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JOYEETA BHATTACHARJEE JUL 09 2020 Recently, China declared zero-duty for 97 percent of the Bangladeshi imports. The concession flowed from China’s duty-free, quota-free programme for the Least Developed Countries (LDC). This facility became operational from 1 July. The Chinese move has been widely welcome in the country and is considered as a major diplomatic victory in the bilateral relations with China. Commentators and analysts have expressed optimism about the increase in the Bangladeshi exports to China and further deepening of the economic ties between the two countries, which is already going strong. Since the Chinese decision coincided with the military standoff with India, it attracted wide international attention. The international community perceived the development to be a strategic move by China and termed it as an  attempt to win Bangladesh , one of India’s close neighbours. However, amidst the hype surrounding the Chinese decision, an insight into the China-...

Vicky Nanjappa | Updated: Monday, July 13, 2020 The proceeds from the gold being smuggled in the Kerala case could be used for financing terrorism in India, the initial probe by the National Investigation has shown. On Friday, the NIA registered an FIR in the Kerala Gold Smuggling Case. The case has been registered under sections 16, 17 and 18 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, against 04 accused persons including Swapna Prabha Suresh Kerala smuggling amounts to terrorist act says NIA after registering case The case relates to the seizure of 30 kg of 24-carat gold worth Rs.14.82 crores at Trivandrum International Airport The aforesaid consignment was found camouflaged in diplomatic baggage from UAE that is exempted from inspection as per the Vienna Convention. The said consignment was to be received by Sarith P S who had worked in the  Consulate earlier as Public Relations Officer. Initial investigation by Customs Department has revealed that Sarith had received m...

Rahul Wadke    Mumbai | Updated on  July 10, 2020 Poor seed quality to blame, say farmers whose tomato crop was earlier affected by a virus attack Tomato farmers in Maharashtra who had shifted to soyabean after losing their tomato crop in May due to a virus attack, now face a second blow as their soyabean planting has been unproductive due to faulty seed material. Farmer Suresh Navale from Unchkhadak village in Akole taluka, Ahmednagar district told  BusinessLine  farmers in the district shifted to soyabean after the massive virus attack in May. However, that crop has also suffered due to bad quality seeds. Compared to other districts, Ahmednagar is agriculturally more advanced, with large areas under crops such as tomato, sugarcane, cotton and soybean in Kharif and sorghum, wheat, Bengal gram and onion in the Rabi season. Navale, who planted soyabean on over one acre in early June, has all but lost hope of making any money, with less 15 per cen...

Nitin Jugran Bahuguna    | Updated on  July 10, 2020  Gujarat farmers now have a digital aid to boost production of the cash crop Like many cotton farmers, Chandrakant Patel, 42, has had more than his share of pest attacks, a common malaise in cotton cultivation that can diminish yields, leading to heavy losses. When the problem occurred again last year, Chandrakant swung into action, taking pictures of the affected saplings and uploading them on his phone to a special app. “Within 24 hours, I got a solution. I was able to take timely action by spraying the recommended pesticide on the crops to save them,” he says. Chandrakant from Vemar village, about 50 km from Vadodara, is among a new generation of farmers using digital aids to boost production. Decision Support System (DSS), dubbed ‘Cotton Doctor’ is an agri-tech tool that alerts farmers about weather vulnerabilities and assists them to make informed decisions on cotton cultivation. “There are 20...

11/07/2020 By Narinder Jagga Chandigarh, July 11 (HS)  Voting from Haryana was zero in favour of referendum -2020 initiated by Sikh for Justice led by Sikh separatist and Khalistani supporter Gurpatwant Singh Pannu, based in USA.  In the name of referendum, no Sikhs prefer to talk or discuss even in favour of Khalistan around gurudwara. Pannu had claimed to start voting in favour of Khalistan from this gurudwara on 11 July. Security was tight and the police was keeping vigil on each every activity. Policemen were present around the gurudwara in civil dress. Section-144 was imposed there, but no devotee was prevented from going to the gurudwara. Devotees worshiped regularly as usual. The Ministry of Home Affairs had banned the SFJ for advocating Referendum 2020, an online campaign to demand Khalistan, which seeks a separate homeland for the Sikhs. It is also worth mentioning here that SFJ is supported by Pakistan based handler to provide...

Aditya Kalra NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India’s government has petitioned the Rajasthan High Court to stop any of the Chinese companies whose 59 apps it recently banned from obtaining an injunction to block the order, according to two sources and the legal filing. Chinese firms have faced hostility since a border clash that killed 20 Indian soldiers, with Delhi intensifying scrutiny of Chinese imports and any funding from China. Two sources with direct knowledge of the filing said the government had presented a so-called caveat in the High Court of Rajasthan, suggesting it expects one or more of the companies to challenge the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology’s ban. Such caveats are typically filed to prevent a ruling in favour of companies without hearing the government, Indian lawyers said. The filing, which one of the sources said was presented on Friday, has not previously been reported. “Let nothing be done till the applicants (government) are h...

M. Rajshekhar In global circles fighting climate change, India scores a passing grade. Take Climate Action Tracker, a website tracking countries’ actions on climate change. Citing India’s ambitious renewable energy targets – 450 GW by 2030 – it says the country is on “track to overachieve its ‘2º C compatible‘ rated Paris Agreement climate action targets”. If the country abandons plans for new coal-fired power plants, the website adds, it could become a global climate leader with a “1.5º C compatible” rating. What is missing from such analyses is a relatively recent development. Since 2017, a rising number of fossil fuel producers, mostly from Russia, America and the Middle East, have begun entering India, seeing the country as one of the last big markets for fossil fuels. Global oil and gas majors and their India plans August, 2017 – Rosneft buys Essar Refinery April, 2018 – Aramco-ADNOC announce plans for an Indian refinery in Ratnagiri, Maharashtra January, 2019 – Shell...

Updated Jul 12 2020 LAHORE: The Punjab government has set up the Punjab Charity Commission under the Punjab Charity Act 2018 to ensure monitoring of the collection of ‘Sadqaat’ and charity as well as their proper utilisation. It will now be compulsory for all charitable organisations and institutions working across the province to register with the commission before Aug 15. In order to facilitate NGOs, trusts, societies and other charities, a web registration portal has also been set up to promote e-governance and to ensure one-click access to the services. Applicants can register themselves by visiting  www.charitycommission.punjab.gov.pk . Published in Dawn, July 12th, 2020 https://www.dawn.com/news/1568419?ref=whatsapp

Mohammad Jamil Khan   July 12, 2020 Once again, ahead of Eid-ul-Azha when huge sales of sacrificial animals take place across the country, counterfeit note forgery syndicates have targeted the cattle markets like they do every year. This year, along with divisional cities, members of such syndicate members have planned to spread counterfeit notes in North Bengal and especially in the border districts, as these areas are largely not equipped with adequate monitoring systems to detect forged banknotes, said law enforcement officials. Following arrests of several members of such syndicates from different districts in the last few weeks, law enforcers claimed to have learned about these illegal schemes. "We have learned about the activities of around a dozen note forgery gangs and they remain active in spreading counterfeit notes ahead of Eid. Some of these members remain under our surveillance and we are hopeful of arresting them soon," Mashiur Rahman, deputy commissio...

  Harish Damodaran  | New Delhi |  Updated: July 13, 2020 Urea could be the first big-ticket item where the  Narendra Modi  government is set to realise its plans of ‘atmanirbharta’ (self-reliance) and reducing dependence on Chinese imports, with the commissioning of four new plants before 2021. In addition, a fifth plant is expected in 2023, for which the lump-sum turnkey execution contract has, incidentally, been awarded to a Chinese state-owned firm Wuhuan Engineering. India imported a record 11 million tonnes (mt) of urea, valued at $ 2.89 billion, in 2019-20.  China ’s share in that was over 2.9 mt, worth $ 854.56 million. Although lower than the high of 6.4 mt ($ 1.98 billion) in 2014-15, it was above the 0.8 mt ($ 235.74 million) for 2017-18 (see table). “The five new units are of 1.27 mt per annum production capacity each. Once they, and three others currently shut or in the process of getting gas, are functional, we will become atmanirbhar ...