Daily News - Friday, 28 June 2024

India Keen to Speed up Power Grid Link Talks with Sri Lanka (The Economic Times)

India is accelerating long-standing discussions with Sri Lanka on establishing a power grid link for electricity trading, particularly focusing on renewable energy, with the goal of signing an MoU between the Power Grid Corporation of India and Sri Lanka's Ceylon Electricity Board. This initiative, under discussion for nearly two decades, gained momentum last year as India pursued grid interconnectivity with other countries and a financial analysis by PwC India indicated potential economic benefits for Sri Lanka. The project involves both overhead and under-sea cables, and technical feasibility studies have been completed, with renewed focus stemming from India's broader strategy to strengthen ties with neighbouring countries through energy cooperation.

Sharpen Focus on Education & Health, Experts urge FM (The Economic Times)

In a pre-budget consultation meeting chaired by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, experts and representatives urged for increased focus and budgetary spending on health and education, emphasizing their importance for enhancing ease of living and the economy's productive capacity. They highlighted the need for continuous investment in these sectors despite the pandemic's end and called for better monitoring and timely filling of vacancies in schools and hospitals. The interim Budget for FY25 has already proposed a marginal increase in allocations for health and education, and there are recommendations for significantly raising public expenditure on these sectors to 6% and 3% of GDP, respectively, by FY31.

Budget may raise food subsidy estimate by 9% (Financial Express)

The government's food subsidy expenses are projected to rise by ₹18,000 crore to ₹2.2 trillion in the current fiscal year, driven by the high cost of storing surplus rice, which currently stands at 50 million tonnes, significantly above the buffer requirement. This surplus has led to escalating storage and transportation costs, estimated at ₹16,000 crore for this year, with the economic cost of rice, including MSP and other expenses, at ₹3,975/quintal. Despite efforts such as the open market sale and export restrictions to manage domestic supply and prices, the Food Corporation of India faces space constraints, and with retail rice prices rising by 12.28% in May, the government may need to reassess its strategies for handling the surplus and controlling inflation.

Govt sanctions ₹700 crore for setting up pharma and medtech centres (mint)

The union government has allocated ₹700 crore over five years to establish Centres of Excellence at the National Institutes of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPERs), with ₹243 crore set aside for 2024-25. This initiative aims to boost R&D in critical areas such as medical device manufacturing, bulk drug R&D, and antiviral and antibacterial drug discovery, addressing a significant need for innovation in India's pharma industry amid scrutiny over drug quality. The move is part of a broader strategy under the Promotion of Research and Innovation in Pharma-MedTech (PRIP) scheme, which has a total outlay of ₹5,000 crore over five years, to enhance both public and private sector research capacities, despite prior funding shortfalls identified by a parliamentary panel.

Govt working on export promotion fund for MSMEs (mint)

The union government plans to establish a ₹5,000 crore fund to support exports by small businesses, focusing on first-time exporters with annual turnovers under ₹25 crore. This initiative, potentially included in the upcoming Union budget, aims to set up export facilitation centres at the district level and develop export capacities through skill development for international markets. The fund is expected to enhance the One District One Product (ODOP) scheme and build on existing support structures for MSME exports, addressing the current underutilization of export opportunities among MSMEs, which contribute significantly to the economy but only a small fraction engage in exporting.