-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...

-TheWire.in In the last five years, India’s exports of agricultural commodities have gone down from $43.25 billion in FY 2014 to $39.20 billion in FY’2019. The run-up to the RCEP leader summit in Bangkok last week was truly amazing. While farmers and trade union activists from both the Left and Right were opposed to India signing the RCEP, the government seemed to be in two minds. Indeed, senior ministers were reluctant...

-Financial Express Economists see no V-shaped recovery after Q2, say any spending cut will hit growth. The economy may be in the midst of a protracted phase of slowdown and the weakness could stretch into the next fiscal, as green shoots of a recovery in key indicators — from industrial production, exports and corporate sales to non-food credit growth — are barely visible. Economists, who were earlier optimistic about a rebound in the...

-The Hindu Business Line “Join the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), but do not ignore your internal market and demand. Ninety per cent of our bad export story is domestic challenges, 10 per cent is external environment or external policy,” says Economist Surjit S Bhalla. Seventy-one-year old Bhalla has a tough task ahead — to make New Delhi’s voice louder at the international forums as he is set to take charge...

-PTI India exports about 3 lakh tonnes of basmati rice to the European Union Indian rice exporters will now have to obtain a certification of inspection from a government agency to ship both the basmati and non-basmati varieties to countries of the European Union (EU). “Export of rice (basmati and non-basmati) to European Union (EU) countries will require certificate of inspection from Export Inspection Council/Export Inspection Agency with immediate effect,” directorate general of...