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PTI: Asian Age: June 24, 2018 Mumbai: The state-wide plastic ban, including carry-bags and thermocol by the Devendra Fadanvis government, will result in loss of up to Rs 15,000 crore and nearly 3 lakh jobs, says the plastic manufacturing industry.  "The ban imposed in Maharashtra from Saturday has hit the industry very hard and the plastic industry is staring at a loss of Rs 15,000 crore, leaving nearly 3 lakh people jobless overnight," Plastic Bags Manufacturers Association of India general secretary Neemit Punamiya said.  Nearly 2,500 members of the association have left with no option but to shut shop following the ban, he added and termed the ban as "discriminatory".  On March 23, the state announced a ban on manufacture, use, sale, distribution and storage of plastic materials such as one-time-use bags, spoons, plates, PET and PETE bottles and thermocol items.  Also Read: Plastic ban put into effect in Maha from today, biscuit, chips packe...

Reuter: The Hindu: June 25, 2018 Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan won sweeping new executive powers on Monday after his victory in landmark elections that also saw his Islamic-rooted Justice and Development Party (AKP) and its nationalist allies secure a majority in Parliament. Mr. Erdoğan main rival, Muharrem İnce of the Republican People’s Party (CHP), conceded defeat but branded the elections ”unjust” and said the presidential system that now takes effect was “very dangerous” because it would lead to one-man rule. ‘No retreat’ Mr. Erdoğan, 64, the most popular — yet divisive — leader in Turkey’s modern history, told jubilant, flag-waving supporters there would be no retreat from his drive to transform the country, a deeply polarised nation that is both a NATO member and, at least nominally, a candidate to join the European Union (EU). He is loved by millions of devoutly Muslim working class Turks for delivering years of stellar economic growth and oversee...

The Hindu: June 25, 2018 India is considering jointly bidding for oil blocks in the UAE with companies based there, Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said on Monday. “We are in talks that India could bid in the next licensing round of UAE with some Middle Eastern nation companies like Mubadala [Investment Company],” Mr. Pradhan reportedly said on the sidelines of the MoU signing ceremony with Saudi Aramco and ADNOC for their investment in the Ratnagiri refinery. Leasing strategic reserve The Minister also said that India would consider leasing a part of its third strategic reserve in Padur if Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) was interested. It had already leased a part of the strategic reserve in Mangalore to ADNOC. The MoU signed by Saudi Aramco and ADNOC on Monday was to jointly develop and build an integrated refinery and petrochemicals complex at Ratnagiri in Maharashtra. The project would be implemented by Ratnagiri Refinery & Petrochemicals Ltd...

PTI: Economic Times: June 26, 2018 Pakistan could be placed on the blacklist of countries that financially aid terrorism, media reports said today as Islamabad fielded its interim Finance Minister Shamshad Akhtar to defend the country in Paris where the Financial Action Task Force is meeting.  The FATF is an inter-governmental body established in 1989 to combat money laundering, terrorist financing and other related threats to the integrity of the international financial system.  Currently placed on the FATF'S 'grey list', Pakistan has been scrambling in recent months to avoid being added to a list of countries deemed non-compliant with anti-money laundering and terrorist financing regulations by the FATF, a measure that officials here fear could hurt its economy, which is already under strain.  In February, Pakistan narrowly escaped placement, but a senior official of the FATF confirmed that it will be placed on the FATF's watch-list in June, the Ex...

PTI: The Hindu: October 17, 2017 India has a “serious” hunger problem and ranks 100th out of 119 countries on the global hunger index — behind North Korea, Bangladesh and Iraq but ahead of Pakistan, according to a report. The country’s serious hunger level is driven by high child malnutrition and underlines need for stronger commitment to the social sector, the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) said in its report. India stood at 97th position in last year’s rankings. “India is ranked 100th out of 119 countries, and has the third highest score in all of Asia — only Afghanistan and Pakistan are ranked worse,” IFPRI said in a statement. “At 31.4, India’s 2017 GHI (Global Hunger Index) score is at the high end of the ‘serious’ category, and is one of the main factors pushing South Asia to the category of worst performing region on the GHI this year, followed closely by Africa South of the Sahara,” it added. As per the report, India ranks below m...

Anita Chester: Business Line: June 25, 2018 I n India, there is an urgent need for a shift towards ecologically and financially sustainable cotton India is the largest producer of cotton and the crop is of significant importance to the economy. Closely woven into the cotton story is the fate of over 6 million small and marginal farmers who plant this crop annually. However, today, we have reached a point of inflection. The so-called successes of past decades heralded by the hasty adoption of transgenic Bt technology are being eclipsed by the recurrence of pest attacks, worsened by unsustainable land and water use. The growing resistance to pests, such as the pink bollworm, and an alarming rise of secondary pests, suggests that there has been an increase of pesticide use. Other factors like erratic rainfall, poor extension services, dubious seed quality and lack of credit at reasonable rates, aggravate and worsen the situation for farmers who are not able to cover the ...

KR Srivats: Business Line: June 22, 2018 Insolvency resolution professionals (IRPs), who play a central role in resolution, may, in the coming days, find it difficult to resign midway during a corporate insolvency resolution process (CIRP) citing ad-hoc reasons or on flimsy grounds. This is because the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) proposes to debar IRPs from taking fresh assignments for five years if they opt out of an ongoing case for reasons other than exceptional circumstances of physical incapacitation. They may also be excused if they become legally ineligible to pursue a case. This proposal is outlined in a new discussion paper released by the IBBI on Thursday and intends to help maintain the time-bound process, which is the essence of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (2016). Comments and suggestions have to reach the IBBI by July 15. Under the proposed plan, IRPs can seek discharge from a process only on one ground — when he is incapacitate...

The Hindu, By Shishir Sinha, New Delhi, Jun 25, 2018 The Centre has simplified the process for granting an additional fiscal deficit limit to the eligible states. “The Union Government of India, keeping in view its policy for cooperative federalism, has henceforth decided to simplify the process of approval of such additional borrowing limits requested by states. It will process each proposal along with complete information independently as and when it is received, in contrast to the earlier process of bunching all proposals into a single proposal,” a Finance Ministry statement issued on Monday, said. Currently, states can borrow up to 3 per cent of their fiscal deficit limit but an additional limit can be permitted subject to certain conditions. They can have flexibility of 0.25 per cent over and above this for any given year, for which the borrowing limits are to be fixed if their debt-GSDP ratio is less than or equal to 25 per cent in the preceding year. Not only this, st...

The Hindu Business Line, June 22, 2018 Insolvency resolution professionals (IRPs), who play a central role in resolution, may, in the coming days, find it difficult to resign midway during a corporate insolvency resolution process (CIRP) citing ad-hoc reasons or on flimsy grounds. This is because the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) proposes to debar IRPs from taking fresh assignments for five years if they opt out of an ongoing case for reasons other than exceptional circumstances of physical incapacitation. They may also be excused if they become legally ineligible to pursue a case. This proposal is outlined in a new discussion paper released by the IBBI on Thursday and intends to help maintain the time-bound process, which is the essence of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (2016). Comments and suggestions have to reach the IBBI by July 15. Under the proposed plan, IRPs can seek discharge from a process only on one ground — when he is incapacitated to ...

The Economic Times, By Rakhi Mazumdar, KolkataJun 25, 2018. The Anil Agarwal-led Vedanta Ltd has said it is working with the Pollution Control Board and district administration to mitigate damage due to acid spillage from its copper smelter unit in Tuticorin.  The copper plant remains closed following a Tamil Nadu government order issued on May 28, 2018.  In a statement to the stock exchanges on Monday, Vedanta said :"The leak in the sulphuric acid tank was observed and by a police personnel deployed by the District Administration (DA). As soon as we got to know of this, we informed the DA and Pollution Control Board and are working with them to evacuate the acid spillage safely, to mitigate any environmental damage."  Following the sealing and closure of the unit in the wake of the May 28 order issued by Tamil Nadu government, the Tuticorin copper smelter continues to be inaccessible to Vedanta.  Vedanta also said it has filed a writ of ...

Livemint, Jun 25, 2018 With 2019 Lok Sabha elections less than a year away, and the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) coalition appearing more vulnerable than before, concerns about possible fiscal slippages have begun mounting. Investors fear that the Union government may give in to the temptation of populism to counter anti-incumbency and to lift economic sentiments. An analysis of historical data suggests that such concerns are not without basis. Most Union governments have resorted to fiscal expansion in the year ahead of general elections, the data shows. A 2014 research paper by Deepa S. Vaidya and K. Kangasabapathy of the Economic and Political Weekly Research Foundation showed that much of the increase in the deficit ahead of elections is because the actual spending exceeds the budgeted estimates. That governments in democracies might be tempted to raise spending before elections has long been recognized by political business c...

Livemint, Jun 25, 2018 Pakistan was bracing itself ahead of being formally named in the “grey list” of countries for its failure to comply with the anti-terror funding guidelines, despite repeated attempts to get Islamabad to cooperate, news reports said. The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), set up in 1989 to combat money laundering, and expanded to include combating terrorist financing in 2001, began its plenary and working group meetings in Paris on Sunday. The decision to place Pakistan on the global money-laundering watchdog’s ‘grey-list’ was made during a FATF plenary meeting in February, but Pakistan was given time to submit its action plan for review during the 24-29 June meeting in Paris. Pakistan was, however, subject to direct monitoring and intense scrutiny by the International Co-operation Review Group on terror financing, pending further review during the June meeting. The case against Pakistan follows its inaction against UN-banned terror groups such as t...