This report summarizes the findings of a review aimed at understanding emerging approaches to energy subsidy reform, discerning trends, and identifying major strands of thinking and research in the field, as reflected in major policy and academic journals relevant to the subject. The review was initiated in early 2020 as …
The export of fish and fish products from India is not a post-Independence phenomenon. Fish export statistics are available from mid-nineteenth century onwards. Princely states like Travancore and Cochin had vibrant export trade. Dried fish and prawns, fish oil, shark fins, sea cucumber, fishmeal
Last fortnight I wrote about the different models of water privatisation. Questions continue to haunt me, but let me try and work towards some resolution. Firstly, there is the issue of pricing of water for the relatively rich of the developing world. It is evident that urban and industrial sectors …
the recent discussions on world trade-related issues in Tokyo progressed along expected lines: they came a cropper. Ministers from Australia, Canada, Brazil, India, Kenya, South Korea, the us and the uk could not reconcile their differences over contentious agricultural trade issues during the three-day informal talks in February. The immediate …
the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (geac) categorically rejected for the second time in five months a request by two North-based aid agencies to allow the import of 23,000 tonnes of genetically modified (gm) corn-soya blend into India. Permission was denied because it was felt that the consignment could be contaminated …
Dhanpao village: Two patches of land adjacent to each other. Wheat is sown on both tracts. But while one yields numerous saplings, the other is barren. The reason: organic manure was used in the lush green field to grow ginger before wheat was planted. Lachiwala village: A mound of organic …
An evaluation of the Government of India's NPIC (National Programme of Improved Cookstoves) was undertaken in six states to learn lessons and assess impediments to future stoves programmes. The programmes were assessed on the basis of stove design, consumer satisfaction, capacity for quality control, and the role of subsidies in …
The Spanish government's proposal to end subsidies for renewable fuels has made the country's Association of Renewable Energy Producers (arep) see red. The government feels that the sop should be done away with as certain forms of renewable energy are mature enough to compete in the open market. But arep …
all the three partners in the coalition government of Sweden ratified a new energy policy allowing trading certificates in renewable energy. Under the new system guaranteed investment subsidies for particular forms of energy will be eliminated and replaced by market-based
Excessive farm power subsidies have sent fiscal deficits soaring in most states of India, says a new World Bank study. A glaring example of this largesse leaving states impoverished is Madhya Pradesh (mp). The state doled out a whopping Rs 3,250 crore as power subsidy in 2000-2001. As against this, …
The European Union (eu) has proposed to amend the 40-year-old Common Agricultural Policy (cap). Under the proposal, subsidies will be granted to farmers on the basis of their observing public health, safety and environmental norms. This is in contrast to the existing system wherein farmers receive sops on the basis …
UPDATE Beached! Non-government organisations get the sinking feeling that the wssd will deliver nothing, after the final preparatory meeting in Bali comes to no good "M r Annan, the Earth Summit is sinking,' alarmed civil society groups wrote to un Secretary General Kofi Annan, after the final preparatory meeting to …
the World Food Summit, convened by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (fao) and held in Rome from June 10-13, failed to secure an enhanced commitment to its goal of reducing the number of hungry people from 800 million to 400 million by 2015. What it could just do was to …
There were quite a few adherents to the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture at the World Food Summit. The treaty defines plant genetic resources as any genetic material of plant origin of actual or potential value for food and agriculture. India ratified the pact along …
the recently concluded World Food Summit at Rome was a sorry affair. The aim was to review the progress made since the food summit in 1996 when the world had jointly resolved to halve the number of malnourished to 400 million by 2015. But the report card is shameful. The …
Over the past couple of decades, agricultural research has seen increasing involvement of the private sector in what was almost exclusively the preserve of public-funded institutions. With research taking place in the public sector, there was no problem with sharing technology. The spread of the Green Revolution technology is a …
There is disappointment down under over the us farm bill which has recently become a law. The us bill will provide new subsidies for domestic farmers over the next decade. It raises subsidy rates for soyabean, wheat, corn, cotton and barley. Australian trade minister Mark Vaile says that a dithering …
The reforms to the European Union's (eu) Common Fisheries Policy (cfp) are getting delayed, thanks to intense lobbying from Spain. Now, the reform proposal has been removed from the agenda of the weekly commission meetings. Fishing in Spain has political importance. It receives us $1.2 billion in public subsidies from …
Brazil is set to challenge the controversial us farm subsidy programme. It is likely to file a case with the World Trade Organisation (wto) regarding the farm bill that would deprive the Brazilian soyabean and cotton farmers of more than us $1.5 billion a year in exports while boosting annual …
