Business & Economy : Current Affairs Updates : July 19, 2009

1. Walmart
2. China National Petroleum
3. State Grid
4. US Postal Service
5. Sinopec

1. Full Form: Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority
2. Campa was set up by the Supreme Court in an ongoing public interest litigation (PIL) seeking to preserve forests in the country and reclaim lost forest land in all states.
3. It had asked companies, like plywood companies, and others carrying on non-forest work in forest areas to contribute to a fund to compensate for the damage to ecology.
4. Later the court set up an ad hoc body under Campa to recover money from erring industries.
5. A ‘forest bench’ of the Supreme Court has been passing path-breaking judgments for 14 years. It had earlier banned cutting of trees in several states like Assam and Karnataka, shut down Kolar gold mines, and imposed tough conditions on the Vedanta-sponsored Orrisa aluminum project.
6. Campa has collected about Rs 11,000 crore over five years from entities conducting non-forest work in forest areas.

July 13, 2009 India’s retail trade to touch $590 billion by 2012
Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Jyotiraditya Scindia recently said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha that India’s retail business is estimated to touch $590 billion till 2011-12. The share of organized retail in total retail has grown from 3.3 per cent in 2003-04 to 4.1 per cent 2006-07.
No change in FDI Policy : He also said that there was no proposal to change the foreign direct investment (FDI) policy in the sector government also fully recognizes the need to ensure that small retailers are not adversely affected.

Some memorable Points about FDI in Retail sector in India:

1. FDI is prohibited in retail trading except for single brand, where 51 per cent foreign investment is permitted.
2. Foreign investment up to 100 per cent is permitted under the automatic route in wholesale cash and carry trading.

July 14, 2009 : Banking services through mobiles soon
Minister of state for Finance Namo Narain Meena recently in a reply in Rajyasabha said that banks are exploring the feasibility of using mobile phones for delivering services.

RBI has issued guidelines for mobile banking transactions in the country for encouraging financial inclusion and mobile-based payment transactions. RBI has authorized 17 public sector banks as on June 30 to introduce mobile banking services, enabling customers to carry out fund transfer both intra and inter bank.

July 15, 2009 : Indian marine exports under clouds- Russia Bans Imports
Russia has banned import of Indian marine products. Besides, the European Union — the largest export market for Indian marine products — has also threatened to ban imports from India in the absence of catch certificates.

Apart from this the United States maintains a 0.76 per cent anti-dumping duty on shrimp imports from India. These all factors have put Indian marine exports industry of Rs. 10000 crore under clouds.
What had happened?
In order to enhance imports from India, a delegation from Russia had visited the country in December 2008 and insisted on signing a protocol for doing business with New Delhi. As per Industry people, there was a weak follow up by MPEDA (Marine Products Export Development Authority) and this protocol was not signed.

About India’s seafood exports to Russia:
Total exports in 2007-08 were 4,500 tones, valued at Rs 35 crore (Rs 350 million). This went up to 9,400 tones, valued at Rs 115 crore (Rs 1.15 billion), in 2008-09. This growth was 110 %.

The dogma of catch certificates:

1. Catch Certificate is an strict requirement based on an EU regulation to prevent, deter and eliminate illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing.
2. The regulation clearly states that fishery products shall only be imported into European Community when accompanied by a catch certificate in conformity with the regulation.
3. In India, the catch certificate should be issued by a public/competent authority who has been empowered by a notification issued by the Government of India.
4. The agency should also be empowered to carry out verification of such certificates on request of EU member countries.
5. At present , Export Inspection Council (EIC) is the only designated competent authority to attest the veracity of the health certificates for import of seafood into EU.
6. However, EIC is not legally empowered to issue the catch certificate according to the EU regulations as EIC is not having the infrastructure and personnel to conduct a verification audit of fishing vessels.