After Nagaland, Manipur issues order ‘to prevent anyone from entering state illegally'
While the Nagaland government, in an order issued on Monday, had cited apprehension of entry into the state by people displaced by the Assam government's ongoing eviction drives, the Manipur Home Department memorandum cites 'the turmoil situation in neighbouring countries.'
The memorandum directs the Deputy Commissioners and Superintendents of Police of all districts to ensure vigil at international, inter-state and inter-district boundaries 'to prevent anyone from crossing into the state's boundaries illegally.' Manipur shares an international border with Myanmar and it has an Inner Line Permit regime, under which any Indian citizen, who does not belong to the state, is required to procure an official travel document called an Inner Line Permit (ILP), issued by the state government concerned, to visit or stay.
It also directs that District level Task Forces 'for checking of illegal migrants' be made operational 'at the earliest' comprising an ASP of the district, an officer from the district administration, a paramilitary representative and biometric staff.
The memorandum spells out steps to be taken in the event that any such 'illegal movement' is detected: recording the biographic and biometric details of the persons; placing them in secured designated locations 'without allowing them to get mixed up or naturalised with local populace'; and deporting after due procedure.
The question of alleged large scale illegal immigration from Myanmar into Manipur is one of the most contested issues in the state, particularly between the Meitei and Kuk-Zo communities which are in conflict with each other. Stakeholders from the Meitei community allege that illegal immigration of Chins from Myanmar, who are of the same ethnicity of the Kuki-Zos, is they key reason for the volatility in the region, a stance also expressed by the Union Home Minister.
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Indian Express
12 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Amid India-Philippines naval drill in South China Sea, President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr to arrive in New Delhi tomorrow
President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr of the Philippines is set to arrive in New Delhi on August 4 in his first trip to India since assuming office in 2022, even as the two countries have begun their first bilateral naval exercise in the South China Sea. A statement issued by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Thursday said that Marcos Jr will be visiting India at Prime Minister Narendra Mod'is invitation. During his four-day visit, Marcos Jr will hold talks with President Droupadi Murmu; PM Modi; External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar; and Health Minister J P Nadda, who is also the BJP president. Marcos Jr will meet Jaishankar on August 4. On August 5, he will lay a wreath at Raj Ghat, before holding bilateral talks with PM Modi in Hyderabad House, wherein India and the Philippines will sign several agreements. He will then meet Nadda and travel to Bengaluru, where he will call on Karnataka Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot. India and the Philippines began the two-day 'bilateral maritime cooperative activity' on Saturday in waters close to the Scarborough Shoal, a focal point of the maritime dispute between China and the Philippines. Sources say India is joining these efforts owing to its shared concerns about China's growing maritime power, including in the South China Sea. Defence cooperation is one of the strong pillars of bilateral relations and a promising area for future collaboration between India and the Philippines, says the website of the Indian embassy in Manila. India delivered the first batch of BrahMos missile system to the Philippines on April 19, 2024, making it the first foreign nation to acquire the missile weapon system. The diplomatic relations between India and the Philippines were established in November 1949. President Marcos Jr's state visit coincides with the 75th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic relations, the MEA said. The MEA statement further said that India's relations with the Philippines were an integral pillar of its 'Act East' policy, Vision MAHASAGAR, and its vision of the Indo-Pacific. The visit is an opportunity for both leaders to set the path for future bilateral cooperation and to engage on regional and international issues of mutual interest, it added. As per the website of the Indian embassy in Manila, there have been four presidential visits from the Philippines to India—by President Ferdinand E Marcos in 1976 (stopover visit), President Fidel Ramos in 1997, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo in 2007, and President Rodrigo Duterte in Jan 2018. From the Indian side, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi visited the Philippines in 1981, followed by President R Venkatraman in 1991; President A P J Abdul Kalam in 2006, and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in 2007. More recently, PM Modi visited the country in 2017 and President Ram Nath Kovind visited it in 2019. Divya A reports on travel, tourism, culture and social issues - not necessarily in that order - for The Indian Express. She's been a journalist for over a decade now, working with Khaleej Times and The Times of India, before settling down at Express. Besides writing/ editing news reports, she indulges her pen to write short stories. As Sanskriti Prabha Dutt Fellow for Excellence in Journalism, she is researching on the lives of the children of sex workers in India. ... Read More
Mint
12 minutes ago
- Mint
India's ₹2 trillion paneer rush, and a battle with fakes
New Delhi: New Delhi's Okhla Mandi, a sprawling wholesale market, supplies fresh produce to vast swathes of homes and restaurants in the city. It is also home to half a dozen paneer or cottage cheese selling units. Rows of neatly stacked paneer slabs line up the market's covered sheds. The slabs range from 200 grams to 5kg. At New Haryana Paneer Bhandar, a store in the mandi, cottage cheese can be bought for ₹270 per kg. Neighbouring Malai Paneer Bhandar sells them at ₹240 a kg, to small restaurants. Branded and packaged paneer, in contrast, can cost double the price. Some shopkeepers claimed to source the milk, used to make their paneer, from villages outside Delhi. But anyone who has followed the recent controversy around 'analogue' and adulterated paneer, would be more guarded. To the naked eye, they all look like the real thing. But are they? In July, in Uttar Pradesh's Saharanpur, the state's food safety department seized 1,200 kgs of adulterated paneer and contaminated milk. In Gorakhpur, another city in the state, 2,500 kgs of adulterated paneer was discovered and destroyed. In June, Chandigarh's food safety officials uncovered approximately 450 kg of potentially harmful paneer during a raid. 'We use only milk we procure from our village in Mewat (in Haryana) for this paneer. Koi milawat nahin hai (There's no adulteration)," a sales executive at one of the stores in the mandi stressed, when asked about the purity of their products. The proliferation of adulterated cottage cheese points to a market on steroids—there's a paneer rush—and companies, big and small, want to capitalize on it. The humble food from north Indian homes is now finding new consumers across the country, even in the south. Restaurants sell everything from the drab paneer tikka to fancier versions. Heard about pesto-stuffed grilled cottage cheese steak? In 2024, India's paneer market was valued at ₹64,810 crore. This market is projected to expand significantly to over ₹2 trillion by 2033, according to data sourced from the annual reports of listed dairy companies. However, well over 90% of paneer consumption in the country is through local dairies and in unpackaged form—like the ones sold at Okhla Mandi. Organized players like Anand Milk Union Ltd (Amul), Mother Dairy Fruit & Vegetable Pvt Ltd, Heritage Foods Ltd, Milky Mist Dairy Food Ltd, Parag Milk Foods Ltd and Beejapuri Dairy Pvt Ltd (Country Delight) account for less than 10%. The controversy around adulterated paneer has given Big Dairy the wind in their sails. There is yet another major headwind—the global trend towards more high protein food. Paneer fits in well, particularly if you are vegetarian. Some companies are expanding capacities, hoping to shift consumption from unbranded to branded paneer in the years ahead. Real and unreal Before we delve deeper into the organized industry's plans, let's look at the cheese making process, and what differentiates a real paneer from an unreal one. Normal paneer is made by curdling cow or buffalo milk using an acidic agent like lemon juice, vinegar, citric acid, or dahi. The milk is heated, an acid is added to separate the milk solids (curds) from the liquid (whey). These curds are then drained, pressed, and often submerged in cold water to achieve a firm, non-melting block. As per standards set by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), paneer must contain at least 50% milk fat and cannot exceed a moisture content of 70%. Analogue paneer, on the other hand, is primarily composed of non-dairy ingredients such as vegetable oil or fat, starches, milk solids or skimmed milk powder, rather than milk fat. This version is designed to mimic the appearance, taste, and texture of real paneer while being a more affordable alternative. While generally safe for consumption, it often lacks the same nutritional value and isn't typically marketed as 'analogue', which can mislead consumers. Adulterated paneer is entirely different and unsafe for consumption. It combines starches with chemical preservatives and whitening agents, including hydrogen peroxide and sometimes even urea. The Indian Dairy Association (IDA), an industry body, has suggested that manufacturers of analogue products should use nomenclature that provides a distinct identity to its product—meaning, they should avoid the term 'paneer' altogether. 'Paneer can be made using skimmed milk powder, cheap vegetable oil. Some even use starch instead of skimmed milk powder to drive down costs," R.S. Sodhi, president of IDA, told Mint. 'Only packaged paneer should be sold, where you need to declare the ingredients," he added. Sodhi was the managing director of Amul, India's largest dairy brand, between 2010 and 2023. As part of a consultation paper floated earlier this year, FSSAI has stated that if analogue of paneer has been used for preparation of kadhai paneer or analogue of cheese is used in a burger instead of dairy products in restaurants or by caterers, the exact nature of the ingredient must be mentioned in the menu. Fat price Nonetheless, many small restaurants continue to prefer analogue paneer because it's cheaper but they don't declare it to consumers. So, how expensive is the real one? A kilogram of the real paneer requires at least five litres of milk. Considering one litre costs ₹60, the input expense on milk totals ₹300 for 1 kg of cottage cheese. Add to this 12% GST, transportation and marketing costs, and the final selling price could be upwards of ₹450 per kg to the end consumer. The cost of dairy fat and vegetable fat differ hugely—vegetable fat could be one-third the cost of dairy fat. If companies substitute even 50% dairy fat in the paneer with vegetable fat, the final cost to consumers could fall drastically. But large dairy companies don't. Amul today sells 200 grams of fresh paneer for ₹95 ( ₹475 a kg), similar to Mother Dairy. Parag Milk Foods' Gowardhan paneer retails at ₹105 for the same quantity ( ₹525 a kg). Soft paneer, hard facts 58-year-old Neelam Mason stays in Delhi's Lajpat Nagar. Recently, she read all the news around the raids on fake paneer manufacturers. Now, she is both worried and confused. All her life, she has solely relied on paneer from local diaries, buying 200-250 grams once or twice a week. The controversy made her try a branded one. 'I recently bought Amul paneer from Blinkit and while it seemed firm, on cooking it softened up. I may try that again," she said. Big Diary is listening to consumers like Mason. Two years ago, at dairy cooperative Mother Dairy's research centre, at its Patparganj plant in east Delhi, food scientists focused on reformulating the company's packaged paneer. The company had spent months collecting consumer feedback on how they preferred their paneer—most wanted their paneer to be softer, in line with what they consume from unbranded players. 'This prompted us to make a slight change in the recipe," Manish Bandlish, managing director of Mother Dairy Fruit & Vegetable, told Mint in an interview. Mother Dairy is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the National Dairy Development Board. Why does packaged cottage cheese feel firmer? The fact is, real paneer is meant to be that way—firm, chewy in texture, not extra soft. Paneer made from cow milk will also have a slight yellow/cream tinge. Packaged brands soak the product in a brine solution. Local players, on the other hand, soak paneer in water for a long time, giving it greater moisture content and making it soft when purchased, a food scientist, who didn't want to be identified, explained. Several executives also pointed out that the water used to soak the paneer in stores may not always be clean or hygienic. Handling is a huge red-flag since it happens with bare hands, said this person. Back to Mother Dairy, which began selling branded cottage cheese well over a decade ago, but has recently stepped up its efforts. It significantly ramped up production capacity, doubling it in 2024, in addition to launching more pack sizes and variants. Currently, it produces 25 tonnes of paneer daily, a small portion compared to its curd and milk sales. 'We are doubling our capacity now. We are planning to take it up to 50 tonnes and even more," said Bandlish. In Maharashtra, Parag Milk Foods has been using advertising as a plank to drive consumer awareness and a shift to packaged dairy products. Convenience and hygiene are the two main reasons driving the shift. 'Paneer has blown up as a category because people know it's a great source of protein. That's why paneer is very crucial for us. In the next three to five years, we are expecting to expand our capacity," said Akshali Shah, executive director, Parag Milk Foods. The paneer category contributes 7-10% of the company's sales—it reported ₹3,432 crore in consolidated revenue in 2024-25. Meanwhile, Jayen Mehta, managing director at the Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd, the company that markets dairy products under the Amul brand, says cottage cheese is the category of the future, growing at high double digits annually. The cooperative already exports its paneer to markets like the US, Japan, Singapore and West Asia. 'We have 15 plants across India that make paneer. Amul has a total of 78-80 plants for milk alone. We are expanding—wherever we have milk, we will make paneer," he added. Idli stuffed paneer A new frontier in India's cottage cheese story is the south. Traditionally, south Indian states didn't consume too much of this milk product even though 'paneer dosa' has been around for sometime now. The paradigm may change in the future, given the aggressive promotions from some companies. Heritage Foods, founded by Nara Chandrababu Naidu, the current chief minister of Andhra Pradesh, is a case in point. Its marketing campaigns, uploaded on YouTube, coaches you to make 'mini idli stuffed with tempered paneer', 'paneer tomato pappu', 'paneer upma' and 'paneer pollichathu'. 'We realized that people are eating paneer in restaurants, but they're not eating paneer at home. The reason is they don't know what to do with it—paneer doesn't go with any of the south Indian dishes," Srideep Nair Kesavan, chief executive officer (CEO) of Heritage Foods, said. 'Our north star is to integrate paneer into south Indian dishes," he added. 'In four years, we have seen a CAGR of 40% on paneer. We are growing very aggressively. We are doubling our volumes every two years," the executive further said. Heritage Foods is ramping up capacity to match demand. Last year, it commissioned a new paneer line at its plant in Hyderabad. A new plant is expected by the middle of next calendar year. The company reported revenues of ₹4,134.6 crore in 2024-25, up 9% over the previous year. For Tamil Nadu based dairy company Milky Mist, paneer is the largest product category already—it contributed close to 30% of total revenue in 2024-25, as per its Draft Red Herring Prospectus. The company wants to raise ₹2,035 crore through an initial public offering. 'The consistent growth underscores strong consumer demand, backed by Milky Mist's integrated manufacturing and cold chain distribution capabilities," K. Rathnam, CEO of Milky Mist, said in an email response to Mint. Revenue from the sale of paneer increased from ₹437.9 crore in 2022-23 to ₹693.6 crore last year. 'There has been a notable shift in consumer preference towards hygienically packaged and branded dairy products, including paneer, particularly in the wake of regulatory scrutiny around counterfeit products," Rathnam added. Apart from paneer, Milky Mist sells cheese, butter, curd, ghee, yogurt and ice cream among other products. Before you say cheese! While the going appears to be good for the branded players, they do have some challenges to overcome. Consumer perception is one of them. We have already mentioned that many prefer their cottage cheese to be softer. Second, they also believe that 'fresh' paneer—getting the water-soaked product from the neighbourhood store—is better. 'People are obsessed with the idea that packaged means bad. People ask, 'paneer comes with a 30 days shelf life?' They are made by a 140-year-old technology called pasteurization. So packaged is probably the only clean label product you can get off the shelf," Kesavan of Heritage Foods said. Price is the third area of concern, a place where analogue paneer wins hands down. India's Big Dairy companies say that growth of branded paneer in the hotel, restaurant, and catering segment is slow. 'Paneer will continue to stay premium because it has a good amount of fat and protein in it. The price parity (with analogue) is not going to come down anytime soon," said Akshali Shah of Parag Milk Foods. Cornering a higher share of that ₹2 trillion market, a dream worth chasing, won't be an easy affair.
Hindustan Times
12 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Building a self-sufficient critical minerals ecosystem
India's transition to a sustainable, high-tech economy is inextricably tied to the availability of critical minerals, materials indispensable for renewable energy, electric mobility, semiconductors, and national defense. The global supply chains for these minerals are increasingly strained by geopolitical tensions, environmental concerns, and surging demand. FILE - Refined tellurium is displayed at the Rio Tinto Kennecott refinery, May 11, 2022, in Magna, Utah. The world has enough rare earth minerals and other critical raw materials to switch from fossil fuels to renewable energy to produce electricity and limit global warming, according to a new study that counters concerns about the supply of such minerals. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, File)(AP) India's dependency on imports for critical minerals and their processing equipment is a systemic vulnerability. Strategic sectors such as semiconductors, green hydrogen, electric mobility, and defence highly depend on secure and sustainable access to these resources. The National Critical Minerals Mission (NCMM) recognises this need and identifies key challenges in India's current capabilities: Lack of indigenous capital equipment for extractive metallurgy Limited domestic recycling infrastructure for high-value end-of-life products Insufficient integration between research, process development, and commercialisation Addressing these bottlenecks requires a coordinated national effort, with academic institutions, industry stakeholders, and policymakers working in tandem. India has a strong foundation in materials science and process development, supported by decades of work from national laboratories and research groups. These efforts have laid the groundwork for deeper innovation in critical mineral extraction and processing. The NCMM aims to make a self-reliant production ecosystem that spans the entire value chain, from raw ores to refined materials, delivered at industrial scale. But achieving this vision remains an ongoing challenge. These critical materials are foundational to strategic sectors such as semiconductors, green hydrogen, green mobility, and renewable energy, all of which require a robust and indigenous technology ecosystem to ensure national resilience and sustainability. However, a significant challenge facing many Indian technology initiatives is the commercialisation gap, particularly in the domain of capital equipment and high-end machinery required to scale up lab-level technologies. India remains heavily dependent on imports for extractive metallurgy equipment, smelters, and advanced mineral processing systems. This dependence severely limits the ability to commercialize and scale domestic technologies. A similar scenario is observed in the lithium-ion battery manufacturing ecosystem, where most cell fabrication and recycling equipment are still imported. While the Government of India is now investing in indigenising such equipment, these capabilities cannot be built overnight. Equipment development must go hand-in-hand with early-stage R&D investments in battery materials. India continues to rely on imported equipment for key mineral processing operations, electrostatic separators, magnetic separators, analytical tools, and extractive metallurgical units. In several cases, import restrictions on sensitive or large-scale systems further limit access, thereby hindering domestic technology translation and industrial deployment. To bridge this gap, certain institutions have been recognized by central ministries as focal points for capital equipment development, driven by their longstanding work in materials science, process chemistry, and modular engineering design. The lack of indigenous equipment capability has also contributed to the export of valuable intermediate resources like black mass from used batteries, highlighting the urgent need for in-country refining and recovery solutions. Beyond equipment, the ecosystem must also include domestic capabilities in specialty process chemicals used throughout the mineral processing chain. There is a growing focus on building this extensive ecosystem, one that spans chemical inputs, machinery, modular plant designs, and supply chain integration. Tapping into the expertise of small and specialised industries will be key to commercialising many of the materials listed under NCMM and ensuring consistent domestic supply. Industrial collaborations are already beginning to emerge in support of this ecosystem-building effort. A proposal is underway to establish a TRL 7/8 pilot-scale facility that can serve as a national technology hub for the design, development, and integration of capital equipment. Such a facility could provide standardized blueprints for plant setup, process flow, and materials integration, which are critical components for building a self-reliant critical minerals value chain by 2047. This kind of platform can also act as a collaborative node, bringing together other academic institutions, research bodies, and private players. Strengthening such alliances is essential to accelerate innovation, bridge the research-to-commercialisation gap, and ensure strategic readiness in sectors dependent on critical minerals. India is currently making major R&D investments across strategic sectors. However, many of these initiatives continue to face limited industrial adoption due to weak linkages between academia and industry. Developing indigenous process technologies and engineering capabilities has now turned into a national priority. A modular, collaborative approach can help India build a resilient critical minerals ecosystem for the future, grounded in early-stage innovation and supported by strong public-private partnerships. This article is authored by Omprakash Subbarao, chief executive, CORE Labs, FSID.
