CUTS IN Media
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LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Trade Round Talkers Should Consider What Divides The Rich And The Poor 16th June 2003, Financial
Times From Mr. Pradeep S. Mehta. Sir, The Group of Eight summit at Evian has proved to be a disappointment for the whole world as far as the World Trade Organisation's Doha agenda is concerned. Every possible deadline set in the Doha round has failed, while the big leaders (certainly not statesmen) could not say anything to push it forward, beyond muttering homilies ("Leaders paper over cracks on WTO talks", June 3). The cost of the meeting was a scandalous $400m, which, as someone commented, could have been better used to reduce poverty in the world. When trade ministers meet in Cancún, Mexico, in September it would be as well to remember a meeting, the North/ South summit that took place there in 1981. Then Ronald Reagan, the US president, and several other heads of government, including Indira Gandhi, India's prime minister, met to agree to launch a new trade round, which ended up as the Uruguay round. One wonders what ministers will do when the September 2003 meeting takes place. Perhaps they will meet, drink and eat and ask negotiators to proceed on newer deadlines, which will continue to be trapped in a mercantilist mindset of negotiators. One thing perhaps they may seriously want to do is to ponder what divides the world as far as the WTO is concerned. There is a clear schism between the rich and the poor on the issues that are up for negotiation. First, to fulfil the development pledge of the Doha round, the poor want better market access, access to cheap medicines, reduced agricultural subsidies in the west, provision of golfing handicaps and a more user-friendly trading regime. On the other hand the rich want lower tariffs, multilateral lock-in on investment rules, government procurement, trade facilitation and a competition policy. They are not even prepared to look sincerely at the poor's demands. If one looks at the details of these two sets of diverse demands, the objectives do not pull in the same direction. Thus, there was a sensible agenda that the G8 leaders could have discussed. Alas, they missed the whole point. This will need to be revisited when trade ministers meet at Cancún but that may be asking for the moon.
Minister Wants Homemade Set Top Boxes 04th June 2003, Business
Standard De was present at a panel discussion on ‘Cable TV Fiasco: The way out’ organised by the Consumer Unity & Trust Society that represented players from the service provider segment, cable operators and consumer activists. “The government should have provided enough time for implementation of Conditional Access System (CAS) so that the encryption and decryption technology through set top boxes could be adopted in the country blocking outflow of precious foreign exchange,” the minister added. “The central government seems to be hurrying up matters, but an extended deadline could have eased up matters providing enough time to all concerned parties to for them to clear up confusions,” De explained. The minister also said that the government should also put in place an authority which could address all problems related to cable channel viewing.
Cable Access To Be Conditioned By Cost 03rd June 2003, The Statesman The Conditional Access System (CAS) regime will usher in a situation where those with the means will be able to see the channels they want to, while others will have to do without, said state consumer affairs minister Mr Naren De. He was speaking at a discussion entitled Cable TV Fiasco: The Way Out, which brought together representatives of local cable operators, consumer forums and Multi System Operators (MSOs) to throw light on the confusion raging over the implementation of the Conditional Access System. The minister also questioned whether it was prudent on the part of the central government to import the Set Top Box (STB) at a much higher cost when they could have been manufactured locally. This would have encouraged domestic manufacturers as well as generated jobs. The discussion was organised by the Consumer Unity Trust and Society (CUTS), a consumer interest body. Apart from the minister, present at the occasion were Mr Mrinal Chatterjee, representative of cable operators, Mr Sudip Ghosh, director of city MSO Manthan, Ms Mala Banerjee of the Federation of Consumer Associations and Mr Pradeep Mehta of CUTS. While
the general agreement was that there is no real confusion regarding CAS,
save that generated by vested business interests, and that some of the
aspects of the proposed system were far from perfect, no particular
solution could not be agreed upon. viewer.
Conditional Access System (CAS) Case 03rd June 2003, The Telegraph The state government feels that conditional access system (CAS) should only be rolled out when set-top boxes can be manufactured indigenously. Minister for consumer affairs and fair business practices Naren De said on Monday: “Bulk import of a product, demand for which is bound to soar soon, doesn’t make sense.” The minister was addressing a panel discussion on CAS and its implications to the consumers, organised by Consumer Unity & Trust Society, an NGO. Federation of Consumer Associations of West Bengal chief Mala Banerjee felt consumers shouldn’t be “intimidated” by the set-top box. “Besides, the government has facilitated a free-to-air bouquet of a minimum of 30 channels,” she said.
Pradeep
Mehta Of CUTS On WTO Body 24th May 2003, The Financial Express The Consumer
Unity & Trust Society secretary general Pradeep S Mehta has been
appointed as a member of the informal NGO advisory body by the WTO
director-general Suppachai Panitchpakdi. Twelve members from around the
globe constitute this body, a CUTS statement said. The first meeting of
the advisory body is to be held in Geneva on June 15. One of the key
functions of the advisory body is to add structure to the dialogue between
the WTO and its stakeholders.
Comment Received: "Please
accept our hearty congratulations on your elavation and appointment as
member of the informal NGO Advisory Body of WTO by its Director General,
Shri Supachai Panitchpakdi. All of us were extremely happy to hear the
news. We all celebrated the occasion in a grand style. We are extremely
happy to know that, atlast WTO has come forward to recognise the
meritorious contributions/services rendered by you through your
organisation to the world body. In effect it amounts to a world
recognition to Indian Consumer Movement. We are sure, our friends from
African and Asian countries will welcome this with great happiness. We
wish that GOI also will appreciate this appointment. We the members of
Kerala Consumer Service Society at Cochin hereby extend to you all our
support in leading WTO to a great success."
Textile
Industry Can Profit From Scrapping Of ATC Despite Chinese Imports 19th
May 2003, The Financial Express Brussels, May 18: The elimination of quotas on 1 January 2005 will have a dramatic impact on world trade in textiles and clothing, according to both importers and exporters here. However, while countries like China and India are confident that they will be its leading beneficiaries, many smaller developing countries fear an uncertain future, with the expiry of the 1994 Agreement on Textiles and Clothing (ATC) in 17 months’ time. Bangladesh in particular has been pressing the 15-nation European Union (EU) to use its generalised system of preferences (GSP) to “protect” its share of the EU market for garments. The country’s commerce minister Amir Chowdhury, was not alone in expressing his concerns at the conference organised by the EU’s chief trade negotiator Pascal Lamy, on May 5 and 6. Mr Lamy felt obliged, in fact, to reassure the representatives of the least developed and other equally vulnerable developing countries, such as Sri Lanka, by pointing to the need for “a political response” to the threat they faced. This could be in the shape of GSP benefits specially targeted at least developed countries like Bangladesh, he said. But how do those practitioners of the dismal science, the professional economists, view the prospects for countries like India after 1 January 2005? Now it so happens that a handful of economists and members of Mr Lamy’s staff did meet here, a day or so after Mr Lamy’s conference closed, to exchange views on the post-2005 scenario. The meeting was convened by the Jaipur-based Consumer Unity and Trust Society (CUTS), and hosted by the European Institute for Asian Studies. It brought together some of the authors of the five economic studies which had been carried out by Indian and European economists in a CUTS-sponsored project, the EU-India Network on Trade and Development This article is limited to the presentation by Dr Dean Spinanger, of the Institute for World Economics, in Kiel, Germany, of the paper he and Dr Samar Verma, of Oxfam GB in New Delhi, are working on. (Dr Verma was not present.) The title of the draft paper says it all in a sense. It is: “The coming death of the ATC and China’s WTO accession: Will push come to shove for Indian textile and clothing exports?” In other words, should India be concerned at the undoubted impact of China’s accession on world trade in general? And, if so, what steps should it take to improve its competitive position? Dr Spinanger used Sweden as an example of what can happen when quotas are eliminated. In 1991 the Swedish government decided to eliminate all non-tariff barriers on its imports of textiles and clothing. The result was an immediate surge in imports from East Asia, primarily China. But the surge was as quickly halted when Sweden joined the EU in 1995. At the same time Sweden, like other EU countries, began to import more from Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean countries. The situation is somewhat different today in that overall demand in the EU and other industrialised countries has fallen because of the continued downturn in economic growth. The EU recorded zero GDP growth during the first quarter of this year, as compared to the last quarter of 2002, when it recorded growth of 0.1%. Other changes include the large number of bilateral trade agreements, notably those between the US and various countries in Asia. The results of the computable economic model used by the two economists to assess the effects of the ATC liberalisation process and China’s accession to the WTO are clear. As regards textile exports, China is expected to record a sizeable increase in its exports. India, however, is expected to experience a decrease. The expected outcome is very different in the case of clothing, with India showing an increase of 217%, as compared to an increase of 168% in China’s case. But India has always been viewed as having a substantial export potential in numerous areas, provided its domestic policies do not come in the way. India can profit from the elimination of quotas, despite strong competition from China, provided it can “get its show on the road” - in other words, increase its competitiveness (it ranked 42nd out of 49 countries in 2002) by reducing costs. Thus because of poor domestic transport infrastructure, Indian exporters face considerably higher costs than their Asian competitors. Other non-specific product input costs result from an inefficient energy infrastructure and an inadequate financial structure. Product specific costs include the poor quality of the fabric supplied to the garment sector. This is because only 5% of the fabric is produced in organised mills. The sector also suffers from poor productivity, because of its extremely fragmented structure. As a result of this fragmentation, India’s textile and clothing industries have one of the longest and most complex supply chains in the world. Since the problems are not new, solutions can be found. But this must be done quickly, if India is to strengthen its competitive edge in time. The five papers deal with textiles and
clothing, competition policy, foreign direct investment, anti-dumping and
movement of nationals. They are aimed at Indian and European trade
officials, who will be attending the WTO ministerial meeting in Cancun,
Mexico, in September. The only Indian economist present at the Brussels
meeting was the head of CUTS, Pradeep Mehta.
Consumers
see CAScading effect 18th
May 2003, The Economic Times CONSUMERS
who would ultimately win or lose in the conditional access system regime
for television broadcast services, are finally speaking out. Two
organisations - Consumer Guidance Society of India (CGSI) and
Consumer Unity Trust Society (CUTS) – have spoken out against CAS. While
the former has urged consumer groups across the four metros to join hands
and file a public interest litigation, the latter is engaged in drafting
its own "comprehensive" Bill on the basis of good practices in
other countries, and which would address issues like service standards,
performance quality and price caps for pay channels. As
the Cable TV Networks (Regulation) Amendment Act, 2002 does not give
the Centre authority to fix the price of pay channels, CUTS general
secretary, Pradeep S. Mehta says, "This is extremely ridiculous as
price capping is resorted to everywhere in the world including India,
where natural monopolies operate. In India we have the Electricity
Regulatory Commission to fix tariffs. State governments fix fares for
taxis, buses and auto rickshaws." Bundling
of channels, unaffordable a la carte pricing, telecast of unpopular FTA
channels (to wring out carriage fee form FTA channels with demand), poor
quality signals, blackouts, lack of servicing or performance guarantee of
STBs are some of the "shenanigans the industry would resort to, to
defeat the purpose of the legislation" fears the NGO. Mumbai-based
CGSI chairman Anand Patwardhan says, "CAS is definitely not in the
consumer interest and consumers must unite to fight this thoughtless and
apathetic draftsmanship which is anti-consumer." The consumer is being penalised for under declarations by cable operators.
Contaminated
Chinese Honey Hits Indian Mart 12th
May 2003, The Financial Express After SARS, now beware of Chinese honey!! Next time you take your daily dose of
honey, watch out if it is imported from China for there is a fair chance
of your body immune system being affected by it. According to consumer interest bodies,
Chinese honey, banned in several countries, is making inroads in Indian
market to the detriment of the health of common man. Chinese honey, establishing its presence in
India and even being re-exported, is contaminated with chloramphenicol,
which might render a person resistant to antibiotics used in the treatment
of typhoid and paratyphoid, Director Consumer Unity & Trust Society
Rajan R Gandhi said in New Delhi.
‘Restrict
Cancun Agenda To Five Issues’ 10th
May 2003, The Financial Express Geneva, May 9: The Cancun
agenda should be restricted to not more than five issues to avoid failure
of the ministerial meeting scheduled in September, World Trade
Organisation (WTO) deputy director general Roderick Abbott has warned.
Speaking to FE at a review seminar ‘Investment For Development’ in
Geneva, Mr Abbott said although there were about a dozen unresolved issues
in the ongoing negotiations, taking them all up at Cancun would lead to
over-loading of the agenda. “If the agenda is over-loaded, we would be
back to where we started from.” According to Mr Abbott, the issues which should be given priority at the ministerial include the pending agreement of Trips & Public Health, implementation issues and the Singapore issues. Among the Singapore issues, investment should get the maximum focus followed by trade facilitation. Addressing the seminar organised by the Consumer Unity & Trust Society, Department for International Development and UNCTAD, Mr Abbott said the Doha declaration on investment was being interpreted differently by the developed and developing countries. While the developed countries believed that a decision on launching negotiations had been taken, most developing countries thought otherwise. Listing out the gains from a multilateral agreement on investments, Mr Abbott said this would lead to a reduced risk perception in developing countries and hence make the investment climate more attractive. The DDG pointed out that investment agreements were already taking place bilaterally and plurilaterally. “Developing countries have to decide whether they prefer bilaterals or a multilateral agreement with the mechanism of dispute settlement as a safeguard,” he said. Mr Abbott added that bilaterals often marginalised developing countries and hurt their interests and therefore there was a strong reason for going the multilateral way. Giving the other side of the picture, Mr Abbott said those against a multilateral agreement on investment feel that bilaterals were better as they involved only post-establishment commitments and not pre-investment commitments. The Chinese experience of getting a surge of foreign investment despite keeping out of the WTO till recently is also a good example which shows that investments can be attracted even without multilateral agreements. Mr Abbott said that if a multilateral agreement on investment is culled out, it should take the interests of both sides into account and has to respect local legislations. The DDG added that while a multilateral agreement on investment was desirable, nobody could force developing country members to negotiate or impose an agreement on them.
Channels
Can Be ‘Pay’ And Free Simultaneously! 08th
May 2003, The Financial Express New Delhi: Although the government had earlier turned down the broadcasters’ proposal for a phased introduction of the conditional access system (CAS), the same is being allowed now, with a variation. In what looks like a rollback of CAS, the government has decided to allow channels to opt for variable pricing. Confirming the move, a senior official in the information and broadcasting ministry said: “The Act (which allows CAS) does not restrict broadcasters from offering dual feeds (both free-to-air and pay) within a city and across cities.” Also, the pay channels can be priced as per the market requirements, he added. So, a channel could be priced A in a certain locality, and B in another. And, the same channel could be offered as free-to-air in one locality, and as pay in another. Even as some pay broadcasters said that offering dual feeds under CAS would be illegal, the government has taken quite a different view. A Star official, however, said broadcasters had made a proposal for phased introduction of CAS sometime back. While the demand was for introduction of CAS in one city before going on to another, now the government is indirectly letting broadcasters go for CAS in phases within a city. But, this concept would work only when there’s a deadline given to a channel for attaining uniformity in being either pay or free-to air within a city, a channel official said. “Otherwise, what kind of CAS is this?” he asked. The government, however, is not giving any timeframe by when a channel should be uniformly pay or free-to-air. While denying that this move was a rollback of conditional access system, an I&B official said a second notification on CAS would ask pay channels to declare their rates, including the variable ones, among other things. While dual feeds have been in existence for years in the pre-CAS era, consumer discrimination issues could arise because of variable pricing post-July 14, pointed out industry sources. Consumer fora preferred to take a wait and watch attitude, but expressed concern over the discriminatory pricing issue. Centre for Advocacy & Research executive director Akhila Sivadas, who was part of the first taskforce on CAS, interpreted the government move to allow variable pricing as “pragmatic adjustments”, as nobody’s ready to introduce CAS yet. But she added that consumers are definitely going to protest against such a move. “The government has just put in place an obligatory framework,” she said. However, if variable pricing is offered, viewers will stand up and ask questions, she added. Another consumer forum which is active on CAS, Consumer Unity & Trust Society, examined the issue from a legal standpoint. Researcher Anjali Bansal said: “In principle, variable pricing is not illegal.” Channels could be priced differently across cities, as per the local demands, she said. It would be wrong to price the same channel differently within a city, she added. Meanwhile, Star admitted on Wednesday that its news channel is being offered in dual mode already. This is to ensure maximum reach of the channel, Star India COO Sameer Nair said. He assured that over a period of time Star News will be available only as a pay channel.
08th
May 2003, The Economic Times Honey, you're poison! That's if you're Chinese. Next time you take your daily dose of honey, watch out if it is imported from China for there is a fair chance of your body immune system being infected by it. According to consumer interest bodies, Chinese honey, banned in several countries, is making inroads in Indian market to the detriment of the health of common man. Chinese honey is contaminated with chloramphenciol which might render a person resistant to antibiotics used in the treatment of typhoid and paratyphoid, director Consumer Unity & Trust Society (CUTS) Rajan R Gandhi said in New Delhi. He said chloramphenciol, an antibiotic, was banned worldwide in 1970s as it can cause life threatening aplastic anaemia in humans. Selvi Roy of CUTS said a few Indian companies are blending the cheaper contaminated honey imported from China and exporting it under their name with a 'Produce of India' label.
Contaminated
Chinese Honey Hits Indian Markets 07th May 2003, PTI After SARS, now beware of Chinese honey!! Next time you take your daily dose of
honey, watch out if it is imported from China for there is a fair chance
of your body immune system being affected by it. According to consumer interest bodies,
Chinese honey, banned in several countries, is making inroads in Indian
market to the detriment of the health of common man. Chinese honey, establishing its presence in
India and even being re-exported, is contaminated with chloramphenicol,
which might render a person resistant to antibiotics used in the treatment
of typhoid and paratyphoid, director Consumer Unity and Trust Society
Rajan R Gandhi said in New Delhi. He said chloramphenicol, an antibiotic, was
extensively used to cure these diseases until it was banned worldwide in
1970s as it can cause life threatening aplastic anaemia in humans. Since Chinese honey contains
chloramphenicol, it has been banned in several countries including the US,
Canada, Germany, United Kingdom and other European Union countries, he
added. Non-government organisations feel having
lost its market in the West there has been a slide in the price of Chinese
honey, a fact that some traders have used to their advantage. This has
happened at a time when price of Indian honey has increased three-fold. Selvi Roy of CUTS said a few Indian
companies are circumventing this price rise by successfully blending the
contaminated honey imported from China and exporting it under their name
with a 'Produce of India' label. An official of the Centre for International
Trade and Agriculture said government should check import of such honey by
using existing laws. According to CUTS, the fact that
contaminated honey was being exported with the 'Produce of India' label
jeopardised the interests and stature of the Indian industry.
"This amounts to falsification and
cheating of consumers in India and across the globe," Roy said. Good image of Indian honey in particular
and agro-based products in general is being tarnished, another consumer
activist added. CITA pointed out that every agro-based
consignment entering the country should get a sanitary certificate
endorsing it fit and safe for human consumption. It said, however, this requirement is
clearly not being taken seriously or acted upon by the trade division of
the agriculture ministry. The provision for undertaking such checks
and charging for the same is provided for under the Indian Livestock
Importation Act, it added.
07th May 2003, Business
Standard Consumer Unity and Trust Society (CUTS) has blamed the ministry of agriculture for allowing imports of contaminated Chinese honey into India saying that it was lax regarding testing. "Every agro-based consignment entering the country should get a sanitary certificate endorsing it fit and safe for human consumption. This requirement is not being taken seriously or acted upon by the trade division of the agriculture ministry, " Rajan R Gandhi, director, CUTS, said. Checks and charging for them was provided under Indian Livestock Importation Act.
EC Urges India To Understand Its Stand On Doha 30th April 2003, Financial Express New Delhi: The European Commission insists that negotiations on the four Singapore issues should commence after the conclusion of the fifth World Trade Organisation (WTO) ministerial meeting in Cancun (Mexico) being held from September 10-14. But India holds that discussions on these can be started only if there is an “explicit consensus” among the members as mandated by the Doha declaration, says Stefano Gatto, European Union’s (EU) counsellor for trade and economic affairs. The issues are trade and investment, trade and competition policy, trade facilitation and transparency in government procurement. Speaking at a meeting on EU-India network on trade and development in Delhi on Wednesday, Mr. Stefano Gatto however conceded that the deadlines on some of the issues set by the Doha mandate had been missed and pleaded that developing countries, including India, must understand the EU’s position on the Doha agenda. The network was launched in Brussels in 2000. On textiles, he referred to a recent statement of the EU Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy that all the remaining quotas under the WTO Agreement on Textiles and Clothing would be phased out as scheduled by December 31, 2004.u though some developing countries were not fully ready to face the free market regime arising after this date. In regard to services, he clarified that the EU was not in favour of full liberalisation of the sector. “We are not ready for it nor are we asking others to do it”, he stated. Under Mode IV of the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), namely, movement of natural persons, the Commission in its offer made on Tuesday had expanded the scope of services to include professionals such as laywers, engineers, architects, scientists and self-employed and maintained that it matched with New Delhi’s request, Mr. Stefano Gatto stated. He agreed that the EU could not make its offer by the March 31 deadline fixed earlier. Pointing out that anti-dumping was an important issues for the EU, Mr. Stefano Gatto felt it should not be used as a protectionist measure by the member-countries. Speaking on the occasion, L Alan Winters of the University of Sussex, noted that one of the major issues between developed and developing countries related to mobility of labour, but none of the countries had utilised the GATS agreement for liberalisation of health services because of immigration policies. Mr. Winters said the UK had liberalised its immigration rules in 2000 and increased the work permits for foreign doctors by 54 per cent adding that those issued to Indian doctors was 19 per cent, second only to the US with 20 per cent. Further, about 20,000 doctors
graduated in India every year, of which 4,000 to 5,000 moved out of the
country while those registered in the country stood at 5,50,000, he
stated. 23rd April 03, Times of Zambia The Consumer Unity and
Trust Society, Africa Resource Centre (CUTS-ARC) says Zambia lacks a
clearly defined investment policy with elaborate social and economic
objectives. According to CUTS research
findings from its ‘Investment Policy, Performance and Perception in
Zambia’, what existed as an investment policy was a set of fiscal
measures for new investors. The draft country report
paper says an investment policy should have a clear focus on technology
development and transfer, human resource development and the creation of
jobs. The reports further says
investment incentives for new investors in the existing policy was silent
on development clauses yet these should have been tied to employment
creation or measures related to sound production. The report underscores the
inadequacy of the current investment policy, which should be formulated to
ensure it addressed pertinent issues in investment. The report says it was worth finding out how far the investment policies in Zambia had helped increase the inflow of Foreign Direct investment (FDI) and how these policies had in the past helped to attract FDI to priority areas of the economy.
23rd April 03, Times of Zambia Stakeholders who attended a
national consultation on Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) policy and
practice in Zambia have called for the early drafting of a national
investment policy for Zambia. The adoption of a national
investment policy would be the immediate priority for Zambia to overcome
the existing difficulties in attracting sufficient investment said Mr.
Richard Chavula of the Zambia Investment Centre. He was presenting a paper
on the role of coordination among sector regulators in promoting FDI to
Zambia. Though there are several sectors regulatory bodies that deal with
investment decision in Zambia, they lack any workable coordination
arrangements, which cause a lot of delay in the decision making process,
he lamented. Can
CAS clear cable confusion? 22nd
April 2003, The
Statesman Kolkata:
Even before its launch, Conditional Access System (CAS) continues to
create enough controversies to assure a permanent place in newspaper
headlines.
20th
April 2003, Times News Network
Zambia needs strong trade policies- COMESA 17th April 2003, Zambia Daily
Mail The common Market for Eastern and
Southern Africa (COMESA) says Zambia needs to strengthen her trade policy
platform in the grouping for it to attract major Foreign Direct Investment
(FDI). COMESA regional Investment Agency
Unit official, Watipaso Mkandawire, said in Lusaka yesterday at the
national consultation on FDI policy and practice in Zambia organised by
Consumer Unity and Trust Society, Africa Resource Centre (CUTS-ARC). Mr Mkandawire observed that the
country needed an export lead policy to strengthen trade process and
institutions that support commerce in the nation. “In promoting trade policy Zambia
should look at strengthening its platform for the regional market,” he
said. He cited Swarp Spinning Mills of
Ndola as one of computers that was forced to export due to the small
market of yarn in the country. He pointed out that Zambia was
still a high recipient of FDI in the region despite the decline of foreign
investment for the past years. And speaking at the same
function, CUTS-ARC research associate, Eric Kalimukwa said government does
not have a clearly defined investment policy. He said the sad development makes
it impossible to see economic objectives of what qualities as an
investment policy. He said what seems to exit as a
policy was a set up of fiscal measure for new FDI investment. He said an investment policy
would have a clear focus on technology development and transfer of human
resources training and job-creation. “Politicians often make
statements on the need for foreign investors to improve job creation, but
nothing has been done to show how this can be achieved,” he said. But Zambia Investment Centre
projects manager Richard Chavula said Government had enacted a law and established department and statutory bodies of sector regulators all aimed at improving the FDI regime in Zambia. He said the setting up of
government agencies was meant to enhance the investment climate and make
it more conducive and responsive to the attraction of FDI as well as to
ensure that the national social, economic and political interest were
safeguarded.
Unclear laws affecting foreign investments 17th April 2003, Times of Zambia THE Zambia Investment Centre
(ZIC) says there is need to harmonise operations of conflicting investment
regulations to enhance the inflow of foreign direct investment (FDI). ZIC project development manager
Richard Chavula said in Lusaka yesterday that there were conflicting areas
in pieces of legislation under which various regulatory sectors in Zambia
operated and these were impacting negatively on the FDI regime. Speaking at the Consumer Unit
Trust Society (CUTS) workshop on ‘foreign direct investment policy and
practices in Zambia’ at Taj Pamodzi Hotel, Mr Chavula said the conflicting
area presented themselves as negative factors that adversely affected
FDI. He said because of these factors,
investment implementation was rendered burden some and the country as a
whole became less attractive to FDI. A part from conflicting pieces of
legislation, other negative factors to FDI include duration of processing
permits and lack of appreciation of each other’s pieces of legislation by
all sector regulators. Mr Chavula said sector regulators
could work together to improve the FDI regime by putting in place measures
that would identify conflicting of the Acts under which they
operated. The sector regulators could then
harmonise, streamline and synchronise all aspects of investment procedural
requirements. And CUTS associate researcher
Eric Kalimukwa said Zambian investment process was uncoordinated. Mr Kalimukwa said the country did
not have a clearly defined investment policy and what existed as a policy
was just a set of fiscal measures for new investors. He said the Zambian investment
policy was inadequate and required transformation as in its current state,
it was not clear as to whether the policy was sufficient enough to attract
FDI. Mr Kalimukwa observed that it had
been difficult to discern what levels of FDI had come to Zambia especially
that information obtained from the ZIC showed more of investment pledges
and commitments. But Mr Chavula said there was
room for improvement as evidenced from the various statutory bodies of
sector regulators set up by Government and enacting of laws all aimed at
improving the FDI regime in Zambia. “The setting up of these
institutions is meant to enhance the investment climate and make it more
conductive and responsive to the attraction of FDI as well as ensuring
that national social, economic and political interests are safeguarded,”
Mr Chavula said. The workshop was called to brainstorm on sharing insights on how best to contribute to the debate on FDI and improve the overall development in Zambia.
Size of markets vital in attracting foreign investment14th April 2003, Times
of Zambia The size of local markets is on
of the most important ingredients for a country to interact foreign direct
investment (FDI). This is according to a 1984-2003
publication of foreign direct investment in developing countries produced
by the CUTS Centre for International Trade, Economic and Environment based
in India. When competing for FDI, policy
markers have to be aware that various measures intended to include FDI
were necessary, but far from sufficient to do the trick. Reforms such as privatization
tended to be more effective in stimulating FDI inflows, but need to be
complemented by reform in other areas like competition policy, in order to
ensure that FDI inflows were beneficial. “Still other determinations of
FDI, which were sufficient in the past, may prove to be less relevant in
future. But the size of local markets appears to be the most important
case in point.” the publication says. The good news however is that FDI
is anything but a zero-sum game in which one particular country could
attract FDI only at the expense of another. Additionally, FDI was likely to
take place when new investment opportunities emerge in countries opening
up FDI and all developing countries have a chance to become attractive to
foreign investors. Globalisation could be expected
to include a shift from marker-seeking FDI to efficiency- seeking FDI
while international competitiveness of local production by foreign
investors, would then, turn out to be a decisive factor shaping the
distribution of future FDI. This involved major Challengers
for policy makers in developing countries. In general terms, the task is to
create immobile domestic assets that provide a competitive edge and
attract internationally mobile factors of production. Attraction of FDIs also depends on conductive economic fundamentals as fiscal and financial incentives offered to foreign investors may do more harm then good, especially if these incentives discriminate against small investors and local firms.
14th April Hindustan Times MARKET ECONOMY, consumerism and
declining sensitivity has resulted in the failure of media to highlight
the problems of rural areas. These views were expressed by
Information and Public Relations director Amar Singh Rathore on
Sunday. Rathore was speaking at a seminar
on 'Role of Media in Rural Development' organised by the Consumer Unity
and Trust Society (CUTS) on the occasion of 21st year of publication the
organisation's publication Gram Gadar. Speaking on the occasion, Rathore said the history of media is as old as the establishment therefore the role of media in progress cannot be overlooked. Only the newspapers can spread information about the rural areas and can create an understanding about the rural progress, he said. He however, added that the media had not able to do much as they are not free to give impartial news.
Hindustan Times The OFT-REPEATED complaint by cable customers that they are being charged in an arbitrary manner by cable operators has now found an echo in a survey conducted in A-class cities across the country. Conducted by the Consumer Unity and Trust Society (CUTS) with inputs from cable homes in cities, including Jaipur, Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkata and Chennai, the survey revealed a great deal of resentment among cable consumers. Sixty four per cent of the customers surveyed were of the opinion that there has been an unreasonable increase in service charges in the last one year. A majority of the consumers expressed their dissatisfaction over the quality of services being provided by the cable operators. CUTS researcher Anjali Bansal said the dissatisfaction is compounded because of the cable operators not issuing receipts against payments. “Without a receipt, they cannot even approach consumer groups for seeking redressal for their grievance,” she said. A large number of consumers are not aware of the government regulation providing for conditional access system(CAS) to the cable customers. Over 70 per cent of the cable users were unaware of the set-top boxes or CAS, the report said. The government had approved the Cable TV Networks (Regulation) Amendment Act, 2002, that provides for CAS or a view-what-you-want –channel system. The worst part was that 70 percent of the customers said they did not have an option to switch over to another service provider in case of errant cable connection from their present operator. “This is because cable operators form cartels and divide territories among themselves,” said Pradeep S. Mehta, CUTS Secretary General. The sample survey was based on a respondent strength of 2,500 cable users from different A class cities. The responses were taken on a questionnaire prepared by CUTS. Troubled by cable operators and the monopoly of the multi system operators in Jaipur, city lawyers took charge and formed a panel to provide complainants with legal help, if necessary. The latest findings suffice the panel’s formation. COMESA
competition policy to benefit region Thursday, 10th April 03 THE Consumer Unity and Trust
Society-Africa Research Centre (CUTS-ARC) says the Common Market for
Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) competition policy will be beneficial
to consumers in the regional grouping. CUTS-ARC co-ordinator, Sajeev
Nair, said in an interview in Lusaka yesterday that once the policy was
implemented, organisations and the business sectors would conform to the
region's competition regulations. "So there is need for COMESA
council of ministers to ratify the regional policy," he said
Mr. Nair said CUTS-ARC
welcomed COMESA's initiative to consult consumer bodies in Zambia in the
formulation of regional competition policy. COMESA has called for a
meeting end of this month of which about 30 stakeholders would attend the
gathering to be held in Lusaka. Mr. Nair said his organisation
recently completed a study on enforcing competition policy in seven
countries including Zambia. The study underlines the
importance of the regional framework for the protection of consumers in
the region. Meanwhile, CUTS-ARC would be
holding a national consultation on Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) policy
and practice in Zambia. Mr Nair said the national
reference grouping was part of a two-year research and advocacy project
titled ' Investment for Development' being carried out by his
organisation. He said CUTS-ARC aimed at developing an advocacy platform at national and regional level through disseminating the research inputs on the consultations for the benefit of the stakeholders.
India, EU Renegotiate Lower FarmTariff Brussels, March 16: Relations between India and the 15-nation European Union (EU) are marked by either great expectations or something close to despair. Last fortnight was no exception. There has been the high-profile visit to New Delhi by EU chief trade negotiator Pascal Lamy. But even while he was preparing for his visit, Mr Lamy’s officials were meeting their counterparts from India from the working group on agriculture and marine products, one of the numerous bodies set up under the 1994 EU-India cooperation agreement on partnership and development. Trade commissioner Lamy’s visit to New Delhi and the meeting of the members of the working group can be seen as two sides of the same coin: intimately related yet conveying different messages. Speaking at the celebrations to mark the 20th anniversary of the Consumer Unity and Trust Society (CUTS) Mr Lamy maintained that the name given to the current round of trade negotiations, the Doha Development Agenda, “is not just a pretty, politically correct name...but it also demands results, not just retoric”. Mr Lamy agreed that “market access is the number one priority for the Doha development round for most developing countries with competitive export sectors, such as India”. He went on to defend the EU against the charge that it remains highly protectionist, especially when it comes to agriculture. Mr Lamy pointed out that the EU has put forward a proposal to slash its import tariffs on agricultural products by more than one third, and has listed specific actions aimed at giving developing countries a better deal through the Doha development round of trade negotiations in Geneva. But Mr Lamy’s bold pronouncements seemed to have little or no bearing on the position taken by his officials at the meeting of the working group on agriculture and marine products. India is determined to increase its exports of these products to the EU, which at present account for 11 per cent of its total exports (of some $13 billion in 2001 and $10 billion during the first nine months of last year). Hence, the importance of the meeting of the working group, which dealt with the key issue of market access for a wide range of products of export interest to India, including sugar, basmati rice, flowers, gherkins, mushrooms and eggs and egg products. Mr Lamy’s officials raised a number of market access issues from their side, such as India’s shelf life requirements and its high level of protection in the case of cheese. Mr Lamy’s officials listened attentively to their Indian counterparts, undertook to look into their demands for improved market access but made it clear that action on the part of the EU was unlikely - because of the Doha Development Agenda. Take the Indian request for a reduction in the import duty on cut flowers. The EU could not commit itself at this stage, given that it wants the matter taken up in the wider framework of the WTO negotiations, where a reduction in the import duty on floricultural products can be used as a bargaining counter. An Indian request regarding basmati rice received a somewhat similar response, but this time because of changes to the EU’s own import regulations on rice, currently under discussion among the EU member governments. At present both India and Pakistan enjoy a duty derogation of 250 euros per tonne on their exports of basmati rice. This amounts, in practice, to virtually duty free entry. However, given the conflict of interests within the EU itself as regards rice production and trade, the negotiations among the 15 member states are making slow progress. In the present confused situation, India has asked the EU to continue with the present duty derogation system, pending the outcome of their internal negotiations. EU officials meanwhile are considering alternatives to this system, including tariff rate quotas. Should the new import regulations for basmati rice be less favourable to India and Pakistan, both countries would be entitled to compensation under Article 28 of the GATT. Under these circumstances, Mr Lamy’s officials on the working group could only offer to take note of Indian concerns at this stage. The unfavourable impact of the EU’s sanitary and phytosanitary measures on India’s exports of marine products, particularly shrimps, was also discussed in the working group. The EU currently has a policy of zero tolerance as regards the presence of certain chemicals, such as chlorophenicol, in shrimps. The regulation is very strictly enforced by EU customs authorities, to the point where shipments which are rejected are destroyed, thus making it impossible for Indian exporters to re-export to destinations where the sanitary and phytosanitary measures are less draconian. Since scientific evidence as to the safety or otherwise of processed foodstuffs is not always conclusive, the EU has preferred the “better safe than sorry” approach to food safety. Given this situation, India has asked the EU to approve its milk and egg production units, as it wants to export these products, as well as poultry meat, to Europe. The EU will be sending a veterinary mission to look at those production facilities that want to be approved for export purposes. Indian officials taking part in the working group asked their EU counterparts for concessions on exports of gherkins and mushrooms. The short answer in the case of gherkins was a polite “no”, on the grounds that India already accounts for 75 per cent of the EU’s imports of provisionally processed gherkins. The situation was more complex as regards provisionally preserved mushrooms. Mr Lamy’s officials had a number of requests of their own to put to their Indian counterparts. Under Indian regulations, 60 per cent of the shelf life of a product should be in India. EU exporters want this requirement scrapped; they maintain that Indian customs procedures for processed foodstuffs are far too time-consuming. EU officials also asked that the Indian regulation requiring the maximum retail price to be shown on the package be waived in the case of European exports to India. But such a move would discriminate against Indian producers, disadvantage Indian consumers and prevent under or over invoicing. Given the meagre results of the latest meeting of the working group on agricultural and marine products, it could be argued that Mr Lamy’s speech to CUTS last week should be required reading for his officials. The fact is that while the Trade Commissioner was looking at the broader picture, his officials were busy at individual bushes and trees. The task facing Mr Lamy is how to reconcile the EU’s global interests in world trade with the interests of its own mushroom growers, for example. But this is a task facing Mr Lamy’s counterparts in India and the United States also.
Gramphone bridges digital divide Times News Network NEW DELHI: In a remote village in
Warangal district of Andhra Pradesh, life hasn't been the same ever since
the "gram-phone" made an appearance in many households nine months
ago. This endeavour to bridge the
digital divide between urban and rural areas has come about thanks to a
pilot project launched in this village by an NGO, the Rural Telecom
Foundation. The details of this project were
shared by Madan Mohan Rao of the Foundation during the on-going
partnership conclave on "Governance and its relationship with poverty
reduction" here. BSNL helped execute this project
for which the Foundation gave each household an initial subsidy of Rs 900
for the telephone's registration and installation. Rao said the aim of the
pilot project was to provide affordable telephony solutions using "party
lines". A "party line", as described in the Indian Telegraph Act,
basically means "a telephone connection where two or more parties share a
common line to a departmental exchange". India softens stand on WTO
issues
Business
Standard India
today softened its stance on the four contentious Singapore issues of
investment, trade facilitation, government procurement and competition
policy and said it was willing to engage in talks if the developed
countries offered market access to Indian exports, addressed the
implementation issues and operationalised the special and differential
provisions under WTO. At
the same time, India expressed concern that there had not been much
progress on agriculture negotiations without which Cancun could be a
failure. “We
need to see progress in substance,” said SN Menon, additional secretary in
the commerce ministry, at the partnership conclave organised by Consumer
Unity & Trust Society. Menon
also cautioned that unless the special and differential provisions were
operationalised, the benefits of TRIPS and public health were made
available to developing and under-developed countries and the pending
implementation issues of the Uruguay Round sorted out, “it would be very
difficult to have a package that is win-win” for the developed and
developing countries. “India
is still not fully convinced that the issues should be part of the
multilateral trade framework under WTO but negotiations are a dynamic
process. If we get market access we may have a look at it.
We
will wait and see how the overall negotiations progress,” Menon said.
Officials
said EU wanted India's support on commencement of negotiations on the four
issues and in return was willing to support India’s stand on agriculture.
They,
however, said that India had not changed track and was sticking to the
stand taken at the Doha meeting of trade ministers from WTO member
countries. While
EU had been pushing for the inclusion of the issues, India was
continuously opposing it with support from the United States.
India
had maintained that the issue should be studied in detail by the working
groups before taking a decision on bringing them under the multilateral
trade framework. The
Doha declaration had said that at the next ministerial (at Cancun), the
ministers would decide whether it was time for commencing negotiations.
Menon
said that trade facilitation was an important aspect and India was moving
towards reduction in transaction costs. India was simplifying the rules
for government procurement, he said. In
case of investment, the rules had been liberalised unilaterally to attract
foreign investment, he said, adding that the Competition Bill had been
cleared by Parliament. Earlier
in the day, European Union trade commissioner Pascal Lamy after a meeting
with commerce and industry minister Arun Jaitley said that EU and India
had come closer on the Singapore issues.
Promises To Take Up Movement Of
Natural Persons Issue At EU
The
Financial Express
New
Delhi, March 13: European
Union trade commissioner Pascal Lamy has said that he would take up the
issue of liberalisation of movement of natural persons with all EU members
in Geneva next week and persuade them to get over their reluctance to
facilitate movement of work force. Addressing
a gathering of industrialists and government officials at a meeting
organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry
(Ficci) here on Thursday, Mr Lamy said that he was aware that Mode IV of
the services negotiation, which dealt with movement of natural persons,
was of key interest to India. “I have assured the commerce ministry in my
discussion with them this morning that I would try my best to convince EU
members that their attitude of reluctance should change.”
Mr
Lamy said the EU and India had converging interests at the World Trade
Organisation (WTO) and the two sides were working hard to come closer. He
further said that he had a very important meeting with commerce minister
Arun Jaitley and his team. “The key to success in Doha would be for the
two regions to build a partnership based on shared interests of business
communities and the society at large,” he added Later,
at a panel discussion organised by the Consumer Unity & Trust Society
(CUTS), Mr Lamy said that the development aspect of the Doha mandate could
be addressed by interlinking three main areas of market access, rules and
technical assistance to developing and poor countries.
The
trade commissioner said that in market access, the ambience was improving
and the EU was willing to fulfil its share of commitments. In agriculture,
the EU was in favour of giving flexibilities to developing countries
including India to protect their interests like food security, he added.
When
questioned about his views on the growing regional trade arrangements by
Martin Wolf from Financial Times, Mr Lamy replied that there was no
evidence that major trading blocks including the EU or the North American
Free Trade Area (NAFTA) resulted in diversion of trade.
He
was, however, countered by TN Srinivasan from Yale University, who pointed
out that figures showed that India’s exports to the North American region
was adversely affected after NAFTA was formulated. On technical assistance, Mr Lamy said that there was no doubt that both developed and developing could do better on the front. “The resources are sufficient, but they need to be redirected and better used. The absorption capacity of recipients also needs to be improved,” he said.
Experts Call For Steps To Ensure Cheaper Drugs For Poor Nations
New Delhi, March 12: With affordable health care continuing to elude a large section of population in poor countries, experts believe that steps need to be taken both domestically and at the multilateral level to improve access to cheap medicines. To ensure that countries with low manufacturing capacities don’t lose their right to buy low-cost generic medicines from non-patent holding manufacturers, the US should not be allowed to restrict the scope of the pending agreement on TRIPS & Public Health, experts add. Speaking at a workshop on promoting health for the poor under the aegis of Consumer Unity & Trust Society (CUTS) here on Wednesday, Zafrullah Chowdhury, Gonoshasthaya Kendra, Bangladesh, pointed out that although a commitment was made at the Doha ministerial meet to ensure access to cheap medicines for developing countries, the US had single-handedly blocked it. Developing nations including India should not accept a diluted version of the TRIPS & Public Health Agreement, said James Love, director, Consumer Project on Technology, USA. “Getting a bad deal is worse than not getting a deal,” he said, adding that if the US didn’t relent, developing countries should look for alternative ways outside the Agreement. Speaking on the occasion, Rama Baru from the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) emphasised the need for greater government focus on traditional medicines as these were not just a cheaper option but were increasingly being perceived as a system which went beyond the limits of allopathy. Although, allopathy and the Indian System of Medicine (which includes Ayurveda, Unani and Siddha) could work very well together, Dr Baru said that allopathy practitioners were averse to such an idea. The allopathy stream resisted the thought of integrating with the traditional system. Dr Baru added that the Union Budget reflected the preference of policy makers for the allopathy system as the allocations made for it was several times higher than that made for the traditional system. Community based health insurance could be one way of providing health care to the poor, said Akash Acharya from the Tribhuvandas Foundation.
Agriculture is key to Doha (Letter to the Editor) Wednesday,
04th Dec. 02 Sir, "In the long run we are all dead," said John Maynard Keynes. Last month, the US unveiled an ambitious plan to eliminate industrial tariffs by 2015. Earlier, the European Union postponed its plan further to cut farm spending by putting a 10-year ceiling on the growth of already very high farm subsidies. These are all long-term programmes, which cannot be realised until we achieve our short and medium-term targets. One wonders whether the US initiative can act as an impetus to the Doha trade round ("Trading barriers", November 27). Many in the developing world are not so excited, for several reasons! Better market access is dependent on many factors, not least non-tariff barriers. It does not require much imagination to see that without a resolution on agriculture, the Doha round will not move an inch forward. "As we all know, agriculture is critical to the negotiations as a whole and so we simply must meet our deadlines if we do not, the credibility of the Round could be undermined," noted Stuart Harbinson, chairman of the World Trade Organisation's negotiating group on agriculture, at the end of the September negotiating session. A close examination of the US proposal on agriculture and the more recent one on industrial tariffs demonstrates that the ball will be lobbed into others courts. In agriculture, its proposal of capping trade-distorting domestic support to 5 per cent of the value of agricultural production would require no reduction in its current level of support, which is about $10bn. The EU would be forced to reduce its support from $47bn to about $12bn, and Japan from $33bn to $4bn. One can see who will have to move, if negotiations are to make sense. Similarly, the proposal to end industrial tariffs by 2015 would put greater burden on developing countries as many poor countries have high average tariffs of up to 40 per cent, compared with 4 per cent in the US and the EU. Dr Supachai Panitchpakdi, director-general of the WTO, has also echoed this view. The progress on the Doha Development Agenda has been miserable. We have failed to meet the key deadlines. It is not industrial tariffs; it is agriculture liberalisation which holds the key. So far, neither the US nor the EU has touched this most contentious issue. This is other than the special and differential treatment review, tariff peaks, tariff escalation and clarification on trade-related intellectual property rights and public health, which need to be addressed first. Clearly the burden for this lies more on the world's two largest trading powers: the EU and the US. Experts concerned over low FDI inflow Monday, 25th Nov. 02 New Delhi, November 25: India will require thrice as much foreign direct investment (FDI) as the current level in order to address its huge development agenda. The issue needs deeper study, according to Mr. Pradeep S Mehta, secretary-general, Consumer Unity and Trust Society (CUTS). Mr Mehta was speaking at a seminar on Investment for Development in Asia-Pacific Region which concluded here on Monday Summing up the outcome of the conference, organised by CUTS, Mr Mehta said that conference heard the views of Mr. Karl Sauvant, director, investment, technology and enterprise, UNCTAD Mr Christian Rogg, investment climate and competition team, Department For International Development (DFID), London and Mr. SN Menon, additional-secretary in the commerce ministry in charge of WTO matters, on the controversial issue of having a multilateral investment agreement (MAI) under the WTO aegis. Mr. Menon held “an extreme view” on MAI and questioned the wisdom of having such an agreement when it was not clear whether it would have any impact on increasing FDI flows into developing countries. Pointing out that the disinvestments programme had been moving slowly, Mr. Sanjeev Ahluwalia, joint secretary in the disinvestments ministry, noted that there “has been no consensus on how to go about achieving the objective of increased investment.” There was, however, a consensus that the private sector was more efficient than the public sector and that it would raise productivity. On the other hand, Mr. Elgin emphasised that multilateral rules would reduce risks for investors. However, India like other developing countries, was concerned that the agreement would include the free flow of short-term financial flows. Mr Mehta said that the work on investment at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) was to be seen in the context of overall bargain that was being struck and trade offsets between concerns. Delegates including representatives of civil society, international organisations and government discussed FDI policies, practices and trends. The delegates were from India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Indonesia, the Philippines, Japan, Malaysia and FIJI from Asia; and Brazil, Hungary, Tanzania, Zambia, Kenya and South Africa from the non-Asian region. The seminar was held as part of the project on investment for development which studies investment regimes in developing countries and the relationship with the overall national development work. The project is being implemented by CUTS and supported by DFID and UNCTAD. Delegates agreed that FDI should be regulated by good pre-active laws if it was to contribute to national development. Mr. Sauvant felt that FDI which was an important factor influencing economic development in the Third World was nevertheless a “complex” issue and needed careful study, adding that FDI was only complementary to domestic investment. Published: The Financial Times, December 04, 2002 , By Pradeep S Mehta Sir, "In the long run we are all dead," said John Maynard Keynes. Last month, the US unveiled an ambitious plan to eliminate industrial tariffs by 2015. Earlier, the European Union postponed its plan further to cut farm spending by putting a 10-year ceiling on the growth of already very high farm subsidies. These are all long-term programmes, which cannot be realised until we achieve our short and medium-term targets. One wonders whether the US initiative can act as an impetus to the Doha trade round ("Trading barriers", November 27). Many in the developing world are not so excited, for several reasons! Better market access is dependent on many factors, not least non-tariff barriers. It does not require much imagination to see that without a resolution on agriculture, the Doha round will not move an inch forward. "As we all know, agriculture is critical to the negotiations as a whole and so we simply must meet our deadlines if we do not, the credibility of the Round could be undermined," noted Stuart Harbinson, chairman of the World Trade Organisation's negotiating group on agriculture, at the end of the September negotiating session. A close examination of the US proposal on agriculture and the more recent one on industrial tariffs demonstrates that the ball will be lobbed into others courts. In agriculture, its proposal of capping trade-distorting domestic support to 5 per cent of the value of agricultural production would require no reduction in its current level of support, which is about $10bn. The EU would be forced to reduce its support from $47bn to about $12bn, and Japan from $33bn to $4bn. One can see who will have to move, if negotiations are to make sense. Similarly, the proposal to end industrial tariffs by 2015 would put greater burden on developing countries as many poor countries have high average tariffs of up to 40 per cent, compared with 4 per cent in the US and the EU. Dr Supachai Panitchpakdi, director-general of the WTO, has also echoed this view. The progress on the Doha Development Agenda has been miserable. We have failed to meet the key deadlines. It is not industrial tariffs; it is agriculture liberalisation which holds the key. So far, neither the US nor the EU has touched this most contentious issue. This is other than the special and differential treatment review, tariff peaks, tariff escalation and clarification on trade-related intellectual property rights and public health, which need to be addressed first. Clearly the burden for this lies more on the world's two largest trading powers: the EU and the US. Thursday, 01st Nov. 02 GOVERNMENT has been urged to
introduce national debate towards negotiations on the economic partnership
agreements with the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to highlighting special
implementation issues. Tuesday, 29th Oct.
02
Bid to form consumer groups’ association Thursday, 24th Oct. 02 NEW DELHI, OCT. 24, Realising the fact that consumer groups can play an important role in tackling the impact of unsustainable production and consumption patterns on climate change, a “Network of People and their Representatives for Action on Atmospheric Issues” is being put in place by the Kolkata-based Consumer Unity & Trust Society (CUTS) in association with major consumer groups in the region. Apart from inter-governmental organisations like the United Nations Environment Programme and the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, consumer groups who have agreed to be a part of the network include South Asia Watch on Trade, Economics and Environment, Kathmandu; Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies, Dhaka; Energy Forum, Colombo and the Delhi-based Tata Energy Research Institute. "As part of the initiative, we propose to increase awareness of legislators on the relationship of production and consumption patterns with atmospheric problems,” said Arjun Dutta of CUTS while elaborating on the role of consumer groups at a day-long workshop held here today with support from the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests. Another specific objective of the initiative is to increase awareness of consumer groups on the relation of atmospheric pollution, ozone depletion and climate change with unsustainable production and consumption patterns. Thursday, 24th Oct. 02
Monday, 23rd September 2002
Special squads to check accidents in city limits Saturday, 10th August 2002
Saturday, 10th August 2002
Thursday,,8th August 2002
Thursday, 8th August 2002
More reforms needed to push economy Monday, 29th April 2002 Jaipur, 29 July
2002: India needs faster second generation reforms to give a further push
to the economy, says Arvind Pangariya, co-director of the Centre for
International Economics at the University of Maryland, USA. Delivering a
lecture here on Economic Reforms in
India: The way forward, he hailed the reforms being undertaken by the
government, but said that a lot more has to be done. “What is needed
is to step up the pace of reforms if India to compete globally,” he
said. In his opinion
the reforms programme, which started in 1991, has taken the country
forward. Government monopoly
has gone in major sectors, tariffs have come down and domestic tax system
tax system has improved. He said that
poverty ratio has come down from 36 per cent in 1993-94 to 26 per cent in
1999-2000, foreign investment has gone up and GDP ratio has also moved up
post-1991. “There is now a
general consensus on the reforms and all is needed is to go for faster
second generation reforms,” he said. The government
should go in for flexible labour laws like exit policy and new bankruptcy
laws. Besides this, the
professor said the government should also put an end to reservation policy
for small scale industries as was recommended by Abid Hussain Committee in
1996. “Until big
players are allowed into manufacturing activities, hitherto reserved for
SSIs, India cannot compete with China,” he said. He urged the
government to follow Malaysian approach on direct foreign investment,
which according to him is best suited for a country like India. Calling
for bringing down trade barriers, Pangariya said that tariffs should be
brought down to around 10 percent by 2006. Urging the
government to move out of manufacturing sector, the professor said that it
should take more interest in playing the role of a facilitator. Regarding agriculture, the local
lad who made it big in the USA, said that the government should adopt a
more liberal approach than what is being pursued currently. He said that this was one sector,
which holds lots of promise for exports. At a later stage, the government
should also think of inviting foreign investment in the retail sector, he
said. Regarding power
reforms, Panagariya said that despite reforms being undertaken no special
success has been achieved so far. He said that a plan should be drawn to increase power generation and supply so that reforms do not suffer and a backlash is avoided. In Search of Foreign Investment Commerce Gazette, June-July 2002
Faster 2nd generation reforms a must Saturday July 27th,
2002 WHAT INDIA now needs are faster
second generation reforms and elimination of subsidies to emerge as a
stronger economic entity.
Advocating further opening up and stepping up the pace of reforms,
including flexible labour laws, ending reservation for small scale sector
and bringing down trade barriers further was Arvind panagariya, a local
lad who made it big in academics in the united States of America. Prof Panagariya, who heads the
Centre for International Economics at the University of Maryland, USA was
in Jaipur at the invitation of CUTS centre for International Trade,
Economics and Environment. In
a lecture on ‘Economic Reforms in India: The Way Forward’ here on Friday,
the economics professor was all praise for the bold economic decisions
taken by the Narasimha Rao government and said that over the years
political consensus on the reform process had become stronger. Although successive governments
were committed to the reform process and are taking decisions in the right
direction, what is needed is to step up the pace if India is to compete
with China. The government must get out of
manufacturing activity and take more interest in playing the role of a
facilitator, he said. He added that there could be no competition to China until big players were allowed entry into all manufacturing activities, hitherto reserved for the small scale sector in India. Transport Officer failed to reappear in case hearing Monday July 01, 2002
Monday June 24, 2002 The US Farm Bill, which grants huge
subsidies to US Cotton farmers is hurting Australia and India, trade
members said.
Despite low world prices, US farmers are expected to continue
producing large amounts of cotton with the help of higher subsidies,
preventing a recovery in prices, they said. Australia’s cotton export market in
India is already gnawed by the increasingly competitive US exporters. And if
world textile prices fall as a result of lower cotton prices, India’s
export competitiveness in textiles too may take a beating, they
added. In the August-January period of the
current marketing year, India’s imports of cotton from the US shot up to
128.065 tonnes, while purchases from Australia stood at 27,280
tonnes.
India’s imports from the US were large “due to highly competitive
US prices vis-à-vis other regions”, the USDA report stated. A
further fall in US cotton prices due to the subsidy is likely and is
expected to boost imports of US cotton into India, industry members said,
US cotton already accounts for more than half of India’s total cotton
imports of 2.2. million bales, the USDA report said. One
bale is equal to 170 kgs. Trade members say total cotton imports into
India are set to rise if local cotton prices exceed global price
levels. “Indian mills are fond of cotton that’s
the cheapest,”said a Bombay-based cotton trader. “If
local prices go up, the threat of import is there. That hurts the
interests of the farmers here. “ India has a subsidy programme for cotton
farmers as well, but its dole-outs to farmers are small compared to the
US, trade members said. India gives indirect subsidies to farmers with
reduced prices for fertilizers and pesticides, India also annually sets a
minimum support price (MSP) and buys cotton from farmers if market prices
fall below the MSP. Lower world prices are driving up
subsidy costs to the Indian government, a senior official at India’s
textile ministry said. In the cotton year ending September 2002, the
government is estimated to spend Rs.80-90 crore on cotton purchases from
farmers, he said. In
comparison, costs to the government last year were negligible. “Next
(cotton) year, if subsidies in the US are given, prices would fall
further,” he said, adding the government will have to spend more on buying
larger amounts of cotton from farmers. Industry analysts say the new US
legislation violates the spirit of the World Trade Organisation talks held
at Doha last year where a removal of farm subsidies was agreed upon by
participants. “It’s
a slap in the face of the WTO, “said Pradeep Mehta, Secretary General at
CUTS Centre for International Trade, Economics & Environment. CUTS
stands for Consumer Unity & Trust Society. “Subsidies to farmers
amounts to three-and-a-half times the cotton price there (the US).”
Falling global prices have already altered India’s trade balance in
cotton.
Until three years ago, India --- the world’s third largest cotton
producer – was a net exporter. Now, it’s the world’s third largest
importer of cotton. Earlier this year, India raised the
import duty on raw cotton to 10 percent from 5 per cent, ostensibly to
curb imports. Under
the WTO rules, India can increase the import duty to between 40 per cent
to 80 per cent depending on the cotton variety. Industry members say a
fall in global cotton prices could drive global textile prices down and
hurt India’s export competitiveness. “When international cotton prices
decline, international textile prices will also decline and we are not
able to match that,” said D.K. Nair, secretary general of the Indian
Cotton Mills’ Federation. “The textile industry will have to use cotton
produced in India at a disadvantage and then compete in the international
market where people are paying less for cotton,” Nair added. India has a
25 percent share of the world’s cotton yarn market and is a large exporter
of cotton textiles as well. LPG dealers
yet to get balances for weight check Kolkata: The only way for you, as
yet, to ensure you are getting 14.2 kg of LPG per cylinder is to weigh it
yourself. And ideally, the total weight plus the cylinder’s 16 kg should
be more than 30.2
kg. Reforms, Trade Policy Under WTO X-Ray From Tomorrow. Monday June
17,2002 India will undergo a three-day
collective examination of its full range of trade policies and practices
at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in Geneva beginning Wednesday. “Two
documents will be discussed on our laws & regulations, our
institutional framework, business regulations and other preferential
agreements. One has been prepared by us and the other by WTO secretariat,
both addressing the wider economic context and external environment,” a
commerce ministry offical said. Commerce Secretary S N Menon, alongside
Indian envoy to WTO K M Chanderashekhar will represent India, and WTO
director-general Mike Moore will chair. India’s trade policy review was
last done in 1998. “The review is extremely important, for they (member
nations such as the US) might go after you with hammer and tongs, some of
the nuanced in the context of what they want from you,” feels trade policy
expert Pradeep Mehta at CUTS, Jaipur. “They‘ll put a X-ray through your
internal liberalisation process, FDI, TRIMS, tariffs, anti-dumping, and
many areas where you have been lacking. This (the process) can be
excruciating,” Mr. Mehta argues. Ministry officials don’t share
this sentiment, and say this is a “routine evaluation, like, say, the one
Pakistan underwent in January”. They mention thought that “any issue
whatsoever” including our past commitments amy be brought up by member
nations and MR. Moore’s closing observations will be considerably
important. CII senior advisor T K Bhaumik feels that “India will indeed, be put on the radar screen of the general council” and “difficult questions will be asked”. These, he says, will “impact on our forthcoming negotiations strength” at the trade negotiations committee under Mr. Moore. “I, however, don’t expect cynical observations, and hope our negotiating position won’t be weakened”, Mr. Bhaumik said. Friday June
7,2002 Western protectionism has become like the manifestation of Narayana in the Bhag-wad Gita: it comes in a thousand forms and the forms change continually. Possibly the most spectacular of these manifestations is the linking of trade with the environment. The Doha Declaration has further deepened the relationship. It says that the multilateral trading system and efforts towards environmental protection and sustainable development “can and must” be mutually supportive. The declaration also proposes the launch of negotiations on the relationship between WTO rules and trade obligations set out in Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs). The developing countries are upset at the enlargement of the environmental window in the WTO. The overall result of all this is a highly complex debate. Experience over the last decade shows that an important aspect of this debate is the problem of the enforcement of agreements and, therefore, the problem of what to do if compliance by the developing countries is absent or weak. One school of thought believes in the sock-it-to-the-sods method, while another thinks that a softer approach has a better chance of succeeding. In a recent research report on multilateral environmental agreements and the issues and policy options concerning compliance and enforcement, Eric Neumayer* of the London School of Economics argues that the latter method is probably a better one: “Problems with compliance and enforcement in developing countries are likely to stem from insufficient capacity rather than wilful violations of MEA rules. As a consequence, the carrots approach is much more appropriate to deal with compliance and enforcement problems than the sticks approach.” Since it is in the interests of the developed countries to teach the developing countries how to get the environment thing right, they must “step up the assistance for administrative, financial and technical capacity building in developing countries for achieving the goals of the MEA under negotiation and that the developing countries should insist on provisions similar to the ones contained in the Montreal Protocol in negotiating new agreements.” However, he recognises that for political reasons this approach may not work. But, he adds, “there will often be no other way if one is serious about tackling non-compliance and non-enforcement”. Indeed, he goes so far as to say that non-compliance with MEA rules in developing countries is a consequence of the non-compliance of developed countries with their commitment to provide adequate assistance to developing countries. The paper contains a number of policy recommendations, some of which are summarised below. 1. The sticks approach employing
trade measures is not suitable for tackling non-compliance and
non-enforcement in MEAs. It 2. Increased use of trade
measures could also clash with WTO rules, so WTO members should take into
account the unsuitability 3. Generous assistance provisions
(the carrots approach) address the root cause of non-compliance and
non-enforcement, which is 4. The Montreal Protocol is the most successful MEA so far precisely because of its generous assistance provisions. 5. If policy makers and treaty
negotiators want to seriously tackle non-compliance and non-enforcement,
then they have to give 6. Compliance and enforcement of
MEA obligations by developing countries is possible only if developed
countries comply with 7. Compliance and enforcement do
not come cheap, but without generous assistance the call for greater
compliance and 8. Developing country negotiators
should insist on amendments to existing MEAs or in negotiations for new
MEAs so that In the final analysis, it seems hard to understand how the developing countries can be made to adhere to environmental standards without the injection of generous doses of technology at reasonable terms. There are two ways of doing this. One is to hugely increase the flow of foreign direct investment (FDI), which usually brings in newer and cleaner technology. The other is to not insist on the same standards for goods produced in the developing countries as in the developed ones, provided the minimum norms are met. On balance, the FDI route is a better one because it would also simultaneously lead to higher growth in the developing countries. But that solution takes the debate into another arcane area of the WTO: of investment policy and trade-related investment. In short, it is a very beastly can of worms which only trade fundamentalists will try to open or clean. Ozone ban threatens closure of AC units Thursday
June 6, 2002 Kolkata: Thousands employed in manufacturing and repairing of refrigerators, air-conditioners and related industries in the state are staring at unemployment from January 1, 2003, when unregistered users of ozone-depleting substances are barred from doing business. With just over a month to go before the sign-up deadline expires, only 78 of the 900-odd ODS users have registered with the Small Industries Service Institute, the nodal centre for registration of ODS producers, users, exporters, stockists and sellers. Refrigerators, ACs, fire extinguishers, polyurethane, foam, solvents and aerosol manufacturers and service firms use ODS that is to be phased out completely by 2010 in accordance with the Montreal Protocol that was ratified by India in 1992. At a symposium organised by Consumer Unity & Trust Society, SISI and industry associations hurled accusations for the failure to sensitise users about the Ozone depleting Substances (Regulation & Control) Rules, 2000. The ODS rules fixes phase out time frames and requires compulsory registration of every unit dealing with ODS. “Most local units are unaware of the requirement to register themselves by July 19, 2002, ” said Eastern India Air-conditioning & Refrigeration Association president D V Lamba. World Environment Day observed Thursday
June 6, 2002 KOLKATA, June 5.- Kolkatans were their usual self - full of beans – celebrating World Environment day today. Never mind if they really do much to maintain a clean environment. The environmental science department of Jadavpur University, in association with Science Association of Bengal, held a theme lecture on “Man society and environment: action plan at school level”. About 100 school students removed used plastic bags and planted saplings inside the Indian Botanical Garden. The Botanical Survey of India and PUBLIC, an NGO, had organised a green-and-clean drive. Dr. G S Giri, joint director, IBG said: “The drive was initiated to generate awareness about the effects of non-biodegradable products like plastic packets and cups.” Mrs Banani Kakkar of PUBLIC, said a proposal was put to IBG authorities to make the garden a plastic-free zone. She said use of plastic bags should be banned in the state as has been done in Tamil Nadu. The KMC today launched a tree plantation programme, to be carried on for two months, with the help of ward councillors. Swami Vivekananda Cultural Foundation organised a preview of a documentary film on environment, Haadsa, at Nandan-III to mark the day. Several other organisations like Kolkata 36, Maitree of Salt Lake, Centre for Sustainable Production and Consumption (CUTS), Society for Direct Initiative for Social and Health Action (DISHA), Paschimbanga Bigyan Mancha (Kolkata branch) Sahara India (Kolkata branch) also celebrated the day. – SNS May
2002
Courier takes client for a ride Tuesday May 28,2002 Kolkata: Consumer have always pinned greater faith
in private courier companies rather than the Indian postal service.But how
reliable are the private firms when it comes to delivering the
goods? Domestic investors Monday April 29, 2002 But this still remains a very serious dream and for very obvious reasons.I am also sure that there are a lot of skilled and professional people around who are aspiring to set up this and that but are not able to do so perhaps because of not reaping the benefits of the investment we have seen over the last ten years. Zambia has always had domestic investors and there are still a good number today who are contributing significantly to the development of this country. The trouble is they are not positively acknowledged in preference to foreign investors. Well, most foreign investors we have had over the last few years only targeted takeovers of privatised state companies.Very few came over to set up new enterprises. In fact some were awarded favourable investment incentives. But incentives should have room to allow regulation as foreign investment is not an end in itself.One researcher simply puts it that the incentives awarded have been too open ended and open to abuse because they have no closure rules. He is of the opinion that fiscal incentives should have penalties for closure so that exit conditions are sufficiently stringent to discourage what he calls footloose investors who surface only during the tax holiday but take off once that ends. Right now for reasons that are very clear foreign investments in the mines is questionable. Without hesitation, Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) is in deep trouble especially that no one is being honest with what is going on. We all know that what KCM is going through is about the same thing that happened to the Roan Antelope Mining Corporation of Zambia except maybe all sorts of assurances even from the highest office that the mine will be kept afloat. What we have today is a sad story of a non operational mine which is being stripped bare. Workers are dejected, families are striving and Luanshya town is practically doomed. Social vulnerability is high, what with our weak labour laws and the workers rights far from being guaranteed. Much as foreign investors are welcome to Zambia, some are outrageous in their dealings. They subject workers to all sorts of things body searches, long working hours, foul language and worst of all near-slave wages. As far as I know both the public and private media have adequately highlighted these issues regarding some foreign investors. It has clearly been reported that some investors in such areas as tourism, manufacturing, trading and agriculture have no regard for the Zambian workers and indeed the labour laws of the country. But I am hopeful that government through other government agencies will keep an eagle's eye on such investors and perhaps through the Zambia Investment Centre seriously scrutinise new foreign investors before they are given licences or certificates. In spite of such setbacks, various stakeholders would like to see how best to promote foreign direct investment (FDI) and improve the overall investment climate which some say is unsatisfactory. One such organisation is the Consumer Unity and Trust Society Africa Resource Centre (CUTS-ARC). This is a Non Governmental Organisation undertaking the Zambian component of a two year collaborative research project on "Investment For Development" (IFD). The project involves fact finding and advocacy work on investment regimes in seven developing countries and these are Bangladesh, India, South Africa, Hungary, Tanzania, Brazil and Zambia. The main objective is to make assist ploicy making bodies of the concerned countries in designing and implementing effective investment policies that will contribute to equitable growth and development. A major component of the project is to constitute the National Reference Group (NRG) and to conduct periodic consultative meetings. The NRG is expected to comprise of leading personalities from the civil society, the private sector, the media and the government agencies. It is also expected to steer the project through discussions, assessments and consultations. Some of the objectives of the NRG consultations are: to identify core policy and non policy issues concerning domestic investment and FDI, to review and appraise the current investment regime in Zambia and to create a network for advocacy on the effective FDI regime in Zambia so as to raise awareness and to stimulate National debate on investment issues. At the first NRG meeting on IFD held at Lusaka's Chrisma Hotel on 25th April 2002, Oliver Saasa professor of International Economic Relations at the Institute of Economic and Social Research of the University of Zambia, presented a paper on Economic Liberalisation and the Role of FDI: Lessons for Zambia. Professor Saasa indicated that the success of the privatisation policy should not be measured in terms of its speed or how many companies have been privatised. He also made reference to the British privatisation which suggests that rather than who owns the company, it is the competitive environment within which a firm operates that weighs more as the most crucial factor in its performance. A draft research paper entitled Zambia Investment Policy Report has in fact been prepared by Gideon Choolwe Mudenda. The paper describes the investment regime in Zambia under four general headings Macro-economic context, Policy trends, Investment Policy audit a attended with participants coming from such organisations as the Export Board of Zambia, OXFAM, KEPA Zambia, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Zambia Wildlife Authority and the Investment Centre to mention a few. It was generally observed that much as foreign investors are welcome to Zambia, it should not be at the expense of the local ones. Currently foreign investors are
offered certain incentives and it was suggested that local investors
should also enjoy the same. There are two more NRG meetings which should
critically address and recommend ways of improving the overall investment
climate taking into account infrastructure provision, strengthening labour
laws and guaranteeing workers' rights as well as seeing to it that
government steps its investment in human capital. The investment climate
will also be something to talk about if measures are put in place to
encourage investment in the manufacturing of such basic items as needles,
spoons and knives which are today being imported. The NRG should also help
find answers and recommend ways on how Zambia can really attract FDI in
the wake of such countries as Mozambique and Angola; emerging from civil
wars, Congo DR; practically still at war and South Africa; just settling
down after apartheid are said to be doing much better in this
regard. Success of privatisation doesn't lie in speed, says Prof. Saasa Sunday, April 28, 2002 India not yet ready for IPR Thursday, 25th April 2002 India is not ready to take advantage of
the Intellectual Protection Rights (IPR) regime, said Prabuddha Ganguli, a
leading IPR consultant in the country. Addressing a lecture on 'IPR an
imperative engine for growth', organised by consumer Unity & Trust
Society (CUTS), Ganguli Said, 'Neither has India been able to take stock
of resources nor could create an appropriate legal framework to address
IPR issues, In the era dominated by WTO, India should look into its
potential and try to protect its IPR by enacting proper legislative
measures.' Chairing the discussion, Ashish Ghosh
of Centre for Environment & Development said, the Indian government
should take steps to utilise its human resources and strengthen the
country's system so that keeping obligation to TRIPS
or any other agreements to WTO is less painful. He also mentioned that although 'neem',
'haldi' and basmati are much talked about, there were only 65 items on
which patents have been taken. According to Ganguli, the necessity of
IPR becomes a reality if one thinks in terms of zero tariffs. 'In the ear
of globalisation, while the whole world is coming under unified market
concept, if all tariffs are brought down to zero then knowledge becomes
only trade differentiator' he said.
Experts’ caution on Kyoto pactTuesday, 23rd April 2002 With India seriously considering ratification of the Kyoto protocol on reduction of greenhouse gases, experts feel the only options before the country lie in reducing fossil fuel consumption. The 1997 Kyoto protocol will become legally binding only after it is ratified by at least 55 countries. “The question is whether India can cut down on the rate of growth of fossil fuel consumption,” Director of the School of Energy Studies of Jadavpur University, Prof Sujoy Basu, said here today. Delivering the first Earth Day Lecture instituted by NGO Consumer Unity & Trust Society, Basu said the major hindrances to the protocol were its short-term commitments as emission standards were set only for a period between 2008 and 2012. The United Nations had no teeth to enforce the legal and judicial aspects of the convention in member nations, he said. India must turn to renewable sources of energy, he said. India set to
sign Kyoto
Protocol
Tuesday , 23rd April 2002 India is likely to sign the Kyoto Protocol this October. Forty nations have already signed the international agreement that enumerates responsibilities of individual governments to reduce net emissions of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide by the most industrial nations. The protocol, drawn up under the aegis of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in 1997, to come into force, requires 55 countries including an industrialised nation, to sign on the dotted line. Collectively, the 55 countries need to account for atleast 55 per cent of the carbon dioxide emissions worldwide. “Indications are that India will sign the protocol as the awareness of the threat from the increased concentration of greenhouse gases is now quite high. The Energy Conservation Act that was enacted in October 2001 paved the way for India signing the Kyoto Protocol,” said Sujoy Basu, director of School of Energy Studies at Jadavpur University. He was delivering the Earth Day lecture titled ‘Kyoto Protocol: Options before India.’ The lecture was organised by Consumer Unity & Trust Society, a non-government organisation. He viewed India’s participation in the protocol critical as international pressure was needed to set things right in the country’s industrial sector which continued to pay little heed to environment concerns. “Indian industry is mostly indifferent to environmental needs and continues to use obsolete technology. Industries have to become more energy-efficient,” he said. Basu criticised the government’s automotive policies that allowed a heavy influx of cars in the country. “With oil reserves at 136 billion tonne or 1,000 billion barrels and consumption of 75 billion barrels a day with a 2 per cent compounded annual growth rate, there will be a scarcity in 45-50 years. The petrol and diesel cars not only cause more pollution but also inflate the oil import bill,” Basu said. The Kyoto Protocol attempts to arrest the global warming that has already affected the earth’s climate, causing changes in temperature, rainfall, extreme climatic conditions and rise in sea level. While the average global temperature is expected to rise by 1.4-5.8 degree centigrade against last century average of 15.27 degree centigrade, the mean sea level is expected to rise by 15.95 cm, threatening the existence of many island nations. Indian environmentalist Rajendra Pachauri is the current chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the body that advises governments on long-term climate changes. He beat the incumbent, US scientist Robert Watson in a secret ballot. Watson’s removal follows a campaign by the United States, which announced its refusal to join the Kyoto Protocol in March 2001. Though the US withdrawal was initially viewed as a major blow to the initiative, Basu said environmentalist worldwide had received a shot in the arm following the participation of 171 governments in the conference of parties at Marrakesh in November 2001.
Should India sign Kyoto Protocol Tuesday, 23rd April 2002 Tuesday,9th April
2002
Tuesday,2nd April 2002
Push for Comesa,
SADC as bargaining units at WTO Thursday,
28th March 2002
WTO Doha ministerial indaba on... Tuesday, March 26 2002
26th March,2002
26th March,2002
27th March,2002
Appeal to farmers to develop new technology Monday, March 25 2002
Experts raise water deficit alarm Saturday, March 23 2002 SUPPLY WAS 38 per cent short of the water demand in 2000, the year
when the State experienced one of the most devastating floods it has
known. Another scientist, Arunava Majumder, said the farmers could be taught to purify the stored rainwater for drinking by filtering it through pebbles and sand. Dipping water levels spells grim future Saturday, March 23 2002 The main problem in the current water management scenario is that the sources of storage are in the neighbouring states. “In the current political scenario, it is impractical to expect that neighbouring states will hold water for us. Besides, lot of water is wasted in transportation. Ideally, these storage sites should be close to the places of agriculture,” Rudra said. High arsenic level affects district farm products Friday, March 22 2002 Friday, March 15 2002 KOLKATA : A
responsible national or state commission must be formed urgently to look
into the ‘criminal acts’ being committed in the name of healthcare, said
activists on Friday.
CUTS files petition against airport authorities, alleges violation of human rights Tuesday, March 5 2002 Consumer Unity & Trust Society (CUTS) today filed a petition with the State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) against the Airport Authority of India, Jaipur Airport, alleging that the airport authorities are violating human rights of the persons visiting the airport. Secretary General, CUTS, Pradeep S Mehta said that while the authorities allow government vehicles to park in the porch, which is a no parking zone, private vehicles are not allowed to do so. This discrimination is a form of violation of human rights to the public. He added that even though there were illuminated signboards declaring the porch to be a no parking zone, government vehicles flaunt the rule, while the airport authorities watch silently. The petition further states that the double standards make a mockery of the Constitution and Laws of the country. The petitioner requested the commission to examine the matter and take appropriate action against the defaulters. This he said was essential to safeguard the rights of the public. Monday, February 18,2002 Jaipur: Consumer Unity & Trust Society (CUTS), a Jaipur based
think-tank, has urged the government to uphold consumer interest while
taking anti-dumping actions. “Consumer interest is synonymous with
national interest and therefore, their interest should be upheld while
taking anti-dumping action against import of goods from other countries,”
Bipul Chatterjee, associate director of CUTS said. Expressing concern regarding the recent spate of anti-dumping
action by the designated authority of the commerce ministry, he said that
more often than not consumer interest is sidelined, even when they are an
affected party. He was referring to the clash between the producers and
consumers of polyester staple fibres being imported from South Korea,
Malaysia, Taiwan and Thailand. The Association of Synthetic Fibre
Industry, representing the domestic PSF units and a host of user industry,
mainly textile mills are at loggerheads. Sunday, February 10,2002 Jaipur: The Consumer Unity & Trust Society (CUTS), a Jaipur
based civil society think-tank, has hailed the government’s decision to
relax restrictions on trade in several essential agricultural
commodities. The
proposed regime would result in a win-win situation for the producers and
consumers, as it improves the marketability of crops and easier access to
goods. However, this could be the ideal situation and much depends on
implementation of the new policy, he said. Freeing farm trade within the country will not only provide a
fillip to value addition in agriculture, but will also attract more
investment in food processing. Such domestic reforms are the need of the day if the country is to
realise its potentiality in agriculture, not only in the domestic context
but also in this era of international trade under the auspices of the
World Trade Organisation (WTO), he said.
Overloaded Jeeps Saturday, February 9,2002
STATE HUMAN Rights Commission has
proposed that the Transport department should incorporate representatives
of non-government organisations, including a member of Consumer Unity
Trust Society (CUTS) in the committee constituted for periodical checks on
overloading jeeps on national highway and Agra-Jaipur highway. To discuss
the proposal, the Human Rights Commission has invited commissioner
transport and assistant inspector general traffic on March 6 to the
commission. The data presented by CUTS before the
commission said that in Jaipur city, 25 accidents involving jeeps occurred
last year claiming 266 victims.Out of these, 177 deaths and 149 grievous
injuries occurred due to overload of jeeps. A representative of Consumer Unity
Trust Society, said that rules of the Motor Vehicle Act should be strictly
implemented and stringent action taken against people violating them, the
commission also said that people need to be told about the dangers of
overloading jeeps. The representatives from Consumer Unity
Trust Society, said that permits should not be given to jeeps as a private
vehicles as according to the new Motor Vehicle Act, permits should be
given only to buses of state transport and Rajasthan State Road Transport
Corporation (RSRTC) for their day to day operations. Consumer Unity Trust Society, also
wanted an increase in the number of flying squads for checking overloading
on the jeeps.
Chemical
additive in LPG harmful: NGO KOLKATA: Users of foul-smelling
cylinders of Indane marketed by the Indian Oil Corporation run the risk of
developing anomalies in the central nervous system resulting in
convulsions and respiratory failure, a leading city-based consumer rights
NGO alleged here on Wednesday. The finding comes in the wake of complaints over the last one month by Indane LPG users in some parts of Kolkata that the pungent smell emitting from their gas cylinders was causing breathing trouble while cooking. IOC corporate communications chief Dipak Bose had earlier admitted that due to a technical fault a sulphur-based chemical additive, Mercaptan, used to detect LPG leakage had been added in excess in its Haldia plant causing the problem. "Ethyl Mercaptan has been enlisted as a hazardous and toxic chemical under the Chemical Accidents (Emergency Planning Preparedness and Response) Rules of 1996 and according to the International Occupational Safety and Health Information Centre, even short term exposure to it may cause effects on the central nervous system," Dipankar Dey, director of the Consumer Unity an Trust Society said. An independent survey had put the number of such cylinders already distributed among consumers at 3.5 lakh, he said adding the LPG emergency cell set up by IOC was receiving complaints of pungent smelling cylinders till date. | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Is FDI flow a bane or boon for developing nations?
14 December 2001,
Hindustan Times, IS FOREIGN Direct
Investment (FDI) good or bad for the recipient nation? This was the
question that participants at a two day seminar on 'Investment for
Development,' That began in the Pink City on Thursday grappled with, in
the process kicking of a lively debate on the whole issues. While none of the
participants, including experts, economists, Government officials,
industrialists and trade unionists, opposed FDI in principle, some trade
union leaders expressed the fear that foreign investors force changes in
domestic regulations that adversely affect the workers. Subscribing to
this view were the trade union leaders of left of the centre and right
wing political affiliations. If D K Chhangani of All India Trade Union
Congress (AITUC) accused the foreign investors of forcing `hire and fire'
kind of labour policy changes, G S. Gill of Bharatiya Mozdoor Sangh (BMS)
alleged that acquisition of domestic companies by the investors always
ended up in job losses. Both of them felt that these changes undermine the
aim of equitable development. Secretary,
Industries, Arvind Mayaram said that policy changes should focus on job
creation rather than job protection, as if to address the apprehensions
expressed by the trade union leaders. International experts present at the
seminar, organised by CUTS Centre for International Trade, Economics and
Environment (CUTS-CITEE), drove home the point that FDI was vital for
poverty reduction through economic growth. However, governments have to
make sure that right policies are in place if they are to attract and
benefit from world FDI flows. Almost all the
FDI flow to developing countries go to a handful of nations, while 90 per
cent of countries are effectively forgotten by the investors, said Khalil
Hamdani of UNCTAD, corroborating on CUTS CITEE's project. FDI is recognised as a major potential contributor growth and development that brings capital to the host country and technology, management know how and access to new markets, he said. In comparison with other forms of capital flows, FDI is more stable, which is why several countries are pursuing investment friendly policies and actively seek FDIs, the UNCTAD official said. | |||||||||||||||||||||
CUTS cut up over being left out of official
team
8th November 2001,
The Financial Express, New Delhi Consumer Unity & Trust
Society (CUTS), a global non-government organisation (NGO) working on
trade policy, has criticised the government for ignoring its request for
inclusion in the official delegation to Doha while accommodating
other non-officials like business representatives from chambers of
commerce. The agency will be represented by its
secretary general Pradeep S. Mehta at the Doha ministerial. He will also
participate in the several NGO events to be organised on the sidelines of
the main event. In an official release, the NGO came down
heavily on the government for keeping it out of the official team. It said
that the government was of the opinion that only its bureaucrats had
enough knowledge to participate in the talks. It added that the government
saw to it that only those business representatives were included in the
team who were willing to toe the official line so that they could continue
with their protectionist agenda. | |||||||||||||||||||||
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India for review of Uruguay Round Our Bureau NEW DELHI, Aug. 27, 2001 INDIA will press for review and conclusion of Uruguay Round mandated agenda and oppose inclusion of new issues and overloading of WTO at the crucial 4th Ministerial Conference in November at Doha. This was stated by Mr Digvijay Singh, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry, while addressing the seminar jointly organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and Consumer Unity & Trust Society (CUTS) on ``Reflections on Doha Ministerial of WTO: Issues and Options'' in the capital on Monday.
Mr Singh said that previous commitments of Uruguay Round have not been fulfilled by developed nations. Due to the backloaded nature of the integration of restrained textile items and also due to the perpetuation of trade-distorting domestic and export subsidies coupled with high tariffs and tariff escalation in agriculture by the developed countries, the expected market access has never been realised, he said. There are several asymmetries and inequities in most of Agreements including those relating to anti-dumping, subsidies, intellectual property, TRIMs and the non-realisation of expected benefits which have been a matter of serious concern. On the one hand, India has eliminated all kinds of quantative restrictions and is progressively reducing tariff levels, on the other, trade barriers imposed by the developed countries are becoming more and more impregnable. | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Tuesday Aug 28 2001 'New agenda at Doha to be opposed' Our
Bureau CLEARLY
stating India’s stance for the Doha ministerial conference in November,
minister of state for commerce and industry Digvijay Singh said that India
will press for review and conclusion of the Uruguay Round-mandated agenda
and oppose injection of new issues. | |||||||||||||||||||||
| CONTACT US | |||||||||||||||||||||
Consumer Unity & Trust SocietyD–217, Bhaskar Marg, Bani Park, Jaipur 302 016, India, Ph: +91(0)141-228 2821 Fax: 91.141.2282485 Email: citee@cuts.org |
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