Shopian, Apr 8: The animal husbandry sector in south Kashmir’s Shopian district has recorded notable gains in 2025–26, with government-backed schemes driving expansion in dairy, poultry and fodder development, according to official data under the Holistic Agriculture Development Programme (HADP).

Under the dairy development component (P-23), the district has witnessed targeted growth in infrastructure and value addition. Two satellite heifer units have been established, along with a milk value addition unit and five Automatic Milk Collection Units (AMCUs). Officials said these interventions—aimed at strengthening the dairy value chain from production to procurement—have achieved a financial outlay of ₹104.29 lakh, reflecting significant investment in improving milk quality and farmer returns.

The poultry sector, often seen as a quick-income avenue for rural households, has also received a boost. Under the poultry development roadmap (P-25), 17 free-range poultry units have been set up with a financial outlay of ₹17 lakh. Officials said the initiative signals a shift towards sustainable, low-input poultry farming, particularly beneficial for small and marginal farmers.

Fodder security has emerged as another key focus area under P-28. The programme has facilitated the establishment of three silage-making units, three hydroponic units, four chaff cutters, 18 fodder development plots and the distribution of 35 seed kits. With a financial achievement of ₹39.96 lakh, the initiative seeks to address the long-standing challenge of quality feed availability, a critical factor in livestock productivity.

Meanwhile, the Integrated Dairy Development Scheme (P-30) has enabled the establishment of 44 dairy units, alongside the distribution of three milking machines and two vermicompost units. With an expenditure of ₹75.77 lakh, the scheme aims to modernise dairy practices while promoting organic waste management.

The cumulative impact of these interventions is reflected in improved production and service delivery indicators. Official data show milk production has reached 75.633 thousand tonnes, while egg output stands at 5.356 million. In the breeding sector, over 34,810 artificial inseminations have been carried out, resulting in 9,972 births—indicating enhanced livestock genetics and reproductive efficiency.

Animal healthcare services have also expanded significantly. More than 2.29 lakh doses of cattle vaccines and 55,800 doses for poultry have been administered. Additionally, 1.77 lakh deworming doses have been delivered, and 67,619 cases treated, highlighting strengthened veterinary outreach and disease control efforts.

Extension activities remain a key pillar of the programme, with 121 awareness camps conducted to educate farmers on best practices, disease prevention and modern livestock management techniques, officials said.

Complementing these efforts, the DAJGUA-NLM initiative has supported the establishment of three small-scale poultry units (100 birds each), with financial assistance of ₹0.75 lakh. Though modest in scale, officials noted that such interventions play a vital role in promoting grassroots entrepreneurship and livelihood diversification.

New Delhi, Apr 8: Investors’ wealth swelled by Rs 16.25 lakh crore on Wednesday, mirroring a sharp rally in the stock market where the BSE Sensex jumped nearly 4 per cent, after the US and Iran announced a two-week ceasefire.

Rising for the fifth day in a row, the 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 2,946.32 points or 3.95 per cent to settle at 77,562.90, registering its best trading day in five years. During the day, it surged 3,018.96 points or 4 per cent to 77,635.54.

Thanks to the sharp rally in equities, the market capitalisation of BSE-listed companies surged by Rs 16,25,093.09 crore to Rs 4,45,51,401.85 crore (USD 4.81 trillion).

The Reserve Bank of India kept its key policy rate unchanged on Wednesday, adopting a wait-and-watch stance as policymakers assessed the fallout from the six-week Iran conflict on energy supplies, inflation and growth.

The central bank’s six-member Monetary Policy Committee voted unanimously to keep the benchmark repurchase rate at 5.25 per cent, flagging heightened uncertainty after the West Asia conflict drove crude prices sharply higher, weakened the rupee and disrupted trade flows.

“The ceasefire has reduced near-term geopolitical uncertainty, supporting risk-on flows into equities — particularly in emerging markets like India, which had witnessed record FII outflows in March. Additionally, the sharp correction in crude prices is a key positive for India, as it eases inflationary pressures, narrows the current account deficit, supports the rupee, and strengthens fiscal dynamics,” Ajay Menon, MD & CEO – Wealth Management (retail broking and distribution), Motilal Oswal Financial Services, said.

On the policy front, the RBI maintained the repo rate at 5.25 per cent with a neutral stance, ensuring stable liquidity conditions, he added. Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, tumbled 15 per cent to USD 92.88 per barrel.

From the Sensex pack, InterGlobe Aviation jumped the most by 8.16 per cent. Larsen & Toubro, Bajaj Finance, Mahindra & Mahindra, Axis Bank and Maruti were also among the prominent gainers.

Tech Mahindra, Sun Pharma and Power Grid were the laggards.

Interest rate-sensitive realty, auto and bank stocks were the leading winners.

All sectoral indices ended higher. The Realty index jumped 6.76 per cent, auto (6.55 per cent), BSE PSU Bank (5.79 per cent), Bankex (5.72 per cent), Private Banks index (5.62 per cent), Financial Services (5.48 per cent), Services (5.22 per cent), Consumer Discretionary (5.11 per cent), and Industrials (4.87 per cent).

In Asian markets, South Korea’s benchmark Kospi surged 6.87 per cent and Japan’s Nikkei 225 index jumped 5.39 per cent. Shanghai’s SSE Composite index and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index also recorded sharp rallies.

European markets were trading significantly higher.

A total of 3,859 stocks advanced, while 537 declined and 101 remained unchanged on the BSE.

“While there are reasons to cheer the de-escalation in the near term, and Indian equities are likely to join the rebound, the recovery, like in other markets, remains conditional on what happens next,” Dhananjay Sinha, CEO & Co-Head of Institutional Equities at Systematix Group, said.

New Delhi, Apr 8: The US and Israeli war against Iran could wipe out nearly USD 200 billion worth of economic growth across West Asia, a new United Nations study found.

The military escalation in West Asia is likely to cost economies of the region from 3.7 to 6 percent of their collective Gross Domestic Product(GDP), a staggering loss of 194 billion dollars.

Coupled with an estimated rise in unemployment and a loss of over 3.6 million jobs.

These reversals will push around 4 million people into poverty, reports said.

This is in addition to 600 million dollar per day losses incurred by various Arab airlines and tourism related businesses.

Arab airlines lost millions due to cancellations of flights, closed airspace and reduced visitors’ confidence.

Major hubs like Dubai, Riyadh, and Doha  experienced flight disruptions, with hotel occupancy impacted,leading to huge revenue loss.

The UN agency studied a number of different scenarios to determine how the conflict, which began on February 28, might affect countries in the region.

The report indicated that the damage could be profound.

“A short-lived military escalation in the Middle East could generate profound and widespread socio-economic impacts across the Arab States region,” it said.

The overall loss could result in the regional unemployment rate rising by as much as four percentage points, costing some 3.6 million jobs and pushing as many as four million people into poverty, the report says.

“This crisis rings alarm bells for countries of the region,”Abdullah Al Dardari, the UN Assistant Secretary General of the UNDP Arab said in a statement.

The hardest-hit regions would be concentrated in Gulf Cooperation Council countries and in the Levant, with each region set to lose more than 5.2 percent of their GDP.

The likes of Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates are suffering from the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which is preventing them from exporting much of their oil and natural gas.

Qatar and Kuwait could each see their GDP contract by 14 percent this year should the conflict continue through to the end of April, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. estimates.

That would be the worst economic slump for those two countries since the early 1990s, when Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait triggered the Gulf War.

Saudi Arabia and the UAE would fare better given their ability to re-route some oil flows away from the Hormuz waterway.

But they would still likely see GDP drop by about 3 percent and 5 percent, in what would be the biggest economic hit since the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

The conflict, now in its second month, has already sent global energy prices soaring, unnerving the global economy.

The closure of the Strait of Hormuz was raising food and fertilizer prices in a way that could hit poorer countries particularly hard.

Meanwhile, a separate analysis  from UNDP  found the war will trigger a sharp economic contraction in Iran, slashing GDP by as much as 10.4 percent and potentially pushing more than 3.5 million people into poverty.

The report said airstrikes on Iran have “damaged homes, schools, health facilities, and essential services.”