Requirements on minimum size, contiguity and vacant stretches to be eased MAT and DDT to stay

The ministry of commerce and industry would soon announce relaxed land-related norms for Special Economic Zones (SEZs) to arrest the slackening pace of growth in these tax-free zones by making certain changes in the SEZ policy. In a major amendment to the policy, enacted in 2006, for the first time the government will change the minimum land requirement across all sectors.

Not only is the mackerel size getting smaller but trawlers are catching mackerel with eggs which means there is no chance for them to reproduce. Rejuvenation of fish is not happening as trawlers fish even during the breeding season.”

In the southern states, large quantities of juveniles fishes are being caught and discarded since they have no commercial value. The economic loss of the juvenile fish by a single trawler in Kerala coast has been estimated at `28 lakhs.

New Delhi India has offered key incentives to exporters to tap the growing demand for clean energy equipment and non-polluting electric vehicles in overseas market, which would help it overcome the rising trade deficit.

The commerce ministry has identified a total of 16 green products including solar power equipment for export promotion after a mid-term review of its 2009-14 foreign trade policy. The list also includes equipment like windmills, bio-mass gassifier, waste boiler as well as electric vehicles.

New Delhi Commerce and industry minister Anand Sharma has mooted a new formula to the group of ministers (GoM) on pharma pricing to keep prices of essential medicines in check.

Two countries to set up joint task force to explore investment opportunities.

Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh on Friday rejected the Parliamentary standing committee's suggestion to delete a clause in the Land Acquisition Bill allowing the government to acquire land for public-private-partnership (PPP) projects.

He said the government would not compromise with the fundamental principles in the Bill, whose thrust is on urbanisation and industrialisation. A similar assurance came from Commerce Minister Anand Sharma, who said his ministry would not allow any compromise on manufacturing and industrial activities as they were a national priority.

India and the United Arab Emirates on Friday discussed the prospects of closer energy ties including more import of oil, which could partly offset declining purchases from Iran, and investment in the downstream sector such as refineries.

While visiting External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna and his visiting UAE counterpart Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan discussed investments in India, officials met on a parallel track to build on last year's 16 per cent increase in import of crude from UAE principalities.

With the Union commerce ministry turning down the demand for declaring tea the national drink, tea associations will seek Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s intervention in this regard.

The Group of Ministers (GoM), headed by Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, to formulate a comprehensive pharmaceutical policy aimed at making essential drugs more affordable to the common man, on M

Says it would prefer basing its estimate on crop cutting method and not bale press method proposed by textiles ministry

The Union ministry of agriculture has rejected the draft Cotton Trade (Development and Regulation) Bill, 2012, proposed by the textile ministry for streamlining output estimates for the industry. The agri ministry says it would prefer to continue basing its estimate on what is termed the crop cutting method and not the bale press method as proposed by the textile ministry in its Bill.