-Livemint.com If crude oil prices surge on tensions in West Asia, our import bill could soar India’s December trade figures deepen concerns about the health of our economy. Official figures show that merchandise exports dipped 1.8% from a year earlier to $27.36 billion, marking the fifth straight month of decline. A consolation is that Imports fell by a larger 8.8%, helping narrow the trade deficit. But the relief could be temporary. If...

-PTI * Mahathir said Malaysia may now need to find another solution after the boycott of its palm oil by Indian palm oil refiners and traders * India, the world's largest importer of vegetable oils, buys nearly 15 million tonnes annually KUALA LUMPUR: With India restricting the import of refined palm oil that has hit Malaysia, Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad on Tuesday said he was concerned about it but that would not stop...

-The Hindu While opening up the coal mining sector, the govt. must protect the interests of Coal India The Centre’s decision to liberalise norms for entry into coal mining and relax regulations on mining and selling coal in the country is significant in many respects. Amendments to two legacy Acts through the Mineral Laws (Amendment) Ordinance 2020 cleared by the Cabinet on Wednesday will free the sector from restrictions that were inhibiting...

-The Telegraph Without simultaneous steps to raise productivity, passive acceptance of lost competitiveness has shaped India's approach India’s last-minute withdrawal from the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership agreement has elicited much commentary. That it happened after exciting positive signals from senior government functionaries amidst vociferous opposition by noted lobby groups surprised all. A sizeable segment, however, backs the retreat, noting India’s current economic situation and low competitiveness to describe it as economic and...

-The Indian Express Warning signs across FMCG, tractors & 2-wheelers, gold, real rural wages THE GOVERNMENT Friday claimed that a significant divergence in levels of consumption and direction of change prompted it to withhold the findings of the survey on household consumption expenditure for July 2017-June 2018. But all major indicators of rural demand suggest the situation has only worsened since the beginning of financial year 2019-20, and the economy is...