Cabinet clears Rs 10,000 crore package to control ATF prices, insulate airlines from crude price shock
The Union Cabinet on Wednesday cleared a one-time budgetary support of up to Rs 10,000 crore for oil marketing companies (OMCs) to offer aviation turbine fuel (ATF) price-stabilisation support to Indian airlines, impacted by the ongoing Iran conflict. The Government said the support will be in the form of interest-free advances to OMCs through the demands for grants of the petroleum and natural gas ministry to cover under-recoveries, the gap between market-linked jet fuel prices and the moderated rates charged to airlines. “When international ATF prices moderate, the differential amount shall be recovered from OMCs and returned to the Consolidated Fund of India. The arrangement shall continue until the entire support amount is fully recovered and settled,” official sources said. The package shall be provided to OMCs to facilitate stable jet fuel pricing for airlines during the ongoing period of exceptional price volatility arising from the West Asia crisis, they further said. Significantly it will have no impact on air ticket prices, sources added. The corpus shall compensate OMCs for losses arising from elevated international ATF prices whenever the import parity price exceeds the benchmark price determined under the approved mechanism. The mechanism will provide enhanced stability and predictability in jet fuel prices for Indian carriers, enabling better operational and financial planning, the government said. The measure will help protect and sustain domestic and international air connectivity, ensuring continuity of air services, reducing the pass-through of fuel price shocks to passengers, thereby helping to moderate fare volatility, it said.
Andhra natural farming prog wins $1.5-million Food PlanetPrize 2026 in Sweden
Andhra Pradesh’s community-managed natural farming programme has won Sweden’s Food Planet Prize 2026. The Andhra Pradesh Community Managed Natural Farming (APCNF) programme, implemented by Rythu Sadhikara Samstha, won $ 1.5 million, for leading one of the world’s largest transitions to natural farming. The award was presented in Bastad, Sweden, on Tuesday. The prize, given by the Curt Bergfors Foundation, recognizes initiatives that could contribute to resilient, equitable and environmentally sustainable food systems within the next decade. “The world’s largest environmental prize for food systems belongs to farmers. From the fields of Andhra Pradesh, millions of #NaturalFarming farmers are demonstrating that it is possible to grow food while restoring nature, improving health, and tackling climate change. The FoodPlanetPrize 2026 is a tribute to our women farmers, the youth, innovators, and climate warriors who are proving that #NaturalFarming can nourish both people and the planet," APCNF said in a post on X.
Over the past 10 years, 1.8 million farmers in southern India have joined what is now one of the world’s largest transitions to natural agriculture—and the numbers keep growing. Launched by the Andhra Pradesh government, APCNF works through women’s collectives and a network of over 10,000 farmer trainers to help smallholders abandon synthetic inputs in favor of natural farming practices rooted in soil science and traditional knowledge. Year-round cover cropping and pre-monsoon dry sowing are among the methods being adopted across more than 8,000 villages.
The competition had received more than 1,000 nominations from around the world. APCNF was among four finalists selected from a long list of 35 initiatives across 19 countries and six continents, according to a press note by APCNF.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu said the recognition was a “first for India” and that the state aimed to become “100 per cent natural Andhra Pradesh by 2047”. APCNF’s methods are now being shared across 22 Indian states, as well as in Sri Lanka and Zambia.
