Senior United Nations experts have said that lack of investment in agriculture over a long period of time and the use of precious natural resources for bio-fuel production have also contributed to the current food crisis. The use of crops for bio-fuel production had also contributed to the worldwide rise in food prices, since it meant that a part of our natural resources had to be diverted away from the production of food crops. The experts were talking in a conference in NY.
'People are willing to face temporary inconvenience as they are determined to support PM Modi's crackdown on black money,' Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman tells Archis Mohan.
The PM held bilateral meetings with three ASEAN leaders, including his Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Xuan Phuc and Myanmar's State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, and discussed key bilateral and regional issues.
'Any person who wants to enter this service should have a single object of serving the public irrespective of hindrances.'
Make in India has seen an overwhelming response on its digital platforms like Facebook and Twitter since its launch just 3 months ago.
In the 2020-21 Budget, the prime minister and the finance minister are keen to stamp their narrative, after various rollbacks following the previous Budget, said top government sources. Besides the scheduled meetings, the sources said, the Prime Minister's Office is expected to hold several meetings with top secretaries and officials on various ongoing schemes, their performance and also how some of them could be tweaked for better results.
The issues around trade gaps, especially around steel and aluminium tariffs imposed by the US, will be addressed separately.
Keeps open the option to make payments in yen or yuan in the face of sanctions
'From the very start, PM Modi was insistent that visiting foreign leaders should be exposed to an India beyond its capital.' 'Through these experiences, he felt that the full Indian narrative would be much better understood across the world,' explains External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. A riveting excerpt from Bluekraft Digital Foundation's Modi@20: Dreams Meet Delivery.
Two key depts in ministry cold to rationale for one; postal dept says it's more eligible than IDFC or Bandhan, feels 'strong lobby' scuttling its plans.
The ministry's year-end review is silent on the continued occupation by Chinese troops of territory that India has always claimed and patrolled.
'If the RBI had done the right things, these mistakes would not have happened in banks, public or private,' says Ajay Shah.
Rediff.com's Syed Firdaus Ashraf traces the journey of PM-CARES from its founding to finally admitting it is not a government fund.
Just hours after the White House confirmed that United States President Barack Obama would be travelling to India in January, the State Department on Friday announced that it will send a top diplomat to India next week to lay the ground work for the historic presidential visit.
'Chinese experts estimate that the new US administration is 'at the crossroads of how to re-manage and control' Sino-American differences and strategic divergences and Biden's bottom line is that the US would have 'extreme competition with China, but won't allow competition to develop into conflict',' notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Protests at this time when efforts are underway to strengthen the PLA and keep morale high would be worrying for the military leadership, observes Jayadeva Ranade, the retired senior RA&W officer and distinguished China expert.
Efforts will also be directed at creating a conducive environment for NRIs intending to reconnect to their heritage, Fernandes added.
It will be interesting to see whether India-China border tensions figure during the deliberations of PLA deputies to the NPC and CPPCC, notes Jayadeva Ranade, the distinguished China expert and retired RA&W officer.
Govt bosses in no hurry to exit from PSUs; many agencies, long process likely hurdles.
Existing trade deals, especially the 2009 pact with the Asean bloc, have been panned by the Centre for not boosting exports but flooding the domestic market with cheap imports. Subsequently, New Delhi has called for reviewing FTAs with Japan and South Korea. Going by that, a trade deal with the US is unlikely to be beneficial, say experts.
'They talk about their 2021 centenary goal, their 2035 goal, and their 2049 goal. They're accelerating. There's also been this unfortunately bashing of nationalism inside the People's Republic of China by the government'
All the poor people identified by the Socio Economic and Caste Census 2011 will be eligible for the scheme, officials said, adding that it will be linked to Aadhar but will not be a mandatory condition for availing the benefit.
Company says faults, which were noticed soon after system upgrade on March 27, have been rectified
India and the United States have affirmed their shared commitment to continue their work on a broad range of bilateral issues and move forward post the Devyani episode.
The benefits of modern medicine have led people to demand more from the State, and to value every life. Even a modest death toll caused by an epidemic today is unacceptable, says Dipankar Gupta.
The government's disinvestment programme is set to get a boost this Diwali, with the finance ministry planning to hit the market to sell a five per cent stake in Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) by October.
'A bit of foresight would have helped.' 'Isn't it common sense that this is sowing and wedding season?' 'The plan is indeed unquestionably revolutionary, but better preparedness could have avoided such teething troubles.'
'In contrast to the generally buoyant tone of the Economic Survey in January, he sounds uncharacteristically pessimistic, saying that forces in the world economy -- slowing global trade, protectionism, robots -- will limit India's manufacturing to levels well below what propelled East Asia's economies decades ago.'
'This includes increasing restrictions on freedom of expression and the detention of human rights activists and journalists'
Tuesday's talks between Modi and Trump are likely to send across a clear message of growing congruence of interests between India and the US on major geopolitical developments in the region and beyond, particularly when China has been expanding its military and economic clout.
Vajpayee had always felt that India must act with conviction and panache. He decided that, irrespective of the attendant risks, he would undertake what many felt was a precarious course. A fascinating excerpt from N K Singh's Portraits Of Power: Half A Century Of Being At Ringside on Atalji's 96th birthday, December 25.
The Summit would begin on the second day with the prime minister interacting with Russian and Indian CEOs.
In his opening remarks at a ministerial meeting in Tokyo of the Quadrilateral coalition, also known as 'Quad', External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said India remained committed to a rules-based world order, respect for territorial integrity and sovereignty, and peaceful resolution of disputes.
The new law permits for the first time Chinese security agencies to open their establishments and operate in Hong Kong.
Several experts are of the view that inflationary pressure, including that in food items, may build from October with economic activity gathering steam. However, the price movement in three key items of tomato, onions and potatoes, commonly known as TOP, may give some solace in the months to come. Traders and market watchers said the price movement in all the three will remain within the band sans any unusual spikes.
The government has asked the Department of Company Affairs to make a detailed examination of allegations of economic frauds raised by Janata Party leader Subramanian Swamy against the Reliance group of industries.\n\n\n\n
'India need to look beyond the economic prism.' 'China had no qualms in taking the Kashmir issue to the UN Security Council last year -- not once, but thrice -- thus violating Indian sensitivities,' observes China expert Srikanth Kondapalli.
In 2016, the Centre has been able to get only seven IAS officers from all states so far.
The two countries also signed three other agreements -- to enhance aviation links, to jointly work in the area of energy efficiency and promotion of parliamentary cooperation.
China remains the elephant in the room and has to be tamed, which the United States alone is unable to do and therefore calls allies to come on board.
