Euro zone leaders made Greece surrender much of its sovereignty to outside supervision on Monday (13 July) in return for agreeing to talks on an 86 billion euros bailout to keep the near-bankrupt country in the single currency.The terms imposed by international lenders led by Germany in all-night talks at an emergency summit obliged leftist Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras to abandon promises of ending austerity and could fracture his government and cause an outcry in Greece."Clearly the Europe of austerity has won," Greece's Reform Minister George Katrougalos said."Either we are going to accept these draconian measures or it is the sudden death of our economy through the continuation of the closure of the banks. So it is an agreement that is practically forced upon us," he told BBC radio.If the summit had failed, Greece would have been staring into an economic abyss with its shuttered banks on the brink of collapse and the prospect of having to print a parallel currency and exit the European monetary union."The agreement was laborious, but it has been concluded. There is no Grexit," European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker told a news conference after 17 hours of bargaining.He dismissed suggestions that Tsipras had been humiliated even though the summit statement insisted repeatedly that Greece must now subject much of its public policy to prior agreement by bailout monitors."In this compromise, there are no winners and no losers," Juncker said. "I don't think the Greek people have been humiliated, nor that the other Europeans have lost face. It is a typical European arrangement."Tsipras himself, elected five months ago to end five years of suffocating austerity, said he had "fought a tough battle" and "averted the plan for financial strangulation".Greece won conditional agreement to receive a possible 86 billion euros ($95 billion) over three years, along with an assurance that euro zone finance ministers would start within hours discussing ways to bridge a funding gap until a bailout - subject to parliamentary approvals - is finally ready.That will only happen if he can meet a tight timetable for enacting unpopular reforms of value added tax, pensions, budget cuts if Greece misses fiscal targets, new bankruptcy rules and an EU banking law that could be used to make big depositors take losses.German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she could recommend "with full confidence" that the Bundestag authorise the opening of loan negotiations with Athens once the Greek parliament has approved the entire programme and passed the first laws.The secretary-general of Merkel's conservatives said the Bundestag was likely to vote on Greece on Friday.Versailles In Brussels?Asked whether the tough conditions imposed on a desperate Greece were not similar to the 1919 Versailles treaty that forced crushing reparations on a defeated Germany after World War One, Merkel said: "I won't take part in historical comparisons, especially when I didn't make them myself."The deterioration of the Greek economy since Tsipras won office in January, and particularly in the last two weeks, had led to a much higher financing need, she said.One senior EU official calculated the cost to the Greek state of the last two weeks of political and economic turmoil at 25 to 30 billion euros. A euro zone diplomat said the full damage might be closer to 50 billion euros.Tsipras accepted a compromise on German-led demands for the sequestration of Greek state assets worth 50 billion euros - including recapitalised banks - in a trust fund beyond government reach, to be sold off primarily to pay down debt. In a gesture to Greece, some 12.5 billion euros of the proceeds would go to investment in Greece, Merkel said.The Greek leader had to drop his opposition to a full role for the International Monetary Fund in the next bailout, which Merkel had insisted on to win parliamentary backing in Berlin.In a sign of how hard it may be for Tsipras to convince his own Syriza party to accept the deal, Labour Minister Panos Skourletis said the terms were unviable and would lead to new elections this year.Six sweeping measures including spending cuts, tax hikes and pension reforms must be enacted by Wednesday night and the entire package endorsed by parliament before talks can start, the leaders decided.In almost the only concession after imposing its tough terms on Tsipras, Germany dropped a proposal to make Greece take a "time-out" from the euro zone that many said resembled a forced ejection if it failed to meet the conditions.Tsipras was subjected to a 17-hour browbeating by leaders furious that he had spurned their previous bailout offer on more favourable terms in June and held a referendum last week to reject it. Only France and Italy worked to try to soften the terms being imposed on Greece.Hard BargainSome diplomats questioned whether it was feasible to rush the package through the Greek parliament in three days. Tsipras is set to sack ministers who did not support him and make dissident Syriza lawmakers resign their seats, people close to the government said.Even if this week's rescue succeeds, many EU diplomats question whether an unstable Greece will stay the course on a three-year programme.Merkel, whose country is the biggest contributor to euro zone bailouts, said from the start that she would drive a hard bargain against a backdrop of mounting opposition at home to more aid for Greece.The final sticking point was Germany's insistence on an independent external trust fund to control state assets for privatisation. Berlin initially wanted to use a structure in Luxembourg managed by its own national development bank, KfW, but eventually relented.One diplomat said that was tantamount to turning Greece into a "German protectorate". But Merkel declared the matter a "red line" for Germany.Euro zone finance ministers were tasked with finding sources of immediate bridge funding for Greece if it passed the laws, to prevent it defaulting on a key payment to the ECB next Monday.Finance ministers said Greece needed 7 billion euros of funding by July 20, when it must make a crucial bond redemption to the ECB, and a total of 12 billion euros by mid-August when another ECB payment falls due.The ECB maintained emergency funding for Greek banks to keep them just afloat this week, a banking source said. But the finance ministry in Athens said the banks would remain shut for now.(Reuters)
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The government has capped the subsidy it will pay on kerosene at Rs 12 per litre while deciding to foot the entire bill on domestic cooking gas, a senior official said.The Finance Ministry will pay Rs 12 per litre in cash to state-owned fuel retailers and any unbridged gap between the retail selling price and the cost of production will be borne by upstream companies like ONGC, he said.Currently, oil companies sell kerosene at a loss of about Rs 18 per litre. Of this, the government will foot Rs 12 and the rest will come from upstream firms."At current oil prices, the upstream share for the full fiscal may be Rs 5,000-6,000 crore," he said.For LPG, the government has decided to fully bear the difference between the cost and the retail selling price.The Budget for 2015-16 has provided for Rs 22,000 crore towards LPG subsidy and another Rs 8,000 crore on kerosene."While provisioning for kerosene is sufficient, additional funds may have to be provided in supplementary demands for LPG," he added.(PTI)
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One of the Federal Reserve's most dovish officials said on Friday that September may turn out to be the right time to raise interest rates if the U.S. economy continues to improve, and he set a relatively high hurdle for delaying the move until next year. Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren said in an interview that while wild cards remain - including the recent drop in oil prices, China's economic slowdown, and the ongoing Greek debt crisis - the U.S. central bank could move to tighten policy at any upcoming meeting, including one in mid-September. "I don't rule out any of the meetings from here on out," Rosengren told Reuters by phone. "If we do continue to get improvement in labor markets, if we do become reasonably confident that we're moving back to 2-percent inflation, it may be appropriate as early as September," he said of raising rates from near zero. "I don't think we have seen that evidence yet but we still have a couple months of data to see whether it's more strongly confirmed." Rosengren has long advocated for more monetary accommodation than most of his colleagues at the central bank, which has kept interest rates at rock bottom to boost the recovery. With wages showing early signs of a pick-up and U.S. unemployment down to 5.3 percent, he set a high bar for delaying a hike. Only if labor markets unexpectedly weaken, if core inflation starts to drop off, or if the wage gains dissipated, "those would be the things that would make me want to pause and wait and see whether there is further evidence," he said. Rosengren, who does not have a vote on policy this year, predicted core personal consumption expenditure (PCE) inflation to rise to 1.3 percent by year end, from 1.2 percent now, and for it to hit about 1.6 percent by the end of 2016. He expects gross domestic product (GDP) to rebound to about 2.75 percent in the second half of this year. "But that could certainly go off track if we get an international shock that changes people's confidence," he said. The predictions, he said, show "only modest" improvement in inflation and they assume some tightening in labor markets. "That might make me start tightening, but exactly what the timing of that occurs depends" on incoming data, he added. If "international shocks turn out to not to be negative at all that would be very good news," Rosengren said. (Reuters)
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Retirement fund body Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) is considering a scheme for its subscribers so that they are able to own a house by retirement, Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya said in New Delhi on Friday. “We have to see that by retirement every EPFO subscriber has his own house. We are considering this,” he said while unveiling ‘Nidhi Aapke Nikat’ or ‘PF Near You’, a public outreach initiative for its 6 crore members. While he did not provide details of the scheme, sources said the ministry intends to collaborate with public sector undertaken (PSU) banks, housing finance companies, state-owned construction firms like NBCC and authorities like DDA, PUDA, HUDA to build houses at prices to be fixed by the government. EPFO’s Central Provident Fund Commissioner K K Jalan later told PTI that a committee comprising of EPFO trustees and senior Labour Ministry officials is working the proposal. The panel is expected to submit its report soon. He also said EPFO has proposed to increase the maximum sum assured under the Employees’ Deposit Linked Insurance Scheme 1976 to Rs.4.5 lakh, from Rs.3.6 lakh. At present, there are over 70% EPFO subscribers whose basic wages are less than Rs.15,000 per month who could benefit from the scheme. EPFO’s plan comes against the backdrop of the Centre’s recently launched mission - ‘Housing for All by 2022’. Dattatreya also said the EPFO would soon launch a service to provide details of subscribers account on their mobile phones. Jalan said the EPFO is in the process of launching a mobile application for availing services like passbook details. The app will be launched by year-end, he added. The ‘Nidhi Aapke Nikat’ initiative is aimed at increasing the interaction between the various stakeholders of EPFO. The ‘PF Near You’ would replace Bhavishyanidhi Adalat and would be held on 10th of every month starting from July, 2015. The programme was observed at all the 122 offices of the EPFO in the country. (PTI)
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Sutanu Guru wonders what exactly India can do with troubled and troublesome PakistanThe acronym PPP means many things to many people. For those talking about large industrial and infrastructure projects, PPP means public private partnerships (though some would prefer to call it private plunder of public!). For new age economists, PPP actually means purchasing power parity. For idealistic Indians unwilling to let the stark reality of hostility and terror stop them standing on candle lit vigils on the Wagah border, PPP stands for the fervently desired Pakistan peace problem. But for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his team of geopolitical, foreign policy and security advisors, the best full form for the acronym PPP would Pakistan, a Permanent Problem. Chest thumping nationalists are already doing what they excel at after Modi held a one hour bilateral meeting with Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaj Sharif in Russia: they were thumping their chests. The joint statement issued after the “dialogue” had no mention of Kashmir. That, for our nationalists was yet another grand victory for Modi.People who still dream of restoring the “Akhand Bharat” can afford to nurse and nurture such delusions. Not ordinary Indians; and definitely not policy makers. There mere fact that no public mention was made of Kashmir is neither here, nor there. In a day or two, Pakistan is capable of doing mischief that would bring Kashmir squarely back in focus. Let’s face it: if the core issue that India has with Pakistan is terrorism, Kashmir has been a core issue for Pakistan since 1947. After all, it has fought three wars with India over Kashmir. Calling Pakistan irrational for wanting to gobble up Kashmir is not going to help. In the long run, for any kind of peace and trust to prevail, and for the two nations to behave like ordinary neighbors, both the Kashmir and the terror issue have to be resolved.This is where the Permanent Problem called Pakistan crops up. Nawaj Sharif might have shaken hands with Modi and nice words were aired subsequently. But the fact is that Sharif cannot take “any” decision related to India without the tacit, or explicit approval of the Pakistani military establishment. There are absolutely no signs yet that the Pakistani military establishment has come to the conclusion that its policy of inflicting a thousand bleeding cuts on India is not working and in fact becoming counterproductive. When close to 150 school children were massacred last December in Peshawar, many optimists felt the Pakistani military would finally accept the reality that it can no longer afford to distinguish between good terrorists (who target India) and bad terrorists (who target Pakistan). There is ample evidence to suggest that the good and bad terrorists are now allies and that Pakistani citizens are facing brunt of this Islamist fantasy that has spiraled out of control. But are the generals convinced yet? Not by a long shot. They still seem to think that the likes of Hafeez Saeed and LeT are useful weapons to keep India in a state of apprehension, if not terror.This will become even more glaring as the gap between India and Pakistan widens. Unless things go very wrong in the future, the Pakistani economy would be puny in comparison with the Indian economy by 2025. There is simply no way Pakistan would be able to match Indian expenditure and investment on defense, even f it continues to receive generous aid from “allies” like China and the United States. Quite simply, India would be way out of the league of Pakistan in the next decade. The only “military” threat that Pakistan can pose is nuclear weapons. But would a future leadership of Pakistan be so mad as to invite complete self annihilation by launching nukes on India? That leaves terrorism as the only strategic weapon that Pakistan can continue to use: in Kashmir, and elsewhere in India. Short of fighting a war that could potentially cripple the Indian economy, what else can India do? Waiting for powers like America to help is stupid; as long as their “homelands” are not directly threatened by Pakistani terrorism and terrorists, America, China, Germany et al will only “urge peaceful dialogue” and maybe diplomatically spank Pakistan once in a while. Quite simply, there still is no incentive for the Pakistani military to stop using terrorism as an instrument of foreign policy with India.There really are no easy options for India. That’s why this author thinks India could face a Permanent Pakistan Problem.
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Green Business Certification Inc. (GBCI), in conjunction with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), on Thursday (9 July) launched the EDGE green building certification system in India to jumpstart the mainstreaming of resource-efficient buildings across the country in a fast, simple and affordable way.An innovation of IFC, EDGE is a certification system for new residential and commercial buildings that enables design teams and project owners to assess the most cost-effective ways to incorporate energy and water saving options in their buildings.“By helping project teams implement financially attractive measures, EDGE will help push the new construction market in India forward,” said Mahesh Ramanujam, president of GBCI and chief operating officer of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). “What’s more, strategies applied in EDGE can later be leveraged and upgraded to more comprehensive green building practices. . The market transformation of the global built environment will require widespread participation and cooperation. Certification programs such as EDGE are critical in order to achieve this success.” GBCI, the world’s premiere green building credentialing body, also certifies project and accredits professionals under USGBC’s fifteen year-old Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) green building program, along with several other standards all within the sustainability and built environment arena including the WELL Building Standard, the PEER standard for power systems and SITES for sustainable landscapes. GBCI was selected by IFC to administer and certify EDGE projects in India because of the traction GBCI has gained globally in the certification and credentialing for sustainability standards. Daily, GBCI certifies 1.8 million square feet of construction space.“As the leader in the green building certification space, GBCI has the greatest potential to convince the Indian market to build resource-efficient buildings at scale through EDGE,” said Prashant Kapoor, IFC’s Principal Green Building Specialist. “GBCI’s willingness to take on this enormous challenge is a breakthrough in IFC’s ambition to promote green building growth in emerging markets in order to help tackle climate change.”“GBCI’s overarching mission is to transform the built environment,” added Ramanujam. “EDGE allows us to broaden our scope and affect market transformation on an even greater scale. By also certifying EDGE buildings at the entry level spectrum, we are furthering the education of the market when it comes to sustainable and efficient construction practices.”EDGE empowers builders to choose technical solutions while capturing costs and projected operational savings. The drivers behind EDGE are financial but the results are environmental – EDGE helps mitigate climate change by encouraging resource-efficient development.To reach the EDGE minimum standard, a building must achieve a 20 per cent reduction in energy and water consumption, as well as the energy used to make the construction materials. Green Business Certification Inc.Green Business Certification Inc. (GBCI) is the premier organization independently recognising excellence in green business industry performance and practice globally and ensuring global competitiveness and reduced environmental impact through its certification and credentialing standards.GBCI certifies green business industry performance and practice globally. Established in 2008, GBCI exclusively administers project certifications and professional credentials and certificates within the framework of the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) green building rating systems as well as the PEER standard for power systems, the WELL building standard, the SITES standard for sustainable landscapes and the GRESB benchmark, which is used by institutional investors to improve the sustainability performance of the global property sector.
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Retailers fear that if e-commerce companies are allowed better access to foreign capital, the level playing field between two types of consumer services will be disturbed, Gurbir Singh and Vishal Krishna report As many as 12 big retailers, including Future Group, Landmark, Shoppers Stop and Globus, met Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in New Delhi on Wednesday and pitched strongly against the Union government's proposal to grant 100 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) status to e-commerce and e-tailing companies. Led by Future Group CEO Kishore Biyani and Shoppers Stop vice chairman B.S. Nagesh, organised retailers demanded a level playing field between the brick-and-mortar retail industry and e-commerce. They also presented a memorandum highlighting the violations and what they call "malpractices" of e-tailing giants like Flipkart and Amazon, who they claim have made a mockery of the current 49 per cent cap on FDI in organised retail. "It was a good meeting. The minister gave us a long and patient hearing. We asked her: On what grounds was the government discriminating between physical retail and technology-based ecommerce?" Kishore Biyani told BW Businessworld. The Commerce Ministry has lined up a series of consultations with other stakeholders too. Sitharaman will meet e-tailing chains, including Flipkart, eBay and Snapdeal, on 10 July and the chief ministers of various states on 15 July before the issue is decided by the Union Cabinet. E-tailers have raised Rs 24,000 or more and the digital purchase of consumer goods has been galloping over the last 2-3 years. Impressed by the growth figures, the government is sympathetically looking at a proposal to grant this sector "100 percent FDI" status. "Investments will help e-tailers scale up to many more cities. Smartphone usage has been high and there is a clear trend that people will also shop from homes," says Vipul Parekh, co-founder of Big Basket. Retailers' ConcernsHowever, the details of the Commerce Ministry's intent are not yet out in the open. Retailers fear that if e-tailers are allowed better access to foreign capital, the level playing field between two types of consumer services will be disturbed and e-tailers will steal a march over access to supply chain logistics. The foreign monies raised by the e-tailers will enable them to create a strong warehouse-to-home connect, and they can even dominate in segments such as delivering fresh fruits and vegetables. Perhaps the only thing keeping e-tailers from making a clean sweep would be the fact that 70 per cent of Indians live in rural areas where access to smart phones and computers is limited. Management consultant Gartner predicts that there will be more than 240 million smart phones bought per year by the Indian public. The total broadband penetration can double to 200 million by the same period. But consultants have mixed reactions. "Policy in India cannot look at retailing in a western homogenous growth model. It surely cannot open up FDI without looking at the impact on socio-economic and cultural conditions," said Devangshu Dutta, CEO of Third Eyesight, a retail consultancy. He adds that the government needs to open up FDI in a phased manner. This is true because over the last three years there has been a policy paralysis that has stalled the retail industry. The e-tailers Flipkart, Snapdeal and Amazon follow a market place model and yet end up losing more than Rs 9,700 crore on discounting and reverse logistics alone. Hundred per cent FDI is allowed in market places. "The e-commerce industry needs a fillip and the government has already shown interest in making India an investor-friendly country," says Rajiv Khaitan, founder of Khaitan and Company, a law firm. "Rentals have always eroded the business profits of brick and mortar retailers," says Sanchit Vir Gogia, CEO of Greyhound Research. He adds that with FDI only in e-tailing they, the brick and mortar retailers, can use their stores more effectively in delivering goods through their own e-tail channels across cities and towns. "It saves so much real estate cost that can directly go in to shareholders income in the long run," says Gogia. Biyani, on the other hand, says the government's definition of e-commerce as technology-based trading as basically flawed. "Don't retailers like us use electronic technology to sell goods as well? Or, don't e-tailing chains have a huge brick-and-mortar backend? So on what basis is the government favouring e-commerce as a special category?" Biyani asks. The case of the retailers is that if the government wants to open 100 per cent FDI, it must do so for all retail trade, irrespective whether is sold through physical stores or through digital channels. This is something the Union government can do only if it willing to take on the wrath of several lakhs of mom and pop kirana stores in the country.
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India and Kazakhstan on Wednesday inked five key agreements including a defence pact to enhance military cooperation and a contract for supply of uranium. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev held comprehensive talks in which they decided to actively engage in the fight against terrorism and extremism. Modi, who held restricted as well as delegation-level talks with Nazarbayev, noted that they also agreed to work closely to expand bilateral trade by addressing structural impediments between India and hydrocarbon-rich Kazakhstan. "We have shared perspectives on many international issues, including regional peace, connectivity and integration; reforms in the United Nations; and, combating terrorism," the Prime Minister said at a joint press event in Astana with Nazarbayev. Defence CooperationNoting that the defence and security cooperation was an important dimension of strategic partnership between the two countries, Modi said, "We both want to make it stronger, including in defence manufacturing. We welcome the new Memorandum of Understanding on defence cooperation." The MoU would further widen the scope of bilateral defence cooperation including regular exchange of visits, consultations, training of military personnel, military- technical cooperation, joint exercises, special forces exchanges and cooperation in UN peacekeeping operations. Welcoming the signing of a contract between NC "KazAtomProm" JSC and NPCIL for a renewed long term supply of natural uranium to India to meet its energy requirements, Modi said, "Kazaksthan was one of the first countries with which we launched civil nuclear cooperation through a uranium purchase contract. "We are pleased to have a much larger second contract now. We intend to expand cooperation in other minerals, as well". A joint statement 'Tej kadam' was also released after talks which said the leaders noted the rising challenge posed by terrorism in many parts of the world and in their immediate region and underlined the importance of a stable and secure environment for peaceful economic development. "They agreed to continue their active engagement in the fight against terrorism and extremism including exchange of information," it said. In this context, they highlighted the importance of regular inter-agency consultations and meetings of the Joint Working Group on Counter-Terrorism. The leaders also called for early conclusion of the UN Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism. Observing that Kazakhstan was India's biggest economic partner in the region, Modi said, "But, our relations are modest, compared to our potential. We will work together to take economic ties to a new level." The other pacts included Treaty on Transfer of Sentenced Persons, human resources, cultural exchanges and capacity building. 'Critical Role'Modi said in his vision for India's relations with Central Asia, Kazakhstan will play a "critical role". "We greatly value our relationship with Kazakhstan. We have enormous synergies of markets, resources and skills for a strong bilateral relationship. We discovered remarkable convergence in our economic policies, approaches and strategies in a number of areas," he said. Modi, who was earlier accorded a red carpet welcome at the Akorda presidential palace, once again congratulated Nazarbayev on his 75th birthday and lauded his vision for Kazakhstan's progress. Religions BooksThe Prime Minister also gifted him a set of books relating to religions born in India which included an English translation of Guru Granth Sahib, as also specially commissioned reproductions from the manuscripts collection of National Museum, Delhi to Kazakh President. One of Jainism's most revered texts, Bhadrabahu's Kalpasutra (15th century AD) in Prakrit; one of Buddhism's most important scriptures Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita (12th century AD) in Sanskrit; and a Persian translation of Valmiki's Ramayana (18th century AD) in nastaliq script were also part of the reproductions. Congratulating the people of Kazakhstan on Astana Day, the 550th Anniversary of the Kazakh Khanate and the 20th Anniversary of the Constitution of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Modi underlined the growing political and economic role of Kazakhstan, which contributes to stability and development in the region. Modi thanked Nazarbayev for supporting the UN resolution on the International Day of Yoga and its first successful organisation on 21 June 2015 in Kazakhstan. "President Nazarbayev compliments Prime Minister Modi on success of International Day of Yoga. Calls it spiritual heritage of India," the External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson tweeted. Expressing concern at the slow progress on the UN Security Council reform, the leaders called for concrete outcomes to be achieved in the 70th anniversary year of the UN and reaffirmed their commitment to Intergovernmental Negotiations (IGN) to comprehensively reform the Security Council including expansion in both categories of membership. Later, the President hosted a lunch for Modi. "Across the Hindu Kush and the Pamirs, the bond of Bollywood. Awara Hoon performed at the luncheon in honour of the Prime Minister," the Spokesperson tweeted. (PTI)
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Only if the agricultural sector is in a healthy state, will the economy grow at a more rapid pace, says Manish Kumar PathakPrime Minister Narendra Modi has often said that he dreams of kick-starting a second green revolution. In a critical step towards this path, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has pushed through two crucial policy decisions last week as it approved the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana ( PMKSY) and the National Market for Agricultural Produce. These two measures will go a long way in minimising the uncertainties and the various risks the agricultural sector particularly in the rural areas face. These instruments will also ensure that the farmers receive a steady income; and this will only transpire if the agricultural productivity improves.The agricultural produce has generally been low over the past few years. For instance, the productivity of rice is much lower than in Brazil and China, inspite of the fact that the area of land that we have under agriculture is much greater than these countries. The main impeding factor that still plagues our produce is the uncertain rainfall, and our over-dependence on it. Also, the irrigation facilities provided are very obsolete. As per the SECC (Socio-economic and Caste Census), only 37 per cent of the land in rural areas has been provided with assured irrigation for at least two crops every year. This is an abysmally low figure.This is the scenario that the PMKSY is ideally rolled out to change. The main focus of this mission will be to converge the investments that are aimed at crop irrigation. Also, there is a strategy that will be aimed primarily at improving the water cycle. Under this, the irrigation which is carried out will be discussed extensively with the concerned Zila Parishad and accordingly funds will be released to the state governments. ‘More crop per drop’ is the water saving mantra that will ensure more area under irrigation.PMSKY & Second Green RevolutionPMKSY will aim at a decentralised implementation with state level planning and execution. The state and district administrations would be preparing the State Action Plan (SAP) and District Action Plan (DAP) respectively. These plans would be medium to long term documents that focus specifically on three areas – water sources, distribution network and water use application. The Prime Minister had earlier suggested that MNREGA should be merged with PMSKY for more extensive execution at the micro-level irrigation projects. The success of PMSKY will go a long way in reducing the dependence of the farmers on ground water. Also, the integrated programme will help reduce the dependence of the agricultural sector on the erratic monsoons.The government had declared in the Union Budget that they want the farmers to extract best possible price for their products. The announcement of an electronic portal that integrates 585 APMC (Agriculture Produce Market Committee ) all across the country is an implementation of the budget proposal. A package of Rs 200 crore has been announced for setting up this portal, which will enable farmers a greater market, and create an opportunity to avail best price for their products. This step will enable setting up of a unified national market for agricultural produce, which will help both buyers and sellers to trade across the country.Only if the agricultural sector is in a healthy state, will the economy grow at a more rapid pace, and the target of achieving a double digit growth rate can be realised. The policies for a second green revolution are very promising, and now the execution at the ground level will dictate their success.
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ICAI urged to develop cost beneficiary price mechanism for North East, reports Arshad KhanThe Modi led NDA government has urged the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) to develop a cost beneficiary price mechanism to facilitate the development of North Eastern region of the country. Jitender Singh, MoS, Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) said that food processing industry is one sector where ICAI can develop a cost beneficiary tool to reduce the wastage.Singh also said that the government is in talk with the neighbouring country Myanmar, Bhutan and Bangladesh to uplift the food processing industry in the region. “40 per cent of fruits in the region go waste as there is no proper infrastructure to sustain them. It is a very cost effective entrepreneurship to invest in the food processing industry of the region. ICAI can play a crucial role in formulating a cost effective model for the sector,” said Singh in an event organised by ICAI in Delhi today (July 7)For the current status of the development work in the region he said,“the present government is developing a fast track model which will increase the connectivity of the region with rest of the country. Each month we are holding a meeting in the region to give the natives a message that Delhi is going hand on hand with you.” He further added that he will request the PM to prepare a draft for involving the apex cost accountant body to develop a cost effective model.PM Modi after coming to power in 2014 has formulated certain policies like changing Look East to Act East policy to improve connectivity and for rapid development of the north-eastern region. On his visit to the region in February this year he proposed Rs 28,000 crore package for laying new railway lines in the region. The appeal to ICAI is part of this.
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