Page 13 - BANKING FINANCE JUNE 2016

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Govt considers revisiting crop damage aid Wheat not to be packed

The government is in the process of tion norms, you are providing protec- in jute bags
revising the compensation offered to tion to farmers if at least 33% of their
farmers for crop damage, it told the crop is damaged. What about the The jute industry is concerned over
Supreme Court, raising hopes of relief farmer whose crop has suffered a 30% the government's proposal to ex-
to farmers in drought af-
fected regions. The Centre's damage rate, how does he empt wheat
response was in reply to a get relief under your com- from manda-
question by Justice M. Lokur pensatory norms?" Justice tory packing.
about alternative steps be- Lokur asked the Centre.
sides support provided under rural job At present,
scheme Mahatma Gandhi National Furnishing details on its plan 90 per cent
Rural Employment Guarantee to revise crop compensation to farm- of the foodgrain production and 20
Scheme, crop insurance and loan re- ers, additional solicitor general P.S. per cent of sugar output have to be
structuring for farmers in drought-hit Narasimha told the court. "We have packed in jute bags, with a further
regions. constituted a new expert committee dilution in case of a shortfall.
which had met on 6 April and its rec-
"According to the current compensa- ommendations are likely to be imple- However, the scarcity in the avail-
mented from the coming year." ability of raw jute and supply back-
log have prompted the department
Govt employees can choose their fund managers: PFRDA of food and public distribution to con-
sider seeking cabinet permission to
The Pension Fund "We have been asking the government keep wheat out of the purview of
Regulatory and for allowing the choice of pension fund mandatory packing under the Jute
Development Au- manager and choice of investment Packaging Materials Act, 1987.
thority (PFRDA) pattern to be given to government
wants government employee and subscribers also. In the current Rabi season, mills are
employees to be looking to supply around 2 lakh bales
given freedom to We have taken up this strongly with per month against a total require-
choose their fund managers and invest- the government," PFRDA chairman ment of 13.43 lakh bales during the
ment pattern for money invested in Hemant G. Contractor told reporters. period. Based on the shortfall, the
Atal Pension Yojana (APY). At present, there are about 45 lakh procuring agencies have been al-
government employees under APY. lowed to use 4.96 lakh bales of plas-
tic bags.
All listed PSUs should be in full compliance with the
norms: SEBI According to industry sources, the
move to exclude wheat is likely to im-
Capital markets regulator the Securities and Exchange pact up to 25-30 per cent of the pro-
Board of India has asked the government to ensure duction of jute goods.
that all listed public sector undertakings (PSUs) are in
full compliance with the norms relating to indepen- "Over the years, there have been
dent directors. SEBI has also started sensitizing non- several dilutions in the jute packag-
compliant PSUs directly about the norms mandating ing materials act. Besides foodgrain
a certain percentage of independent members on their boards, a top regula- and sugar, cement and fertilisers
tory official said. used to be covered under the act.
However, they were gradually re-
SEBI has initiated preliminary action against some of the companies while rul- moved and the amount of sugar
ing out any leeway to PSUs compared to their private sector peers. SEBI is also packed has also come down. If
firm on all listed state-run firms having at least one woman director on their wheat is removed, it would be a big
boards without any further delay. blow for the sector," an industry
source said.
However, some companies including PTC India Ltd have questioned their names
being included in the list of non-compliant firms, saying they are in full compliance.

BANKING FINANCE | JUNE | 2016 | 13

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