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Business Standard December 03, 2018 India’s economy expanded at a disappointing pace of 7.1 per cent in the second quarter (July-September) in sharp contrast to 8.2 per cent growth in gross domestic product (GDP) in the first quarter of the current fiscal year. While it is true that the second quarter was challenging for the economy because of a sharp increase in crude oil prices, a higher import bill, and a weaker rupee, it is equally true that there was a favourable base effect since the economy struggled in Q2FY18 due to the effects of demonetisation and the disruption caused by the introduction of the goods and .......   Reference:-  https://www.business-standard.com/article/opinion/the-gdp-fiasco-118120300020_1.html

Live Mint December 03, 2018 Carolynn Look & Xiaoqing Pi, Bloomberg The trade truce US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping agreed this weekend may help prop up growth in the euro area. The 19-nation currency bloc has seen a steady downward trend in economic indicators since the start of the year, a development often pegged to uncertainties around foreign demand and investment amid increased global protectionism. A particular factor weighing on output, however, is the region’s flagging exports to China, according to Commerzbank chief economist Joerg Kraemer. Demand for European products has weakened this year as the more-than-$12 trillion Asian economy grappled with softening growth, a hangover from a financial cleanup and uncertainties over US tariffs. At a Group of 20 meeting in Buenos Aires, Trump and Xi decided to put their trade war on hold. “In this case, what is good for China, and the US, is good for Europe,” said Louis Kuijs, chief Asia

 Live Mint December 03, 2018 Vivek Kaul Last week, thousands of farmers turned up to protest on the streets of Delhi and Kolkata. A similar scenario had played out in Mumbai, sometime back. Why are farmers protesting? There are long-term structural reasons as well as a short-term reason for it. What is the main structural reason? The average size of the plot on which farming is carried out has shrunk over the decades, as it has been divided across generations. In 1970-71, the average size was 2.28 hectares (one hectare equals 2.47 acres). By 2015-2016, it had shrunk to 1.08 hectares. However, averages, as usual, hide the real story. The total number of farms stand at 145.6 million. Of this, around 99.9 million farms, or 68.5%, are marginal or less than one hectare in size. The average size of a marginal farm is just 0.38 hectares. In 1970-71, marginal farms comprised 51% of 71 million farms. So, plot sizes have shrunk. Is it just that? Smaller plots have made farming not

The Hindu December 02, 2018 Vijaita Singh Interlocutor Dineshwar Sharma now quietly visits the State and fixes his own meetings More than a year since the Centre appointed former Intelligence Bureau chief Dineshwar Sharma as a Special Representative to carry forward a dialogue with all sections of the people in Jammu and Kashmir, much water has flown. Reeling from a political crisis, the State came under the Governor’s Rule in June and in November the Assembly was dissolved by J&K Governor Satya Pal Malik following reports of horse-trading of MLAs . A reticent Mr. Sharma has maintained a low profile ever since the Government announced on June 17 that it will not continue the ‘suspension of operations’ or ‘cease-ops’ that was announced to provide relief to people in the month of Ramzan. Emotional upsurge The cease-ops was announced by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on May 16, following successive reports given by Mr. Sharma that killings and encounters were not yie

The Indian Express December 03,2018   Khushboo Narayan Bogus purchases, huge over-valuation of stocks, suspicious payments to relatives, dubious loans — all these and more were red-flagged more than eight months before the  Nirav Modi -PNB scam broke, in a crucial Income Tax investigation report that was not shared with any other agency. The Income Tax probe report on fugitive diamond jewellers Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi, running into about 10,000 pages, was finalised by the agency on June 8, 2017. It was not shared with other agencies like the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO), Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) until February 2018, when the Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam became public. Sources said the tax department, before February 2018, also did not share its findings through the Regional Economic Intelligence Council (REIC), a mechanism for sharing of information between vario

The Economics Times December 02,2018 Kirtika Suneja New Delhi: The government has roped in three of India’s premier think tanks to prepare a road map for negotiating the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) trade agreement expected to conclude next year. RCEP is a mega-trade agreement spanning the 10 Asean countries and its six free-trade  agreement partners Australia, New Zealand, Japan, China, Korea and India. RCEP  countries will meet for a round of negotiations in Indonesia in February and the ministerial in Thailand in April followed by another round of talks in Australia in May. Indian Institute of Management-Bangalore, Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER) and the Centre for Regional Trade , an autonomous think tank under the Department of Commerce, will discuss India’s strategy in goods, services and investment negotiations with all stakeholders including other ministries concerned, ahead of the trade negotiations. “We