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Emergency declared in Pak's Punjab province after Indian missile strikes
Emergency was declared on Wednesday in Pakistan's Punjab province even as all educational institutions closed in the wake of the Indian missile attack.The Pakistan army said that at least 26 people were killed and 46 injured in the Indian strikes launched shortly after midnight on cities in the Punjab province and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).ALSO READ: TRF head Sheikh Sajjad Gul identified as mastermind behind Pahalgam attackPunjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz has declared a state of emergency across the province, a Punjab government statement said here.All security agencies, including Punjab police, have been placed on high alert. Leaves of all doctors and medical staff across hospitals in Punjab have been cancelled.ALSO READ: 'Indian rockets carry more than payloads': PM Modi on space explorationThe statement said all staff have been ordered to report for duty immediately and district administrations in all districts of Punjab have also been placed on high alert.Officers and personnel of all relevant institutions, including Civil Defence, have been summoned, it said.The educational institutions would remain closed on Wednesday, the statement said.ALSO READ: Operation Sindoor: Government calls for all-party meeting on May 8The Pakistan airspace which was closed for all flight operations following the Indian attack is now partially being opened.Indian armed forces early Wednesday carried out missile strikes on nine terror targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir under Operation Sindoor in retaliation for the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22 that killed 26 people.
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The Hindu
an hour ago
- The Hindu
Increase in anti-dumping duty by U.S. on Indian shrimp a cause for concern
Andhra Pradesh has requested the Government of India (GoI) to solve the problem caused by an increase in anti-dumping duty imposed by the U.S. on Indian shrimps from 1.35% to 3.96% with retrospective effect from 2023-24, which entails a burden of ₹600 crore on seafood exporters from the State. Addressing a press conference here on Wednesday, AP Legislative Assembly Deputy Speaker and State Aquaculture Advisory Committee (SAAC) member K. Raghu Ramakrishna Raju and AP State Aquaculture Development Authority (APSADA) Co-Vice-Chairman Anam Venkata Ramana Reddy said Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu requested the Union Ministers of Finance, and Industry & Commerce to resolve the issues faced by seafood exporters in India by diplomatically engaging with the shrimp importing countries, particularly the U.S. He insisted on inclusion of harmonised system codes of Indian shrimp under the exemption list in order to protect the livelihood of lakhs of farmers and workers, and prevent the collapse of the sector that significantly contributed to the Gross State Domestic Product. SAAC recommendations They said the SAAC studied the issues that cropped up after the U.S. imposed the reciprocal tariffs on seafood exports from India, and came up with short, medium and long-term strategies for sustainability of the sector. The short-term measures included a reduction in the input costs such as lowering the power tariffs, waiver of import duties on brood-stock and feed to ease production pressure, waiver of 5% GST on packaged shrimp to unlock local consumption, stabilising farm gate prices, securing access to the European Union (EU) and small markets, enhancing export compliance by ensuring strict implementation of traceability for the sake of reducing export rejections, and leveraging re-export potential by activating fish re-export hubs and streamlining the port clearances. Mr. Ramakrishna Raju said the medium-term strategies recommended were to enforce 100% registration of farms, tackle trade barriers, promote cluster farm management, and expand product lines by incentivising ready-to-eat / cook shrimp for premium global markets. The long-term strategies included achieving brood-stock sufficiency, species and market diversification, and strengthening bio-security institutional reforms quality compliance. Mr. Venkata Ramana Reddy said the department had completed geo-tagging of all the existing 2.07 lakh aquaculture ponds and 3,800 aquaculture business units in the State and assigned 11-digit unique codes. A traceability app intended to create a digital platform with a central dashboard, real-time monitoring and analytics was in the process of development. APIIC Chairman M. Rama Raju was among others present.
Hindustan Times
an hour ago
- Hindustan Times
Indian govt report in 2022 foresaw China rare earth export crisis
As Indian manufacturers are scrambling to deal with supply-chain disruptions caused by China's restrictive policies on the export of rare earth metals, in many of which it has a near monopoly, experts are pointing to an early warning of this — in a 2012 strategy paper prepared by a steering committee headed by the then mines secretary Vishwapati Trivedi after a similar crisis caused after Beijing restricted supplies of the critical materials that are needed in the auto, space and clean energy industries. Also Read: 'China deal done': US to lower tariffs to 55%, allow Chinese students for higher ed Back then, they added, India felt the heat of Chinese squeeze and on August 9, 2011, the government set up an 11-member steering committee to develop a strategy paper on status and availability of rare earth elements (REE) and energy critical elements (ECE). The committee was chaired by the mines secretary and co-chaired by chairman of the Centre for Study of Science Technology (C-STEP). Members included senior officials and experts from the Department of Science & Technology (DST), the Geological Survey of India, the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), the Department of Atomic Energy, the Defence Research & Development Organization (DRDO) and the chairman of India Rare Earth Ltd. Also Read: China can't afford double standards in fight against terror: S Jaishankar The forward of the committee's report titled ''Rare Earths and Energy Critical Elements: a Roadmap and Strategy for India', published in July 2012, said: 'In view of the increased demand of REE and near monopoly of supply from China, there is a need to develop national policies and implementation strategies for ensuring indigenous supply of REE… A Steering Committee was constituted by the ministry of mines with the ultimate intention of preparing a strategy paper for the government, providing short, medium and long term options along with proposals for specific policy & legislative interventions.' Also Read: 'Gratitude to Indian Navy': China on rescue of crew aboard cargo ship which caught fire off Kerala coast The report was blunt about Beijing's approach. 'China has been the major supplier of rare earths all over the world. Even though it has only 37% of global RE resources, it has captured the worldwide market to the extent of 97%. The low cost and efficient production process enabled China to monopolize the rare-earth market, forcing rare earth operations around the world to close down. Indian Rare Earths Ltd (IREL), which was once a leader in export of rare earth compounds had to shut down its operation in 2008,' the report added. 'Over the last couple of years China has imposed restrictions and curtailed its export by over 30% citing domestic demands as the reason. This unexpected decline has restarted rare earth operations once again throughout the world,' the report said. The same thing is happening again. Indian industries are suffering due to shortage of the critical minerals. According to a Reuters report published in Hindustan Times on Wednesday, automobile majors such as Maruti Suzuki have cut near-term production targets because of rare earth shortages. 'Government departments, particularly the ministry of commerce and industry, are holding hectic meetings with industry and other stakeholders to resolve the supply crisis. Government is using diplomatic channels asking Beijing to relax supply curbs for the Indian industries,' one of the people mentioned in the first instance said. The ministries of mines, commerce and external affairs did not respond to an email query on this matter. China's curbs on exports of rare earth materials have been officially raised through diplomatic channels by India, especially in view of the impact on manufacturers of electric vehicles, people familiar with the matter said. The issue reportedly figured in a meeting between Indian ambassador Pradeep Rawat and China's vice foreign minister Sun Weidong in Beijing on June 5. 'China's move was primarily aimed at the US and the impact on India was collateral damage. We are hopeful that the matter will be resolved soon,' one of the people said. It is not clear how China's deal with the US —the two countries reached a framework agreement that will now have to be approved by their respective Presidents —will affect this. The matter is expected to figure in discussions during a visit to India by Sun Weidong, a former Chinese ambassador to New Delhi, beginning on Thursday, the people said. Sun is visiting India to continue discussions with foreign secretary Vikram Misri aimed at normalising bilateral ties following the end of the military face-off in the Ladakh sector of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) last October. 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Hindustan Times
an hour ago
- Hindustan Times
PM Modi lays out governance roadmap for Delhi leadership
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