-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...

-The Hindu Business Line Kochi: Kerala betel leaf farmers are pinning hopes on the Geographical Indication status received for Tirur Vettila, the unique betel leaf variety from Malappuram district of the State, as the tag is likely to enhance its marketability in Asian markets. Pakistan was a major market for Tirur Vettila till 2016, when the government imposed restrictions by levying additional duties on the merchandise trade between the two countries following...

-The Indian Express Agrarian crisis is an opportunity, for the government that assumes office after elections, to enact a law giving farmers the right to sell any quantity of their produce to anybody, anywhere and at any time. The German obsession with sound currency has been conditioned by the collective memory of the Great Hyperinflation of 1922-23, just as American intolerance to double-digit unemployment and stock market crashes is traceable to...

-Financial Express For this, there is a need to have scientific research and adequate data to establish a case. The Cabinet approved the first Agriculture Export Policy in December 2018, with the aim to double farmers’ incomes and increase agricultural exports to $60 billion by 2022. The policy also focuses on a stable trade regime, diversify exports by products and destinations, and promote perishables and high value-added products. In fact, a sum...

-The Indian Express Demonetisation, coupled with daily limits on cash transactions and fear of being tracked by revenue authorities post the Goods and Services Tax regime, have made traders less inclined to purchasing and stocking up produce during the harvest season. The defining feature of Indian agriculture in the last five years — much of it under the Narendra Modi government’s tenure — has been low prices for farm produce. The accompanying...