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Hindustan Times September 11, 2019. By Zia Haq and Saubhadra Chatterji The government is preparing for a fresh round of reforms in “agricultural marketing,” or the mandi system that controls buying and selling of farm produce, part of a five-year agenda to turn around the distressed farm sector, two officials familiar with the development said on condition of anonymity. The interministerial panel for rural and agriculture sectors, one among 10 such committees formed to suggest various reforms, has identified persistent trade barriers within the mandi system that continue to hurt traders dealing in food commodities, which, in turn, affects farmers. This has been cited as a major reason for depressed agricultural markets, responsible for lower farm profits. Farmers need freer access to markets to sell their produce, according to those familiar with the development. Therefore, it has suggested a single mandi tax for the country and removal of levies charged to trader...

Business Today September 11, 2019 By  Rahul Shrivastava At a time when India is battling with the plummeting trade and the ongoing economic slowdown, the Centre has managed to push 10 ASEAN countries to review the bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) to make it "more India-friendly". India, under PM Narendra Modi, has been seeking to renegotiate the terms of the FTA as there's no review or exit clause in it. As per an assessment, the FTA has led to a 250 per cent increase in India's trade deficit with ASEAN nations. The FTA was implemented during the UPA regime in January 2010. A recent Niti Aayog study also said India's trade deficit with the ASEAN countries doubled to $10 billion in 2017 from $5 billion in 2011. In comparison, the preliminary ASEAN data shows the two-way goods trade with India grew by 9.8 per cent to $80.8 billion in 2018 from $73.6 billion in 2017. An ASSOCHAM study in July also warned that "India's exports to ASEAN natio...

Hindustan Times September 11, 2019 US President Donald Trump has issued a new executive order that would enhance the country’s ability to target terrorists and those who finance their activities, as well as identify, sanction and deter perpetrators of terrorism worldwide.  Utilising the new order, issued on the eve of the 9/11 anniversary on Tuesday, the Treasury sanctioned over two dozen individuals and entities from 11 terrorist groups, including Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan. It allows the US government to better target terror group leaders and provides new tools to pursue individuals who participate in terrorist training, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said.  The executive order also authorises secondary sanctions on foreign financial institutions that have knowingly conducted or facilitated significant transactions with sanctioned persons, Mnuchin said. He added that the order targets those actors for and behalf of specially-designated global terrorists. “S...

Mint September 11, 2019 The currency opened at 71.87 a dollar, touching a high of 71.60 and a low of 71.87. The dollar index, which measures the US currency’s strength against major currencies, was trading at 98.454, up 0.13%, from its previous close of 98.326. Mumbai: The Indian rupee strengthened against the US dollar on Wednesday tracking gains in other Asian currencies.At 2 pm, the domestic currency was trading at 71.65 dollar, up 0.08% from its previous close of 71.71. The currency opened at 71.87 a dollar, touching a high of 71.60 and a low of 71.87. The 10-year government bond yield rose 8 basis points to 6.66% from Monday’s close of 6.58%, whereas prices declined 0.54% to 104.14 rupees. Bond yields and prices move in opposite direction. Stocks, bonds, and currency markets were shut on Tuesday for Muharram. Benchmark equity index Sensex gained 0.36% or 133.20 points to 37278.65 points in afternoon trade. Since January, it has gained 3.36%. So far this year,...

The Telegraph September 11, 2019 By  Sanjay Budhia The Narendra Modi-government’s decision to start a fresh round of consultations with industry to help them tide over the crippling effects of a slowdown needs to be welcomed. Domestic manufacturing desperately needs help to ride out the slump. Equally, we need to adopt measures to crank up exports. Idling factories should be incentivised to use their spare capacities to boost manufacturing for export markets. But ideas are not enough; we need to implement them — and quickly. That is the only way to deliver on a promise. Industry and the government need to work in tandem. Industry has been slashing costs to counter the effects of the economic slowdown. Now, the government needs to adopt a set of immediate measures that will help businesses to achieve the seemingly unattainable. Here is a compendium of measures that we need to take. Engineering exports constitute about 26 per cent of India’s total exports and has th...

The Quint September 09, 2019 India on Monday, 9 September, said it has reservations on joining the proposed Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership with the ASEAN countries and its six FTA partners, due to concerns, including the "enormous" trade deficit with China, which has ballooned to over 57 billion dollars. The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement is being negotiated among 10 ASEAN members (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam) and their six trade partners – Australia, China, India, Japan, Korea and New Zealand to create a free trade pact covering a third of the world's economy. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, speaking during a panel discussion at the inaugural session of India-Singapore Business & Innovation Summit, said India remained concerned over the unfair market access to Indian products and the "protectionist policies" of Beiji...

THE QUINT September 10, 2019 India responded to Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi's comments on the Kashmir issue at the United Nations Human Rights Commission (UNHRC) on Tuesday, 10 September. While addressing the issue, Vijay Thakur Singh, Secretary (East) in the Ministry of External Affairs reiterated India's stand that the country will not accept interference. “We wish to reiterate that this sovereign decision, like other legislations passed by the  Parliament, is entirely internal to India. No country can accept interference in its internal affairs, certainly not India.” “There will be an end to gender discrimination, including on property rights and local bodies representation. There will be better protection of juvenile rights and laws against domestic violence. The rights to education, information and work will now be applicable. Longstanding discrimination against refugees and under privileged sections will end.” “Despite challenging ci...