|
India
to force for cut in farm subsidies
New Delhi: India has reiterated that its alliance
with Brazil in agriculture negotiations at the World Trade
Organisation (WTO) is based on a shared position that
liberalisation should begin with a deep cut in subsidies
provided by the developed world. Reacting to EU trade
commissioner Pascal Lamy's comment during a video conference
where he said that he did not understand how Brazil and
India could get together despite having different levels
of ambition, commerce ministry officials said the two
countries' position is not diametrically opposite.
"Both
the countries are individually demanding steep cuts in
domestic subsidies. Brazil accommodated our demands for
special products, special safeguard measures and linear
formula for tariff reduction, and the alliance was formed,"
the officials said. They pointed out that protectionism
in the form of high tariffs in developing countries exist
only because it is impossible to compete with highly subsidised
products of the West. "India can talk about lowering
tariffs only when developed countries agree to reduce
subsidies at the Cancun ministerial beginning next week."
Back
to News Review index page
SC
reserves order on HPCL, BPCL privatisation
New Delhi: The issue of privatisation of HPCL and
BPCL, oil public sector units, on Friday hung in balance
because the Supreme Court reserved its verdict on petitions
challenging the central government's decision to sell
majority of its shares in these two companies to private
parties.
A
bench comprising Justice S Rajendra Babu and Justice G
P Mathur reserved their verdict after hearing arguments
for nearly an hour on the question whether the government,
before embarking on disinvestment in oil PSUs, should
have approached the parliament for enacting a suitable
law to that effect. Though the process of privatisation
of the oil PSUs initiated by the government has not been
stayed, it is likely that the centre will await the decision
of the SC on the issue before proceeding any further.
Back
to News Review index page
|
