Economy

The Suez Canal, known as the backbone of world trade, is one of the main sea crossings in the world. This makes up 12% of the world's total merchandise.

In such a situation, after the cargo ship going from China to the Netherlands got stuck on the morning of Tuesday, 23 March 2021, it is expected to have a serious impact on the business of the world.

This cargo ship has blocked the way for the rest of the ships.

Niels Madsen, vice president of products and operations at Denmark's consultancy firm C-Intelligence, predicts that if this ship is stuck for 48 hours, the already serious condition will slowly deteriorate.

He told the news agency Reuters that if this happens for three to five days, then it will start to have a very bad effect on world trade. The most common is the possibility of inflation rising due to the halt of movement of goods.

Why is the Suez Canal so important?

1) An important link to unite east and west

The Suez Canal is a 193 km long canal located in Egypt that connects the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea. It is the shortest sea link between Asia and Europe. This waterway crosses the Svez isthmus (Strait) in Egypt. This canal consists of three natural lakes.

The importance of this canal, active since 1869, is that ships to the eastern and western parts of the world first used to sail on the southern tip of Africa via the Cape of Good Hope. But after the construction of this waterway, ships began to sail through this part of West Asia to Europe and Asia.

According to the World Maritime Transport Council, the ship connecting Asia and Europe has to cover a distance of nine thousand kilometers after the construction of this canal. This is 43 percent of the total distance.

2) daily value of 9.5 billion

According to consultancy firm Lloyds List, on Wednesday, 24 March 2021, 40 cargo ships and 24 tankers were stranded waiting to cross the canal.

Dry products such as grain, cement are loaded on these vessels. At the same time, petroleum products are filled in tankers.

Eight ships carrying livestock and water tankers are also stranded, according to the news agency Bloomberg.

Given the condition of the Suez Canal and its importance, it is called one of the few 'choke points' of the earth. Therefore, the US Energy Agency considers the Suez Canal to be essential for global energy security and the supply of all types of goods.

According to an estimate, about 19 thousand vessels from the Suez Canal carry 120 million tonnes of cargo every year. The Lloyds List believes that $ 9.5 billion worth of freight ships pass through this canal every day. Of these, about $ 5 billion goes to the west and $ 4.5 billion goes to the east.

3) Very important for supply chain

Experts say that this channel is very important for the supply of goods in the world. So its blocking can have serious consequences.

C Intelligence analyst Lars Jensen says the first problem may be in port congestion.

He said, "If we assume that all the ships are full. So in terms of 55 thousand TEUs (capacity measuring unit of container), within two days, a total of 110 thousand TEUs of goods going from Asia to Europe will be trapped. And as soon as the jam is over, all these ships will arrive at the European ports simultaneously, so that the load there will also reach the peak. ''

Jensen estimates that within a week we will have to see tremendous pressure on European ports. In his opinion, due to this problem, the supply and price of every goods sold in the shops is feared to be affected.

4) Risk of rising inflation

Salvatore Mercogliano, a marine affairs expert and history professor at Campbell University in North Carolina in the US, believes that the problem could have serious repercussions on world trade.

In a conversation with the BBC, he said, "With the closure of the canal, cargo ships and oil tankers are unable to deliver food, fuel and finished goods to Europe." Due to this, no goods are being sent from Europe to the far east.''

BBC economic correspondent Theo Legatt said, "The Suez Canal is critical to the transportation of petroleum and liquid natural gas, as fuel is transported from the Middle East to Europe."

Lloyds List Intelligence reported that 5,163 tankers had passed through the canal last year. Due to this, about two million barrels of oil were transported every day.

According to the US EIA, the Suez Canal and the Sumed Pipeline (from Alexandria in the Mediterranean Sea to the Suez Bay) carry nine percent of the total oil traded by the sea and eight percent of the liquid natural gas.

Given the importance of the canal and the current problem, on Wednesday, March 24, 2021, oil prices increased by more than six percent. However, it declined on Thursday, 25 March 2021.

ING Bank believes that if this blockage is prolonged, it is more likely that buyers will have to turn to the cash market to secure oil supplies from elsewhere.

The containers must also decide whether to wait for it to be emptied or go through the 'Cape of Good Hope'. According to ING Bank, freight will be delayed if either of the two options are chosen.

In the opinion of experts, the real effect of the existing problem will be revealed only with time.

"The problem will probably be weak and short-lived," Bionar Tonhaugen of the Ristad cabinet told news agency AFP. But if this obstruction continues for a long time, then it will increase inflation. This effect will last for a long time.''

Effect on other goods

"There are millions of dollars worth of goods on other ships," Ian Woods, a London-based lawyer for Clyde & Co's maritime affairs, told NBC. If the canal is not normalized quickly, the ships will go by other routes. This means more time and more cost. And this will ultimately be recovered from the consumers only.''

Leggett, a BBC expert, said it was a nightmare.

He said, "This has shown what can go wrong when new generation big ships like the Ever Given pass through the narrow canal."

However, parts of the canal were widened in 2015 as part of the modernization plan. Yet it is very difficult to navigate. Not only this, more serious accidents are expected in the future.

In India, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the General Budget for the year 2021-22 on Monday, 01 February 2021. The health budget was increased by 137%. A proposed allocation of Rs 2,23,846 crore was made for the health budget. FDI limit in insurance companies will be increased from 49% to 74%. Life Insurance Corporation of India IPO will come in the year 2021-22. People 75 years and above will be exempted from filing income tax returns.

Self-sufficient packages increase the pace of structural reforms: Nirmala Sitharaman

India's Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said that "PMGKY, the three self-sufficient packages and subsequent announcements made by the government to support the most sensitive sections, were in themselves like five mini budgets." Self-sufficient packages increased our pace of structural reforms ''.

India is giving COVID-19 security cover to more than 100 countries: Nirmala Sitharaman

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman while talking on COVID vaccine has said that the Government of India is providing relief to not only the citizens of India but also people of 100 other countries from COVID 19.

He said, "India currently has two vaccines available with the help of which Indian citizens have been started to provide security cover." With this, more than a hundred countries have also been given protection from COVID-19. It is a relief to know that two other vaccines are going to be available soon.''

New general budget rests on six pillars: Nirmala Sitharaman

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said that "the budget of 2021-22 rests on 6 pillars". The first pillar is health and welfare, the second - physical and financial capital and infrastructure, the third - inclusive growth for aspirational India, communicating innovation in human capital, fifth - innovation, research and development, sixth pillar - minimum government and maximum governance.''

Water life mission to be launched: Nirmala Sitharaman

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in her budget speech that "Jal Jeevan Mission (Urban) will be launched, its objective is to provide universal water supply to 2.86 crore domestic tap connections in 4,378 urban local bodies".

64,180 crores to be spent on self-sufficient healthy India scheme: Nirmala Sitharaman

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said in her speech, "A new scheme of the Center will be launched the Prime Minister's Self-Reliant Healthy India Scheme, which will cost about 64,180 crores in 6 years."

25 thousand crores to be spent on road construction in West Bengal: Nirmala Sitharaman

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has announced in her budget speech that 675 km of highway will be constructed in West Bengal at a cost of Rs 25000 crore.

2.23 lakh crore rupees to be spent on health sector: Nirmala Sitharaman

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said that in the year 2021-22, health and family welfare will cost 2,23,846 crore.

In addition, he has said that "in the year 2021-22, Corona has provided Rs 35,000 crore for the vaccine. He is committed to provide funds if needed even further.

Disinvestment of State Governments Undertaking will be allowed: Nirmala Sitharaman

Nirmala Sitharaman said that "The deposit insurance cover was increased from 1 lakh to 5 lakh. For this I will propose to amend the law of 1961. This will benefit the depositors of those banks which are under stress.''

"2217 crore was allocated to combat air pollution."

1,10,055 crore has been proposed for the Railways. National Rail Plan 2030 is ready. It has a focus on Make in India. The Western and Eastern Freight Corridor will be ready by June 2022.

"There is an additional provision of 1,18,101 crore for the Ministry of Road Transport".

Several announcements were made under the self-reliance scheme. The government has allowed this policy. This will pave the way for disinvestment in PSUs. The policy to be implemented in this direction is given in this budget. State governments will also be allowed to disinvest in their ventures.''

LIC IPO to come in 2021-22: Nirmala Sitharaman

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said that "Life Insurance Corporation's IPO will be brought in the year 2021-22, for which we are making necessary amendments in this session".

FDI in insurance companies to be increased from 49% to 74%: Nirmala Sitharaman

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in her budget speech that a provision has been made to increase FDI in insurance companies from 49% to 74%.

He has also said that one crore more beneficiaries will be included in the Ujjwala scheme.

Government continues to double farmers' income: Nirmala Sitharaman

The government is set to double farmers' income by 2022.

63 thousand crores was spent on the purchase of paddy in 2013-14, which has been increased to 1 lakh 45 thousand crores. This year, this figure can reach 72 thousand crores. 1.2 crore farmers benefited from it last year, 1.5 crore farmers have benefited from it this year.

The government spent Rs 33,000 crore on wheat in 2013-14. 63 thousand crores in 2019 and now it has increased to 75 thousand crores rupees. 43 lakh farmers have benefited from this in 2020-21.

In the case of pulses, Rs 236 crore was paid in 2013-14. This amount had increased to Rs 8,285 crore in 2019-20 and now in 2020-21 this amount has reached Rs 10,530 crore, which is 40 times more than in 2013-14.

The amount received by cotton farmers has increased significantly. It has now increased to Rs 25,974 crore (as on 27 January 2021) from 90 crore in 2013-14. Its details are given in Annex IV.

To provide adequate loans to farmers, we have increased the target of agricultural credit to Rs 16.5 lakh crore in the financial year 2022. Our focus is to provide more credit in the field of animal husbandry, dairy and fisheries.

Hundred new military schools to be opened in India: Nirmala Sitharaman

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said that hundred new Sainik Schools will be opened in India with private sector partnership. With this, a Central University will be opened in Ladakh.

The Ujjwala scheme benefiting 8 crore families will continue. 1 crore more people will be benefited. In the City Gas Distribution Network, we will add 100 more districts in the next three years. The gas pipeline project will be extended to Jammu and Kashmir.

A new framework will be prepared in the energy sector: Nirmala Sitharaman

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said that a framework will be prepared in the energy sector in which consumers will be given the option to choose from more than one supplier company.

Hydrogen energy mission to begin: Nirmala Sitharaman

The Union Finance Minister has announced that it is proposed to start a Hydrogen Energy Mission in the year 2021-22, under which hydrogen can be generated from green power sources.

7 textile parks to be set up in three years: Nirmala Sitharaman

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said that the Mega Investment Textiles Park Scheme should be launched in addition to the PLI scheme to make the textile industry globally competitive. With this, 7 textile parks will be set up over a period of 3 years.

Revised Custom Duty from 01 October 2021: Nirmala Sitharaman

GST has been four years. Several measures have been taken to make it easier. Monthly payments, inputs, pre-filled GSTNs, increased capacity, tax evaders are being caught by the system of AI, a lot of recovery in a few months.

As the President of the Council, I assure that it will be made more convenient. We have made many changes in the custom duty regime.

The utility of 80 schemes that were overhauled have been removed. Exempt exemptions over 400 will be reviewed. Revised Custom Duty will be introduced from 1 October 2021.

Some important proposals of Nirmala Sitharaman in Budget-2021

The electronic, mobile industry has grown very rapidly within the country. Some discounts are being eliminated. Some of its parts will be brought under the tax net.

The rise in iron and steel prices has caused hardship to many sectors. I declare concessions in many duties. Concessions on some steel and ADD and CBD are being eliminated.

Fabric related proposal: BCD is being reduced to 5% on nylon chip, nylon fiber. In this, the system related to chemicals is also being improved.

Gold and Silver: Gold and silver prices have increased significantly in the country. The government is going to reduce its duty.

Capital Equipment in Auto Part: Concession on Tunnel Boring Machine is being abolished. Several steps are being taken to promote MSMEs.

The recent report of an internal working group constituted by the Reserve Bank of India in India remains a matter of discussion.

This Internal Working Group (IWG) was formed to review the existing ownership guidelines and corporate structure for private sector banks in India.

The recommendations of this Working Group remain a cause for discussion as it suggested that after necessary amendments in the Banking Regulation Act, 1949, large corporate / industrial houses may be allowed as promoters of banks.

This means that large corporate houses like Adani, Ambani, Tata, Piramal and Bajaj can take a license for the bank and if they are found suitable, they can also open a bank.

It cannot be argued that the Indian banking system is very weak.

The report of the Internal Working Group states, "At the time of India's independence in 1947, commercial banks (many of these banks were under the control of business houses) were lagging behind in meeting social objectives. Therefore, the Government of India nationalized 14 large commercial banks in 1969 and 6 in 1980.

"However, with the introduction of economic reforms in the early nineties, the role of private banks has become increasingly accepted."

The report also considers the fact that "the Indian banking sector has grown significantly in the last few years but the total balance sheet of banks in India is still less than 70 per cent of GDP, which is equivalent to the global counterparts." Much less than that for a bank-dominated financial system. '

This means that Indian banks are struggling to meet the growing demand for finance of a developing economy.

Currently State Bank of India is the only bank in India that is a part of the top 100 banks in the world. The report states that private sector banks are outpacing public sector banks as they are more efficient, profitable and risk takers.

According to the report, "Public sector banks are continuously losing market share in the hands of private banks, this process has accelerated in the last five years."

There is no doubt that if India wants to become a five trillion dollar economy, it will have to grow its banking sector and IWG's suggestions are mostly related to this.

But, former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan and former Deputy Governor Viral Acharya have raised the problem arising out of it. Raghuram Rajan has shared a post about it on his LinkedIn account.

In this three-page post, he has said that allowing corporate houses to enter the banking sector is explosive.

He has also questioned the timing of these recommendations.

Rajan and Acharya said in a joint post, "Have we come to know of anything that allows us to disregard all precautions before allowing industrial houses into banking?" We will not argue. In fact, on the contrary, today it is even more important that the tried and tested boundaries of corporate participation in banking be maintained. ''

Rajan and Acharya say that if allowed to do so, the economic power will be reduced to the hands of a few corporates.

These corporates themselves also need financing and in such a situation, they will easily withdraw money from their own banks. It would be very difficult to question them. This will lead to a bad debt situation.

Rajan and Acharya wrote, "The history of such linked debts has been extremely disastrous. When the borrower is the owner of the bank, how will the bank be able to give the loan properly? Even an independent and committed regulator with access to information around the world is difficult to monitor everywhere to prevent bad debt distribution. Information on loan performance is rarely timely or accurate. Yes Bank managed to hide its weak credit risks for a long time.

He also said that the regulator can also come under heavy political pressure due to these entities.

Rajan and Acharya said, "In addition, highly indebted and politically connected business houses will have the ability to force more licenses. This will further increase the importance of money power in our politics. ''

Both have agreed that India needs more banks because the amount of money deposited for GDP is very low i.e. how much capacity does the country have to pay its liabilities?

He has emphasized that "RBI has allowed the first industrial houses to come in with the payment banks." These banks can tie up with other banks to provide retail loans (such as personal loans, credit cards and mortgage). ''

They have said that when we already have these options, then why do we need to give license to industrial houses to open a full bank? Why now? That too at a time when we are trying to learn a lesson from the failure of ILFS and Yes Bank?

Apart from the timing and intentions of this recommendation, both have suggested that handing over poorly performing public sector banks to corporates would be extremely silly.

Giving these public banks to corporates means that we will hand over bad administration of these existing banks to disputed ownership of corporates.

International ratings agency S&P Global Ratings has also voiced concern about these recommendations. The agency said "internal conflicts of interest, potential conflicts of interest, centralization of economic power and financial stability are potential risks in allowing corporates to open banks."

There is no doubt that India needs finance to grow and public sector banks are not able to do so.

The government is already facing major challenges due to the corona virus epidemic. In such a situation, large industrial houses having financial capacity can meet the lack of money in India. But how safe is it to allow these corporates to own banks completely, the question remains to be answered by the RBI.

RBI has invited to express its views on the committee's report which can be submitted by 15 January 2021.

On 15 November 2020, 15 countries in the Asia-Pacific Ocean region, including China, signed the world's largest trade treaty in Hanoi, Vietnam.

Countries that have joined this trade treaty account for about one-third of the global economy.

The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, or RCEP, has ten countries in Southeast Asia. Apart from these, South Korea, China, Japan, Australia and New Zealand have also joined it.

The US is not involved in this trade-treaty and China is leading it, so most economic analysts see it as a growing influence of China in the region.

This treaty is being said to be bigger than the European Union and the US-Mexico-Canada trade agreement.

Previously, the US was also involved in a trade treaty called the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), but in 2017, shortly after becoming president, Donald Trump had moved the US out of the treaty.

The deal then included 12 countries in the region that also had the support of former US President Barack Obama as they viewed the trade treaty as a response to Chinese-domination.

The negotiations on the RCEP were also underway for the last eight years, which were finally signed on 15 November 2020.

The countries involved in this treaty believe that this will help in improving the situation like the Great Depression caused by the corona virus epidemic.

On this occasion, Vietnam's Prime Minister Nun-Xuan-Fook, describing it as the foundation of the future, said, "Today the RCEP agreement was signed, it is a matter of pride, it is a big step that ASEAN countries are playing a central role in it, And together with the fellow countries, they have established a new relationship that will become stronger in the future. As these countries move towards progress, so will its effect on all countries of the region. ''

According to this new trade treaty, RCEP will abolish customs duties on a variety of goods within the next twenty years. This would include intellectual property, telecommunications, financial services, e-commerce and business services. However, regulations like which country a product originated in may have some effect but in countries that are part of the treaty, there is already agreement on free-trade among many countries.

With this trade treaty, China's influence in the region has deepened.

India not included in RCEP

India is not a part of this treaty. India was also involved in the RCEP at the time of bargaining, but India was separated from it last year. The Government of India had then said that this would lead to a flood of cheap Chinese goods in the country and it would be difficult for small scale manufacturing traders in India to deliver goods at a price that would increase their troubles.

But on 15 November 2020, ASEAN countries who joined the treaty said that 'the gates will remain open for India, if in future India can join RCEP'.

The question arises that what can be the effect on India not being part of this trade group? To understand this, BBC correspondent Faisal Mohammed Ali spoke to India-China business affairs expert Santosh Pai.

He said, "RCEP has a membership of 15 countries. About 30 percent of the world's construction industry is from these countries. In such a situation, such free-trade agreements are very important for India, because India can explore many new possibilities of trade through them. ''

"Like India is inviting many countries to come and invest in the construction industry, so they also attract such agreements, but if India is not in it, then it becomes a question that they should come to India How to get promoted? "

"The second thing is that the buying capacity of consumers in India is increasing, but compared to the international level, it is still very low. If a foreign company has to come and manufacture in India, then also to export it Much care has to be taken because it is consumed in the domestic market of India, it seems a bit difficult. "

At one time India, along with countries like Japan and Australia, wanted to reduce dependence on China. But now those countries are involved in it and India is different from it. What is the reason for this?

To this Santosh Pai said, "How much India can reduce 'dependence on China', it will not be seen in six-seven months, but in five years, it will show its full effect. Only then will know how much India has Seriously it did. The rest of the countries have been trying to reduce their dependence on China for many years, and that is why these countries do not want to stay out of the RCEP because they know that by staying inside it 'Can better reduce dependence on China'. "

He said, "Apart from China, there are many strong countries in RCEP which have excellent work in many fields (like electronics and automobiles). But India's problem is that till last year, India was trying a lot to increase sugar trade more and more. How to increase more and attract Chinese investment more and more?''

India had a target of $ 100 billion in terms of trade with China. But in the last six months, the situation has changed completely due to political reasons. Now the Indian government has started a self-reliance campaign which aims to reduce trade with China and limit Chinese investment as well.

In the end, Pai said, "Even if the 'self-reliance campaign' was taken seriously, it would take years to get its effect. So it would be too early to say anything now.''

Reliance Industries in India has recently invested Rs 620 crore in NetMedes, a Chennai-based online pharmacy company.

Reliance Retail Ventures has made these investments in Vitalik Health and its affiliates. The companies in this group are known as NetMeds.

With such a huge investment in Reliance Industries' online pharma company, there is a lot of competition expected to start in online pharmacy or e-pharmacy in India.

Amazon has already entered this. The pilot project of its Pharma Service has started in Bengaluru. At the same time, Flipkart is also preparing to come in this area.

Netmeds is an e-pharma portal selling prescription-based medicines and other health products. This company does home delivery of medicines.

Similarly, there are already many startups in the field of e-pharmacy. Such as 1mg, PharamaEasy, Medlife etc.

Before the arrival of these big players, the debate has started again about the e-pharmacy platform which was in controversy.

Institutions representing retailers and pharmacists have raised concerns over snatching employment of millions of people. However, e-pharma companies deny this.

Letter written to Mukesh Ambani

The All India Organization of Chemists and Druggists Association (AIOCD) has written a letter to Mukesh Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director of Reliance Industries Limited, objecting to the investment in his netmaids.

The letter reads, "It is very sad to see a company of Reliance industry investing in an illegal industry." The letter says that the e-pharmacy industry is not under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act (Drugs and Cosmetics Act) Aata, which regulates the import, manufacture, sale and distribution of medicines.

AIOCD has written one such letter to Amazon. The letter has also been sent to India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and other ministries.

Working model threatens jobs

With big companies taking steps in the e-pharmacy industry, the concerns of retailers and pharmacists have increased. The institutions representing them have been objecting to e-pharmacy in two ways.

First, they believe that the working model of e-pharmacy platforms can lead to the jobs of millions of retailers and pharmacists. Their business may be closed.

Second, they raise questions about the legal aspect of operating e-pharma companies.

Abhay Kumar, president of the Indian Pharmacist Association, says that the working model of the e-pharma platform will gradually eliminate the jobs of pharmacists.

Says Abhay Kumar, "E-Pharma platforms will create their own stores, warehouses or inventory, where they will store medicines directly from companies or distributors and then supply medicines from there itself." In such a situation, the role of the local chemist shop will end. ''

There is already a crisis on pharmacists' jobs. The vacant posts of pharmacists in hospitals are not filled. After three years of study, the youth find themselves unemployed. So, as a chemist, do they want to take away the means of earning? "

Giving high discounts to e-pharma companies is also a cause for concern for retailers. AIOCD President J.S. Shinde says that a small retailer will not be able to compete with them in the way e-pharma companies offer more discounts.

Js Shinde said, "Retailer gets 20 percent and wholesaler 10 percent margin. However, new players coming to e-pharmacy are offering 30 to 35 percent discount. They can give deep discounts, can also cause some losses, but, the general retailer does not have that much capital. This will be a problem for the customers as they will be monopolized when retailers move out of the market and it will be difficult to control prices.

He says that there are around eight and a half lakh retailers in the whole country and one and a half lakh stockists and substockists, whose livelihood is about to be snatched away. Together, the working people and their families will become destitute of about 19 million people. It will be a double whammy for people suffering from recession due to Corona virus.

What do e-Pharma companies say

However, e-pharma companies completely deny all these allegations. He says that there are misconceptions among people about his working model. Their way of working will increase convenience for customers rather than take jobs, make it easier to access medicines and increase demand for pharmacists.

There are two types of business modus operandi in online selling of medicines. One marketplace and the other inventory led hybrid (online / offline) model.

In the marketplace model, e-pharmacy platforms take online prescriptions from the customer. These prescriptions can be uploaded directly to the website or app, through WhatsApp, email or fax. The prescription is then delivered to a local licensed pharmacist (chemist), from where the medicine is taken and delivered to the customer.

At the same time, in the inventory model, the company that runs the e-pharmacy platform keeps the stock of medicines itself and delivers the medicines on a prescription basis. That online platform itself acts as a chemist.

Some companies are working on a hybrid model. She also maintains a warehouse or store of medicines and also delivers medicines through contact with local chemists. They have a license to build a warehouse or store of medicines.

Now retailers and pharmacists have concerns about the inventory or hybrid model as the role of chemist shops will end in this.

But, Digital Health Platform, an association of leading e-pharmacy companies, says that e-pharma platforms will operate solely on the marketplace model.

"There are many misconceptions about the e-pharmacy model," said Dr Varun Gupta, Convenor of Digital Health Platform. The e-pharmacy marketplace model will help the existing pharmacy deliver online services. This will create a network by connecting different pharmacies on one platform. With this, inventory management will be better, access will increase, prices will be reduced and customers will get better services. ''

Doctor Varun says that the Covid-19 epidemic has shown how the two mediums can work together in the sale of drugs. People have insecurity and anxiety about any beginning. Similar opposition has also been seen earlier when new technology comes.

An expert associated with the online pharmacy industry also says that they do not give too much discount. If someone continuously gives such a discount, then they will not be able to survive in the market. E-pharmacy platforms fix their margins with local pharmacists.

Abhay Kumar says that if companies adopt a marketplace model and create opportunities for pharmacists, then they have no objection but this is very unlikely. Even now some platforms are working on hybrid models. They have more benefit in this. Therefore we oppose it.

E-pharmacy platform and existing law

E-Pharma companies have been working in the Indian market for many years but are still at a very small level. The use of the e-Pharma platform has also increased in lockdown due to Corona virus. They are mostly used for chronic medicines, ie medicines of long-standing diseases.

In terms of statistics, according to a report by the Economics Times, the market for drugs for e-pharmacies in India can reach $ 18.1 billion by 2023. It was $ 9.3 billion in 2019.

But, the validity of the e-pharmacy platform has been questioned for a long time. Even this matter has reached the court.

Js Shinde says, "E-pharmacies are not currently covered under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, so it is illegal to run them. The act does not mention online sale of drugs. So it is difficult to monitor and control them."

At the same time, e-pharma companies have been claiming that they are working in the legal realm. Dr. Varun Gupta explains that the e-pharma business model falls under the Information Technology Act, 2000, the concept of middleman, and licensed pharmacists (who deliver prescription drugs) are covered under the Drugs and Cosmetic Act. E-Pharma companies are operating under this model.

E-pharmacy draft

After the objections of many parties, on 28 August 2018, a draft of the rules was prepared to regulate the online sale of drugs, i.e. to bring them under the law. Based on this, the Drugs and Cosmetic Rules, 1945 were to be amended. Opinion was sought from general public / stakeholders on this draft.

This draft includes registration of e-pharmacy companies, inspection of e-pharmacy, process for distribution or sale of drugs through e-pharmacy, prohibition of advertisement of drugs through e-pharmacy, grievance redressal mechanism, e-pharmacy There were provisions related to monitoring, etc. But, nothing further has been done on this.

When the matter reached Delhi High Court in December 2018, the court ordered a ban on the online sale of drugs without a license. After this, the single bench of Madras directed not to do online business of medicines till the draft rules were notified. However, in January 2019, the Division Bench of Madras stayed this instruction.

It is discussed that the government is considering amending the Drugs and Cosmetics Act so that online sales of medicines can also be brought under its purview.

However, the Pharmacists and Retailers Association is considering all aspects of this and is demanding to make a law related to it.

Js Shinde says that in countries where the e-pharmacy industry is running, what are its effects and what should be done in India to avoid them. It should not be allowed without considering all the sides.

They told that we will give 21 days notice to the government that they will listen to our concerns and take any step. If there is no response from the government, then all the drug dealers will go on strike.

According to data from the Center for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), around 120 million people have lost their jobs since a month of lockdown in India. Most of the people are from the unorganized and rural areas.

Most of India's 400 million jobs are in the unorganized sector.

According to CMIE, during the lockdown, seven crore people who lost their jobs in the month of April have returned to work.

This has happened again due to the resumption of economic activities and good crop yields, because it has not only provided employment to the people on a large scale, but also has given additional work to people in the agricultural sector.

The National Level Job Guarantee Scheme has also helped in this, but this good news is limited here only.

According to CMIE's assessment, 1.9 million people lost their jobs during lockdown in the organized sector.

Another report by the International Labor Organization and the Asian Development Bank estimated that more than four million Indians under the age of 30 have lost their jobs due to the epidemic. People aged 15 to 24 years have been the most affected.

Mahesh Vyas, managing director of CMIE, says, "Most of the people under 30 are affected. Companies are hiring experienced people and young people are getting hit by it."

Many believe that this is the most worrying aspect of India's slowing economy.

Mahesh Vyas says, "Trainees and those working on probation have lost their jobs. Companies are not giving jobs on campus. There is no appointment of any kind. When the next batch of youth looking for work in 2021 will be graduates, they will join the army of unemployed."

Not giving jobs to newly graduated people will mean adverse effects on income, education and savings.

Mahesh Vyas says, "This will affect job seekers, their families and the economy."

The reduction in salary and sluggish demand will also negatively impact household income.

In last year's CMIE survey, it was found that about 35 percent people believed that their income has improved compared to last year whereas only two percent of the people believe this year.

There has been a reduction in income of people from lower class to upper middle class.

According to a report, the salaried people extracted nearly four billion dollars from their essential savings in the four months of the lockdown so that they can take care of the job cuts and salary cuts.

Mahesh Vyas says, "The decrease in income has been particularly hit by the middle class and the upper middle class."

Due to no job, more and more people are snatching business from their hands. But this is not a sudden change.

A study conducted in 2017 by economist Vinoj Abraham clearly revealed that this is probably the first time there has been such a steep decline in post-independence employment between 2013-14 and 2015-16. The study was based on data gathered from the Bureau of Labor.

Labor participation reflects the active workforce in the economy. According to CMIE, this labor participation fell from 46 per cent to 35 per cent after the demonetisation enacted on 8 November 2016. This affected India's economy very badly. Currently, the unemployment rate of the current 8 percent does not reveal the reality of this worsening situation.

Mahesh Vyas says, "This happens when searching for a job becomes useless because the job does not exist."

Economic insecurity has increased a lot in India.

Researchers Marianne Bertrand, Kaushik Krishnan and Heather Schofield have studied how Indians are tackling the challenges of lockdown?

These researchers have found in their study that only 66 percent of the households have more than two weeks of resources to cope with the economic crisis.

India's Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has also said that the government does not deny going to jobs.

The number of new jobs has also fallen by 60 per cent in June compared to the monthly average of the previous financial year.

Last week Nirmala Sitharaman also said, "India is going through an unusual situation like a divine event ... during this time we can see a contraction in the economy."

The cases of corona infection in India are going to be close to 38 lakhs and the economy is stagnant. The scope for a complete recovery in the economy seems far-fetched. The economy of the unorganized sector is slowly picking up speed.

Those who had lost their jobs during the lockdown and who had returned to their villages, have now started returning to their places of work with the removal of the lockdown restrictions.

Some of these are also being given more money because those who hire them want to resume their business as soon as possible.

Labor Economist KR Shyam Sundar says, "With the economy opening by the end of this year, a lot of people will be returning to their jobs but those working on salaries will take time."

Service sector is not improving in India even in August, jobs are going away

India's service sector has seen a decline for the sixth consecutive month due to the interruption of business activity and reduced demand due to the Corona epidemic.

News agency Reuters citing an industry survey has reported that the continuation of jobs continues in August due to business activities being affected.

The survey says that after the economy has shrunk from April to June in the second quarter, it will take a long time to improve the service sector.

Shreya Patel, an economist at IHS Market, told news agency Reuters, "Business operating conditions remain challenging even in August in India's service sector. Lockdown restrictions in the domestic and foreign markets have had a severe impact on the industry.

In order to protect the economy from further damage, the government has given limited permission to open underground train networks, sports and religious events even in the face of rising cases of corona virus.

However, despite the easing of restrictions, it is believed that economic activities will take a long time to return to normal as people themselves are getting less out of the house and avoiding going to malls, cinema halls, restaurants and hotels.

Due to reduced demand at both domestic and foreign levels, production is decreasing and due to this, people are still losing their jobs.

In India, the Union Statistics Ministry released the GDP figures on Monday - which is 23.9 percent.

This is considered to be the biggest historical decline in the Indian economy and is attributed to the Corona virus and the nationwide lockdown.

News of this new negative GDP figure of India, which was once the fastest growing economy in the world, has been given coverage by various newspapers and media houses around the world.

The US media house CNN has published a news report titled 'Indian economy is the fastest sinking record'.

In this news, Sheelan Shah of Capital Economics says that this will lead to more unemployment, failure of companies and a deteriorated banking sector which will outweigh investment and consumption.

In Japan's business newspaper Nikkei Asian Review, Ritesh Kumar Singh, former assistant director of the Indian Finance Commission, wrote an article titled, 'Narendra Modi shakes India's economy'.

It has been written that despite the business-supported image of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he is proving unfit to handle the economy, the dream of making the economy a $ 5 trillion (trillion) economy by 2025 is no longer fulfilled.

Coming from India's most modern industrial city, Prime Minister Modi promised that he would improve the economy and create 1.2 crore jobs every year. After a wave of optimism from the office for six years, the Indian economy has fallen into disrepair. In which GDP has fallen for the first time in four decades and unemployment is at its peak so far. Large engines of growth, consumption, private investment or exports have stalled. Above all, the government does not have the capacity to come out of the recession and spend it. ''

The article states that the only omission of Prime Minister Modi is not just to handle the economy but he has failed in the matter of ending corruption.

Modi had announced the disastrous demonetisation aimed at ending black money. This created an atmosphere of anarchy, the scheme devastated millions of farmers and owners of medium and small industries. However, his supporters said that all this is for a short time and it will benefit further in fighting corruption.

In this article, apart from GST, FDI, increase in import duty on 3600 products and Prime Minister Modi's belief in only a few bureaucrats have been explained in this article.

The American newspaper The New York Times has also given this news its place.

The Indian economy has been the worst of the world's top economies. While the US economy has fallen by 9.5 percent in the same quarter, the Japanese economy has recorded a decline of 7.6 percent.

Waste of economy more than these figures? The newspaper The New York Times writes that India has a different picture in terms of economy figures because most people here are engaged in 'irregular' employment in which there is no written agreement for work and often these people are outside the purview of government. , These include rickshawlers, tailors, daily laborers and farmers.

Economists believe that this part of the economy has to be ignored in official figures, while the total loss may be even greater.

The newspaper further writes that the economy of a country with a population of 130 crores was growing at a growth rate of 8% only a few years ago, which was one of the fastest growing economies in the world.

But it began to decline before the corona virus epidemic. For example, in August last year, car sales fell by 32%, the highest in two decades.

Data on Monday showed consumer spending, private investment and imports were severely affected.

Areas such as trade, hotels and transport declined by 47%. India's construction industry, once the strongest, has shrunk to 39%.

The newspaper writes that only good news came from the agricultural sector, which has developed from 3% to 3.4% due to good monsoon rains.

Prime Minister Modi said that he wants to make the Indian economy an economy of 5 trillion USD by 2024. There is a general election in 2024 and he may contest for the third time. India's GDP in 2018 was 2.719 trillion USD which was the seventh largest economy in the world after USA, China, Japan, Germany, England and France. However, many economists believe that India's economy will shrink by 10%. ''

The Financial Times newspaper is titled 'Indian economy shrunk by one quarter'.

The newspaper writes that India's economy was already in a shambles before the corona virus hit, but the world's biggest lockdown had a major impact on industries such as manufacturing and construction, and business activities were virtually stalled.

The newspaper wrote that RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das had said with great confidence during the interview that the RBI could protect the economic stability or banking system from the brunt of the pandemic, speculating a next level of economic stimulus.

The Indian government has banned 118 mobile apps developed in China, including the gaming app PUBG.

A statement issued by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology said that these apps have been banned because they were involved in activities against India's sovereignty and integrity, defense of the country and public order.

The statement issued by the ministry said, "This step will protect the interests of crores of mobile and internet users in India." This decision has been taken with the intention of ensuring the security and sovereignty of India's cyberspace. ''

According to the statement, the Government of India was receiving complaints about these apps from various sources, including reports that users' data from some mobile apps available on Android and IOS were unauthorizedly stolen and sent to servers located outside India. Were staying.

The decision to ban 118 apps in China has been taken at a time when there are reports of tensions between the two countries on the Line of Actual Control or LAC in Ladakh once again.

The Indian government had earlier banned 59 apps related to China in June. They also included Tiktok.

The last decision to ban 59 Chinese apps was taken a few days after a violent clash between Indo-Chinese troops in the Galvan Valley on July 15.

The growth rate of India's gross domestic product (GDP) declined drastically in the quarter to the first months of the lockdown.

According to the Ministry of Statistics of the Central Government in India, the first quarter of the financial year 2020-21, between April to June, the growth rate has fallen by 23.9%.

It was estimated that India's GDP rate could fall to 18% in the first quarter due to the corona virus epidemic and nationwide lockdown.

At the same time, India's largest public sector bank SBI had estimated that the rate could fall to 16.5%, but the latest figures are shocking.

The Indian economy saw growth of 3.1% in the January-March quarter, the lowest in eight years.

GDP figures show that consumer spending slowed, private investment and exports declined in the March quarter. At the same time, the rate for the same quarter of June last year was 5.2%.

These new figures of GDP have historically been called the biggest declines since 1996.

These statistics have been said by the Ministry of Statistics that due to the corona virus epidemic, the data collection mechanism has been affected in addition to economic activities. The Ministry of Statistics has said that the lockdown was imposed in the country from March 25 after which economic activities were stopped.

The Statistics Ministry has said that most bodies had extended the deadline for filing legal returns. Under these circumstances, sources of data like GST were limited.

What is GDP

Gross domestic product (GDP) is the total value of all goods and services produced in the country in a given year.

Sushant Hegde, an economist at research and ratings firm care ratings, says GDP is just like a 'marksheet of a student'.

The way the marksheet shows how the student has performed throughout the year and in which subjects he has been strong or weak? In the same way, GDP shows the level of economic activity and it shows that which sectors have accelerated or declined.

This shows how well or poorly the economy has performed over the year. If GDP data shows sluggishness, it means that the country's economy is slowing down and the country did not produce enough goods as compared to last year and the services sector is also declining.

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) in India estimates GDP four times a year. That is, GDP is assessed every quarter. Every year it releases annual GDP growth figures.

Due to the weakening of US dollar against the major currencies of the world, countries buying crude oil are getting oil cheaper. America's Energy Information Administration (EIA) has given this information on Friday.

Crude oil is traded in US dollars only, due to which the oil is getting cheaper for those countries whose currency has strengthened against the dollar. Countries in the eurozone are also included in this. Among them, there are many countries which import crude oil. Between June 1 and August 12, Brent crude oil prices have increased by 19 percent.

But according to EIA estimates, due to the increase in the price of the euro against the dollar, this increase in the euro has been only 12%. For the past few months, Brent crude oil prices and dollar prices have been rising in opposing directions.

While Brent crude oil is getting expensive, the dollar is weakening against global currencies. In recent weeks, global demand for crude oil has been projected to decline due to the impact of the epidemic, but the weakening dollar has only supported oil prices.

The weak US dollar means that oil buying countries are getting cheaper. According to the EIA list report this week, 4.5 million barrels of crude oil have been extracted in the week till 7 August. At the same time, seven lakh barrels of gasoline and 23 lakh barrels of distillate fuel have come down from the list.

This has led to an increase in oil prices. This oil shortage caused oil prices to rise slightly, but the International Energy Agency and OPEC have lowered their oil consumption estimates for this year and acknowledged that the global impact on the Corona epidemic will be much higher than anticipated.