In a recent WTO meeting, India urges prioritisation of issues, including a permanent solution for public stockholding and special safeguard mechanism In a meeting of the Committee on Agriculture (CoA) of the World Trade Organization (WTO) held in Geneva on December 4, 2024, India insisted that negotiations on unresolved/previously mandated issues in agriculture, including a permanent solution to public stockholding, special safeguard mechanism (SSM) and elimination of trade-distorting cotton subsidies by rich countries etc, be ‘prioritised’ and ‘fast-tracked’ by treating them as standalone issues instead of clubbing them with other issues. The US, on the other hand, criticised the prioritisation of certain issues over others, stating that this was the primary cause of the longstanding stalemate in agriculture. India also...
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Articles
What lies behind DAP shortage
DAP is a widely used complex fertiliser that supplies 46% phosphate or P nutrients besides 18% Nitrogen (N). The annual consumption of DAP is around 10 to 11 million tonnes. During the Rabi crops season (October 2024 – March 2025), many parts of the country are reporting a shortage of di-ammonium phosphate (DAP). DAP is a widely used complex fertiliser that supplies 46 per cent phosphate or P nutrients besides 18% Nitrogen (N). The annual consumption of DAP is around 10 to 11 million tonnes. Against this, domestic production is less than half 4.5 – 4.8 million tonnes. The deficit is made up of imports from countries such as Russia, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, and China. According to the...
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Advancing the Centre’s liberalisation agenda
Agri-marketing reforms can be achieved by enabling bulk buyers to purchase directly at farm gates and creating multiple private-sector e-trading platforms In June 2024, the Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ welfare set up a 12-member committee, under the chairmanship of additional secretary, Faiz Ahmed Kidwai with the mandate to formulate a national policy framework for marketing of farm items and suggest measures to ensure the remunerative prices to farmers. The committee has recommended (i) allowing direct farm-gate purchases of agriculture commodities by bulk buyers, including organised retailers, without having to go through the state-notified mandis or pay the various levies that the operators of these market yards charge; (ii) declaring warehouses, silos and cold storages, including those run by private agencies,...
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Freebies: A winning strategy or economic pitfall?
The growing trend of offering freebies in elections raises significant concerns about financial sustainability, governance and its impact on voters’ mindset A major factor contributing to the success of the respective political party in the just concluded elections in Maharashtra and Jharkhand was freebies – an acronym for “something given free of charge” – particularly those targeted at women. In Maharashtra, the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance launched the Ladki Bahin cash benefit scheme that offered Rs 1,500 a month to every woman with a family income of less than Rs 2,50,000 annually, in the age bracket of 21 to 65 years. The amount was subsequently increased to Rs 2,500 per month. In Jharkhand, under Mukhyamantri Maiyan Samman Yojna (MMSY) Hemant Soren’s...
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Food subsidy: Go for direct transfer to curb leakages
Despite extensive measures implemented by the government, including digitisation, pilferage persists, revealing systemic flaws in how food subsidies are administered According to a Study titled ‘Rationalising Public Distribution System in India’ done by the Indian Council For Research On International Economic Relations (ICRIER), there was grain leakage under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) of 20 million tons (17 million ton of rice and 3 million ton of wheat) which is 28 per cent of the 71 million ton of grain off-take by states (that included 52 million ton of rice and 19 million ton wheat) during August 2022 – July 2023. The Study estimates the annual fiscal cost of this leakage to be around Rs 70,000 crore. Under...
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Delhi discoms in crisis: Debt and regulatory gaps
A convoluted tariff regime, under-recoveries, power theft, and unpaid subsidies are threatening the sustainability of the Delhi discoms Delhi Government is looking at various options to address twin problems facing its three power distribution companies (discoms) namely BSES Rajdhani Power Limited (BRPL), discom for South & West Delhi; BSES Yamuna Power Limited (BYPL) — discom for Central & East Delhi; and Tata Power Delhi Distribution Limited or TPDDL – discom for North Delhi. These are (i) “Regulatory Assets” or RAs of Rs 27,200 crore lying in the books of these discoms; (ii) an equally staggering amount of Rs 26,500 crore they owe to power generation and transmission companies viz. Indraprastha Power Generation Co. Ltd (IPGCL), Pragati Power Corporation Limited (PPCL)...
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Are e-commerce giants violating FDI norms?
As policymakers consider future regulatory steps, the ongoing ED investigation may serve as a pivotal moment in clarifying the regulatory framework for e-commerce operations in India Reportedly, on October 7, 2024, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) raided the offices of half a dozen sellers operating on the e-commerce platforms of Amazon and Walmart-owned Flipkart for alleged violations of Foreign Investment norms and Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The intent behind the searches was to gather evidence on complaints that these sellers have been importing products from China but routing them through other locations to avoid paying higher import duties and longer time in getting the consignment cleared at the ports (that would be the case if the products were imported...
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Nutrient-based subsidy: Support and scrutiny balance
While companies have the flexibility to set their MRP, these prices remain under close government scrutiny, ensuring affordability without undermining competition Just around the time when the Rabi Crops season (October 2024 – March 2025) has commenced, there was a shortage of di-ammonium phosphate (DAP) in many parts of the country. DAP is a widely used complex fertiliser that supplies 46 per cent Phosphate or ‘P’ nutrients besides 18 per cent Nitrogen or ‘N’ (a ton of DAP contains 180 kg ‘N’ and 460 kg ‘P’). The annual consumption of DAP is around 10 to 11 million tons. Against this, domestic production is less than half at around 4.5 – 4.8 million tonnes. The deficit is made up of imports...
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Overstating food inflation
The CPI uptick is traced to food inflation which has a 40% weightage in the index On October 9, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das announced the decisions taken by the six-member Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) in its fourth bi-monthly meeting of the current financial year (FY). It kept the policy rate (the interest rate at which the RBI lends to banks) unchanged at 6.5%. However, it altered its policy stance from “withdrawal of accommodation” to a neutral stance. The RBI fixes the policy rate in such a manner as to maintain the Consumer Price Index or CPI (it corresponds to a basket including food, fuel, manufactured goods and select services) within the target range of 4% (+/-...
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Food subsidy reforms: Can Govt tackle mounting costs
Timely disbursement of funds to FCI would go a long way to streamline the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana, which provides free food grains to the people The Ministry of Finance (MoF) has released Rs 97,000 crore towards food subsidy expenses in the first half of the current financial year (FY) to the Food Corporation of India (FCI). This is over two-thirds of the required fund support of Rs 147,000 crore to FCI during the current FY. The MoF is expected to release the balance amount by December 31, 2024. Under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY), the Centre asks the FCI and other state agencies to procure food from the farmers at MSP (minimum support price)...
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