Forget rivers and dams; groundwater too reaching danger level in Mangaluru

New Delhi, June 27: The Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led union government of India is not ready to stop all imports from aggressive China in spite of mount calls to boycott Chinese products in India.

The Centre is reportedly considering to stop only non-essential imports from the neighbouring country.

However, the Inward shipment in sectors such as automobiles, pharmaceuticals, certain electronics and others will continue until a domestic alternative is found.

“India will gradually move towards import substitution. It will not happen overnight. In the meantime, attention has to be paid on production and job creation. We cannot throttle our industry. There are certain absolutely essential imports. Needless to say, those will keep going,” official sources said.

Sources said that both the government and the industry are in the process of identifying products that can be domestically manufactured in the medium term. There are certain chemicals, automotive components, handicrafts, cosmetics, agriculture items and certain consumer electronics, which can be manufactured domestically in the short to medium term. The government is doing all it can to raise the capacity of domestic industries.

However, there are certain other imports in the automobile and the pharmaceutical sectors which cannot be done away within the short to medium term. Their domestic production at the moment may not be that cost-effective.

The six-crore strong traders’ body CAIT has been at the forefront of such a demand and has launched a campaign to celebrate Indian Diwali this year with a total absence of Chinese goods.

“Ease of doing business, capital availability at lower rates and globally competitive logistics and energy costs are some of the prerequisites that the government should look into to ensure the growth of the domestic auto component industry,” according to Automotive Component Manufacturers Association of India (ACMA) Director General Vinnie Mehta.

Maruti Suzuki Chairman R C Bhargava said, “People who are boycotting Chinese goods have to remember that in some cases it may lead to their being asked to pay more for the same product."

Meanwhile, domestic rating agency Acuite Ratings & Research has analysed the current import portfolio from China and found 40 sub-sectors have the potential to lower their import dependency on China. These sectors contribute to $33.6 billion worth of imports from China and about 25% of these imports can be substituted by local manufacturing without any significant additional investments.

Bengaluru, Feb 19: Karnataka Forest Minister Anand Singh on Wednesday said that there was no criminal case filed directly against him.

When asked about PIL filed in the Karnataka High Court against him, Singh told media: "Some lawyer has filed a PIL against me in the High Court. I cannot stop anyone from filing the PIL."

"I have given my criminal record. There is no criminal case directly filed against me. My name is there in some cases but in 'others category'. We will see what happens," he said.

When asked about Congress leader Siddaramaiah's comments criticising him for being given the forest portfolio, Singh said: "I cannot comment on what he said against me as he is a former chief minister and very senior leader."

"Also the opposition always tries to make allegations against me. That is why he criticised me," he said.

Leader of Opposition in Karnataka Assembly Siddaramaiah on Monday demanded that Forest Minister Anand Singh should either be expelled from the ministry or assigned a different portfolio.

A number of cases are pending against Singh including those registered under the Karnataka Forest Act.

Bengaluru, Mar 24: Eight new positive coronavirus cases were confirmed in Karnataka on Tuesday, taking the tally to 41 in the state, the health department said.

"Till date 41 COVID-19 positive cases have been confirmed in the state which includes one death and 3 discharged," the department said.

According the department bulletin, 37 positive patients are in isolation at designated hospitals and their condition is stable.

Of the 41 confirmed cases, six are transit passengers hailing from Kerala who have landed in airports and being treated in Karnataka.

Among the eight passengers confirmed on Tuesday also three men and a woman are from Kasaragod in Kerala with a history of travel to Dubai and Saudi Arabia respectively.

All the four had landed in Mangaluru, where they are being treated.

The others are: two men, aged 40 and 65, from Uttara Kannada district in Karnataka with travel history to Dubai;

a 56-year-old woman, a resident of Chikkaballapura district, who is a family member and co-passenger of person who tested postive with travel history to Mecca, and a 56-year-old woman, resident of Bengaluru, a contact of another person who has tested positive for the virus,

Among the 41 cases, 24 has been reported from Bengaluru, five from Dakshina Kannada, three each from Kalaburgai and Chikkaballapura, two each from Mysuru and Uttara Kannada, and one each from Kodagu and Dharwad.

All the three discharged patients are from Bengaluru, while one death was reported in Kalaburagi earlier this month, which was the country's first COVID-19 related death.