Latest news with #DDT
Business Recorder
14 hours ago
- Business
- Business Recorder
DDT scheme has small positive impact on textile exports: World Bank
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's Duty Drawback of Taxes (DDT) scheme had a small positive impact on aggregate textile exports, which masks substantial reallocation across products and induced an increase in exports of products eligible for the highest rebate rates at the expense of non-eligible, and of lower-rebate rate products, says the World Bank. The bank in its 'Industrial Policy under Constraints: Evidence from Pakistan's Export Subsidy Schemes' report, stated that the scheme induced an increase in strategic misreporting at the border for non-eligible products. For each $1 spent on the DDT schemes, only $1.1 were generated as additional exports, the bank added. Business & investment: Shift to higher tariffs restricts exports growth for Pakistan: WB The scheme is considered a key export promotion policy adopted by the Pakistani government for the textile sector, which accounts for 55 percent of total exports. Prior to 2010, the subsidy scheme was implemented intermittently, with extremely limited budget allocations and frequent interruptions in disbursements. At the end of 2014, the government launched a trade policy aimed at boosting textile exports, which involved a substantial increase in the budget allocated to the scheme. Over the period 2017-2020, funds allocated to the scheme reached about one percent of the total federal budget. The scheme targeted specific products and adopted heterogeneous rebate rates across eligible products, the bank added. Analysis of exporters' transactions data reveals that the effects are partially explained by a shift in exporters composition, as entrants are less likely to be specialised in low-rate products while firms that exit the export market are those more likely to be specialised in lower-rate and non-eligible products. The report said that strategic behavior, however, had a small overall impact on recorded exports, and does not explain the larger reallocation. Results have broad implications and suggest that interventions targeted at specific products can lead to unintended reallocations, particularly if firms face capacity or financial constraints. The concentration of the export base into fewer products that increases the vulnerability of exports to product-specific shocks, should be weighed against the small aggregate effect of the scheme when evaluating the overall impact of this intervention, it added. The study combines an event-study approach to exclude the presence of pre-trends with a synthetic control method to estimate the effects of the DDT scheme on Pakistani textile exports. Using product-level data, we show that products in different eligible categories were on similar trajectories before the introduction of the scheme. Synthetic control estimates show that while the DDT scheme had only a small positive overall impact on textile exports, it induced re-allocation across products within the textile sector. More specifically, the policies induced an increase in exports of products eligible for the highest rebate rates at the expense of non-eligible or lower-rate products. The bank stated that targeting export subsidies towards specific products might impact negatively other products, especially in a context where firms face capacity constraints. This could lead to an inefficient allocation of resources, as firms may divert attention and resources from non-subsidised to subsidised products, potentially harming overall export performance. These findings underscore the importance of monitoring the effects of such interventions. A careful assessment of the capacity constraints faced by firms, along with an assessment of the features of the products to target, is crucial in the design of export subsidy schemes to ensure balanced and sustainable growth in the export sector. The report stated that Pakistan has long been implementing measures to support exports. Traditionally, export promotion schemes were limited to five so-called 'zero-rated sectors': textiles, sports goods, surgical goods, leather and carpets. Over the last decade, however, there has been a growing consensus on the need for a level playing field, advocating for wider accessibility of these schemes. Hence, two main modalities have emerged. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
Indian Express
a day ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
Margaret Atwood to Amitav Ghosh: 5 novelists sounding the alarm on planetary collapse
(Written by Anushka Rajvedi) Celebrated annually on June 5, World Environment Day serves as an urgent call to reconsider our relationship with the planet. In an age where the climate crisis has moved from distant possibility to pressing reality, this day is a reminder of our profound entanglement with the natural world. While tree-planting drives and sustainability campaigns are vital, literature offers an equally powerful yet often overlooked avenue for ecological engagement. Stories, poems, essays, and novels compel readers to reckon with environmental degradation, question the status quo, and reimagine humanity's place within the web of life. We bring to you five authors who have used the written word as a catalyst for environmental consciousness. (Source: Margaret Atwood's MaddAddam Trilogy (Oryx and Crake, The Year of the Flood, MaddAddam) is a harrowing exploration of a world ravaged by corporate greed, genetic engineering, and climate breakdown. A Booker Prize-nominated masterpiece, the trilogy interrogates the ethical ramifications of human interference in nature, blending speculative fiction with urgent ecological warnings. Atwood's genius lies in her ability to mirror real-world environmental crises, including biodiversity loss, technological overreach, and societal collapse through a gripping narrative. Her work forces readers to confront a chilling question: if we continue on this path, will our future be one of survival or ruin? Amitav Ghosh, Jnanpith Award laureate, has long critiqued modern literature's failure to engage meaningfully with climate change. In The Great Derangement: Climate Change and the Unthinkable, Ghosh argues that fiction has largely ignored the Anthropocene, treating environmental catastrophe as a peripheral concern rather than a central reality. His novel Gun Island weaves mythology, migration, and ecological upheaval into a narrative that bridges past and present. Ghosh's work is a call to arms for writers and readers alike: storytelling must evolve to reflect the planetary emergency we face. Rachel Carson's Silent Spring (1962) is often hailed as the foundational text of the modern environmental movement. With lyrical precision, Carson exposed the devastating effects of pesticides like DDT on ecosystems and human health. Her work was so impactful that it led to the banning of DDT in the U.S. and the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, Carson's legacy is a testament to the power of science communicated with moral clarity. Silent Spring remains a warning and an inspiration: when knowledge is paired with courage, systemic change is possible. (Source: Bill McKibben's The End of Nature (1989) was among the first books to bring climate change to mainstream attention. A Right Livelihood Award and Gandhi Peace Award recipient, McKibben merges scientific rigor with philosophical introspection, arguing that humanity's domination of nature has reached a point of no return. Barbara Kingsolver, a Pulitzer Prize finalist, masterfully intertwines personal and planetary crises in Flight Behavior. The novel uses the disrupted migration of monarch butterflies as a metaphor for climate change, set against the backdrop of rural America's socio-economic and religious tensions. Kingsolver's brilliance lies in her humanization of ecological disaster—she shows how climate disruption is not an abstract future but a present reality, reshaping lives and communities. Her work is a poignant reminder that environmental justice is inseparable from social justice. (The writer is an intern with The Indian Express.)
Time of India
2 days ago
- Health
- Time of India
In la-la land, all lakes are doing fine
industrial effluents Karnataka State Pollution Control Board water pollution Chandapura Lake Chandapura Lake National Green Tribunal The amount of chemicals in these Vrishabhavathi river, Chandapura Lake shows that industries in the catchment areas of these water bodies are discharging untreated effluent loaded with heavy metals and other chemicals V Ramprasad, lake activist Over the years, multiple sources have confirmed pollution in city lakes owing to the discharge of. However,(KSPCB) begs to report oncontrol status of industries in Bengaluru shows that only one out of over 4,000 industries operating across the city lacks adequate facilities. The rest are either treating their effluent through effluent treatment plants, sewage treatment plants, common effluent treatment plants, or are connected to the underground drainage only industry without an adequate treatment facility is located in the Bengaluru North zone. City-based lake activists and experts say this just proves that agencies are hand-in-glove with to V Ramprasad, a city-based lake activist and founder of Friends of Lakes, Shivapura, Chandapura, Byramangala, and Yarandahalli lakes, along with the Vrishabhavathi river catchment in Bengaluru, are only a few of the water bodies contaminated with industrial effluents.'Pollution of Vrishabhavathi river catchment andin the city due to industrial effluent has also been recognised by the. The amount of chemicals in these water bodies shows that industries in the catchment areas of these water bodies are discharging untreated effluent loaded with heavy metals and other chemicals. There are many industries across the city without adequate treatment facilities. It cannot be just one,' said the National Green Tribunal (NGT), in December, had sent notices to the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) and KSPCB after registering a suo motu case regarding high levels of heavy metals and toxic substances in the Arkavathi River stretch near Thippagondanahalli (TG Halli) was after a water quality analysis conducted by Paani Earth, a city-based non-governmental organisation, on samples collected from multiple points of TG Halli reservoir and Dodda Mudavadi Bridge, located 10 kilometres upstream of the Arkavathi-Vrishabhavathi confluence, showed alarming levels of heavy metals and toxic substances, including mercury, the banned pesticide DDT, cancer-causing polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), and also took up the issue of Chandapura Lake pollution and had rapped KSPCB for its inaction. In an order dated October 10, 2022, the tribunal had directed the Karnataka government to pay an environmental compensation of Rs 500 crore for not maintaining the of this, Rs 141 crore was to be recovered from 12 industries in the catchment area of Chandapura Lake that were discharging hazardous waste into the water body.
Time of India
2 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Plastic pellets from sunken ship mar Kovalam beaches
Thiruvananthapuram: Plastic pellets, known as nurdles, from the containers of the Liberian cargo vessel MSC ELSA 3, which sank off Thottappally in Alappuzha on May 25, have started accumulating on the beaches of Kovalam, where the land juts out into the sea. This has also triggered a kind of foam, and fishermen and stakeholders in the hospitality industry have raised concerns that the state govt has not taken measures to clear them and prevent them from coming to the beach. Plastic pellets and white foam have filled the famed Ashoka Beach over the past two days. As they are difficult to clear, the tonnes of pellets threaten to mar the experience of beachgoers at one of the famous tourism spots in the state. Robert Panipilla of Friends of Marine Life said the "Mukham Kodimana," a piece of land that juts into the sea near Kovalam, would capture most of the plastic pellets as the water current and wind flow is from north to west. He said the pellets were getting washed back into the sea and getting submerged in the sands, which will create trouble in the coming years. Kovalam, meanwhile, is now getting more visitors who want to enjoy the monsoon. "This will create a pollution problem in the coming years. It's unfortunate that the govt is not taking steps to clear the pellets," Panipilla said, adding that they could affect tourists if not prevented. There are environmental concerns as well, as these pellets are particularly hazardous to marine life. "The short-term environmental impacts include ingestion by marine animals as nurdles look like fish eggs and are easily consumed by fish, turtles and seabirds, leading to intestinal blockages and starvation. Nurdles can accumulate in sand and estuaries, suffocating benthic organisms and reducing biodiversity. The long-term impacts include toxic chemical absorption, and they absorb pollutants like PCBs, PAHs, and DDT from seawater, becoming toxic pellets. Over time, nurdles break into micro- and nano-plastics, entering food chains and human diets," marine biologist and Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies (Kufos) vice-chancellor A Biju Kumar said. The pellets were earlier reported to have been found in large numbers along Kochu Veli, Thumba and Vettukad. The vessel, carrying 640 containers, sank around 14.6 nautical miles off Thottappally, and 13 of these containers contained hazardous materials like calcium carbide and hydrazine-based plastics. The state govt earlier declared the shipwreck a state-specific disaster and initiated a comprehensive clean-up operation. An expert panel of specialists in marine science and environmental response was also convened to guide long-term efforts.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Rescue officials stunned after spotting massive wild animal far from its natural habitat: 'Like spotting a fish out of water'
Animal rescuers were stunned after being called upon to save an unusual visitor to California's Central Valley. A California brown pelican was found 70 miles away from the sea, prompting a rescue operation. "Talk about a surprise guest!" said the Fresno Humane Animal Services in a Facebook post. "Pelicans are usually beach lovers, so finding one so far from the ocean was like spotting a fish out of water." According to KSEE, the organization was able to get the animal to safety. California brown pelicans play a vital role in the coastal ecosystem. As top-tier predators, they keep fish populations in check. They also regurgitate enough of their food to enrich local plant life, as Eco Migrations observed. The California brown pelican was listed as endangered in California in 1971, per the National Park Service. This was due to the use of the insecticide DDT in crops being flushed out to sea and contaminating the fish that pelicans ate. DDT caused pelican egg shells to thin and break, but following the ban on the substance in 1972 the situation improved. The "endangered" status placed upon California brown pelicans was removed in 2009. Despite progress, the birds are still facing feeding challenges. Meanwhile, on the East Coast, pelicans may be getting intentionally hurt by humans. The coastal range of the California brown pelican extends up to British Columbia, Canada, and all the way down to Nayarit, Mexico. They generally travel no further than 5 miles inland and rarely go up to 40 miles inland. There are a number of factors that can lead animals to veer this far away from their natural habitat. Sound and light pollution can disorient animals, for starters, while violent weather patterns can thrust them into unfamiliar environments. Additionally, a lack of feeding or mating opportunities in native habitats may push them further afield. Should the U.S. invest in building more wildlife overpasses? Absolutely Depends on how we do it Depends on where we do it Nope Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. Whatever the case, protecting wild habitats can help ensure animals have somewhere they can feed, mate, and live with all the resources they need. Reducing atmospheric pollution and, in this case, seaborne pollution can further protect ecosystems from damage. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
