TIRUPATI: Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has urged mango farmers and pulp industries to work together to ensure fair prices for farmers, and sustained operation of processing units. He held an urgent review meeting with mango farmers, pulp industry representatives, and processing units of the erstwhile undivided Chittoor district on Thursday.
Naidu directed the processing and pulp industries to immediately purchase mangoes from farmers to provide them relief. He assured that the government would also support the pulp and processing industries. He said the government would formulate a long-term plan to prevent future issues for mango farmers.
Farmers brought to Naidu’s attention that pulp industries were not purchasing mangoes, citing a lack of orders and storage space. Some farmers also reported that unloading itself was taking 3-4 days in certain areas. Responding to this, the Chief Minister instructed processing units and pulp industry representatives to immediately purchase the produce and support farmers.
Mango pulp industries and exporters informed the Chief Minister that Pakistan and African countries have no import duties, while European countries impose high import duties. They urged Naidu to take up the matter with the Centre to persuade the European countries to reduce import duty. They also appealed for a reduction in GST on mango pulp from 12% to 5%. In response, the Chief Minister said he had already written to the Centre regarding the GST reduction, and would follow up on the matter again.
Naidu emphasised that while farmers should receive a good price for their mangoes, processing units and pulp industries also need to maintain viability. Industry representatives proposed considering including mango juice in the mid-day meal scheme for students. The Chief Minister noted that eggs are currently provided as a nutritional component in mid-day meals, but assured that the suggestion would be studied for future consideration.
The Chief Minister advised mango farmers to adopt best practices, avoiding excessive use of fertilisers and pesticides. He stressed the importance of adhering to global standards for testing, tracing, and certification to ensure the marketability of their produce worldwide.
He reiterated that processing industries should purchase mangoes from farmers according to their capacity to ensure justice for the farmers. He explicitly stated that farmers should be paid `8 per kg without any waiting period.
District Collector Sumit Kumar said 33 mango processing units and farmers participated in the meeting. He informed the Chief Minister that 30 mango processing units are operational in Chittoor district, with a combined capacity of 7,000 metric tonnes, and are currently collecting 6,500 metric tonnes. The Collector added that 1.12 lakh metric tonnes of mangoes have been purchased from farmers so far.
Tata Digital Nerve Centre comes up in Kuppam
TIRUPATI: The State’s first Tata Digital Nerve Centre (DiNC) has come up in Kuppam. The project, developed under the Tata Bridgital Framework, aims to revolutionise public health delivery by digitally integrating all Primary Health Centres, Community Health Centres, and government hospitals.
Inaugurating the project, along with Health Minister Y Satya Kumar Yadav on Thursday, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu said, “This digital healthcare revolution will empower every citizen with continuous and quality medical care. Kuppam is now the benchmark for Digital Health Transformation.”
The DiNC rollout will be completed in three phases. In phase 1, it is operational in Kuppam constituency, covering four mandals and one municipality. In Phase 2, it will be extended to all 32 mandals in Chittoor district within six months.
Under Phase 3, the Statewide launch covers all the 26 districts with six regional DiNCs. A dedicated public health helpline No. 155337 has been set up.