The trade to-and-from India so far is not affected. But if the situation continues to remain the same for the next two to three months, it could definitely hurt India trade, including essential cargo.
'Supplies should start moving to the Serum Institute without any impediments.'
Recently, the finance ministry waived off basic customs duty and health cess on imported oxygen and related equipment for three years.
According to Ajai Sahai, director-general and CEO of Federation of Indian Export Organisations, rising cases are a cause for concern as it adds to the uncertainty and may impact exports.
The central government is devising a mechanism to step up screening imports to protect domestic manufacturers. The details of the online monitoring system may find mention in the foreign trade policy 2021-26, which will kick in next month. The online system will make the data available to the government as well as industry about the countries from where the goods are being imported, and their quantity and quality. The data can help domestic producers analyse the market potential for such goods, said a senior government official. In the past 16 months, the government had implemented a steel- and coal-import monitoring system.
Many industry executives have said the draft e-commerce policy is being perceived as nationalistic but not overly protectionist and it is providing preference to Indian players against foreign companies. This might have an impact on investment by large players such as Walmart and Amazon in the country, said the executives. They said e-commerce was a very small portion of the retail industry and at a nascent stage and did not require heavy hammer regulations. Though the policy talks about being equally applicable to foreign and domestic players, it mentions that foreign direct investment (FDI) takes precedence over the e-commerce policy in any area of overlap.
Do away with the grey, and let us have it in black and white. That's the message the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) has for digital media influencers. ASCI has brought out draft guidelines for "influencer advertising on digital media", an expanding and so far unmonitored landscape where the lines between personal and promotional content is often blurred. The self-regulatory body wants social media influencers to disclose upfront - through labels or in the case of audio media, by way of an announcement at the beginning and the end of the audio - that the content is promotional and paid for.
There is no one way to describe the 12 months that have gone by since India reported its first Covid-positive case on January 30, 2020.
Almost each of these companies has a different technology to show for the effectiveness against microbes.
'We can go with smaller ensembles -- even 15 or 20 creations from a designer.' 'We are keeping the focus squarely on quality over quantity.' 'India Couture Week is, after all, about the best of the best,' FDCI Chairman Sunil Sethi tells Veenu Sandhu
'Politicians's slogans on social distancing, showered like petals from their ivory towers, mock every single moment of pain and distress imposed on the vulnerable down below, at migrant labour stuffed like chickens on goods trucks, trying to get home at all costs,' observes Veenu Sandhu.
The Indian police is governed by the archaic, colonial-era Police Act of 1861, which has no place in a democracy. It was created to make the police subservient to its masters and, consequently, antagonistic to the masses, states Veenu Sandhu.
Indian roads continue to be among the most dangerous in the world. Few people are even aware that the Good Samaritan Law exists. Getting a licence to drive is still far too easy.
The 3,000-strong force, plus its highly trained dog squad, is responsible solely for the protection of one person: Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi.
The Bajaj Super could not be called a pretty scooter, but it was sturdy and reliable, says Veenu Sandhu.
'It was to be a two hour long surgery and anything could go wrong,' recalls Veenu Sandhu.
Rohit Shekhar's successful legal fight established the right of a child -- at any age -- to know his paternity.
Women are great team players and collaborators, 'but they don't put themselves forward,' Dr Gagandeep Kang, the first Indian woman scientist to be elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society, tells Veenu Sandhu.
'How did we get here?' 'How did utility morph into addiction?' 'Is this what Graham Bell intended?' asks Veenu Sandhu.
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