From saving girls to training artisans: Kolkata's 'Nexus of Good' showcases inspiring work
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An organization works for women's empowerment, making rural-road savvy ambulances, clean drinking water for people and works against trafficking of women from the teagarden belt of Alipurduar. PRISM, the organization, was instrumental in recently stopping trafficking of 56 young girls, who were lured from the tea-garden belt, for jobs and rescued by police following action by this organization.Nita Dhar told ET the stories about how post-pandemic, the economy of the teagarden belt of Alipurduar has suffered leading to increased trafficking of women. PRISM works in close coordination with District Magistrate, SDO, CMOH and Gram Panchayats in North Bengal. KADAM HAAT is another organization which trains artisans and helps them get market access. The organization has already trained 10,000 artisans across the country and has commercialized it. The products are available and the artisans get benefit of the market linkages. Mirnal Jain, young founding member, who is 26, and COO of KADAM HAAT, said that he will make the organization a global brand in next five years and train 30,000 more artisans from all across the country.Jain said that he sees the artisans as 'micro-entrepreneurs' doing handmade work which has become popular nationally.Anondolok, another organization, works for the homeless and has been serving people for the last 33 years from North 24 Parganas district's Badu.These three organizations did the storytelling of empowerment and positive work, as part of a programme of the Kolkata chapter of ' Nexus of Good ', a concept floated by former IAS Anil Swarup, which promotes positive work and developmental ideas. Swarup believes in building a 'Nexus of Good' movement by 'identifying, appreciating, propagating and replicating good work'.Swarup said that taking inspiration from KADAM, the idea can be replicated in other organizations and it can develop as a sustainable model . 'KADAM is truly remarkable and the model can work in many other organizations. PRISM is also doing wonderful work while Anondolok was another example of good work.' Kolkata chapter was formed recently and today was second meeting of the chapter of 'Nexus of Good'.
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Hindustan Times
a day ago
- Hindustan Times
US tariff imposition is terrible, but India has done well to resist: Trade expert
The US imposition of 25% tariff is `terrible' and India has done to stand up to Donald Trump's bullying and calling the US bluff, says a leading US trade expert. US President Donald Trump on Wednesday, July 30, announced the imposition of a 25 per cent tariff on all goods coming from India starting August 1(PTI/File) ``India could have fared a lot worse if it had given in to US pressure to open its agriculture and dairy industries, which is America's principal interest. To that extent, the 25% tariff is along expected lines, Biswajit Dhar, told this reporter, adding that 'India sensibly shielded its agricultural and dairy markets from American access. Had we caved, the harm would have been much worse.' He said that India must keep its small and marginal farmers in mind and their interests could scarcely be ignored. ``No trade deal can be so one-sided,'' the trade expert said. Dhar also said that the threat to impose tariffs on India's import of Russian oil ratcheting up the pressure on New Delhi, is unacceptable. ``The US has no business telling India how it should manage its relations with other countries. It is a direct impingement on India's sovereignty," Dhar said. "What is most objectionable is the manner in which the US President cites what kind of trade relations will have with other countries," he said. "First, you said you played a part in ending the India-Pakistan conflict. Now he is going even further. India cannot be led by Trump," Dhar added. President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday that the United States would impose a 25% on goods imported from India, alongside an additional "penalty" import tax, citing India's significant trade barriers and continued purchasing of Russian oil and military equipment. In a social media post, Trump stated that while India "is our friend", its existing tariffs on US goods were "far too high, among the highest in the World". He also criticised India's "most strenuous and obnoxious non-monetary Trade Barriers of any Country". The US president added that India's procurement of military equipment and oil from Russia had enabled the war in Ukraine. As a result, he intended to charge an additional "penalty" on Indian imports starting this Friday, as part of his administration's revised tariffs on multiple countries. ``What Trump's decision has done is to scuttle, in effect, Indo-US bilateral trade talks, which were proceeding alongside," Dhar said. The US president's comments on social media called into question the prospects of a deal with a key US trading partner just days before his tariff deadline. This move follows Washington running a US$45.8 billion trade imbalance in goods with New Delhi last year, according to the US Census Bureau. India said on Wednesday that it was committed to a fair and balanced trade agreement with Washington after Trump's tariff announcement. Top trade officials have been transiting back and forth between Washington and New Delhi for months in pursuit of a final agreement. "India and the US have been engaged in negotiations on concluding a fair, balanced and mutually beneficial bilateral trade agreement over the last few months. We remain committed to that objective," the Indian government said in a statement. Asked what New Delhi could do now, including imposing counter tariffs as China had done, Dhar said that India needs to wait and watch. ``The kind of tariffs he has imposed on India and other countries, will come back and bite the US,'' he predicted. Asked what the short-term impact of this tariff imposition would be, Dhar said while they will be 'painful' and will have a clear bearing on exports from India, US companies which trade in India would also suffer. ``For instance, the US pharmaceutical industry leverages the Indian pharmaceutical sector for cost-effective production, particularly of generic drugs, which significantly benefits the US healthcare system through lower drug prices and increased access. Indian companies, in turn, find a large and lucrative market in the U.S., especially for generic medications. This balance could be disturbed," he said. US tariffs will also impact its smartphone industry, Dhar predicted. For the first time India has overtaken China as the No. 1 exporter of smartphones to the US, following Apple's tariff-driven manufacturing pivot to New Delhi. India-made devices accounted for 44% of smartphone imports in the US during the second quarter, up sharply from 13% during the same period last year, according to a new report published Monday by research firm Canalys. The total volume of smartphones made in India jumped 240% year-over-year, Canalys wrote.
Time of India
5 days ago
- Time of India
From saving girls to training artisans: Kolkata's 'Nexus of Good' showcases inspiring work
PRISM is combating human trafficking in Alipurduar's tea gardens, while KADAM HAAT empowers artisans through training and market access, aiming for global recognition. Anondolok provides support to the homeless in North 24 Parganas. These organizations were showcased at a 'Nexus of Good' event, promoting positive work and inspiring replication of successful models like KADAM HAAT. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads An organization works for women's empowerment, making rural-road savvy ambulances, clean drinking water for people and works against trafficking of women from the teagarden belt of Alipurduar. PRISM, the organization, was instrumental in recently stopping trafficking of 56 young girls, who were lured from the tea-garden belt, for jobs and rescued by police following action by this Dhar told ET the stories about how post-pandemic, the economy of the teagarden belt of Alipurduar has suffered leading to increased trafficking of women. PRISM works in close coordination with District Magistrate, SDO, CMOH and Gram Panchayats in North Bengal. KADAM HAAT is another organization which trains artisans and helps them get market access. The organization has already trained 10,000 artisans across the country and has commercialized it. The products are available and the artisans get benefit of the market linkages. Mirnal Jain, young founding member, who is 26, and COO of KADAM HAAT, said that he will make the organization a global brand in next five years and train 30,000 more artisans from all across the said that he sees the artisans as 'micro-entrepreneurs' doing handmade work which has become popular another organization, works for the homeless and has been serving people for the last 33 years from North 24 Parganas district's three organizations did the storytelling of empowerment and positive work, as part of a programme of the Kolkata chapter of ' Nexus of Good ', a concept floated by former IAS Anil Swarup, which promotes positive work and developmental ideas. Swarup believes in building a 'Nexus of Good' movement by 'identifying, appreciating, propagating and replicating good work'.Swarup said that taking inspiration from KADAM, the idea can be replicated in other organizations and it can develop as a sustainable model . 'KADAM is truly remarkable and the model can work in many other organizations. PRISM is also doing wonderful work while Anondolok was another example of good work.' Kolkata chapter was formed recently and today was second meeting of the chapter of 'Nexus of Good'.
Indian Express
6 days ago
- Indian Express
India stuck to TRIPS and domestic law in UK deal, says official amid drug access concerns
India has not gone beyond the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) agreement or domestic law in the Intellectual Property Rights (IPR)-related deal with the UK, a senior government official said on Saturday after trade experts raised concerns stating that India had moved away from its conventional position on IPR in the UK trade deal. The 'Working Group on Access to Medicines and Treatment' and trade experts pointed out that the UK deal has provisions tilting in favour of patent holders since they bring the issuance of compulsory licences — a critical tool to ensure access to affordable life-saving medicines — under greater scrutiny and constraints. 'In the IPR chapter, India has not breached the TRIPS agreement and is in compliance with domestic law. Only best practices that do not infringe on domestic laws have been adopted. Sharing of information and several such elements are part of the deal,' the government official said. The Working Group on Access to Medicines and Treatment is a network of patients, activists and professionals working towards access to affordable medicines in India. It said the UK-India FTA provisions on patents tilt the balance in favour of the patent owner and undermine access to medicines. 'There is a progressive movement towards accepting the demands of FTA partners, which is systematically debasing the public interest safeguards available in the Indian Patents Act. Article 13.6, stating the understandings regarding TRIPS and public health measures, clearly places voluntary mechanisms such as voluntary licensing as the preferred and optimal route to promote access to medicines,' the working group said. Biswajit Dhar, a trade policy expert with the Council for Social Development, said that the provisions in the UK deal favouring voluntary licences leave access to medicines in the hands of market forces and undermine the role of the government in facilitating access. 'Further, it also gives a clear signal to potential compulsory licence applicants that they are not welcome. Often, voluntary licences contain onerous conditions on the licensee and fail to bring sharp price reductions compared to compulsory licences,' Dhar said. 'There are also provisions in the IP chapter which can potentially undermine the safeguards preventing evergreening of patents. Though couched in best endeavour language, there is a provision to 'facilitate the sharing and use of search and examination work of the Parties'. The implementation of this provision would lead to the harmonisation of patentability criteria and undermine safeguards against evergreening, such as Section 3(d) of the Patents Act,' said K M Gopakumar, co-convenor of the Working Group on Access to Medicines and Treatment. Compared to the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) IP chapter, this chapter shows further movement towards strengthening the interests of patent holders at the cost of access to medicines. The implementation of these provisions reduces the ability of the central and state governments to fulfil their constitutional obligation on the right to health, the working group said.
