Since the discovery of large offshore oil and gas reserves in 2014, Senegal has set its hopes on fossil fuel export revenue to help fund its plans to become an emerging economy by 2035. Senegal is actively seeking investors to help develop its offshore oil and gas reserves – both …
WHAT DOES the International Monetary Fund have to do with land degradation? On the face of it, nothing. But in reality, quite a lot. A degraded landscape in an increasingly integrated world is the end-product of a long chain of economic processes. Debt leads to debt repayment, which in turn …
ALTHOUGH the tulip originated in southeast Asia, the tiny European nation of Holland has transformed the flower into both a national symbol and a major foreign exchange-earner. Between March and May every year, when the tulips bloom, thousands of tourists rush to take in the sight of the rainbow colours …
MALAYSIAN exports of palm oil to the US are on the rebound. They shot up to 200,000 tonnes in 1992 -- double the 1989 level -- in the wake of a counter-offensive against propaganda that saturated fat from palm oil could induce heart failure. In 1987, the American Soyabean Association …
PROPRIETY demands India's participation in the final round of the GATT negotiations on the Dunkel Draft (DD). A multilateral system of trade and technology transfer arrangements has its own set of advantages and India must help in the foundation of an equitable, transparent and efficient mechanism for the future. A …
THE FEAR of losing markets has finally made Indian carpet exporters fall in line with a move to regulate child labour, which is prevalent extensively in carpet-making and some other industries. After a prolonged period of disagreement, the All India Carpet Manufacturers' Association dropped its insistence on "self-certification" and there …
The proposed amendments to the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act of 1986 seek to: • Regulate or prohibit child labour in all employment sectors. • Empower executive magistrates to prosecute in cases of Child Labour Act violations to avoid delayed judgements. • Make violations of the Act a cognisable …
EVEN AS Japanese computer firms plan to shift production of their personal computers to Taiwan in order to reduce costs, Microsoft Corp of the US has launched a Japanese version of its Windows 3.1 software package in an effort to dominate the world's second-largest personal computer (PC) market. This is …
Indian-made autorickshaws may be taken off roads in Kathmandu as a pollution-control measure. Vehicular exhaust fumes from automobiles get trapped in the bowl-shaped Kathmandu valley, which is surrounded by high hills. Air pollution has reached such high levels, the authorities have been forced to undertake a study to identify short- …
THE INTERNATIONAL aid organisation, Oxfam, wants Western governments to evolve a Marshall plan to tackle the problem of poverty in sub-Saharan Africa and prevent 9 million people in the region falling below the poverty line each year. The organisation suggests writing off much of the region's external debt, which amounted …
FEARS that oil demand would decline because of a US-proposed energy tax have been expressed by delegates at a meeting of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). The Clinton administration had proposed the tax in an effort to reduce emission of greenhouse gases. OPEC representatives are worried that the …
KERALA'S coastal waters have become a battleground, putting traditional fisherfolk, who don't have an alternative vocation, against operators of mechanical monsters looking for quick profits from the sea. Linked closely with the dispute is the fate of the marine ecosystem. Conflicts between traditional and mechanised fisherfolk take place all along …
WHILE the European Community has rejected vehement French demands for a ban on the import of cheap fish primarily from Russia and other non-EC countries, it has agreed to monitor fish exports from these countries more closely. France -- one of the biggest fish consumers in the EC -- had …
INEXPENSIVE and plentiful Himalayan hydroelectric power remains a dream, with Nepal's total installed capacity standing at only 250 MW. Most Nepalese lack electricity and those linked to the grid suffer periodic power cuts. However, judging by a recent seminar in Kathmandu on Cooperative Development of Himalayan Water Resources, turning the …
Proposals to promote industrialisation in ecologically fragile but genetically rich areas such as the Himalayan states and the island territories have drawn equal flak from both environmentalists and environment and forest ministry officials, who say they will take the issue up with the Planning Commission. The five-year tax holiday lure …
"IMPORT for export" is the call of Manmohan Singh"s newest budget. The duty on project imports in many areas, including mining, power and petroleum refining, has been cut to 25 per cent and to encourage technical upgradation of the capital goods sector, it has been lowered to 35 per cent. …
THE BUDGET gives only marginal, if any, benefits to public-funded research and development, though it opens the door to private funding of this sector. The overall S&T; budget of Rs 3,903 crore is 19.6 per cent more than the revised estimates for 1992-93. Only a few departments, such as the …
"THE SENSE of crisis is behind us," proclaimed Manmohan Singh, presenting the annual Union budget -- his third -- in Parliament. The clarion call of confidence with which Singh put forth his intention to liberalise and globalise the Indian economy confounded both supporters and detractors. Indeed, the finance minister seemed …
FINANCE Minister Manmohan Singh has presented a budget that seeks to push the economy from stabilisation to growth, through structural adjustments. In order to give a boost to exporters, he has moved from partial to full convertibility and reduced customs duties on imports. To ensure there is no resulting threat …
WHEN GOD forbade Adam and Eve from eating the apples from the Tree of Knowledgehe probably had environmental interests in mind. But Eve couldn"t resist the temptationand neither could Adam. Too bad. The price for their folly is still being paid. The Indian governmenttooit seemscan"t fight temptation. Encouraged by successes …
PAMPERING APPLES Subsidies for apple growers in Himachal Pradesh, 1985-86 to 1990-91. Rs (in crores) HORTICULTURE DEPARTMENT Medicines against scab disease Foot sprayers Power sprayers Insecticides Transport of timber from outside the state 4.06 0.18 0.41 0.17 1.05 FOREST DEPARTMENT Concessional timber for packing crates 47.32 HPMC Concessions on cartons …
