Karnataka Share In Cashew Trade Goes Up

Mangalore: Karnataka made significant growth in cashew imports and exports during 2007-08, constituting more than 11 per cent of the total import-export trade of the commodity.

Statistics from the New Mangalore Port show that the State exported 11,139 tonnes (10,529 tonnes) of cashew kernels, and imported 69,850 tonnes (48,901 tonnes) of raw cashew nuts during 2007-08.

The total export of cashew kernel from the country during 2007-08 stood at 1.14 lakh tonnes (1.18 lakh tonnes) and import of raw cashew stood at 6.05 lakh tonnes (5.86 lakh tonnes).

K. Prakash Rao, President of the Karnataka Cashew Manufacturers’ Association (KCMA), told Business Line that the cashew industry in Karnataka has been growing consistently at 15 to 20 per cent in the last three years in spite of the severe labour shortage in the State.

He said that export and import figures from the New Mangalore Port substantiate the claim of the processors that there has been buoyancy in the demand for cashews produced in Karnataka.

In addition to New Mangalore Port, cashew units from the State exported around 1,800 tonnes of cashew kernel and imported around 3,500 to 4,000 tonnes of raw cashew nuts through Kochi port.

“These figures account for more than 11 per cent of the total national export and import. Total cashew exports from Karnataka were hardly worth Rs 50 crore and less than 2.5 per cent of the total national exports in 1999-2000,” he said.

Cashew industry from the State exported cashew kernel worth Rs 325 crore during 2007-08, and the total value of cashew kernel exported from the country was at Rs 2,288.90 crore.

G. Giridhar Prabhu, proprietor of the Mangalore-based cashew firm Achal Industries, attributed this growth to the competitiveness of cashew units in the State and to the efficiency of New Mangalore Port in handling the cashew cargo.

On the improvement in the handling of cashew cargo, he said the Kanara Chamber of Commerce and Industry and New Mangalore Port Trust had taken initiatives to improve the movement of container cargo from the port.

Rao said that KCMA during the launch of its golden jubilee celebration in 2005 had released a vision document wherein it claimed that cashew exports from Karnataka would touch Rs 700-crore mark by 2014.

“The progress in the last two years justifies this claim and the industry is well on its way in meeting its targets,” he said.

Cashew Corpn Launches Value-Added Products

Kochi: The Kerala State-owned Cashew Development Corporation (KSCDC), for the first time departing from its over eight decades-old traditional business of selling bulk cashew kernels, will be launching four innovative products on April 15.

The products will be marketed through selected distributors in India and the Gulf and the company has already entered into a tie up with the State Trading Corporation Ltd.

Dr K. A. Retheesh, Managing Director of KSCDC told Business Line that he had taken the initiative to add value to cashew kernels so as to increase its turnover and profits and ultimately ,to extricate the company from the red.

“There was no true value addition in the industry for last 88 years. Even though packaging is to preserve the quality of the product, now it is an effective communication tool about the product,” he said. The packing of new products from KSCDC is of International Standard. The sponsored research to develop new products from cashew was given to prestigious Central Food Technology Research Institute of India (CFTRI) as the initial steps in 2005, he said. With the research support of the Institute, four products have been developed and commercial production started.

First among them is the “cashew soup”, which is a very innovative one and is in vogue with the current life style of people. It is possible to use it as an instant drink by just putting the soup mix to boiled water. There is no need for other ingredients.

The second product is “cashew vita”, a health drink targeting the growing children. This powder can be added to boiled milk and given to children.

“Cashew powder” is the third product, which is very suitable for the working women. They do not have to bother about grinding cashew kernels in mixies. It can be used as an ingredient to the preparations. All these products are in very attractive packages, he said.

Traditionally, it is proved that cashew is a most accepted snack taken along with hot drinks. Targeting the middle class people, consuming liquor, the fourth product “cashew bits” is prepared.

All these products are manufactured in the company’s new facilities in its Kottiyam factory in Kerala’s Kollam district. All the machineries are custom made as per the recommendations of the CFTRI, he said. At present, the unit will produce 100 kg/day per shift of products, depending upon the market demand the capacity will be increased by adding more modules, he said.

Exporter Develops Biodynamic Cashew

Mangalore: The domestic cashew sector is again in the forefront of delivering a niche product – biodynamic cashew – to the world market. The Mangalore-based cashew manufacturer and exporter Achal Industries, in association with 31 farmers in Goa, has become successful in producing world’s first biodynamic cashew and delivering the first shipment to an overseas buyer.

G. Giridhar Prabhu, Proprietor, Achal Industries, told Business Line that the biodynamic project was initiated by Achal with a small group of farmers — numbering 31 in Goa region who were committed to organic agriculture since 12 years — on a 95- hectares of land two years ago.

Asked about the reasons for venturing into biodynamic project, he said biodynamics is a natural extension to organic farming and there was demand from consumers in Europe for biodynamic cashew.

Prabhu said the project was offered for inspection and certification to the inspection agency — IMO Control Pvt Ltd — and the certifying agency — Demeter International E.V., Germany.

Stating that this is the first-ever biodynamic cashew project in the world, he said the product thus produced by these farmers was processed and the first consignment of 3.19 tonnes was shipped out to Germany, via The Netherlands, last week from New Mangalore Port. The consignment carries the Demeter label. This will be marketed through the German buyer, Rapunzel Ag, he said. A few tea estates in India have been producing biodynamic tea. Birth of the concept

Prabhu said the concept of biodynamic agriculture is based on the agriculture lectures delivered by Rudolf Steiner in 1924 to a small group of farmers in Koberwitz, East Germany. Biodynamic agriculture is a method of farming that aims to treat the farm as a living system that interacts with the environment, to build healthy living soil and to produce food that nourishes and helps to develop humanity.

Steiner introduced the practice of making preparations based on cow manure, silica, and various herbal plants, to be used in order to open up the soil to cosmic influences. Steiner advocated discontinuing the use of chemical fertilisers altogether. Because of their inherent lack of life, he felt, chemicals could not maintain life or increase fertility in the soil.

Time To Give Cashew A Growth Push

Indian cashew industry’s dependence on other producing countries for raw cashew nuts appears to have become a perpetual phenomenon as indigenous supply has not been able to keep pace with the processing industry’s ever-growing requirement.

Rising imports

Import of raw nuts, which began at around 1.3 lakh tonnes in the 1980s following the increase in exports of cashew kernels from the country and due to non-availability of the raw material in required quantity indigenously, has been growing steadily. This trend continued with the expansion of the processing capacity of the industry to meet the growing demand from overseas and domestic markets.

In 2006, while the total processing capacity was 12 lakh tonnes of raw nuts, the indigenous production was only 5.73 lakh tonnes. The industry, therefore, imported 5.65 lakh tonnes of raw nuts from other countries, especially in Africa.

According to official sources, the increased dependency on imports is fraught with danger as the exporting countries could start processing their own raw nuts. Hence, efforts are needed to achieve self-sufficiency in production of raw nuts. Unfocussed research

At present, cashew research appears to be lacking in direction and focus. An extension campaign is required among farmers to make them aware of the benefits of scientific cultivation techniques. At the same time, modernisation in processing, product diversification, value addition and marketing of Indian cashew under a brand are required. If the cashew industry has not achieved the desired levels of growth it must be because of poor coordination and co-operation in planning, chalking out programmes and implementation. All these point to the need for a representative body with sufficient autonomy.

The available data show that the quantity of raw nut processed in India has doubled in the last decade. The total raw nut processing is divided at an average ratio of 52:48 among local production and import. If this trend continues for the next ten years the requirement of raw nut would be 17 lakh tonnes by 2016.

Exports of cashew kernels have also been showing a steady increase, from 1,00,828 tonnes in 2002-03 to 1,26,667 tonnes in 2006-07. And the export earnings were Rs 1,804.43 crore and Rs 2,709.24 crore respectively.

Imports of raw nuts have gone up from 4,00,659 tonnes valued at Rs 1,236.57 crore in 2002-03 to 5,92,604 tonne valued at Rs 1,811.62 crore in 2006-07.

The rate of growth in Indian raw nut production, given the vast area under the crop, has not been at the desired levels.

Indigenous availability, which was at five lakh tonnes in 2002-03 increased to 5.73 lakh tonnes in 2005-06. Growing demand

Though the domestic demand is yet to be assessed accurately, it is estimated it is increasing at a phenomenal rate due to increased awareness among people about the health benefits and nutritional value of the nut. As such, demand is likely to increase, which is viewed as beneficial from the farmers’ and industrial point of view. Given this situation, there is an urgent need to step up domestic production on a war footing. Looking back

In fact, development of cashew cultivation was taken up in 1955 (the beginning of the Second Plan), as part of initially as part of the afforestation activity. After the formation of the Directorate of Cashew Development in 1966 a coordinated effort for the promotion of this crop with a national outlook was taken up, such as the World Bank-aided Multi-State Cashew Project (MSCP) in Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Orissa during the Sixth Plan. It was during the Seventh Plan that multiplication of high yielding varieties through scion banks was initiated.

To increase production and productivity a two-pronged approach — extensive and intensive cultivation — was implemented during the Eighth Plan. During the next Plan an outlay of Rs 70 crore was made for cashew development programmes in the country.

However, with the emergence of macro management policy for agriculture during the Tenth Plan, the role of the Directorate of Cashew and Cocoa Development (DCCD) was redefined. As a result, the role of the DCCD was reduced to monitoring the status of execution of the programmes by States, in addition to implementation of direct funded components.

In 2005-06, the National Horticulture Mission (NHM) was launched to promote holistic growth of the horticulture sector and since then cashew development programmes are being pursued under the mission. Though areas planted with high yielding varieties of cashew have substantially helped in increasing production and productivity, areas raised with seeds and seedlings prior to the Eighth Plan with a forestry approach is playing a negative role in boosting production. It is estimated that a total area of 3,05,000 hectares of plantation at present falls under the senile and unproductive category, that is, 30 years and above of age.

In fact, considering its importance, the Office of the Prime Minister has identified “re-plantation of senile cashew plantation” as a thrust area. The Finance Minister in his 2007-08 Budget speech had announced a ‘special cashew fund’ to be set up in the pattern of Tea Fund. The Commerce Ministry has also designed cashew development programmes under the thrust area ‘Revival of Plantation Crops Economy’.

With all these efforts, the total area under cashew has expanded to 8.37 lakh hectares and an annual production of 5.73 lakh tonnes with a productivity of 815 kg/ha as against over 2,500 kg/ha in Vietnam. A boost required

India is still the world’s largest producer, consumer and exporter of cashew nuts. Above all, it provides employment to around five lakh workers, over 90 per cent of them being rural women. Besides, it provides livelihood to lakhs of small and marginal farmers, who do the cultivation in an unorganised and unscientific manner.

The farming practices and post-harvest technology are traditional and backward. It has already been found that this crop can be grown in all types of soils, including wasteland and rocky terrains.

India To Gain On Global Cashew Shortage

Ullal: The reported shortage in production of cashew in Brazil and Vietnam should augur well for the Indian cashew sector; and there will be good demand for the commodity this year, according to K. Prakash Rao, President of the Karnataka Cashew Manufacturers’ Association (KCMA).

Speaking on the sidelines of “Cashew Field Day” at the Agricultural Research Station at Ullal in Mangalore taluk on Tuesday, he said shortage in cashew production had been reported from Brazil and in some pockets in Vietnam. This would boost the demand for Indian cashew this year, he said.

Stressing the need for improving productivity in cashew plantations, he said high-density planting helped Vietnam to register growth in productivity of cashew. Vietnam, which produced around 25,000 tonnes of cashew a few years ago, is now producing nearly four lakh tonnes.

While the productivity level in India is around 650 kg per hectare, it stands at nearly 2,000 kg per hectare in Vietnam. It is said Vietnam now wants to increase productivity of cashew to 4,000 kg per hectare.

He said the Cashew Export Promotion Council of India (CEPCI) in its “Vision 2020” plan envisaged increasing the production of cashew in India to 18 lakh tonnes per year from the present five lakh tonnes. However, the growth shown in production and consumption in the past one year indicate that this number is likely to increase. With the boom in retail sector, the domestic consumption of cashew is also increasing every year.

Inaugurating the “cashew field day”, S.D. Sampath Samrajya, Member of the Board of Regents of University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore, said proper irrigation to the crop would help increase its yield by 50 to 60 per cent. He urged farmers to adapt good farm management practices.

Dr. G. Eshwarappa, Director (Extension), University of Agricultural Sciences, was present on the occasion.

Cashew Exports Likely To Fall In Volume, Value

Kochi: If the current trend is any indication, exports of cashew during the current fiscal are likely to drop in terms of volume and in rupee terms, although it might show a better performance in terms of value realisation in dollar.

Total shipments during April-February 2007-08 stood at 1,03,139 tonnes valued at Rs 2,033 crore against 1,06,975 tonnes valued at Rs 2,222.15 crore in the corresponding period a year ago. In dollar terms, the value realisation during the first 11 months of current fiscal increased by $15.25 million to $505.14 million from $489.89 million during the same period in 2006-07.

However, exports of cashew nut shell liquid (CNSL) have shown a marginal increase both in terms of volume and value in rupee and dollar categories. Its total shipments stood at 7,138 tonnes worth Rs 10.67 crore as against 6,076 tonnes valued at Rs 10.63 crore during the same period last fiscal.

Industry sources told Business Line that that the fall in exports could be attributed to three major factors: Continuous appreciation of rupee against the dollar which has made “exports not as attractive as it used to be”; a strong domestic market (though there isn’t any statistics on consumption available), which absorbs a large quantity, keeping prices above international levels; and competition from other producers in the international market in terms of value as “our cost of production keeps on rising”.

Better prices in the domestic market than in the international market are said to have enthused exporters to sell more in the local market. The rising prices in the world market coupled with the slowdown in Vietnam and possible defaulting by exporters from there could enhance the chances for Indian cashew kernels to find more demand in the coming months, they predicted.

Call for incentives

Meanwhile, the sources said the cashew industry did not get enough incentive to make up for the losses incurred due to the rupee appreciation. The DEPB rate has been reduced from 3 per cent to 1 per cent, besides taking out cashew from the purview of the Vishesh Krishi Upaj Yojana scheme.

At this juncture, it is important to note that the prices of cashew kernels are controlled by the US market, as more than 50 per cent of the global production of this tree nut is consumed in the US, they said.

The non-availability of indigenously produced raw nuts has, however, continued to push up imports of the raw material, mainly from the African countries. Imports of raw nuts have gone up by 17,367 tonnes to 5,73,092 tonnes during April-February 20 of the current fiscal from 5,55,725 tonnes in the same period last fiscal.

In dollar terms, the imports value has gone up by $21.39 million to $400.59 million from $379.20 million during April-February 2006-07, according to Cashew Export Promotion Council of India (CEPC) sources.

Cashew Exports May Rise On Vietnam Woes

Kochi: Sharp fall in production of raw cashew nuts coupled with high production cost in Vietnam, due to higher inflation rate, might result in increased demand coming to India.

The Indian exports so far have shown a marginal decline. However, the value of late has been better in dollar terms, Cashew Export Promotion Council of India (CEPC) sources told Business Line.

Processing capacity

Exports of cashew kernels during April-December 2007 stood at 86,312 tonnes valued at Rs 1,671.95 crore compared with 89,585 tonnes valued at Rs 1,866.64 crore in the corresponding period the previous year. The annual processing capacity of the Indian cashew industry is 12 lakh tonne of raw nuts and almost 50 per cent of it is still imported.

India has been a major buyer of raw cashew nuts from Vietnam till it has set up its own processing facilities few years back. At present, much of the Indian imports are from African countries.

According to the Vietnam Cashew Association (VCA), the country’s production of cashew nuts is about 3.5 lakh tonnes, much below the total capacity of processing plants of six tonnes. This has led the industry to import an additional 2 lakh tonnes of raw nuts for processing.

Inputs cost

There hasn’t been any corresponding increase in the selling prices so as to cover the rising inputs cost, he said. The increase in selling prices was at 25 per cent, whereas the rise in overall inputs cost was 40 per cent. According to the VCA official, the cost of materials had jumped by 40 per cent, labour by 30 to 40 per cent, packaging by 30 to 50 per cent and loan repayments by 25 to 30 per cent.

They said the weak US currency, which has dropped to below VND 16,000 against the dollar, had hit the cashew firms in Vietnam. Given this scenario, many producers and processors were said to be finding it difficult to fulfil their contract obligations with international buyers, the VCA acting chairman was quoted as saying.

According to reports, buyers from the European Union and the US are expected to arrive there to find out a solution for the delay in cashew shipments. The current cashew crop in Vietnam, according to VCA forecast, will be lower by 30 per cent - provided the present conditions prevailed.

Tech Centre Mooted To Boost Cashew Cultivation

Kochi: The Cashew Export Promotion Council of India (CEPC)-Laboratory in Kerala’s Kollam city has mooted a Rs 90-lakh project for the development of a Centre for Technology Transfer for Cashew to enable cultivation, production and processing with financial assistance from Nabard. Run-up to Budget 2008-09

Dr V.P. Potty, Head of the Laboratory, told Business Line that setting up of such a development centre has become inevitable for boosting raw nut production and processing, given the slow pace of growth at present in this sector.

Low productivity, long gestation period to get the maximum yield, and large areas of senile plantations are some of the major problems which needed to be surmounted, he said.

The current productivity of cashew per hectare in India is around 800 kg, while it is 2,670 kg/ha in Vietnam.

In India, Maharashtra has the highest productivity at 1,300 kg/ha despite having a potential of 5,000-6,000 kg/ha.

“There are hybrids and selections of cashew in the cashew research stations in Maharashtra and Goa with a potential to yield about 40 kg per plant, i.e., 8,000 kg/ha at the 14th year of planting. It is, of course, a late variety which can be improved,” he said.

Density planting

At present, there are no compact, dwarf and early bearing varieties available in the country and as a result, density planting cannot be undertaken. It is not known to the farmers.

This is an important area where the CEPC Lab wanted to concentrate, he said.

The major components of the project include development of standards for raw nuts and popularising the same; training farmers in harvest and post-harvest operations; training workers on hygiene/sanitation in processing units; and developing and popularising high-yielding cashew crops.

A total of 37 cashew varieties have been developed and released.

Among them, 25 are selections and 12 are hybrids. 21 varieties are exportable grade kernel producing (W180-W240).

Other components

Other project components are development of agricultural and horticultural techniques like soft wood grafting, soil and water conservation technique in high density planting, vermin-composting of the cashew biomass, pruning, top-working for rejuvenation of senile orchards, plant protection techniques for controlling tea mosquito, stem and root borer attacks, irrigation and drip irrigation techniques, fertigation, application of plant growth regulators and intercropping in cashew orchard.

Besides, introduction of the concept of Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) among the farmers and developing a scheme for certification under GAP quality system, and thus institutionalising the farming activity to a market oriented operation, are also included in the project.

The project could be implemented in three years at a total cost of Rs 90,43,000 and financial assistance from Nabard has been sought, Dr Potty added.

Full Mechanisation Of Cashew Industry Unlikely

Kochi: The cashew industry, of late, has been exploring the possibilities of mechanisation to enhance labour efficiency and solve the problem of shortage in women workers. However, given the complex nature of the work involved, a full mechanisation does not seem to be practical and viable.

In fact, shortage of labour is felt only in the shelling section and that is mainly because a majority of the factories are still following the conventional method of roller roasting. If some sophistication is brought in, 90 per cent of the problem will be solved, said some of the processors.

Shelling methods

At present, women shell the kernel from the roasted raw nut by beating it with a short stick. This method, in existence for decades, is done by women workers who over the years have acquired the skill on this job. A shelling worker’s daily output, on an average, is 7 to 8 kgs of kernel.


An advanced method introduced in recent years in several factories is steam processing, under which the hard shells are softened and the kernel is extracted by cutting the shell using a manually operated mechanical system. Blades are adjusted in such a way that it does not touch the kernels. In this case, workers’ daily output is higher at 12 to 13 kg, which means an increase of 20 to 25 per cent in their daily wages.

With this method, the capacity utilisation of the factory can be enhanced, Babu Oommen, Managing Director of a major processing company at Puthoor village in Kerala’s Kollam district, told Business Line. He said that at present only 50 tonnes of raw nuts are processed in his unit daily for want of sufficient workers.

Mechanisation impact

If mechanisation is introduced in the shelling segment, 75 tonnes of raw nuts can be processed daily, he said. Thus, the capacity utilisation could be increased and that in turn will enhance the output of the workers, and consequently their daily wages.

Oommen, former Vice-Chairman of Cashew Export Promotion Council of India (CEPCI), said that 1,875 workers are engaged daily in shelling work. Wages are linked to output which is Rs 13.06 a kg. Besides, each worker is entitled to Rs 12 as Dearness Allowance as well as ESI, PF, welfare bonus, and paid leave among others, he said.

The industry can easily afford to purchase cutting machines, he said.

Most of the factories in the Mangalore region are operating on the semi-mechanised steam process; there too mechanisation has been introduced only in the “cutting/shelling” segment.

According to Santhosh Kumar, who represents a major processing factory in the outskirts of the cashew city of Kollam, mechanisation in the next two stages of processing, viz., peeling and grading, does not seem to be necessary as there is no shortage of workers in these sectors. Besides, it is also not practical, he said.

According to Anu S. Pillai, another major processor, peeling (removal of thin skin from the kernel) is done by skilled workers. Since it is done manually, damage to the kernel is much less. Mechanisation in this segment requires more research so as to achieve higher sophistication and to minimise broken kernels, he added.

The cashew industry in Brazil is almost fully mechanised, as are some factories in Vietnam, Dinesh Chandran, another processor, said.

An important option

G. Krishnan Nair said that mechanisation should be an important option wherever needed in order to enhance the efficiency of the workers and benefit the industry. Increase in productivity by ensuring quality of the kernel would make the product competitive besides fetching a premium price.

However, Dr K.A. Ratheesh, Managing Director, Kerala State Cashew Development Corporation (KSCDC), disagreed with mechanisation as he felt that the taste of the kernel processed using the traditional methods of roasting and shelling is better than that produced using the steam process.

Indian brand name

Besides, he is of the view that mechanisation will not enhance profitability and feels that the industry should concentrate on diversified value addition to the kernels and market them in the global market under an Indian brand name instead of exporting it in bulk form. The cost for processing a bag (80 kg) of raw nuts would come to Rs 1,300 and the recovery rate of kernel is 20 to 25 per cent.

New technology

According to Dr V.P. Potti, Principal Scientist and head of the CEPCI Quality Assurance Laboratory, mechanisation of the entire processing method is possible with new technology. Therefore, improving the conventional method followed here for decades is the need of the hour, he said, and called for advanced technology to ensure the quality of the end product is in line with international standards.

The old “oil roasting method” that was used here for decades has been lost to Vietnam now, he pointed out.

Cashew Body To Launch Value-Added Products

Kollam: Kerala State-owned Cashew Development Corporation (KSCDC), probably the biggest cashew processor and employer in the country, is set to enter the domestic and world market, launching its branded valued-added cashew products soon.

The corporation has developed four products with the technical support of the Central Food Technology Research Institute (CFTRI), Mysore, and they will be marketed as “CDC cashews”, Dr K.A. Retheesh, Managing Director, KSCDC, told Business Line.

“At present, there is no branded cashew products in the domestic market and, hence, we have developed these value-added products viz., cashew powder, cashew soups, cashew bits, cashew vita and cashew kernels”, he said.

Production & sales

Commercial production of these products have started and “we are in the process of developing outlets in the country. The State Trading Corporation has come forward to assist in importing raw nuts apart from marketing our the products in the world market.”

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“In Kerala, the Consumerfed and Civil Supplies Corporation through its supermarkets these products would be made available to the consumers. Similarly, it would be sold by Kerala Tourism Development Corporation (KTDC) in its hotels. Besides, district-wise distribution centres are also being developed”, he said.

Global publicity

The Union Commerce Ministry had already provided the Corporation with Rs 1 crore for international publicity, promotion and market research, he said. As part of this programme, global launch of the branded new products would be held in Dubai next month during the Dubai Shopping Festival.

Besides, thrust is being given to promote these products in the non-conventional markets such as the Gulf, Russia and China, Retheesh said.

“In fact, we have huge domestic market, even though it hasn’t been quantified”.

Indian cashew industry processes 11 lakh tonnes of raw nuts and at an average kernel recovery rate of 20-25 per cent the total production comes to around 2.5 lakh tonnes. Of this, 1.2 lakh tonnes of kernel are exported and the remaining quantity is absorbed by the domestic market, he said.

KSCDC plans to market its branded products in different packets from of 10 gm to 2 kg, he said.

With diversified value-added products and their marketing through scientific methods in the domestic and overseas markets, the corporation is targeting a total turn over of Rs 300 crore during the current fiscal, Dr Retheesh added.