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By:

Rajendra Joshi

3 December 2024 at 9:20:26 am

Pakistan eyes India’s sugar shortage

Kolhapur: Twenty-seven years after the controversial “Sugar Gate” episode during the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government, Pakistan is once again eyeing India’s sugar market, this time seeking permission to export up to 1.2 million tonnes of sugar to India amid a tightening domestic supply situation and a sharp rise in prices. The Pakistan Sugar Mills Association has approached the Pakistan government seeking approval to export up to 1.2 million tonnes of surplus sugar to India. The proposal comes...

Pakistan eyes India’s sugar shortage

Kolhapur: Twenty-seven years after the controversial “Sugar Gate” episode during the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government, Pakistan is once again eyeing India’s sugar market, this time seeking permission to export up to 1.2 million tonnes of sugar to India amid a tightening domestic supply situation and a sharp rise in prices. The Pakistan Sugar Mills Association has approached the Pakistan government seeking approval to export up to 1.2 million tonnes of surplus sugar to India. The proposal comes days after India permitted duty-free imports of one million tonnes of sugar to cool domestic prices, raising the possibility of Pakistani sugar entering the Indian market. The proposed exports are significant against the backdrop of the controversy that erupted in Parliament in August 1999, when India imported sugar to address a domestic shortage. The Congress had then alleged that a substantial portion of the imports came from Pakistan and accused the Vajpayee-led BJP government of favouring sugar mills linked to the family of then Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. The government rejected the allegations, but the episode became a major political controversy. The latest development has acquired added significance because India is again facing a delicate demand-supply situation in sugar. Prices have surged sharply, with retail sugar prices nearing the Rs 70-a-kg mark in several markets. The Centre’s decision to allow one million tonnes of duty-free imports is aimed at improving domestic availability and containing prices ahead of the festival season. Pakistan’s sugar industry sees an opportunity in the situation. According to the Pakistan Sugar Mills Association, Pakistan had around 2.8 million tonnes of sugar stocks as of August 15, while monthly domestic consumption is estimated at about 550,000 tonnes. Pakistan’s sugar industry has also highlighted the country’s foreign-exchange constraints. The timing of the proposal is therefore significant. India’s decision to open a window for duty-free sugar imports has created an opportunity for Pakistan’s sugar industry to dispose of its surplus stocks while earning valuable foreign exchange. For India, however, any proposal to source sugar from Pakistan is likely to carry political as well as economic implications. The memory of the 1999 “Sugar Gate” controversy remains relevant, particularly because the proposed Pakistani exports come at a time when sugar prices and domestic availability have once again become politically sensitive issues. Whether Pakistan is eventually permitted to enter the Indian sugar market remains to be seen. But the request has already revived memories of a controversy that once shook Parliament and has placed Pakistan’s surplus sugar stocks squarely in the spotlight of India’s current sugar crisis.

AI in Sperm Sorting: An Unbiased Decision for A Better Outcome

Artificial Intelligence or AI is revolutionising fertility treatments of the future. The inclusion of AI enhances the accuracy, efficiency, and objectivity of sperm selection, hence potentially improving fertility outcomes by leaps and bounds. Traditionally, sperm sorting through manual methods is subjective to judgments. Processes like centrifugation and swim-up methods are used to separate sperm based on motility and morphology. Although they are effective, they have their limitations, leading to human errors that affect the success rates of fertility treatment. For instance, studies have shown that traditional sperm sorting techniques can have variability in success rates, with reported live birth rates ranging between 15 per cent to 25 per cent per cycle depending on the method and quality of sperm. Hence the introduction of AI helps in maintaining consistency in evaluations of sperm, using the same data set for every sample which leads to better judgments.


Automation and Standardisation- Automation of sperm selection and also introduction of AI in the process have improved the results in ART. AI-assisted sperm selection improves the accuracy in choosing high-quality sperm for fertilisation purposes, and also, pregnancy and live birth rates might be improved. Technologies like Intracytoplasmic Morphologically Selected Sperm Injection along with AI ensure the chances of pregnancies increase by about 10-20 per cent compared to the standard procedures. AI and Automation will decrease time taken to analyze sperm and increase opportunities to select better sperm with DNA integrity for better development and higher success rates in embryo selection. These processes ensure that the sperm selection process follows consistent criteria, reducing variability in outcomes caused by human error.


Analysing Complex Data for Better Outcomes- AI plays a crucial in improving IVF outcomes by analysing complex data and providing tailored recommendations. AI-driven tools and models such as those on SpOvum.ai point towards an opportunity to optimise ovarian stimulation decisions by assessing patient characteristics and follicle growth patterns. A study revealed that the use of AI in IVF improved egg yield and reduced medication costs. AI enables fertility specialists to make data-driven choices, improving overall IVF success rates and streamlining treatment processes.


Reducing Human Error- AI models can continuously learn and refine their performance by being trained on newer data. This adaptability ensures the technology remains unbiased and up-to-date with the latest scientific insights into sperm quality and fertility success rates. Studies have shown that AI-driven sperm sorting can decrease human-related errors by up to 25 per cent, improving sperm selection quality in terms of morphology and motility.


Reduction of Sperm Damage- The new AI-driven sperm sorting techniques also include microfluidic systems that are known to exhibit several advantages over the most commonly used conventional method, which is centrifugation. Traditional centrifugation methods, such as density gradient centrifugation, also cause severe oxidative stress and DNA fragmentation of the sperm because of the very high mechanical forces involved. The AI-infused microfluidic sorting minimises this damage significantly by involving gentler processes that mimic the natural pathway of sperm selection. The studies show that the process of microfluidic sorting decreases DNA fragmentation in sperm, which gives improved opportunities for success for IVF. For example, DNA fragmentation is 20 percent lower in sperm sorted using microfluidic processes than in traditional processing methods.


AI is bound to play an increasingly definitive role in fertility treatments, which will improve the outcomes for couples experiencing infertility.


(The author is a Co-Founder & CEO at SpOvum® Technologies. Views personal.)

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