Global Scene

India counts record grain harvest but experts say not enough

INDIA: India has forecast a record grain harvest but experts warned Wednesday farm productivity would have to rise much faster to feed the nation of 1.1 billion people and avert a food security crisis.

Food grain production in the crop year ended March 31, 2008 would total a record 227.32 million tonnes with output of rice, wheat, pulses, oilseeds and other crops also beating previous highs, the government said.

"This will be record production," said Agriculture Secretary P.K. Mishra, crediting "well-distributed rain, distribution of better seeds under the national food security mission and good temperatures."

The 2008 wheat harvest would hit 76.78 million tonnes, up from an earlier projected 74.81 million tonnes, and 75.81 million tonnes in 2007. Rice output would also hit a new high, climbing to 95.68 million tonnes from 94.08 million tonnes estimated earlier and 93.6 million tonnes recorded the previous year.

Commodity specialists called the announcement welcome but noted the overall output jump from the previous year was only 4.6 percent and said a food security crisis loomed unless the government acted swiftly to boost yields.

Far greater effort was needed to ensure food security for the world's second most populous nation as foodgrain productivity was not keeping pace with population growth.

"We need to bridge the yield gap - we can increase yields by 50 percent to 100 percent depending on crops using technologies already on the shelf," M.S. Swaminathan, who led the "Green Revolution" of the 1960s that made India self-sufficient in food, told AFP. Other experts warned that India needed to achieve greater food self-sufficiency as other countries restrict food exports and global food prices rocket.

"We're losing food security - losing it day by day - in pulses, wheat, rice - our main staples - because our demand is rising and our productivity is not," said Usha Tuteja, acting head of the Agricultural Economics Research centre at Delhi University.

"There's a great global food crisis going on and this is a great message for highly populated countries to grow more food," said Tuteja.

"What good is it for the common man to have good economic growth when you don't have enough to eat?" Tuteja said, referring to India's blistering economic expansion of nearly nine percent for the past four years.

AFP

Bullion wants govt to ban futures trading

Apex body of the bullion and jewellery traders All India Sarafa Association today appealed to the government to ban futures trading in gold and silver on the Multi Commodity Exchange.

The association, at its annual general meeting, unanimously passed a resolution asking the government that in the interest of the traders and consumers gold and silver trading should be banned on the MCX.

The association's President Sheel Chand Jain submitted a memorandum to the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Finance Minister P Chidambaram to take initiatives to stop futures trading in precious metals.

In the last one year for April 2007-2008 prices of gold surged by about 45 per cent from around Rs 9,000 to the over 13,000 recently, while silver rose by around 35 per cent from about Rs 19,500 to over 26,500 per cent.

In view of a vast fluctuation in the gold and silver prices, which created both confusion and panic in the minds of consumers, the government should take an immediate step, Jain said.

He said the futures trading ruined bullion trade as prices rose mostly on speculative base with hardly any physical buyer in the market.

"There is no reason for such volatile fluctuations in the gold and silver prices where a large number of small traders indulging in the future trading throughout the country," Jain said.

The association also re-elected Prem Nath Khanna as general secretary and Madan Lal Jain as Treasurer.

PTI

Tata Com. Introduces Global Suite of Security Services

Tata Communications, a leading provider of the new world of communications, announced today the launch of a robust suite of security services designed to protect the applications, IT systems and networks that power its customers' critical business infrastructures.

The high-quality, cost-effective security services, which include premise and managed services as well as professional services, enables Tata Communications to provide its customers with security solutions on a global basis.

"Research by our global network of strategic partners shows that security risks continue to increase dramatically. As attacks continue to grow in complexity, effective solutions must integrate multi-dimensionally across different categories of security infrastructure, take on global visibility of incidents and events, and build upon best-available real-time intelligence," said John Landau, Senior Vice President, Global Managed Services, Tata Communications.

"Tata Communications has assembled extraordinary expertise and purposefully designed its defense-in-depth services suite to address this concerning trend.

We are strongly positioned to support our customers as they recognize the requirement to move beyond simple point security solutions towards globally consistent integrated threat management solutions."

AFP

World oil prices strike record peaks above US $119

World oil prices jumped to record peaks above 119 dollars on Tuesday in response to the weak US dollar, unrest in Nigeria and OPEC's reluctance to hike output, traders said. Global supply jitters have seen oil contracts traded in New York spike by more than 57 dollars in the past year, sparking concerns that sky-high prices could harm US economic growth which has already slowed sharply.

New York's main oil futures contract, light sweet crude for delivery in May, closed at a record 119.37 dollars a barrel, up a hefty 1.89 dollars compared with Monday's closing level.

Buyers and speculators had pushed the contract's price to an all-time intraday peak of 119.90 dollars in earlier trading.

Prices also hit new highs in London. Brent North Sea crude for June delivery hit a record 116.75 dollars a barrel in intra day activity before settling at an all-time high of 115.95, marking a 1.52 dollar gain from Monday.

AFP