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Asserting that no other country is as diverse as India, Aamir, 50, said,

"I was born here and I will die here."

Aamir's comments came on a day when he came under fresh attack from fellow actor Akshay Kumar who said "ups and downs" happen in every nation and one should not start giving "bold" statements.

"I never said India was intolerant or I wanted to leave the country. I also understand the emotions of those who were hurt. I would like to say that my statement was misunderstood and to some extent media is responsible for it. I was born here and I will die here," Aamir said at a press conference here on the eve of of his 2006 superhit "Rang De Basanti" completing ten years.

"Our country is diverse with so many languages, culture…no other country has so much diversity as India," he said, adding, "Whenever I go abroad I can't stay away from my country more than two weeks. I get homesick".

Aamir's statement last November that he was "alarmed" by a number of incidents and that his wife Kiran Rao even suggested that they should probably leave the country had triggered a nationwide outrage. He was recently replaced as the brand ambassador of 'Incredible India' campaign.

"As an individual, as part of this country as a citizen, we read in the papers what is happening, we see it on the news and certainly, I have been alarmed. I can't deny. I have been alarmed by a number of incidents," he had said when asked to comment on perception of rising intolerance.

"When I chat with Kiran at home, she says 'Should we move out of India?' That's a disastrous and big statement for Kiran to make. She fears for her child. She fears about what the atmosphere around us will be. She feels scared to open the newspapers every day," he had said.

After the controversy broke out over his remarks, Aamir came out with a clarification, asserting that he stood by what he said and "neither I, nor my wife Kiran, have any intention of leaving the country."

"I stand by Post too long. Click here to view the full text.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_peUxE_BKcU

India will be the fastest growing big economy in the world in 2016, a United Nations World Economic Situation and Prospects 2016 report said on Friday.

"India's economy, which accounts for over 70 percent of South एशिया's GDP, is projected to grow by 7.3 percent in 2016 and 7.5 percent in 2017, slightly up from an estimated 7.2 percent in 2015," the UN report released here said.

"As in other countries of the region, the macroeconomic environment in India has improved, helped by the sharp decline in the prices of oil, metals and food," it said.

"Consumer and investor confidence has risen even as India's government faces difficulties in implementing its wide-ranging reform agenda and some economic indicators, such as industrial production, remain volatile," it added.

South एशिया is expected to be the world's fastest growing region in 2016 and 2017 despite challenging global conditions, the report said.

"India is an exception in the global scene with improved macro economic foundations and economic reforms," said Nagesh Kumar, head of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for एशिया and the Pacific's (ESCAP) south and south-west एशिया office here.

"Spending on infrastructure, health and education is very low compared to other nations such as चीन in the region. The decline in oil prices of course provides some room to offset the burden of fuel bill," he said.

"So this is the time for India to recheck fiscal efforts and raise revenues and do more spending on some of the social sectors," he added.

https://archive.is/hIzMV

POO IN THE LOO

A day after deciding to ban commercial surrogacy, the Centre on Wednesday informed the Supreme Court that it was finalizing a legislation to allow surrogacy only to childless Indian couples and address the finer points, including parental rights over surrogate child, linked to the sensitive issue.

Solicitor general Ranjit Kumar informed a bench of Justices Ranjan Gogoi and N V Ramana about the government's decision to restrain foreign couples from using Indian surrogate mothers for having a child and requested for two weeks' time to file an affidavit detailing the notifications issued on this issue.

Immediately after the hearing, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) wrote to all registered medical practitioners informing that the government has decided to limit surrogacy to "Indian married couples only and not to foreigners" and requested them "not to entertain any foreigners for availing surrogacy services in India".

The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) has also withdrawn the 2013 notification allowing free import of frozen human embryo by putting it in the negative import list, Kumar informed the court. The SG also said parental right of the surrogate child would be decided between the surrogate mother and the commissioning couple.

"The donor of sperm or egg would not claim any right over the surrogate child," the government said. In an affidavit filed later in the court through advocate Wasim A Qadri, it said, "If a commissioning couple refuses to take care of a child born with disabilities, the couple will be penalized and, simultaneously, safeguards have been provided under proposed legislation to take care of such abandoned child."

The draft Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Bill has attempted to deal with finer points and questions raised by medical practitioners and activists.

The proposed legislation says, "A semen bank shall not supply the sperm of a single donor for use more than 75 times. No woman shall donate oocytes (eggs) more than six times in her life, with not less than a three-month interval between the oocyte pick-ups.

"No woman should be treated with gPost too long. Click here to view the full text.

India's largest public sector trading body, MMTC, which recently imported huge quantities of onions to meet a shortage in the domestic market, is facing a unique problem.

Since the retail prices have declined significantly across the country in the past one-and-a-half months, the agency is hardly finding any takers for around 1,600 tonne of onion, which were imported from Egypt and चीन.

Sources said the agency is offering the stock at Rs 15 per kg while the cost of imported onion was around Rs 44-45 per kg. MMTC, in fact, floated a tender to dispose off the imported key kitchen item to the domestic buyers, which may otherwise rot.

On Wednesday, the average retail price of onion in India was Rs 35 in comparison to Rs 60 on September 1. The range of decline in prices was between Rs 5 and Rs 37 per kg because of increased supply of local produce to mandis. "The supply will increase further as huge quantity of fresh produce from Maharashtra, MP and Rajasthan reach mandis in the next couple of weeks.

When you have local produce available in the market at affordable rates, people won't buy imported onions, which are big and not that tasty," a government source said.

The MMTC tender document mentioned that the imported onion would be offered at "as in where is basis" to domestic bulk buyers. Officials said that MMTC is offering a lower price only to ensure as much as it can sell off rather than the entire stock going waste. TOI has learnt that MMTC, which was tasked to import onion, would be compensated from the price stabilisation fund.

After Nafed failed to import onions in July-August, the Centre had asked MMTC to import 10,000 tonne of the commodity to meet the shortage and to cool down prices. MMTC managed to import 2,000 tonne. While MMTC floated a tender in the first week of September it received 1,600 tonne only by last week.

MMTC's onion dilemma has again revealed the need for a proper and robust mechanism to quickly import critical food items in case of a shortage. Else, by the time the imports hit the market, the local produce would have staged a return nullifying the effort of the gPost too long. Click here to view the full text.

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Emphasis on cereals prime cause of high pulse prices

The current spike in pulse prices could have been anticipated, but India's cereal-centric food security policies emphasize rice and wheat while dis-incentivizing the production of pulses despite clear trends that show a declining preference for cereals.

Even though India's dependency on imported pulses grew as imports rose from 2.7 million tonnes in 2010-11 to over four million tonnes this year, minimum support price-driven procurement and the Food Security Act's commitment of 61 million tonnes a year drove cereal production despite overflowing godowns.

The MSP policies have resulted in buffer stocks of 61 million tonnes, largely rice and wheat, as of June this year - some 20 million tonnes more than the strategic reserve of 40 million tonnes (MTs). Though the NDA government has moderated the yearly increase in MSP, procuring cereals remains priority for the Centre and states.

The situation presents a widening demand-supply mismatch as while per capita consumption of cereals declined in both urban and rural areas (see chart), the demand for other protein food is rising, indicating emerging preferences for "high value" food across all income segments according to NSSO consumption expenditure data.

Analysis of NSSO data from 1993-94 to 2011-12 across three income segments - the 10-30, 30-70 and 70-100 deciles - broadly representing the lowest, middle and high income groups show the trend clearly. The monthly per capita consumption of cereals declined 8.2% in the lowest decile, 16.5% in middle decile and 21.6% in the highest in rural areas.

The decline in per capita consumption of cereals makes a strong case for more targeted support to the most needy rather than the food security scheme's coverage of 67% of the population or an estimated 82 crore individuals – more than thrice the number of people below the official poverty line.

According to NSSO data, while consumption of cereals (as a proportion of proteins) fell from 69.42% to 62% in rural areas between 1993-94 and 2011-12, consumption of pulses went Post too long. Click here to view the full text.