Government reimposes 50-pc duty on wheat imports
New Delhi: The duty-free import on wheat permitted by the Centre in September last year ended on February 28 and the government said it may consider allowing duty-free imports at a later stage.

Flour millers however are not happy at the development and want an extension of the nil duty. They said that the zero duty was an effective way to keep the prices under check.

Though the global price at $230-235 a tonne (Rs10,120-10,340) is higher than the domestic prices at Rs8,550-Rs8,600 a tonne, the nil duty would have acted as a cushion.

Spot prices of wheat in Delhi have slipped Rs30 a quintal to Rs1030 since Wednesday following the ban on futures trading in wheat and release of wheat by the FCI.

After the wheat procurement by government fell from 14.8 million tonne in 2005-06 to 9.2 million tonne in 2006-07, the government decided to import 5.5 million tonne wheat through the State Trading Corporation.
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Badal becomes Punjab CM
Mohali: Veteran Punjab politician Parkash Singh Badal has taken as Chief Minister for a record fourth time at the head of an 18-member Akali Dal-BJP coalition ministry.

Governor S F Rodrigues administered the oath of office and secrecy to them.

All the ministers, which included a woman representative each of SAD and BJP, have been given cabinet rank.

Four of his relatives have been inducted into the ministry, who has tried to bring in experience and youth in the ministry.

The relatives are: his son-in-law Adesh Partap Singh Kairon, nephew Manpreet Singh Badal, his son Sukhbir's brother-in-law Bikram Singh Majithia and another close relative Janmeja Singh Sekhon.

He has not appointed a deputy chief minister as speculated by the media.

No Minister of State has been appointed as the Chief Minister has exhausted the quota of 17 ministers allowed under the Constitution which restricts the size of the ministry to 15 per cent of the Assembly strength. The Punjab House has a strength of 117 members.
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