Controls on GM crops will curb access to new solutions needed to tackle climate change. Our farmers will be the biggest losers Bt cotton, the only Genetically Modified (GM) crop so far allowed for cultivation in India, is genetically tweaked to kill bollworms that ravage cotton crops. It promises substantial increase in return by saving on pesticide use and increase in crop yield. At the price paid for Bt cotton seed, including technology fee paid to biotech major Monsanto, farmers get handsome returns. Since its introduction, the use of Bt cotton in India has increased manifold with the area under coverage, leap-frogging from a mere 50,000 hectare to around 12 million hectare, covering major States such as Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh...
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FDI in retail: The way forward
Only a 100 per cent FDI can create good market dynamics that can address concerns of predatory pricing and market dominance Retailers’ associations have complained to the Government against e-commerce majors such as Amazon and Flipkart giving deep discounts on sales on their platform which is detrimental to the ubiquitous ‘mom-and-pop’ stores. They also apprehend that once the latter is decimated, the former will start exploiting the consumers in the long-run by charging exorbitant prices. Domestic companies in organised retail (or the so-called ‘brick and mortar’ segment) viz Reliance Retail Limited (RRL) and Futures Group among others, too, are facing the heat from these e-commerce giants. They are not against MNCs per se but their grudge is mainly due to...
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Farm loan waivers: road to economic disaster
The waiver of farm loans worth Rs 65,000 crore about a decade ago by the then UPA dispensation, with an eye on the impending general elections in 2009, had a debilitating effect on the finances of the union government (fiscal deficit during 2008-9 was in excess of 6% of GDP). But political parties do not seem to have learnt any lesson. Early last year, the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh granted a mammoth loan waiver for small and marginal farmers, costing the exchequer Rs 36,000 crore. This was followed by the by JD(S)-Congress coalition in Karnataka granting an equally massive Rs 34,000 crore waiver earlier this year. The monster of competitive loan waivers continues to advance with added fury as...
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A policy on MSP will be fiscally suicidal
In all probability, the Government must not tread the path of giving legal backing to MSP. Already, it is struggling to find resources for food subsidy under NFSA. An alternative path is to find platforms where farmers can sell their produce On November 30, 2018, tens of thousands of farmers congregated in the national capital to protest against their financial distress arising out of non-remunerative price for their agricultural output and ever-increasing farm debt burden. They wanted a special session of Parliament to discuss their problems and demanded the passage of two laws (i) to guarantee Minimum Support Price (MSP) for all crops based on the recommendations of the National Commission on Agriculture under MS Swaminathan (2006) and (ii) ‘one-time’...
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No relief in sight for fertiliser prices
India is overwhelmingly dependent on imports for meeting its requirements. That makes us vulnerable to the changing global demand-supply scenario. The Government, will, therefore, need to explore innovative ways to increase self-reliance Farm distress refuses to go away. This time around, the steep rise in prices of fertilisers — a key input used in crop production — during the current year has increased farmers’ miseries. During Kharif (April-September) 2018, the price of di-ammonium phosphate (DAP), a major source of phosphate or ‘P’ nutrient supply, increased by 30 per cent over Kharif (April-September) 2017. Likewise, the price of complexes and muriate of potash (MoP) — main source of ‘P’ and ‘potash’ or ‘K’ nutrient —increased by 15-60 per cent during Kharif 2018...
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Amazon, Flipkart flouting FDI norms. Really, ED?!
During hearing on a public interest litigation in Delhi high court on October 31, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) said it is investigating alleged violation of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) against Amazon and Flipkart. The charge is that these companies have violated the extant norms for foreign direct investment (FDI) guidelines as contained in Press Note (PN) 3 (2016-17). The PN 3 allows 100% FDI in the ‘marketplace’ model for e-commerce. An entity working on this model offers a platform to sellers and buyers to conduct transactions. It acts as a facilitator by offering them services such as booking orders, raising invoices, arranging deliveries, collecting payments, etc. It can’t own stocks and can’t sell directly to the consumer. The...
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More than meets the eye
In a power battle between the providers and consumers of electricity, the latter lose, yet again During the first decade of the 2000s, in a bid to boost power generation and to make it available at ‘affordable’ and ‘stable’ price to consumers, the then Government had mooted the idea of ultra mega power projects. Two such plants were bagged by Tata Power Ltd (TPL) and Adani Power Ltd (APL) under tariff-based competitive bidding (TBCB), each with an installed capacity of 4,000 MW and 4,620 MW, respectively. While the TPL is based entirely on imported coal, APL uses 70 per cent domestic and 30 per cent imported coal. Under long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs), they committed to sell to power distribution companies at...
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Responsible oil pricing is the key
There are limits to the influence that can be brought to bear on the actions of oil producers. Enticing MNCs to participate in Indian exploration efforts and working towards alternative payment arrangements, however, is doable Interacting with global leaders from the energy sector on October 15, 2018, in New Delhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged three major issues: First, while expressing concern over the steep increase in international price of crude oil, he urged all leading producers/exporters to be more responsible in fixing the price to bring it down from the current high to a reasonable level. Second, keeping in mind the overarching need to increase domestic production India, he asked them to consider investing in exploration and development of...
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Trump is hell-bent on decimating WTO
Ever since Donald Trump took charge as US President, he has made systematic efforts to demolish the very foundation of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) which is at the centre of ‘free’ and ‘fair’ trade based on transparent and non-discriminatory rules. At the 11th WTO ministerial conference held in Buenos Aires in December 2017, the US rejected the demand of developing countries to find a “permanent solution” to stockholding for food security which was agreed to four years ago at the 9th ministerial in Bali. Worse, it has dumped the Doha Development Agenda (DDA), which has been assiduously pursued by all members of WTO since 2001. Second, in complete defiance of rules under WTO, it has hiked import duty on...
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Cure worse than the disease
The Maharashtra Government’s bid to ensure good crop price for farmers is laudable but this must not be done by excessively penalising errant traders. Other options must be explored In August, the Devendra Fadnavis Government approved several amendments to the Maharashtra Agricultural Produce Marketing (Development & Regulation) Act, 1963, to bring it in line with the Centre’s model of Agricultural Produce and Livestock Marketing (Promotion & Facilitation) Act, 2017. As a result, the entire State was declared as a single market. Now, instead of the earlier rule, where traders would require separate licences for operating in each ‘notified’ APMC market, they will now need a single license that will enable them purchase agricultural produce from any mandi within the State. This is a good...
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