Messi wins World Cup, shines spotlight on growth and after years of heartache – PHOTOS1/10 Lionel Messi’s World Cup fairytale lit up the year in soccer as heroics and heartbreak at the finals captivated fans and highlighted the growth of the world’s most popular sport despite the criticism of host country Qatar’s human rights record. Let us take a look at some of the images:2/10 Argentina’s Lionel Messi lifts the World Cup trophy alongside teammates as they celebrate after winning the World Cup. (Reuters Photo) European leagues have long dictated the global football calendar but world governing body FIFA’s decision to hold the tournament in the Middle East for the first time resulted in a mid-season pause and shook up the domestic club game. (AP Photo) Argentina’s Lionel Messi celebrates his side’s victory at the end of the World Cup final soccer match between Argentina and France at the Lusail Stadium in Lusail, Qatar. (AP Photo) With matches played in air-conditioned stadiums to cope with the heat of the desert state and no beer on tap in stadiums, spectators experienced a World Cup like never before. (Reuters Photo) But that did not kill the party mood as the finals repeatedly delivered exciting moments and concluded with Messi kissing the golden trophy, the missing piece in his vast collection, as Argentina defeated France on penalties. (Reuters Photo) Playing in a fifth World Cup for Argentina, the incomparable Messi once again left everyone in awe of his magical powers on the field as he smashed records and delivered on the hopes of a nation, bringing the World Cup home after 36 years. (Reuters Photo) The illustrious achievement, which will dominate discussions over the coming weeks, finally brought the diminutive forward out of the shadow of the late great Diego Maradona and reignited the debate about the greatest of all time (GOAT). (Reuters Photo) Though Argentina triumphed in the final, they were also one of the many heavyweights who suffered an upset in Qatar. (AP Photo) The South American giants were handed a shock defeat by Saudi Arabia in their first group game, which statisticians Gracenote credited as the biggest upset in World Cup history. (AP Photo)
Retail inflation in milk was reported at 8.85% in May 2023. The milk inflation has remained elevated at over 6% since August 2022. Despite India being the largest milk producer since 1998, the commodity has been the second biggest factor after cereals such as rice and wheat in driving up retail inflation in the last fiscal.
Milk has the second highest weight in the food and beverages basket of the consumer price index at 6.61%, a notch lower than cereals and products with a 9.67% weight. Organised players, including Mother Dairy and Amul, hiked prices multiple times in the last one year citing higher fodder cost, robust demand and some impact due to reports of lumpy skin disease.
Industry sources said feed cost, which has a share of more than 65% in the cost of production of milk, has increased to Rs 20/kg from Rs 8 a year ago. The finance ministry in April had attributed the elevated milk inflation to a demand supply mismatch and said it could be one of the factors apart from volatile international crude oil prices and constrained supplies of milk would influence the country’s inflation trajectory.
“Milk production has been impacted by a lumpy skin disease infecting millions of cattle in late 2022,” the ministry said in the monthly economic review, adding that the vaccination drive against the disease is expected to curb the spread and immune the cattle against the skin disease.
According to official data, currently India is the world’s largest milk producer, and has a share of 23% in global milk production. For the first time in decades, the country’s milk production is likely to have stagnated in 2022-23 due to Lumpy Skin Disease in cattle across several states and the lagged effect of Covid-19 in the form of stunting of the animals, a senior official with department of animal husbandry and dairying recently had stated. The milk production was estimated at 221 million tonne in 2021-22.