The “Strategy paper on Coal Import Substitution” has been prepared as a report of the IMC (Inter-Ministerial Committee). The paper focusses on the present energy mix of the country, domestic coal production, trends and projections, import trends (sector-wise), coal import substitution measures already taken by the Government and most importantly, …
The US Trade Representative (USTR) has filed a formal notice of appeal of a World Trade Organisation (WTO) ruling that held the US import restrictions on shrimp as inconsistent with the country's WTO obligations. The WTO report, issued in April 1998, restricts the import of shrimps harvested with equipment that …
the government of India plans to issue a notification permitting the import of one million tonnes of soybean. The proposal has been cleared by the commerce industry and clearance is awaited from the agricultural ministry. The ministry of environment and forests ( mef ), which is responsible for the biosafety …
eighteen environmentalists have been arrested in Vancouver, Canada, for opposing the logging of some of the remaining pristine rainforest valleys in the Great Bear Rainforests. The uk is playing a major role in forest destruction as it continues to import timber and pulp from British Columbia's ancient temperate rainforests to …
"we are becoming the waste destination of the world," said a senior Indian custom official at a high-level meeting held recently on the issue of hazardous waste imports by India. The comment highlighted the helplessness of those who are meant to protect India from waste imports from its porous 7,500-km …
The Delhi High Court (HQ recently reserved its order on the import of zinc and lead ash skimmings after hearing a marathon argument on a petition filed by the Zinc Manufacturers Association (ZMA). The HC had imposed an interim ban on the import of these two items on April 22, …
SEVERAL Indian voluntary organisations held a demonstration in front of the ministry of environment and forests (MEF) on April 17, demanding that India ratify the Basel convention and stop all imports of hazardous wastes. Greenpeace activists from at least seven countries were present at the demonstration. They later met the …
The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) countries have decided to put up a joint front before the United Nation General Assembly (UNGA) meeting to be held in June this year in New York, to press for the implementation of Agenda 2 1. Agenda 21 is an agreement signed …
ANIL K RAJVANSHI can India's dependence on imported fuels to meet her energy needs be reduced? The answer seems to lie in the creation of energy self-sufficient talukas (administrative blocks comprising about 100 villages) through biomass-based systems of energy generation, as suggested by a recent study by the Nimbkar Agricultural …
drugs containing narcotics and psychotropic substances can now be easily imported, thanks to a new set of guidelines being issued by the World Health Organization (who). The new rules aim to simplify the procedures for the international movement of drugs containing these substances for emergency purposes. They would allow selected …
for almost a decade, indiscriminate import of vehicles from Europe into Nigeria had gone un-checked. Encouraged by the absence of any definite policy, there was mass dumping of all kinds of tokunboh
russia's Supreme Court recently overturned parts of a presidential decree that gave a Russian metallurgical plant carte blanche to import and store spent nucleur fuel. Though Russia's constitution prohibits the import of nuclear waste for storage and disposal, President Boris Yeltsin's ukase , signed in 1992, gave the Gorno-Khimichesky combine …
foreign vessels carrying hazardous wastes are fast turning India into a global dumping ground. Investigations made by the international environmental group Greenpeace and Shrishti, a Delhi-based non governmental organisation, revealed that international waste traders dump toxic wastes here in violation of all local and international laws framed in the Basel …
That the grass seems greener on the other side rings more true for Africans. They have been relying heavily on food imports to combat famine, drought, starvation and malmarition and ignoring native grains, vegetables, and fruits. A report by the National Research Council of the us has revealed that the …
The Supreme Court of India came down heavily on the government for its failure to stop the import of hazardous chemicals. Passing strict orders on the environment ministry on May 10, the court warned that it would declare that the government machinery had broken down if it does not clamp …
RECENTLY, the Supreme Court's deliberations on some cases of environmental defaults indeed came as a breather when the Union ministry of environment and forests (MEF) secretary, N Krishnan, was hauled up by the Court. A division bench comprising Justice J S Verma and Justice B N Kripal, severely castigated him …
THE Indian judiciary has done it again. Taking on the mantle of protecting the environment from further onslaughts, it has issued its most far-reaching order yet - the ban of toxic waste import on Indian shores. The Delhi High Court ordered on April 15, 1996, the ban of toxic waste …
Japan's decision to impose anti-dumping duties of upto 9.9 per cent on cotton yarn imports from Pakistan has enraged Pakistan's cotton-exporting lobby. The decision followed an investigation that revealed that Pakistani cotton was being sold in Japan at between 2.1 per cent and 9.9 per cent below the prices back …
A downturn in rice production has caused a scare in Indonesia. As the country celebFates the 50th anniversary of its independence, a prolonged drought and a marauding pest called the 'brown hopper' are forcing the country to import rice for the third time in 5 years. The major debate now …
Zambia's plans to bring in 1 million tonnes of maize to avoid famine after the 1991-92 southern African drought has come a cropper because the country had no organisation to receive the imported material, according to the Natural Resource Institute which helped manage the imports. Maize shipped from the Americas …
In May, Bangladesh shut its doors on 125 tonnes of milk powder imported from Estonia, alleging high radiation levels in the product. Locked in a wordy duel over the issue are the importer, Danish Condensed Milk (Bangladesh) Ltd and the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission. Customs sources at the Chittagong Radiation …
