New Delhi : India has started a probe into alleged dumping of a chemical, used as an antiseptic and antibacterial agent, from Pakistan, Bangladesh and other countries.
Acting on a joint complaint by National Peroxide Ltd and state-owned Hindustan Organic Chemicals, the Directorate General of Anti-Dumping and Allied Duties (DGAD) has started a probe into imports of ‘Hydrogen Peroxide’ originating in or exported from Bangladesh, Taiwan, Korea, Indonesia, Pakistan and Thailand.
The move is aimed at protecting domestic players in the automobile sector against cheap imports.
In a notification, the DGAD said there was sufficient prima facie evidence of the ‘injury’ being suffered by the domestic industry caused by dumped imports from the countries to “justify” initiation of an anti-dumping investigation.
“….the Authority (DGAD) hereby initiates an investigation into the alleged dumping, and consequent injury to the domestic industry…to determine the existence, degree and effect of alleged dumping and to recommend the amount of anti-dumping duty, which if levied, would be adequate to remove the ‘injury’ to the domestic industry,” it said.
After the probe, DGAD, if needed, would recommend to the Finance Ministry for imposition of the duty.
Hydrogen peroxide has strong oxidising properties and is therefore a powerful bleaching agent that has found use as a disinfectant, as an oxidiser, and in rocketry and in bipropellant systems.
It also finds application in odour control, corrosion control, disinfection/ bio-control, paper and pulp bleaching, therapeutic uses as an antiseptic and antibacterial agent, among others.
The anti-dumping duty is aimed at ensuring fair trading practices and creating a level-playing field for domestic producers vis-a-vis foreign producers and exporters resorting to dumping of goods at below-cost rates.
Commercially, the product is produced and sold in 35 per cent, 50 per cent, 60 per cent and 70 per cent concentration.
Applicants, the DGAD said have submitted that 90 per cent concentration of the product is used by ISRO and the product is not produced by the domestic industry and hence the scope of product under consideration should be restricted and defined as ‘Hydrogen Peroxide (H2O2) below 90 per cent concentration’.
The DGAD said the request of the applicant for restricting the product to 90 per cent concentration could be examined during the course of the investigation and considered at the stage of final finding.
@Agency news
New Delhi : India will be the world’s fastest growing large economy at 7.3 per cent in 2016, improving further to 7.5 per cent in the following year, a United Nations world economy report said today.
“India’s economy, which accounts for over 70 per cent of South Asia’s GDP, is projected to grow by 7.3 per cent in 2016 and 7.5 per cent in 2017, slightly up from an estimated 7.2 per cent in 2015.”
India will be the fastest-growing large economy in the world, said World Economic Situation and Prospects 2016, which was released by the UN here.
The report said South Asia is expected to be the world’s fastest-growing region in 2016 and 2017.
“As in other countries of the region, the macroeconomic environment in India has improved, helped by the sharp decline in the prices of oil, metals and food.
“Consumer and investor confidence has risen even as India’s government faces difficulties in implementing its wide-ranging reform agenda and some economic indicators, such as industrial production, remain volatile”, said the report.
UN report sees majority of the countries in South Asia to see accelerated growth over the next two years on the back of strong private consumption as the main driver of growth, offsetting relatively tight fiscal policies and sluggish exports.
Talking about India, Nagesh Kumar, Economist and Head, UN-ESCAP South and South-West Asia, said using fiscal policy, it can speed up investment in education and infrastructure which will not only boost the growth rate but will also make growth for future.
“Spending on infrastructure, health and education is very low compared to other nations such as China in the region. So there is room to expand. And for that you need fiscal space and you need to look at how to increase revenues.
“The decline in oil prices of course provide some room to offset the burden of fuel bill. So this is the time for India to recheck fiscal efforts and raise revenues and do more spending on some of the social sectors,” Kumar said.
Reiterating Finance Minister Arun Jaitley’s recent statement that India will boost spending on infrastructure and social segment, he said there is a consistency in the broad role of the fiscal policy by the government. .
@ Agency report.
Indore : Mumbai’s Mudit Dani, Siddhesh Pande from Thane and Archana Kamat from Bengaluru will represent India in the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) World Junior Circuit Finals to be played here today.
The three-day event is the culmination of 30 tournaments across six continents from which 16 boys and girls each have qualified. The 32 players in the competition will represent more than 15 countries.
In the USD 36,000 prize money event, with the winner in each category getting USD 3,800, no player would want to settle for anything less than the title and the biggest prize purse – a just reward after a year-long hard work a paddler has put in his fledgling career. Even those finishing 13 and beyond will not go empty handed as they are set to earn USD 462.50, the least from the competition.
Slovenia’s Darko Jorgic and Romania’s Adina Diaconu head the lists of boys and girls, respectively, thanks to their consistent performance in the year gone by.
Without a doubt, the Slovenian, whose potent weapon is the powerful backhand, will be the guy to beat and who can do it better than Korea’s An Jaehyun, who along with Romania’s Cristian Pletea or American Zhang Kai, each of whom have two titles. The Korean won the Slovak and Poland events while Pletea picked the first two titles of the year at Bahrain and the Czech Republic, Zhang in Canada and Portugal. Zhang, a powerful right hander, may well be the dark horse here and is a real contender for top honours.
Among two competitors, Qatari Mohammed Abdulhussein secured one ITTF Junior Circuit Boys’ Singles title during the year as did Japan’s Tomokazu Harimoto, Brazil’s Isaac Zauli and Egypt’s Youssef Abdel-Aziz.
Closely on the heels of Romanian Adina with two titles each are Hong Kong’s Zhu Chengzhu, Brazil’s Bruna Takahashi, the winner of World Cadet Challenge in Egypt, Spain’s Zhang Xuan and Thailand’s Tamolwan Khetkhuan.
But one cannot ignore the presence of Chinese Taipei’s Lin Chia-Hsuan, Pauline Chasselin of France and Romania’s Andreea Dragoman who all have a top-podium finish each like Angela Guan of the US, India’s Archana Girish Kamath, Egypt’s Amira Yousry and Chinese Taipei’s Miyuu Kihara.
Incidentally, Brazil’s Takahashi and Leticia Nakada had competed in Asuncion, Paraguay at the 2014 ITTF World Junior Circuit Finals last year. However, for all the 16 boys it is their first appearance in the ITTF World Junior Circuit Finals.
@ Agency report
Ottawa : Shots rang out at a school in western Canada today, leaving four people dead and several others critically injured . Authorities did not disclose the age and identify of the shooter and victims.
Several witnesses reported seeing a “boy,” who was either a student or formerly attended the school, opening fire inside the building.
“I ran outside the school,” Noel Desjarlais, a Grade 10 student at the school, told public broadcaster CBC.
“There was lots of screaming. There was about six, seven shots before I got outside. I believe there was more shots by the time I did get out.”
The town’s hospital told AFP they were treating the victims for gunshot wounds.
The high school and a nearby elementary school were locked down as police responded.
The suspected shooter was taken into custody after police received an emergency call about “a person discharging a weapon in the community,” RCMP superintendent Maureen Levy told reporters.
“Obviously, this is every parent’s worst nightmare,” said Prime Minster Justin Trudeau.
Trudeau held a news conference in Davos, Switzerland, where he was attending the World Economic Summit, to announce the death toll in the remote northern aboriginal community of La Loche in the province of Saskatchewan.
Trudeau said five people had been killed and two others were in critical condition but a Royal Canadian Mounted Police spokeswoman later revised the death toll down to four.
La Loche students said they heard six or seven shots ring out at around 1:00 pm local time (1900 GMT).
Located deep in Canada’s northern boreal forest, 600 kilometers north of Saskatoon, this town of about 3,000 is particularly isolated and authorities had to send in police reinforcements and dispatch a medical helicopter to airlift some victims to a hospital.
On December 6, 1989, a 25-year-old man opened fire at the Polytechnic School in Montreal, killing 14 people, including 10 female students.
Unlike in the US, shootings are rare in Canada, where firearms are more regulated than south of the border.
@Agency report