INDIA'S plantation industry has urged the government to remove the sector from the Minimum Wages Act. D P Maheswari, president of the United Planters' Association of Southern India, said: "The state governments are acting as if they are concerned about the ground realities of an open economy. Indian plantation sector has the disadvantage of a much higher cost on account of various statutory social costs it is bearing compared to other producing countries and we are losing some of our important export markets. It is, therefore, necessary that the centre come to the rescue of this industry, particularly since coffee, tea, rubber and cardamom are centrally-controlled industries under Central Plantations Act... Read More