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Friday, November 30, 2007

[vinnomot] Proposed India-EU FTA : Differences surface, may be delayed + MORE on Unesco & UNDP Reports

NEWS Bulletin from Indian Society For Sustainable Agriculture And Rural Development
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1. India-EU FTA may be delayed
2. Unesco Report : Indian education story far from complete; target is 85% literacy, achievable only 70%
3. UNDP Report : Montek slams UN development report
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India-EU FTA may be delayed
 
 
ASHOK B SHARMA
Posted online: Thursday , November 29, 2007 at 1919 hrs IST
 
Sharp differences on modalities for the proposed India-EU free trade agreement (FTA) have begun surfacing. It seems unlikely that the proposed FTA would be finalised by 2008, the deadline set by India.
 
Both the parties which met in Helsinki, last year agreed to have a bilateral FTA The EU Trade Commissioner, Peter Mandelson at the 8 th India-EU Business Summit organised in Delhi on Thursday, however, claimed that since a year matters were moving in the right direction. So was the Indian Commerce Minister, Kamal Nath.
 
"We have made positive movement but the watchword remains - ambition. We have reached the slope of the mountain and intend to climb to the top," said Mandelson and added that India-EU FTA would compliment the Doha Round and India would have access to the 450 million European market.
 
"What is important to me is the substance and not the deadline," he said.
 
However describing the bright prospects of the proposed FTA, Mandelson insisted that India make its public procurement policy open and transparent and opt to have a competition policy. Public procurement and competition policy are part of the controversial Singapore Issues, vehemently opposed by the developing countries and which caused derailment of WTO negotiations in the past. Nath when asked to comment assured, "controversial portions of the Singapore Issues will not form the part of the proposed FTA."
 
Mandelson identified manufacturing, services and agro-processing for the proposed FTA. WTO negotiations on manufacturing sector has got locked up in the controversial NAMA draft on the issue of tariff cuts. India needs to negotiate carefully with EU for the proposed FTA.
 
Mandelson said that India would gain in the manufacturing sector with European investment and technology. He said that India had professional skills in the service sector, but lacks infrastructure which can be made good through European investments. He said that India with a strong intellectual capital need not fear a stringent intellectual property regime.
 
When Nath raised the issue of the need to have an innovative agriculture revolution to feed the world, Mandelson said, "We are ready to invest in agriculture and want to see India agriculture transforms itself into a commercial activity."
 
Indian agriculture would have market access in Europe, he said. When pointed out about the subsidy regime and high farm tariff in Europe, he refused to comment.
 
Mandelson who arrived in India after his tour of South East Asian countries and China showered praises for the Chinese Economy and products. Nath was quick to reply saying most of the Chinese products entering India were sub-standard. He took exception to Mandelson terming India as emerging economy.
 
He said, "There is no classification like emerging economy as such. Classification exists like developed, developing and least developed economies. If we are an emerging economy, then you are a submerging economy."
 
He also said Indian companies has contributed to the FDI flows in Europe.
Nath was critical about the World Bank report which said that opening up of Indian agriculture would benefit subsistence farmers and questioned the bank's credibility.
 
He was critical of animal welfare, labour and environment issues raised by the European NGOs and said, "If your NGOs can raise such issues amounting to protectionism, our NGOs can raise issues of subsidies and tariffs and force feeding."
 
Both Nath and Mandelson, however, agreed to work on non-tariff barriers and technical barriers to trade and respective each other's sensitivities. "We are trying to work out the natural synergies between two countries," said Nath.
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Indian education story far from complete; target is 85% literacy, achievable only 70%
 
 
ASHOK B SHARMA
Posted online: Friday , November 30, 2007 at 0129 hrs IST
 
New Delhi, Nov 29 Due to the huge disparities existing between urban and rural areas, India is likely to miss the target of 85% literacy by the end of 11th five-year plan.
 
As per the estimates of United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) the country can achieve at the most 70% literacy, as there is huge gap not only in urban and rural but also between population below and above 35 years of age.
 
But, the ministry of human resource development was quick to refute the Unesco's finding. "Even the NSSO, the most respected survey in the country has stated the literacy has increased substantially in last few years," said AK Rath, secretary school education and literacy.
 
In 2001, the literacy rate had risen phenomenally to 64.84% with a male literacy rate of 75.26% and female literacy rate of 53.67%. The findings are significant, as United Nations has set a goal of education for all by 2015.
However, India is not the only country, which is likely to miss the target. Neighbouring countries, Pakistan and Bangladesh, might also find it difficult to achieve the 'education for all' goal set by the UN for 2015.
 
The UN agency's finding were released at the Unesco's regional conference in support of global literacy here on Thursday to discuss the theme 'Literacy Challenges in South, South-West and Central Asia: Building Partnerships and Promoting Innovative Approaches'.
 
Inaugurating the conference on Thursday, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi said there were countries that were small in size but have literacy rates of more than 90%, while there were also nations that were contributing heavily to world illiteracy.
 
"The three countries of South Asia -- India, Pakistan and Bangladesh -- have to redouble their efforts to reduce illiteracy," she said. Gandhi stressed on the need to achieve the global goals set for ensuring education for all by 2015.
 
"These are ambitious goals. But they must be achieved within the timeframe set for them," she said. Terming literacy a basic human right, she said it was a pre-requisite for social transformation. "It enables people to be aware and assert their rights. It is a force against superstition and bigotry," she said.
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Montek slams UN development report
 
 
ASHOK B SHARMA
Posted online: Tuesday , November 27, 2007 at 2320 hrs IST
 
New Delhi, Nov 27 The Human Development Report 2007 has run into political turbulence with the government faulting its conclusion to reduce total emission to correct climate change as misconceived.
 
Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia said the report, released on Tuesday globally, should look at energy emission per head as a cause for climate problems instead of asking for reducing the total emission made by a country. He said the HDR was "fundamentally misconceived, because it does not address the issue of equity".
 
Responding to Singh's criticism, Maxine Olson, country head of United Nations Development Programme, told reporters the agency did not necessarily endorse the HDR, which was written by a specialised team. Ahluwalia was articulating the position taken by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at the G-8 summit in Germany this June, when India offered to limit its per capita green house gas emissions to that of developed countries. India will be attending the forthcoming climate change summit at Bali, Indonesia next month.
 
The HDR, which tracks the development of the countries on their ability to provide life chances, including education, health and employment has pushed India to the 128th position among 177 countries. The report, titled Fighting Climate Change: Human Solidarity In A Divided World, points out that while steady progress has been made to improve people's health, education and wealth in India, a large human development backlog still exists.
 
China was ranked 81st, Sri Lanka 99th while Pakistan was ranked 136 and Bangladesh was 140 th . Among the Bric countries, India was worst off with Brazil and Russia at a much higher 67th and 70th position, respectively. The top five global rankings went to Iceland, Norway, Australia, Canada and Ireland.
 
Among the large developed countries, Japan led the pack at number eight followed by France at 10 and United States dropping to the 12th slot.
Though the reports notes that HDI and ranking are not comparable across editions of the Human Development Report, due to revisions of data, the low rank by India will be seen as a lack of progress on pushing the benefits of economic development to its poor citizens.
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