Srinagar, May 13: Despite repeated promises by the Jammu and Kashmir government and announcements made in the Assembly regarding implementation of a crop insurance scheme for horticulture crops during the 2025-26 financial year, Kashmir’s Rs 10,000 crore horticulture sector continues to remain outside any formal insurance safety net, leaving lakhs of fruit growers exposed to recurring weather disasters and massive economic losses.

The issue has once again come into sharp focus after severe hailstorms, gusty winds, lightning and thunderstorms caused widespread devastation to apple orchards across north, central and south Kashmir over the past few days.

The horticulture sector is regarded as the backbone of Jammu and Kashmir’s economy and contributes nearly Rs 10,000 crore annually to the region’s economy.

The sector directly and indirectly supports lakhs of families associated with apple production, transportation, packaging, cold storage, grading, marketing and export activities.

However, despite its enormous economic contribution and repeated weather-related losses suffered by growers over the years, no comprehensive crop insurance mechanism has been implemented for fruit crops in Jammu and Kashmir.

In the evening hours of May 12, intense hailstorms and stormy winds hit several areas of north Kashmir including Tangmarg, Pattan, Wagura, Kreeri, Rafiabad, Baramulla and Bandipora, besides the Kangan belt of central Kashmir, causing extensive damage to hundreds of apple orchards.

Growers said the hailstorm lasted for nearly five to eight minutes and completely destroyed standing fruit crops in several areas.

Only a few days earlier, similar hailstorms had severely damaged orchards in Shopian and Kulgam districts of south Kashmir.

Fruit growers from affected areas described the damage as “irreparable”, saying the sudden weather event shattered hopes of a productive fruit season this year.

In a joint representation submitted to Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, fruit growers’ associations demanded immediate implementation of a crop insurance scheme for the horticulture sector.

The memorandum also sought re-introduction of the Market Intervention Scheme (MIS), which earlier provided support to growers during distress situations and market disruptions.

The growers further demanded that officials from Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology (SKAUST), the Horticulture Department and the Horticulture Planning and Marketing Department be directed to immediately assess losses suffered by orchard owners in affected areas.

The memorandum also sought announcement of a “reasonable and comprehensive compensation package” for affected growers.

Chairman of the Kashmir Valley Fruit Growers Cum Dealers Union Bashir Ahmad Basheer said the government had repeatedly been approached for implementation of crop insurance and market support mechanisms, but no concrete system has been put in place so far.

“It is unfortunate that despite announcements regarding a crop insurance scheme and allocation of budgetary provisions, the scheme has not been implemented so far. Similarly, the Market Intervention Scheme has not been reintroduced,” Basheer said.

He said the Kashmir Valley Fruit Growers Cum Dealers Union, which represents fruit growers’ associations across the Valley, had been consistently urging the government to include the horticulture sector under a comprehensive insurance mechanism to safeguard growers during natural calamities.

Basheer said some of the highest quality apple varieties in Kashmir are produced in areas such as Tangmarg, Pattan, Wagura, Kreeri, Rafiabad, Baramulla, Bandipora, Kangan, Shopian and Kulgam — areas that have now suffered major losses due to hailstorms and stormy winds.

“The owners of fruit orchards in these areas are mourning the destruction caused by the hailstorm. Damages to horticulture translate into significant economic setbacks for the entire region,” Basheer said.

The growers’ bodies said nearly 90 per cent of orchard owners in Kashmir are marginal farmers whose livelihoods depend entirely on earnings generated from orchards.

“Poor and marginal fruit growers have to shoulder huge losses without any crop insurance support. Whenever orchards are damaged due to natural disasters, these growers face severe hardships because all their domestic expenses and livelihood depend on horticulture income,” the memorandum said.

Mumbai, May 13: The rupee on Wednesday slipped to an all-time low of 95.80 against the US dollar, and settled at 95.66 near its record closing low level, as the cumulative strain of elevated crude prices and West Asia geopolitical concerns offset hopes of lower demand for the US dollar due to import curbs.

Forex traders said possible RBI intervention and duty-led compression of gold imports helped moderate further weakness for the USD/INR pair, but the rupee was pressured by the trajectory of crude and the West Asia situation.

The rupee has become the worst-performing currency in Asia for the year, registering a loss of over 6 per cent so far this year, as elevated crude oil prices, a strong dollar and concerns regarding the West Asia crisis weighed on investor sentiments, traders said.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 95.52, registering a gain of 16 paise from its previous all-time closing low.

In a highly volatile trade, the USD/INR pair witnessed an intra-day high of 95.51 and a low of 95.80 against the greenback before settling at 95.66, up 2 paise from its previous close.

The rupee depreciated 40 paise to close at a fresh all-time low of 95.68 against the US dollar on Tuesday.

“On the rupee, USD/INR around 95.60 reflects the cumulative strain of elevated crude prices and the West Asia geopolitical premium. Active RBI intervention and the duty-led compression of gold imports should help moderate further weakness. The path of the rupee from here will be shaped less by gold and more by the trajectory of crude and the West Asia situation,” Anindya Banerjee, Head of Commodity and Currency Research, Kotak Securities, said.

The Indian government raised import tariffs on gold and silver to 15 per cent from 6 per cent to curb overseas purchases of the metals and ease pressure on the country’s FX reserves.

Traders said the hike in gold import tariff could bring down the demand of the yellow metal in the country, which is the world’s second-largest consumer of precious metals.

On Sunday, PM Modi urged people to avoid gold purchases for a year to help protect foreign exchange as India imports most of the precious commodities with hardly any production of its own.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading at 98.51, up 0.22 per cent.

“We expect the rupee to trade with a negative bias amid rising crude oil prices, concerns over inflation and geopolitical tensions between the US and Iran. However, any intervention by the RBI may support the rupee at lower levels. USDINR spot price is expected to trade in a range of 95.45 to 96.15,” Anuj Choudhary, Research analyst at Mirae Asset ShareKhan, said.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, fell 0.44 per cent to USD 107.30 per barrel in futures trade.

“Brent oil prices were stable at USD 107 per barrel levels after rallying for three straight sessions, with traders weighing on continued disruptions to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and assessing US inventory numbers,” Anil Kumar Bhansali, Head of Treasury and Executive Director, Finrex Treasury Advisors LLP, said.

On the domestic equity market front, Sensex settled marginally up by 49.74 points at 74,608.98, while the Nifty gained 33.05 points to 23,412.60.

Foreign Institutional Investors offloaded equities worth Rs 4,703.15 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data.

On the domestic macroeconomic front, retail inflation inched up to 3.48 per cent in April mainly due to higher prices of gold and silver jewellery as well as some kitchen items, according to government data released on Tuesday.

The Consumer Price Index (CPI)-based inflation, with base year 2024, was 3.40 per cent in March, 3.21 per cent in February, and 2.74 per cent in January.

The data released by the National Statistics Office (NSO) showed that inflation in the food basket was at 4.20 per cent in April, up from 3.87 per cent in the preceding month.