ISLAMABAD (APP) – The weekly inflation, measured by the Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI), recorded a decrease of 1.34 percent for the combined consumption group during the week ended on September 18, the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) reported on Friday.
The SPI for the week under review in the above-mentioned group was recorded at 330.84 points against 335.35 points during the past week, according to the PBS data.
As compared to the corresponding week of last year, the SPI for the combined consumption group in the week under review witnessed an increase of 4.17 percent.
The weekly SPI with the base year 2015-16=100 covers 17 urban centres and 51 essential items for all expenditure groups.
The SPI for the lowest consumption group of up to Rs17,732 decreased by 1.43 percent, going down to 322.71 points from last week’s 327.39 points.
The SPI for consumption groups of Rs17,733–22,888; Rs22,889–29,517; Rs29,518–44,175 and above Rs44,175 also decreased by 1.59 percent, 1.34 percent, 1.31 percent and 1.23 percent respectively.
During the week, out of 51 items, prices of 18 (35.29 percent) items increased, 14 (27.45 percent) items decreased and 19 (37.26 percent) items remained stable.
The commodities which recorded major decrease in their average prices on a week-on-week basis included tomatoes (23.11%), chicken (12.74%), electricity charges for Q1 (6.21%), bananas (5.07%), wheat flour (2.60%), onions (1.17%), pulse masoor (0.64%), pulse gram (0.47%) and garlic (0.46%).
The items which recorded major increase in their average prices on a week-on-week basis included diesel (1.06%), eggs (0.91%), rice basmati broken (0.84%), georgette (0.83%), rice IRRI-6/9 (0.78%), firewood (0.59%), beef (0.42%), mutton (0.31%), cooked beef (0.31%), vegetable ghee 1kg (0.25%), energy saver (0.23%) and pulse moong (0.10%).
On year-on-years basis, the commodities which recorded decrease in their average prices on year-on-year basis included onions (38.23%), garlic (27.50%), electricity charges for Q1 (26.26%), pulse gram (21.45%), pulse mash (20.95%), tea (17.93%), potatoes (15.20%), chicken (11.06%) and pulse masoor (5.29%).
On year-on-year basis, the commodities that witnessed an increase in prices included ladies sandal (55.62%), tomatoes (49.02%), sugar (30.17%), gas charges for Q1 (29.85%), pulse moong (15.79%), wheat flour (15.70%), firewood (12.40%), gur (12.36%), beef (12.31%), vegetable ghee 2.5 kg (11.26%), vegetable ghee 1 kg (11.09%) and diesel (9.51%).
Chinese robotaxi operators WeRide Inc. and Pony AI Inc. are partnering with local companies to expand in Singapore, choosing one of the world’s best-mapped cities as a first stop for driverless ride-hailing in Southeast Asia.
Singapore’s Grab Holdings Ltd. has joined WeRide in plans to offer autonomous vehicles for consumers along two approved routes in the city-state’s Punggol neighborhood, the companies said in a statement on Saturday. They will deploy a fleet of 11 vehicles and start testing as soon as this month, and expect the robotaxis to be ready for hiring by early 2026.
Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.
We have poured our lives into the small oblong devices that we neurotically carry wherever we go, and which we insist on calling telephones even though many of us dislike using them for actual phone conversations.
Ed Sheeran ditched his smartphone in 2015, but the everyman superstar gets it. Things and feelings are intermingled in his songs. They show how objects condition our emotional lives — none more so than the portable computer whose multiple uses include listening to music by the likes of Sheeran.
In “Small Bump”, from his 2011 debut Plus, he took the part of an expectant father moved to wonderment by a scan of the unborn baby. His 2015 hit “Photograph” treats a photo of a couple as a token of the best they could be amid the flaws of real life. And the 2017 chart-topper “Shape of You” hinges on the memory of a lover imprinted in the bed from the night before.
Sheeran’s new album Play contains a fresh example. “Old Phone” depicts the onrush of memories triggered by the rediscovery of texts from vanished friends and exes in an old phone (perhaps the one consigned to a drawer in 2015). A boom-chicka-boom drumbeat neatly evokes the trip into the past, as the singer’s sweetly plaintive voice presses the right emotional buttons. The secret of his success is the ability to bring a human touch to the machinery of chart pop.
His eighth studio album marks a return to “big pop”, in Sheeran’s description, following 2023’s restrained Autumn Variations. It shows a sure touch for assimilating different styles (another reason for his success). “Sapphire” is an engagingly upbeat collaboration with Indian singer Arijit Singh, while “Azizam” smoothly fuses western and Persian pop. Fred Again features on the emotive electronic pop of “Don’t Look Down”.
Sheeran’s Achilles heel is the mawkishness that results when he tries too strenuously to invest songs with feelings. In “Camera”, he vows to remember a vision of his lover forever, without need for a camera. The result is overcooked balladry; an instance when both human touch and sure touch desert him.
★★★☆☆
‘Play’ is released by Gingerbread Man/Atlantic Records
Nearly all of us are familiar with symptoms we call a “hangover,” such as anxiety rising in the throat, a throbbing headache and general fatigue — but we may be not diagnosing them correctly. A study has analyzed the sleep patterns of more than 70,000 people over three years to learn more about a condition that suffocates and exhausts us on weekend nights: social apnea.
This condition consists of a variation or worsening of sleep apnea, a disorder in which breathing repeatedly stops or becomes very shallow during sleep. Researchers at Flinders University in Australia have suggested use of the suffix “social” because some apnea triggers are environmental, like alcohol consumption, smoking and lack of sleep, and become more common on the weekend.
Published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, the study analyzed data from more than 70,000 people in 23 countries over three years. However, its most notable aspect was not the quantity of subjects, but rather the quality of data. Sleep apnea is tremendously under-diagnosed. It is estimated that up to 80% of those who experience it are unaware they have the condition.
Until recently, it was studied in a laboratory under controlled conditions, but that has changed with the rising popularity of applications to measure sleep. This latest study was carried out using such tools, plus a mat placed under subjects’ mattress, to get sleep data outside of the laboratory under real-life conditions. And in real life, people drink, smoke and stay up late, especially on the weekend. It turns out that such factors have a clear impact on sleep apnea data.
“We were surprised to see a very pronounced spike on weekends, which then stabilize during the week,” said the study’s primary author, Zaragoza, Spain biotechnologist Lucía Pinilla.
The probability of having sleep apnea was 18% higher on Saturdays compared with Wednesdays. A rise was consistent across all countries and demographics, but the effect was more pronounced among men (who were 21% more likely to be affected, in comparison with 9% for women) and among younger adults. Those under the age of 60 had a 24% higher risk during the weekend, in comparison with 7% among those over 60.
“In this study, we haven’t analyzed causes, but of course, we think it has a lot to do with lifestyle habits,” explains Pinilla. Previous scientific evidence backs up that hypothesis. A review of 23 studies finds that alcohol consumption increases the possibility of suffering from apnea by 25%. Diverse studies from recent years have demonstrated a correlation between tobacco use and sleep apnea. Some research suggest that it could comprise one of the biggest risk factors behind only age, being overweight and sex (men have two to three times higher risk of obstructive sleep apnea than women).
Irene Cano, a pulmonologist specializing in sleep medicine who is co-director of Madrid’s CISNe Clinic, gave the study a positive evaluation and says she’s observed clinical results that are in keeping with its findings. “We observe a very pronounced rise in consultations regarding sleep apnea after the summer and Christmas holidays, coinciding with periods of irregular sleep habits, higher consumption of alcohol and later schedules,” she explains. Cano, who was not involved in the study, values its large volume of data and long-term follow-up of those impacted by apnea. “We usually rely on studies conducted over a single night,” she says, “but these findings highlight the importance of taking night-to-night variability into account in diagnosis.”
Pinilla thinks that the study’s impact goes beyond its curious central finding, and that it could help us to better understand a pathology that sometimes flies under the radar. “Sleep apnea is a significant public health issue, but our findings suggest that its true impact could be under-estimated,” she says. Until now, “the majority of clinical diagnostic tests were carried out over a single night, normally during the week, which meant that they weren’t taking into account this weekend effect.”
And that can have consequences that previously went missing. Apnea not only can worsen the quality of life of those who suffer from it — in extreme cases, it can lead to having to sleep with a machine that helps individuals to breath. It is also a reliable indicator of the risk of cardiovascular accident.
According to the new study, changes in sleep schedule, such as staying up or sleeping late on the weekends, can aggravate sleep apnea. These schedule alterations, known as “social jet lag,” impact the quality of our sleep. On weekends, we tend to go to bed later and delay getting up in the morning. It may seem that these extra hours or minutes would lead us to waking up better rested, but for people with sleep apnea, that doesn’t always seem to be the case. Sleeping 45 minutes longer increases the risk of sleep apnea worsening by 47%. “It would be better to maintain a stable schedule throughout the week,” says Pinilla.
Scientists also noted seasonal variation. Apnea tended to worsen during the summer and winter, with a rise in severity between 8% and 19% compared to the spring and fall. “This seasonal spike is explained in part by higher temperatures, which disrupt sleep and cause lighter sleep phases, which is associated with a worsening in apnea,” explains the study. In the winter, sleeping for longer periods of time and waking up later increased the amount of time dedicated to REM sleep, which is also related to more frequent episodes of apnea.
Apnea is a common sleep disorder that affects around a billion people globally. It is caused by the repeated collapse of the respiratory channels during sleep. If serious cases go untreated, it increases the risk of suffering from cardiac diseases, diabetes, cognitive decline and depression, making early detection key.
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What does it mean to be an elegant gentleman today? Or, even, elegant at all?
It’s a question we ask this week as we mourn the death of Robert Redford – a man so ubiquitous on our pages that we have, on occasion, had to ban pictures of him in HTSI, because we used him so frequently to illustrate a style. Redford encapsulated elegance and personality; his wardrobe and his film-star persona fitted effortlessly. According to his costume designers, he was specific about the details: the actor liked his trousers tailored to be more fitted (who wouldn’t want that bottom to get a better close-up?), and he had strong thoughts about how he wanted individual items to look. In this issue – which went to press before news of his death – we focused on the provenance of his jacket in Three Days of the Condor, a grey herringbone blazer that has become the obsession of designers ever since. According to the film’s costume designer, Joseph Aulisi, the jacket was found on a random rail at Barneys. It then took a couple of alterations to give it that amazing boxy fit. Truth be told, however, even if you found an exact replica, no one but Redford could ever wear the preppy classics quite so well.
Redford’s uniform has never really gone out of style. Unlike womenswear, which feels quite wedded to trends and a certain fashionability, menswear is more bound by sets of ancient codes. Sometimes the codes can feel deliberately mystifying and elitist: one thinks of that devastating scene in EM Forster’s A Passage to India in which Dr Aziz gives up his collar stud to Cyril Fielding, only to have his gesture of friendship described as a “fundamental slackness” by Ronny Heaslop, an imperialist snob.
As Nick Foulkes observes in the introductory essay to our menswear issue, the most exquisitely dressed men are generally driven by a rulebook of their own. Nevertheless, given that we know you chaps love guidelines, we have offered a schoolboy’s guide. We have also been blessed with an illustration of the quintessential gentleman as imagined by the artist Alison Friend, who has characterised him as an HTSI-reading little hound. I first spotted Alison’s work via her campaign for the shoe brand John Lobb in December last year, and am delighted that she agreed to do a bespoke painting especially for us.
There seems to be an enduring love, in fashion at any rate, for the red sock
Meanwhile, stylist Julian Ganio and photographer Ronan Gallagher have produced an extraordinary story at The Durdans, Epsom, the privately owned home of Andreas von Einsiedel, who also features in this shoot. As you can see from the cast of characters who fill its pages, elegance is as much about confidence and languor as it is about a specific item of clothing. But it helps, I notice, if one’s look includes a nice overcoat; and there seems to be an enduring love, in fashion at any rate, for the red sock.
I’ve admired the designer Haider Ackermann forever, both for his namesake label and as a style arbiter in his own right. The French-Colombian designer has an impeccable and idiosyncratic wardrobe, but insists that many of his accoutrements are the extension of an identity crisis: he has long used clothes and accessories as means by which to hide himself.
His new role as creative director of Tom Ford catches him at a point of metamorphosis: he’s lost the scarves and wire-framed glasses and, since doing our shoot, even shaved off his trademark black coiffure. Perhaps he’s channelling some of the bold audacity that he needs to take on a brand that has always traded on raw power. Haider has set the scene for a confident new phase in fashion. I can’t wait to see what happens next.
Jack Carlson helps Rob Armstrong further understand the “preppy”, a creature who continues to fascinate the style cognoscenti even though no one is quite sure who or what it is. Jack himself presents as a blue-blooded individual: as a Georgetown graduate and rowing Blue who studied archaeology and once taught at a prep school, his biography has something of the Dead Poets Society about it. But he reveals his background is far more modest than it seems. His new role as creative director and president of J Press puts him at the heart of one of the most august American sartorial institutions, a shop to which I would make a special pilgrimage throughout my 20s to stock up on crew socks and woven lobster belts. Now owned by a Japanese company, J Press is on a mission to outgun its longtime rival Brooks Brothers, another purveyor of preppy, which has had less success of late. Jack has got big plans for J Press. We get the first look here.
Lastly, to Nicky Haslam, the ultimate style arbiter and gentleman. Ever the provocateur and rule-maker, his annual compendium of “things he finds common” – favourites include “loving your parents”, “type 2 diabetes” and “swans” – makes for a deliriously wicked list. As our Aesthete he is a riot, telling us all sorts of ribald stories that no ordinary person would share with journalists. Who else, for example, would describe Margot Fonteyn as a “hopeless” dancer, or imply that they were being loud on account of having taken “too much cocaine”? Nicky has an unfiltered capacity to provoke in a way that I find extremely endearing in this age of caution. And at the risk of sounding completely common, I think his every word is gold.
@jellison22
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This week’s science news is stuffed with a menagerie of weird and wonderful animal discoveries. Topping the list are Iberian harvester ants (Messor ibericus), which mate with the male ants of a distantly related species (Messor structor) to procreate.
That’s odd enough on its own, but now scientists have discovered that the harvester ants don’t even need nearby M. structor colonies to achieve this — in a bizarre first, they simply clone the males when they need them.
It’s a “science fiction” feat that has led to the naming of an entirely new reproductive method. With this system, called “xenoparity,” the ants blur the lines between species in a completely unprecedented way.
Meanwhile, a jaguar was recorded smashing the record for the species’ longest documented swim; scientists got insight into how pachycephalosaurs grew their built-for-smashing heads; and an adorable, never-before-seen bearded snailfish was snapped swimming in the depths off California’s coast. The iconically grumpy-looking Pallas’s cat has also been found in a new range, having tripped a camera trap (and posed just in time) for a photo in the eastern Himalayas.
Solar activity rises, defying expectations
Scientists thought the sun was set to quiten down. But it’s doing the exact opposite. (Image credit: NASA Goddard)
That comes as a big surprise, as sunwatchers mostly expected our star to cycle through a period of low activity in the years ahead. But observations of an unusually hyperactive sunspot cycle have upended those predictions. The upshot is that more powerful X-class solar flares and coronal mass ejections will be hurled at Earth. That could prove problematic, given our increasing reliance on satellites and the growing “second space race” to colonize the skies, the moon and even Mars.
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Discover more space news
—New report warns that China could overtake the US as top nation in space — and it could happen ‘in 5-10 years,’ expert claims
—There’s a 90% chance we’ll see a black hole explode within a decade, physicists say
—Scientists measure the ‘natal kick’ that sent a baby black hole careening through space for the first time
Life’s Little Mysteries
AIs guzzle untold quantities of energy, but why? (Image credit: Qi Yang via Getty Images)
Chatbots are infamous energy guzzlers, with their rapid rollout and adoption in the past few years leading them to suck up increasingly large shares of electricity from power grids. With their energy consumption expected to skyrocket even higher, we looked into why the greedy bots require so much power and what can be done about it.
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World’s oldest mummies discovered
The oldest mummies discovered thus far were smoke-dried, a burial practice that likely had spiritual significance. (Image credit: Yousuke Kaifu and Hirofumi Matsumura)
The remains were smoke-dried over a fire before burial. The ancient practice, which is still performed today, went beyond mere preservation and was likely freighted with spiritual and cultural significance. The scientists who found the mummies also believe they could support a “two-layer model” of migration across Southeast Asia, since the funeral ritual of ancient hunter-gatherers who arrived in the region 65,000 years ago was distinct from the burial rites of Neolithic farmers who arrived 4,000 years ago.
Discover more archaeology news
—1,900-year-old ‘treasure’ found in Roman-era family’s scorched house in Romania
—Anthropologist claims hand positions on 1,300-year-old Maya altar have a deeper meaning
—1,900-year-old oil lamp that provided ‘light in the journey to the afterlife’ found in Roman cemetery in the Netherlands
—AI could use online images as a backdoor into your computer, alarming new study suggests
—Diagnostic dilemma: A knife broke off in a man’s chest, and he didn’t notice it for 8 years
—Scientists develop ‘full-spectrum’ 6G chip that could transfer data at 100 gigabits per second — 10,000 times faster than 5G
Science Spotlight
Mysterious flashes of light from deep space could help scientists to map the cosmos. (Image credit: Wei-An Jin)
They arrive as brief flashes in the cosmic dark, powerful jolts of energy that discharge more energy in a few milliseconds than the sun does over an entire year. Yet as much as scientists have puzzled over what processes could be causing these fast radio bursts (FRBs), they still do not fully know what the pulses are.
What is apparent is that FRBs are produced through completely unexpected processes, and far more often than expected. And that makes them very useful to astronomers. In this week’s Science Spotlight, we investigated how scientists are using FRBs to create the ultimate map of our universe.
Something for the weekend
If you’re looking for something a little longer to read over the weekend, here are some of the best interviews, polls and science histories published this week.
—Science history: A tragic gene therapy death that stalled the field for a decade — Sept. 17, 1999[Science history]
— If tiny lab-grown ‘brains’ became conscious, would it still be OK to experiment on them? [Poll]
Science in pictures
This photo of a star-forming region in our Milky Way galaxy could be the James Webb Space Telescope’s best. (Image credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, and STScI, A. Pagan (STScI))
Soaring like a rocky mountain against a starry blue sky, the image spotlights Pismis 24, a stellar nursery at the core of the Lobster Nebula. The craggy spires of gas and dust in the foreground span multiple light-years in height, and are being actively sculpted by the radiation of nearby baby stars. It’s a breathtakingly gorgeous scene, and contains two of the brightest stars in our entire Milky Way, measuring 74 and 66 times the size of our sun.
Thinking of hitting the sidewalk this weekend for a marathon? Hold on before you tie up your running shoes, and read this first.A new study from the Inova Schar Cancer Institute has raised eyebrows in the running world by suggesting that extreme endurance running – like marathons and ultramarathons – may increase the risk of precancerous colon growths in younger adults.The study looked at healthy runners aged 35-50 who had completed many long-distance races and found that many of them had abnormal colon findings, more than what is usually expected. Although this research is early and does not prove cause and effect, it signals that even very fit people might need to pay attention to colon health.
What the study found
Colon cancer is one of the more common cancers worldwide. It’s a type of cancer that develops in the tissues of the colon or rectum. It starts in the large intestine (colon) and often develops from small, noncancerous clumps of cells called polyps. It’s the second leading cause of cancer death in the United States.The aforementioned study was led by Dr. Timothy Cannon and colleagues at Inova Schar Cancer, and the results were presented recently at the 2025 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) meeting. It involved 100 adult runners, aged 35 to 50, who had done at least five marathons or two ultramarathons, and who had never before had a colonoscopy. Those with known risk factors (hereditary cancer syndromes, inflammatory bowel disease) were excluded.
Key results of the study:
About 41% of participants had at least one adenoma (a polyp in the colon).15% had advanced adenomas. These are larger or more abnormal polyps that are more likely to turn into cancer over time. For this age group and population, the typical expected rate is only about 1-2%.The average age in the study was roughly 42.5 years, which is below the usual age at which many people begin screening.
What these findings mean
First things first – the results of this study are a proof of association, not a testament to causation. The study shows a correlation (link) between extreme long‐distance running and a higher prevalence of precancerous colon growths. But it does not prove that running causes colorectal cancer. Other factors may also be involved.Next comes the limitations due to a small sample size. Only 100 people were included. There was no control group of non-runners under identical conditions, so comparing risks is harder. Also, full histories of diet, genetics, training intensity, recovery, and gastrointestinal symptoms were not all controlled.Furthermore, there’s the matter of precursor lesions vs cancer. Adenomas are polyps that may turn into cancer, but many never do. Detecting and removing them early reduces cancer risk. So finding advanced adenomas early is useful.
Why extreme/marathon running might raise the risk
But why is marathon running under fire?During extreme/long runs, the blood flow is diverted toward muscles and away from the gut. This diversion can temporarily reduce oxygen delivery in the intestines, possibly causing small injuries. And repeated stress or inflammation could lead, over time, to changes in the colon lining. Now, “runner’s colitis” or “runner’s trots” (loose stools, occasional bleeding, inflammation) is a known phenomenon among endurance athletes. And while symptoms are often dismissed as normal, repeated gastrointestinal bleeding or irritation may contribute to risk.Moreover, differences in gut microbiome in long‐distance runners (types and balance of bacteria) might play a role in increasing the risk. Diet, hydration, supplements, or fueling during running (gels, processed foods), and recovery also may matter in that case.
Who’s at risk
Runners in the study were in their mid-30s to 50, a younger group than traditionally screened for colon cancer. So runners in this age group may need to be more alert.People who run frequently, do many marathons/ultramarathons, or have very high training volumes.Anyone with gastrointestinal symptoms like rectal bleeding, changes in stool, persistent diarrhea, or pain after running should take those symptoms seriously.
What you should be careful about
Don’t postpone screening: If you are 45 or older (or even somewhat younger but with a high endurance running history or symptoms), consider talking to your doctor about a colonoscopy or other screening test. Many guidelines recommend starting screening at 45.Monitor gastrointestinal symptoms: Bleeding after running, loose stools, abdominal discomfort, or changes in bowel habits are not always “just runner’s issues.” If symptoms persist or worsen (more than a few days or weeks), seek medical evaluation.Manage training load: Give time for recovery. Avoid repeatedly pushing the gut under stress, especially in extreme distances. Hydrate well, ensure nutrition supports gut health (fiber, balanced diet), avoid excessive processed fueling (gels, bars) without sufficient rest.Discuss risk with your doctor: Be open about your running history, symptoms, and family history of colon cancer. Some doctors may recommend earlier or more frequent screening for endurance athletes.Lifestyle factors still matter: Maintain a healthy weight, limit alcohol, avoid smoking, eat plenty of fruits, vegetables, fiber, and manage stress. All these help reduce colon cancer risk overall.
Study shows new links between high fat diets, colon cancer
Amid devastating floods crippling Pakistan’s farmlands, the Pakistan Business Forum (PBF) has called for urgent execution of the long-delayed agriculture emergency plan. The forum criticised inaction, saying “agriculture emergency is still on papers,” and questioned when implementation would begin.
Declaring the situation a national emergency, the PBF said the agriculture sector, already under economic pressure, has entered a dangerous downward spiral. This, it warned, threatens food security and the economic stability of rural communities still reeling from recent climate disasters.
In a letter to Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, PBF President Khawaja Mehboobur Rehman urged the ministry to submit a summary to the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) for targeted relief.
Proposals include a guaranteed wheat support price for the 2025-26 season, waiver of electricity bills for flood-hit farmers from August to October, and interest-free agricultural loans of up to Rs2 million against pledged land to offset force majeure losses faced by farmers.
The forum also demanded a 30% subsidy on Urea and DAP fertilisers in flood zones and asked the government to engage the Pakistan Sugar Mills Association (PSMA) for fair sugarcane procurement rates in November.
To revive production of key crops, the PBF suggested a two-year GST exemption for domestic cotton and suspension of the normal tax regime on rice and mango exports from December 2025, extending relief announced in the Finance Bill 2024.
While acknowledging fiscal challenges, the PBF stressed that the crisis requires exceptional action. It recommended the finance ministry seek International Monetary Fund support for the measures, citing humanitarian needs and rural economic stability.
Rehman said the proposals are not compensatory but essential for reviving productivity and restoring farmer confidence. He reaffirmed the PBF’s support for government efforts and urged swift action.