Bank team

14/06/96 ind-tea, agriculture-tea, economy -world bank

A world bank team, currently on a four-week visit to India to assess the fund requirements of the tea industry, has found the situation to be " difficult " in terms of rising input costs, lower returns and higher rate of interest for the loans offered.

Based on the team's assessment, the World Bank is to offer Rs 862 crores for the Tea Board's Rs 8,962-crore 30-year project to improve production and implement various other measures.

Industry sources say they had sought a low-interest funding by the world Bank. This was in response to a query by the team how tey would manage a high interest rate of 15 per cent.


[Indian Budget'96]