July begins with healthy rainfall, sowing status better than last year: Report

July Begins With Healthy Rainfall, Sowing Status Better Than Last Year: Report

by Utkalika Mohanty

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS

Signalling a normal monsoon ahead, The cumulative rainfall reached 1 per cent above the long-term average (as on July 6) while weekly rainfall (as on July 3) was 32 per cent above the long-term average in the country, a report showed on Monday.

New Delhi, July 8: Signalling a normal monsoon ahead, The cumulative rainfall reached 1 per cent above the long-term average (as on July 6) while weekly rainfall (as on July 3) was 32 per cent above the long-term average in the country, a report showed on Monday.

Spatial divergence has reduced with most of the country receiving healthy rains during the last week.

North and West India (3 per cent), Central India (-6 per cent), East and North East India (0 per cent ), and the southern peninsula (13 per cent) have now all had normal rains so far, according to the report by Emkay Global Financial Services.

“With June having ended in deficit, it is imperative that July sees healthy rainfall and the month has begun on a promising note,” said Madhavi Arora, Lead Economist, Emkay Global Financial Services.

While sowing was delayed, it has now picked up and is better than last year.

“Total area under sowing (24.1 million hectare), as on June 28, is sharply higher (33 per cent YoY) than last year. This is mainly due to accelerated sowing of pulses and oilseeds,” the report noted.

Rice sowing area is the same as last year thus far whereas sugarcane is better. Among non-food crops, cotton sowing is much higher.

Overall area under sowing is at 22 per cent of normal area sown, compared with 18.6 per cent at the same point in 2023.

“July is extremely important in this regard with nearly 80 per cent of sowing activity completed by the end of the month,” said Arora.

--IANS

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India To Become Next Chip Manufacturing Hub: Ashwini Vaishnaw

by Shambhu Datta Mishra

Bengaluru, Oct 6: Union Minister for Electronics and IT Ashwini Vaishnaw has said that India is moving towards becoming the next semiconductor hub for the world as big investment is happening in this sector in the country.

Minister Viashnaw referred to a recent roundtable in New York between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and top tech CEOs and said that in the discussion three top executives had said they had not seen this kind of enthusiasm for any country in the last 35 to 40 years.

The Central government has cleared five semiconductor manufacturing proposals, with a total combined investment nearing Rs 1.52 lakh crore.

The Union Minister further said Micron Technology will roll out the first made-in-India chips by early 2025. The construction work of the CG power semiconductor facility is going on. And in Tata's ATMP facility in Assam, construction work is going on very well, he said.

Earlier, the Minister said the growth of the semiconductor industry in India will further boost PM Modi’s vision. Semiconductor is a foundational industry. Chips manufactured in the industry are used in medical instruments, mobile phones, laptops, cars, trucks, trains, televisions and practically every device.

All the initiatives taken so far, whether it is the Digital India Mission or the telecom mission, have brought technology into the hands of common citizens.

According to the reports, India's semiconductor-related market will reach 64 billion dollars in 2026, nearly triple the size in 2019. Towards achieving this goal, the ‘Semicon India’ initiative allows financial support for front-end fabrication units, sensors, display manufacturing, display fabs, semiconductor packaging and compound semiconductors.

As per the experts, "by expanding production capabilities, the country is poised to become a major player in the semiconductor sector. National initiatives, such as the Semicon India Programme and the India Semiconductor Mission (ISM), are focused on capturing a significant share of the global market, driving innovation, and stimulating economic growth through job creation and technological advancement."

(IANS)

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‘Singham Again’ Ups Its Game, Banks On ‘Parivaar’ Amidst Clash With ‘Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3’

by Shambhu Datta Mishra

Mumbai, Oct 6: It’s gonna be fireworks at the box-office on Diwali as two of the biggest film franchises of Hindi cinema are set to square off at the ticket windows.

The Ajay Devgn-starrer cop action film ‘Singham Again’ is picking on the Kartik Aaryan-starrer horror-comedy movie ‘Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3’. On Sunday, Ajay took to his Instagram and shared a Reel intensifying the war between the two films.

The Reel consists of some of the best moments from the Rohit Shetty cop universe, and consists of films such as ‘Singham’, ‘Singham Returns’, ‘Simmba’, ‘Sooryavanshi’ and of course a glimpse from ‘Singham Again’. The film’s team appears to bank on the family audience.

He wrote in the caption, “Tyohaar toh parivaar ke saath hi manaya jaata hai…milte hai iss Diwali”.

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A post shared by Ajay Devgn (@ajaydevgn)

‘Singham Again’ has been long in consideration. The film was announced in September 2017 under the working title ‘Singham 3’, and the official title was announced in December 2022.

It went on floors in September 2023, and wrapped up in September 2024. The film was shot in Mumbai, Hyderabad, Kashmir and Sri Lanka. It is scheduled to be released on Diwali 2024.

It features the biggest of stars of Hindi cinema including Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor, Akshay Kumar, Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone, Tiger Shroff, Arjun Kapoor, and Jackie Shroff. ‘Singham Again’ marks the fifth instalment of Shetty's Cop Universe, and is a sequel to ‘Singham Returns’.

Meanwhile, the prospects of ‘Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3’ also look solid as the horror-comedy genre is yielding good returns on the box-office, case in point being the recent Shraddha Kapoor and Rajkummar Rao-starrer ‘Stree 2’ which is inching close to the Rs 600 crore mark having collected Rs 593 crore net in India.

‘Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3’ sees the return of the OG Vidya Balan, and also stars Triptii Dimri, who is witnessing the a dream run at the box-office after the success of ‘Animal’.

(IANS)

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Two US, UK Women Climbers Stuck In Uttarakhand Mountains Rescued Successfully

by Shambhu Datta Mishra

Dehradun, Oct 6: After a gruelling 80-hour rescue effort, two stranded mountaineers on the Chaukhamba Peak in Chamoli district, Uttarakhand, have been successfully rescued Sunday.

The operation was a joint effort involving the Indian Air Force, State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), the Indian Army, and local administration.

Chamoli's Disaster Management Department received an alert from the Indian Mountaineering Foundation (IMF) Thursday evening, notifying them that two mountaineers -- one from the US and the other from the UK -- were stranded at an altitude of 6,015 metres on Chaukhamba Peak. Following the alert, all relevant agencies were mobilised.

On Friday, the Uttarakhand State Disaster Management Authority, along with Chamoli's Disaster Management Department, coordinated a rescue mission with the Indian Air Force and SDRF.

Despite numerous challenges, continuous efforts were made to safely evacuate the climbers, and both mountaineers were successfully rescued Sunday.

The operation faced numerous difficulties in ensuring the safe evacuation of the mountaineers, according to the officials.

Relief swept through the district administration, SDRF, NDRF, and the Uttarakhand government as the operation concluded successfully.

The two foreign climbers had obtained permission from the Indian Mountaineering Association for a trekking expedition to Chaukhamba-Three, a peak rising to 6,995 metres, which is regarded as highly challenging. Their expedition, which began on September 11, was planned to conclude on October 18.

During their ascent on October 3, the climbers were stranded on the snow-covered Chaukhamba Peak. After contacting their respective embassies through a pager, the Chamoli district administration requested the Indian Air Force to initiate a search and rescue operation.

On Friday morning, two Chetak helicopters from the Sarangpur (Saharanpur) airbase were dispatched, and an extensive search began near Badrinath, culminating in the successful rescue.

(IANS)

July begins with healthy rainfall, sowing status better than last year: Report

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