Happy Media

Business Line April 06,2019 In a move that is expected to bring relief to small organic food producers, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has decided to relax certification norms for small original producers or producer organisations with an annual turnover of up to ₹12 lakh till April 1, 2020. According to the regulations, all organic food sold in the country needs to be certified either under National Programme for Organic Production (NPOP) or Participatory Guarantee System for India (PGS-India). The food safety authority has now directed State food safety officers to consider the organic food regulations as “Enabling Regulations” and not for prosecution — particularly for small original producers and producer organisation during the initial phase of its implementation till April 1, 2020. “Provision of direct sales of organic food to the end consumer by the small original producer/producer organisation having an annual turnover of organic pr

The Hindu April 06,2019 Despite good ties in several other spheres, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is disappointed that the government has completed its term without renegotiating a bilateral “air services agreement” that would allow more Gulf airlines into India. In an interview to The Hindu, UAE Ambassador Ahmed Al-Banna said it was “unlikely” that the negotiations, which have been pending for more than five years, would be held until after the elections now, meaning a further delay of several months. “We are not satisfied at all,” Mr. Al-Banna said. “This is a major issue. Our carriers and so many passengers are suffering due to this delay. I have been trying to hold a meeting on this, [but without success].” The issue had been raised most recently at the Global Aviation Summit in Mumbai in mid-January, and was brought up by the UAE government during External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj’s visit to Abu Dhabi for the joint commission meeting in December 2018.

Financial Express April 11, 2019 IMF Chief Economist Gita Gopinath has become the latest to weigh in on the controversy surrounding India’s actual GDP growth, after a recent letter by 108 economist raised concern and sparked a debate on the credibility of official data. “There are still some issues with the way India calculates its growth rate and the IMF is paying close attention to the new numbers that are coming out,’’ Gita Gopinath said to CNBC in a recent interview. India, being touted among the fastest growing economies, is also an aspiring nation with one of the youngest populations in an aging world. However, the official growth numbers have come under severe criticism from time to time as the growth rate does not resonate with the situation on the ground, according to various experts. READ ALSO: Rs 1.8 lakh single Zomato order, crossing rivers to deliver food; eventful year at popular food app Although Gita Gopinath welcomed the changes made to the method

Business line April 09, 2019 A sustained rally in cotton prices following weak crop prospects has started getting reflected in cottonseed prices as well, making cattlefeed (cottonseed cake) and edible oil (cottonseed oil) costlier. According to ginners, cotton seed prices have jumped about 25 per cent within a month’s time — from ₹2,400 a quintal in March to ₹3,000 now. “We typically see cottonseed prices rising near the end of the season, around July. But this time, the prices have started going up now and may further go up, making cattlefeed and cottonseed oil costlier,” said Bachubhai Antrolia, a ginner in Manavadar, Junagadh district. After the ginning process, cotton fibre is separated from the seed and the seed is then processed to make cake and oil. Cottonseed yields about 85 per cent cattlefeed or cake and about 15 per cent oil. According to Antrolia, a sharp increase in cotton prices has resulted in pricing disparity, and the units have had to trim their opera

The Caravan April 11, 2019 On 11 April, Smriti Irani, the union minister of textiles from the Bharatiya Janata Party, filed her nomination to contest the Lok Sabha elections from the Amethi constituency, in Uttar Pradesh. Slated to go to polls on 6 May, Amethi has been a Congress bastion for several years, and the party’s president, Rahul Gandhi, has been the member of parliament from the seat since 2004. The BJP had polled merely 37,570 votes from Amethi in the 2009 elections. It fielded Irani against Gandhi in the next general election. Irani’s aggressive canvassing brought up the party’s vote share to an impressive 300,748 votes, only around one lakh short of Gandhi’s winning tally. For the upcoming election, Irani is once again pitted against Gandhi. In the following extract from “Role of a Lifetime,” the cover story of The Caravan’s November 2016 issue, Rohini Mohan traces Irani’s campaign in the 2014 general election, and how she continued engaging with the constitue

The Print April 11, 2019 India is in the middle of an election campaign driven by the issue of ‘national security’, especially as it comes after the Pulwama attack and the Balakot air strikes. So, there were a lot of expectations that the political manifestos of the Congress and the BJP would refer to the issue with an improved mindset. But both parties’ manifestos lack a holistic approach to national security, settling instead for a simple ‘to-do’ list which has been our bane in the past. The manifestos mirror what India’s strategic community unanimously says: that India does not have a formal national security vision, that it lacks a coherent strategy, and that we go about managing national security affairs from ‘crisis to crisis’. India needs radical reforms — with respect to higher defence management, integration of the three services, creation of the post of Chief of Defence Staff, and restructuring/ reorganisation of the armed forces. Keeping in mind how modernisatio

The Print April 11, 2019 Pakistan’s economy has been in a free fall for long but things are only getting worse — its current account and fiscal deficit is widening, inflation is rising, it’s facing a ballooning external debt and the foreign exchange reserves are dwindling. In short, it’s a serious crisis. In its World Economic Outlook report released Tuesday, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) revised downwards its growth projections for Pakistan to 2.8 per cent for 2018-19 and 2.9 per cent for 2019-20. It cited “ongoing macroeconomic adjustment challenges” for its revised projections. The report comes even as Prime Minister Imran Khan-led government rushes to complete negotiations with the IMF for a bailout. With its rising fuel import bill following a devaluation of the Pakistani rupee and a downgrade in the sovereign rating by rating agencies, Pakistan’s dependence on international assistance, especially bilateral help from countries like the United Arab Emirates

Economic Times April 12, 2019 Cash-strapped  Jet Airways  has for now suspended all its international flights and continues to cut down on domestic operations, raising doubts about its survival. The airline had over the last few months suspended operations to more than 15 short haul international destinations in the Gulf, south east Asia and SAARC countries. Between Wednesday and Thursday, it cancelled flights to Singapore and Kathmandu. Thursday evening, it cancelled the remaining overseas flights to Amsterdam, Paris and London. Reference:  https://m.economictimes.com/industry/transportation/airlines-/-aviation/cash-strapped-jet-airways-cancels-all-international-flights/articleshow/68836939.cms

The Caravan April 10,2019 In October 2018, Ghulam Nabi Azad, the leader of opposition in the Rajya Sabha, addressed a gathering of the Aligarh Muslim University Old Boys’ Association, an alumni group, in Lucknow. Azad, a Congress man since the start of his career in 1973, compared the present political situation in the country to the post-1857 era “when the British were dividing Hindus and Muslims.” He said that he had himself been a “victim of divisive politics” over the last four years. Azad recalled that since his days as a Youth Congress leader, he would campaign for other Congress leaders across the country. “Over 95 percent of those who called me for campaigning were Hindu brothers and leaders, while just 5 percent were Muslims,” he said. “But in the past four years, this 95 percent has dipped to 20 percent.” Azad suggested that his own party leaders had stopped calling him for campaigns because they feared they might lose votes by having a Muslim face. “Aaj darta ha

The Caravan April 10,2019 Asaduddin Owaisi is the president of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen—the first Muslim party since Independence to show indications of a pan-Indian appeal—and a three-time member of parliament from the Hyderabad constituency. On 11 April, Hyderabad will vote in the first phase of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. In the following extract from “The Seeker,” The Caravan’s September 2016 cover story, Neyaz Farooquee traces Owaisi’s journey from his party’s base in Hyderabad to his political life in Delhi, and his relationship with the Delhi-media, where he is a frequent commentator. Farooquee also details the allegations of communal polarisation and the use of violence against Owaisi and the AIMIM, and his responses to them. “As long as I was with the Congress I was secular, but the moment we left the UPA at the centre and in Andhra Pradesh we immediately became politically untouchable,” Owaisi said. “If you are with them you are holy, and the moment y