In a just concluded meeting of the Trade Policy Forum, United States Trade Representative (USTR) Mic-hael Froman, emphatically rejected India’s request for signing a Social Security Agreement (SSA), nick named totalisation pact. The US argued that, “India did not meet the legislative requirement of minimum social security net (SSN) for 50 per cent of its population.” When Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman drew his attention to the Atal Pension Yojna, Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana and Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana in addition to Employees Provident Fund Organisation, the US official’s reaction was that being “non-mandatory”, those schemes did not qualify for social security. The USTR opined that he is open to discussing new social security schemes that India may...
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News & Media
The unabated food and fertiliser worries
With reforms in fertilisers and food stuck in a groove, it is but natural that the government is shirking from paying subsidy arrears Hamstrung by its inability to achieve target for divestment proceeds from public sector undertakings (PSUs) and lower-than-expected collection from direct tax revenues, the government has resorted to hard posturing with regard to release of subsidy payments under major heads—fertilisers and food. As far as fertilisers are concerned, against a budget allocation of R73,000 crore for the current year, the requirement is expected to be around R80,000 crore. Even as the ministry of finance is likely to provide for additional R7,000 crore, it is in no mood to release arrears of about R30,000 crore from previous year. The...
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SOME CARROTS BUT NO STICK
Modi’s new bailout package for State Electricity Boards is fine. However, he will need to force compliance In 2012, the UPA Government had granted a financial restructuring package of Rs2,00,000 crore, to deal with the debt of ailing State Electricity Boards. As part of the package, 50 per cent of the SEBs outstanding liabilities were taken over by the respective State Governments and the balance was issued to public sector banks at nine per cent interest. In return, the States were to increase tariff and reduce transmission and distribution losses to ensure that the realisation from sale of electricity equals the cost of procurement in two to three years. The objective was to eliminate losses and make SEBs stand up...
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Why falling imported gas price brings no relief
As per reports, Petronet LNG Limited, a consortium of four PSUs (ONGC, GAIL, IOCL and BPCL) is shelling out Rs 400 crore every quarter in demurrage charges for ships idling because of its PSU buyers are refusing to purchase expensive imported gas. This is just the tip of iceberg. At the outset, let us capture a few facts. Petronet had entered in to a long-term 25 year contract with RasGas of Qatar for import of 7.5 million tonnes a year LNG or around 30 million standard cubic metre per day (mmscmd). For transportation to its terminal at Dahej, it had entered in to a time-charter agreement with Mitsui OSK Lines et al. The PSUs (sans ONGC) had committed to buy...
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Drug licensing must recognise patents
Once patent-linkage gets embedded in our law, cheap drugs won’t get market entry Nearly 30 months back, US drug multinational Merck Sharp & Dohme (MSD) had petitioned the Delhi High Court to restrain Indian firm Glenmark Pharmaceuticals from manufacturing and selling its anti-diabetes drugs viz., Zita and Zita-Met, which violated MSD’s patents. The drugs contain sitagliptin, for which MSD holds a patent in India. Though Glenmark claimed that it had used sitagliptin phosphate, on which MSD held no patent, the court remained unimpressed with the Indian pharma company’s attempt to paint the two compounds as fundamentally distinct. In its October 7 judgment, the High Court restrained Glenmark “by permanent injunction” from making, using, selling, distributing, advertising, exporting, offering for sale or dealing...
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NJAC WAS AN IMPROVEMENT
The collegium system is flawed, and the apex court has admitted it. Yet, the court has endorsed the process On October 16, 2015, a five-judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court of India vide a majority vote of four-to-one quashed the 99th Constitution Amendment which established the National Judicial Appointment Commission for the appointment of judges to the apex court and the High Courts. The court also resurrected the collegium system which the NJAC Act had replaced on April 13, 2015. The judges took umbrage to the NJAC being an onslaught on the independence of the judiciary. Their primary discomfiture was with inclusion of the Law Minister and two eminent persons in a committee of six (the other three being...
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Gas price loss is urea’s gain
It’s time to leverage the conditions. Freeing distribution and movement will also make a difference Under new pricing guidelines notified in October, 2014, the price of domestic gas was fixed at $5.61 per mBtu on net calorific value (NCV) basis with effect from November 1, 2014 — an increase of 33 per cent over the $4.2 per mBtu prior to that date. The price was applicable till March 31, 2015. The price was arrived at by taking a weighted average of gas prices in Henry Hub (the US), NBP (National Balancing Point, the UK), AGR (Alberta Gas Reference, Canada) and Russia. It was to be revised once in six months based on movement in these indices for a full year,...
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WHERE ARE THE BIG BANG REFORMS?
The Modi Government should be applauded for bringing in key changes, but action is missing in vital areas such as fertilisers, food, power and kerosene. There is a need for reforms in these sectors which are loaded with subsidies Prime Minister Narendra Modi should be applauded for bringing in governance reforms, liberalising foreign direct investment and increasing ease of doing business, but action is missing in vital areas such as fertilisers, food, power and kerosene. These areas are in dire need of big bang reforms. Inefficiency, cost padding/gold plating, pilferage/leakages and corruption are rampant in these sectors, leading to the ballooning of subsidies and associated difficulties, in adhering to fiscal discipline. An expenditure management commission, headed by former Reserve Bank...
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Continue rate cut
ECONOMIC GROWTH : Having made a good head start (though belated), the RBI must not stop as there is potential for another 50-75 basis points reduction Prior to the fourth bi-monthly monetary policy review on September 29, RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan had come under unprecedented pressure to cut the policy repo rate [interest rate at which the apex bank lends money to commercial banks] to help government’s efforts in giving a fillip to the economy and putting it on a higher growth trajectory. Almost all stakeholders – industry and commerce, investors, experts/ economists – were unanimous in demanding a cut. While refraining from taking any position [lest this be misconstrued as interference in RBI’s autonomy], the government had nonetheless given...
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Add 100% FDI to the cart
Allowing 100% FDI in e-tail will make it easier for tax authorities to bring e-com firms under the tax net. In 2012, the UPA had permitted 51% FDI in multi-brand retail (MBR) with riders. The riders included sourcing 30% of requirements from small enterprises, a minimum investment of $100 million, besides giving full leeway to states on whether to grant permission or not. The policy was as bad as saying ‘no’ to FDI in MBR. The Modi government has continued with that policy decision. Finding that the direct route of entering MBR was choked, foreign investors have been looking for opportunities to make inroads. They found one in e-commerce where business was growing leaps and bounds. How did they manage...
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