India’s Addiction to Expensive Cooking Oil, Icra, States to Witness Snowfall & Rainfall, Unseasonal Rains & Hail Affects Rabi Crops,

24 January 2022

• These States to Witness Snowfall & Rainfall for Next Few Days

  On Monday and Tuesday, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) forecasted isolated to scattered light rainfall and snowfall over Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Gilgit-Baltistan, Muzaffarabad, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand. Furthermore, dry weather is expected to prevail for the next three days in these places. IMD predicts isolated light rain for the next 24 hours across Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, and Uttar Pradesh, followed by dry weather. In addition, isolated light rain is expected over Bihar, Jharkhand, Gangetic West Bengal, and Odisha on Monday and Tuesday, according to the forecast.

• India’s Addiction to Expensive Cooking Oil

  Indians will most likely continue to import pricey cooking oils from abroad for at least another 15 years, as demand continues to outstrip home supply. According to B.V. Mehta, executive director of the Solvent Extractors' Association, consumption in India is predicted to rise by as much as 17% in the next four years. A steep increase like this would widen the manufacturing gap even more: India is expected to produce around 10 million tonnes of edible oils in 2021-22, compared to a domestic consumption of up to 23 million tonnes.

• Unseasonal Rains & Hail Affects Rabi Crops in North India

  Rabi crops such as mustard, wheat, gram, and potato have been harmed by unseasonal rainfall and hailstorms in northern India over the last few days. The mustard crop, which was supposed to be ready in the first week of February, will now be three weeks late since harvesting will not begin until the fields dry up. Because the delivery of the crop is expected to be delayed, mustard oil wholesale prices have risen by Rs 5 per litre in the last week. The unseasonal rain that began in the second week has aided the growth of some crops while hindering the growth of others.

• Icra: India Requires 18 GW Capacity Addition to Meet Hydro Purchase Obligation Norms By 2030

  According to rating agency Icra NSE 0.89 percent, the country will need to add around 18 GW of hydro capacity by 2030 to meet the hydro purchase obligation (HPO) rules. To boost investments in the hydro energy segment, the Centre has detailed policy steps over the previous two years, including the notification of HPO regulations, a long-term trajectory for HPOs, and tariff reduction initiatives. "Based on the notified hydro purchase obligation norms and trajectory available until 2030, incremental hydro power capacity requirement is estimated to remain significant, at around 18 GW, which corresponds to about a 39% increase over the country's existing installed hydro power capacity," said Girish kumar Kadam, Senior Vice President & Co-Group Head - Corporate ratings, S&P Global Ratings, Icra.