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, …
AS THE world's biggest per capita consumers of bananas, the Germans are understandably angered by an European Community (EC) proposal to restrict imports of the fruit from Latin America. The EC proposal, which is to come into effect July 1, would tax banana imports from Latin America at the rate …
THE US government says the energy tax under consideration could reduce the US budget deficit, cut oil imports and meet environmental goals. Nevertheless, the controversy it has sparked is heating up and US oil companies are challenging the levy. The tax is to be based on the heat content measured …
THE BRAZILIAN government is considering winding up its Proalcohol project, set up in 1975 to counter the petrol crisis by developing an alternative fuel for automobiles, ironically because the price of "dirty" fuel petrol has fallen. About 4 million cars have been modified to run on ethanol since the Brazilian …
FEARING a proposal to withdraw customs duty concessions on pesticides will result in price increases, farmers' organisations in north India are heading for a showdown with the government and pesticide manufacturers. The proposal to end customs concessions relates to certain pesticides that are also produced in India. The farmers contend …
"EVERY year, there is the same anarchy," moaned Shailendra Biswal, a 38-year-old physicist from Utkal University. Biswal was among several hundred delegates trying to obtain details of lodging and transport at the University of Goa on January 2, the eve of the inauguration of the 80th Indian Science Congress at …
IN A SHIFT from Japan's traditional eating habits, meat and dairy products have now overshot rice production as the Japanese take to a more westernised diet. The Japanese ministry of agriculture, forestry and fisheries recently reported that as compared to 25 years ago, the average Japanese now eats 40 per …
Malaysia is gaining support to fight industrialised countries who are pressing for a ban on logging in the tropical rainforests. Its partners in the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) have supported its stand and agreed to dissuade other countries from following Austria's lead and imposing mandatory labelling on tropical …
Australia is regretting buying a pig in a poke. A large quantity of peat moss it had imported from Russia has been found to be dusted with irradiated caesium (a soft, silver-white element of the alkali metal group, found in minerals) from Chernobyl. The moss was tested only after it …
THE GENERAL degradation of Goa's environment is symbolised by the damage being done to its khazan lands, a unique, coastal, estuarine agro-system that plays a crucial role in the state's coastal ecology. Though Goa must import foodgrains to support its 12 lakh population, agriculture is the most important occupation in …
IN EUROPE, a ban on toxic waste movement between countries has led to a hot debate on free trade. Concerned by a legal ruling stating European Community (EC) legislation which bars governments from imposing prohibitions on trans-border passage of merchandise, many states have announced bans specifically relating to wastes. These …
THE STAKES are high in the rifampicin (a new anti-TB drug) sweepstakes. Lupin Laboratories presently dominates the market, which, according to the ministry of chemicals, did a business of Rs 236 crore during 1992-93. To break the monopoly, which enables Lupin to charge as much as 15 per cent more …
COUNTRIES on the Pacific rim have asked Japan to use an ocean route well away from land when it begins importing plutonium by sea from France later this year. These include Indonesia, Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and Micronesia. Japan intends to import 30 metric tonnes …
WHILE the developed world gears up to phase out ozone depleting gases by AD 2000, Mafatlal's Navin Fluorine Industries has set up India's first halon-1211 manufacturing plant, in Surat. Halons are major ozone destroyers. Under the Montreal Protocol, industrialised counti-les have agreed to phase out ozone-depleting gases completely by AD …
India’s solar power policy is now entering round two. And there is much that needs to be reviewed and reworked as the business of solar energy has seen massive turbulence in India as well as globally. In the first phase (2010 to 2013) of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission …
Nigerian Minister for Agriculture, Akinwunmi Ayo Adesina believes it is his job to ensure Nigerians eat food grown in Nigeria – and he’s determined to overcome the obstacles to Nigerian self-sufficiency in food production. He has also provoked a debate - on a globalized planet should countries like Nigeria really …
