Non-basmati white rice: IMF 'encourages' India to remove export restrictions
Washington (PTI): The International Monetary Fund has said it would "encourage" India to remove restrictions on export of a certain category of rice, which, it said, would have an impact on global inflation.
The Indian government on July 20 had banned the export of non-basmati white rice to boost domestic supply and keep retail prices under check during the upcoming festive season. This type of rice constitutes about 25 per cent of total rice exported from the country.
There would be no change in export policy of par-boiled non-basmati rice and basmati rice, which forms the bulk of exports, the food ministry had said in a statement.
In the current environment, these types of restrictions are likely to exacerbate volatility on food prices in the rest of the world. They can also lead to retaliatory measures, Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas, Chief Economist, International Monetary Fund (IMF), told a press conference here.
"So, they are certainly something that we would encourage the removal of these types of export restrictions, because they can be harmful globally," he said in response to a question.
The total exports of non-basmati white rice from India was USD 4.2 million in 2022-23 as against USD 2.62 million in the preceding year. Major destinations of India's non-basmati white rice exports include the US, Thailand, Italy, Spain and Sri Lanka.
In order to ensure adequate availability of non-basmati white rice in the domestic market and to allay the rise in local prices, the government has amended the export policy from 'Free with export duty of 20%' to 'Prohibited' with immediate effect.
The IMF in its latest economic update released here on Tuesday projected India's growth rate to be 6.1 per cent for fiscal year 2024, which is slightly up from 5.9 per cent estimated projection for the same period in April.
"India remains an economy that is growing quite strongly. I mean, it's coming down from really a very strong year in 2022, at 7.2 per cent. That was also revised upwards, by the way -- but still slow down, but still fairly strong growth and fairly strong momentum," Gourinchas said.
Later in an interview, when asked about India's rice export ban, Daniel Leigh, Division Chief, IMF Research Department, told PTI that the context is clearly, an environment of declining inflation around the world.
"That's important because then it allows monetary policy to ease up and not to start increasing interest rates, which means currencies move around," he said.
"We see it in the interest of the overall global community to keep that food and energy inflation trend down. Now the challenge is that if we see restrictions in other countries as well as India, we've been very clear that in our view we understand the domestic consideration, but if you see that global impact, then that would go against the reduction in inflation. So our perspective is that such restrictions should be phased out as soon as feasible," Leigh said.
He also said that India's digital public infrastructure is really world class and it is enabling efficiency gains for businesses.
"Really what is great to see is India sharing its experience with the other members of the G20. Under its presidency of the G20, India is helping to spread the understanding and the opportunities and the risks that we need to talk about when it digitises more generally," he said.
The Indian economy, Leigh said, has already been very robust. "But the reforms when it comes to female labour force participation to make it easier for women to stay in the workforce, for the youth to find the kind of training that they need. This is a very dynamic economy. The question is how to maximize the potential," he said.
"India's economy is growing strongly and also inflation is in the range of the central bank target. So those are positive things and the growth forecast itself is for growth of 6.1 per cent this year. This means that basically 16 per cent of the world economy, one in six of the world's economic growth is coming from India," he said,
Referring to the upward revision of the Indian growth projections, Leigh said this is mainly because of what happened at the end of last year. More government investment, more private investment, give it the economy boost and that has a knock on effect for this year, he said.
"Now we do see growth continuing to be above six next year as well, 6.3 per cent and in the medium term about six per cent. This is the kind of above average growth for the region that is really going to help economic well being," Leigh said.
Noting that the IMF expects India's inflation to be at 4.9 per cent and then 4.5 per cent next year, he said the monetary policy action really deserves a lot of the credit for this 250 basis point increase in the interest rate since May of last year.
"There's also though the fortunate decline that all of the countries are benefiting from in food and energy prices globally. This is also driving inflation down," Leigh said.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
MP HC sets up judicial commission to probe water contamination in Indore
Indore (PTI): The Indore bench of Madhya Pradesh High Court on Tuesday set up a commission of inquiry comprising a former HC judge to probe the issue of water contamination in city's Bhagirathpura, saying the matter requires probe by an independent, credible authority and "urgent judicial scrutiny".
It also directed the commission to submit an interim report after four weeks from the date of commencement of proceedings.
A division bench of Justices Vijay Kumar Shukla and Alok Awasthi constituted the commission while hearing several public interest litigations (PILs) filed simultaneously regarding the deaths of several people in Bhagirathpura due to the consumption of contaminated water.
The HC reserved the order after hearing all the parties during the day, and released it late at night.
The state government on Tuesday told the HC that the deaths of 16 people in Indore's Bhagirathpura area was possibly linked to a month-long outbreak of vomiting and diarrhoea caused by contaminated drinking water.
The government presented an audit report of 23 deaths from the current gastroenteritis epidemic in Bhagirathpura before the bench, suggesting that 16 of these fatalities may have been linked to the outbreak of vomiting and diarrhoea caused by contaminated drinking water.
The report, prepared by a committee of five experts from the city's Government Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Medical College, stated that the deaths of four people in Bhagirathpura were unrelated to the outbreak, while no conclusion could be reached regarding the cause of death of three other people in the area.
During the hearing, the high court sought to know from the state government the scientific basis behind its report.
The division bench also expressed surprise at the state government's use of the term "verbal autopsy" in relation to the report, sarcastically stating that it had heard the term for the first time.
The HC expressed concern over the Bhagirathpura case, stating that the situation was "alarming," and noted that cases of people falling ill due to contaminated drinking water have also been reported in Mhow, near Indore.
In its order, the HC said the serious issue concerning contamination of the drinking water supply in Bhagirathpura area allegedly resulted in widespread health hazards to residents, including children and elderly persons.
According to the petitioners and media reports, death toll is about 30 till today, but the report depicts only 16 without any basis or record, it said.
It is averred that sewage mixing, leakage in the pipeline, and failure of civic authorities to maintain potable water standards have led to the outbreak of water-borne diseases. Photographs, medical reports, and complaints submitted to the authorities prima facie indicate a matter requiring urgent judicial scrutiny, the HC said.
"Considering the gravity of the allegation and affecting the right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution of India and the need for an independent fact-finding exercise, the Court is of the opinion that the matter requires investigation by an independent, credible authority," it said.
"Accordingly, we appoint Justice Sushil Kumar Gupta, former judge of the Madhya Pradesh High Court, a one-man commission of inquiry into the issues relating to water contamination in Bhagirathpura, Indore, and its impact on other areas of the city," the HC added.
As per the order, the commission shall inquire into and submit a report on the cause of contamination -- whether the drinking water supplied to Bhagirathpura was contaminated; and the source and nature of contamination (sewage ingress, industrial discharge, pipeline damage etc).
The panel will also probe the number of actual deaths of affected residents on account of contaminated water; find out the nature of disease reported and adequacy of medical response and preventive measures; suggest immediate steps required to ensure safe drinking water as well as long-term infrastructural and monitoring reforms.
It will also identify and fix responsibility upon the officers and officials found prima facie responsible for the Bhagirathpura water contamination incident, and suggest guidelines for compensation to affected residents, particularly vulnerable sections.
The commission shall have powers of a civil court for the purpose of summoning officials and witnesses; calling up records from the government department, hospitals, laboratories and civic bodies; ordering water quality testing through accredited laboratories; conducting spot inspections.
All state authorities involving district administration, Indore Municipal Corporation, public health engineering department and Madhya Pradesh Pollution Control Board shall extend full co-operation and provide records as sought by the commission, it said.
The state government shall provide office space, staff, and logistical support to the commission, it said.
During the hearing in the day, the state government also presented a status report to the court in this matter.
According to reports, a total of 454 patients were admitted to local hospitals during the vomiting and diarrhea outbreak, of whom 441 have been discharged after treatment, and 11 are currently hospitalised.
According to officials, due to a leak in the municipal drinking water pipeline in Bhagirathpura, sewage from a toilet was also mixed in the water.
