-ThePrint.in Chinese firms have started assembly in India but as yet import telecom parts substantially from home country, govt study shows. New Delhi: India imported $6.3 billion worth of mobile phones from China in 2014, the year Narendra Modi became the country’s prime minister. This number has declined continuously and reached $ 3.3 billion in 2017 according to a study conducted by the Ministry of Commerce and industry. This would suggest that the...

-ThePrint.in DoPT ad for applications gets mixed reactions – some welcome the move but others are apprehensive, say may increase scope for political appointments New Delhi: The Modi government has decided to allow private sector specialists a lateral entry to the crucial joint secretary position in at least 10 ministries and departments, a first-of-its-kind move that has evoked mixed reactions from bureaucrats and politicians. The position of joint secretary has traditionally been...

-TheWire.in Our progress in conserving natural heritage, environmental stability and ecosystem services is measured solely through the lens of tree cover. It shouldn't. India’s non-forest ecosystems are biting the dust in the absence of a holistic conservation policy. In place of the latter, we have a new National Forest Policy that outlines the use of forests in legally binding terms. First drafted by the British to maximise timber production, this policy was revised...

-The Indian Express Raising agricultural exports requires the government to unburden policy of consumer bias. A balance should be struck between meeting the needs of food-insecure consumers and income-insecure farmers. The Agriculture Minister, Radha Mohan Singh, recently tweeted about the government’s resolve to increase the value of the country’s agricultural exports to $100 billion by 2022-23. The Dalwai Committee Report on doubling farmers’ incomes also talked of a similar target. It said,...

-The Hindu Business Line Trade deficit widens as imports rise; exporters worried about future New Delhi: A fall in exports of gems & jewellery, petroleum products, readymade garments and farm products pulled down India’s overall exports (year-on-year) by a marginal 0.6 per cent to $29.11 billion in March 2018. Exporters are worried as several of the sectors that have taken a hit are labour-intensive, which they say is due to liquidity problems. Exports, however,...