Poultry company Suguna to invest $67.2 mn in India, Bangladesh and Kenya

Coimbatore-based Suguna is one of the leading poultry integrators in India with operations covering all areas of the poultry sector.

India's largest poultry enterprise Suguna is to invest around $67.2 million in India, Bangladesh and Kenya. The proposed investment will be backed by International Finance Corporation (IFC).

Coimbatore-based Suguna is one of the leading poultry integrators in India with operations covering all areas of the poultry sector.

Suguna’s fully integrated operations cover broiler and layer farming, hatcheries, feed mills, and processing plants across 20 Indian states and one union territory, and have an overseas presence in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Kenya. The main operating company under SHPL is Suguna Foods Private Limited (SFPL) in India, which generates over 97 per cent of the group’s revenues.

Suguna is planning capacity expansion, including the construction of poultry infrastructure including a hatchery, processing plant, poultry environment-controlled shed, premix plant, and related poultry assets, as well as incremental working capital financing, through a $42.9 million investment at SFPL in India to further expand its operations in northern and eastern India, primarily in Uttar Pradesh, Odisha and West Bengal and the construction of feed mills, breeders.

The company is also planning hatcheries in Bangladesh and Kenya through a $15.9 million investment in Suguna Food and Feeds Bangladesh Pvt. Ltd. (SFFBPL) in Bangladesh and a $8.4 million investment in Suguna Poultry (Kenya) Limited (SPKL) in Kenya in order to capitalise on the growing economy and expanding poultry sector in both the countries,.

IFC support will include a loan of up to $15 million and an INR denominated non-vonvertible debentures (NCDs) of up to Rs 180 crore (approximately $25 million) to SFPL in India;

The most significant, expected project-level outcome is the impact on the incomes of poultry farmers who participate in Suguna's outgrower (contract farming) model or use the group's inputs for independent poultry production, said the World Bank's investment arm.

ICC CWC 19: A hopeful Kohli downplays top-order rout ahead of WC campaign

The top-order failed to fire in both the warm-up games with most experts suggesting that the batsmen are struggling to adapt to the English conditions.

Business Standard : "I am glad with what we got out of these two games," said Virat Kohli after the second warm-up match against Bangladesh which his side won comfortably by 95 runs.

But was it really the case?

In the first practice match, the famed Indian batting line-up struggled before the pace and swing of New Zealand bowlers, especially Trent Boult who wreaked havoc and picked up four wickets on May 25 in challenging batting conditions at Southampton. Apart from Ravindra Jadeja, none of the Indian batsmen managed to stay for long at the crease and as a result the Men in Blue were bundled out for mere 179 inside 40 overs which the Black Caps chased down without any hiccups.

In the second match as well, the Indian top-order failed to perform as per expectations and didn't seem to be in total control of their game. It was only K.L. Rahul and M.S. Dhoni, who managed to make the most of their batting as they scored brilliant hundreds to help India post a mammoth 360-run target, which it successfully defended against Bangladesh.

ICC World Cup 2019

Keeping aside those two knocks and the quickfire 46-ball 47 from Virat Kohli, it was again a case of conditions making the batsmen sweat.

ODI vice captain Rohit Sharma, who had scored just two runs against the Kiwis, managed 19 against the Bangladesh. He was seen struggling before the pace and swing of Boult, as well as that of Mustafizur Rahman.

Same was the case with Shikhar Dhawan who managed scores of 2 and 1 in both the warm-up matches. The much spoken about Vijay Shankar also managed just 2 on Tuesday as the Indian scoreboard read a scary 102/4 at one stage. But the 164-run partnership between Rahul (108) and Dhoni ensured that another embarrassing collapse was avoided.

However, Kohli doesn't appear much bothered by the form of his 'star openers'. "Shikhar and Rohit are quality players. They become stars in ICC events. I understand if guys don't get going rightaway in this format, but I am glad with what we got out of these two games," the skipper said on Tuesday.

When it comes to bowling, the Indian bowlers didn't have much to defend against the Black Caps. But still, they put up a good show, especially Jasprit Bumrah who was magnificent with his line and length. He bowled at a brisk pace and returned with figures of 2/4 from the four overs he bowled.

251 sedition cases filed in Assam since BJP came to power in 2016

Two sedition cases were slapped on RTI activist-cum- peasant leader Akihil Gogoi in Dibrugarh district and Guwahati city.

Assam government has registered a total of 251 sedition cases since the BJP-led alliance came to power in the state in 2016, the Assembly was informed on Monday.

In a written reply, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Chandra Mohan Patowary said 251 sedition cases were filed against various individuals and banned organisations since May 26, 2016 when the present coalition government took charge.

Article Source BS

Replying to the query by Leader of the Opposition Debabrata Saikia of the Congress, Patowary said sedition cases have been filed against militant groups such as ULFA(I), NDFB (S), NDFB(B), KLO, NSLA, NSLA(AT), UPLFS, DHD, DHNA, NSCN(IM), ZUF and ATF among others.

Such cases were also registered against several individuals, Patowary said on behalf of Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal who also holds the Home portfolio.

Two sedition cases were slapped on RTI activist-cum- peasant leader Akihil Gogoi in Dibrugarh district and Guwahati city.

Along with Gogoi, sedition cases were registered last month against eminent intellectual and Sahitya Akademi awardee Hiren Gohain and journalist Manjit Mahanta for their comments on the controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Bill.

The Bill, passed by the Lok Sabha on January 8, seeks to grant Indian citizenship to non-Muslims who fled religious persecution from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan, and entered India before December 31, 2014.

India worse than Bhutan, Bangladesh in healthcare, ranks 145th globally

India has improved its ranking on a global healthcare access and quality (HAQ) index from 153 in 1990 to 145 in 2016, yet ranks lower than neighbouring Bangladesh and even sub-Saharan Sudan and Equatorial Guinea.

In 2016, India scored 41.2 points on the healthcare access and quality (HAQ) index created by the Global Burden of Disease study published in the medical journal The Lancet on May 23, 2018. This 16.5-point improvement in 26 years leaves India’s score well below the global average of 54.4.

Despite improvements in healthcare access and quality, India lags way behind its BRICS peers Brazil, Russia, China and South Africa on the HAQ index, but matches China in disparity in healthcare access and quality between states.

Within India, best performers Goa and Kerala scored more than 60 points on the HAQ index in 2016, whereas worst performers Assam and Uttar Pradesh scored below 40. This gap between the highest and lowest scores increased from a 23.4 point difference in 1990 to a 30.8 point difference in 2016. (China fared the worst with a 43.5-point difference, ranging from 91.5 in Beijing to 48.0 in Tibet.)

The index is based on 32 causes of death considered preventable with effective medical care.

It assigns a 0-100 score to each of the 195 countries and territories assessed. For the first time, this year’s study analysed healthcare access and quality between regions within seven countries: Brazil, China, England, India, Japan, Mexico and the USA.

Read More