Could join RCEP if demands are met, says Piyush Goyal
- The decision not to join the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is final for now, but if the other countries agree to India’s demands, negotiations and talks are possible in the future, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said on Tuesday.
- “If the 15 nations make a sincere effort to resolve our concerns, to give us confidence, and help us balance the trade inequality, then I think every nation should talk with its friends,” Mr. Goyal said at a press conference. “We are not making enemies with anybody; relations are strong with all the countries involved.”
Economic slowdown may lighten India’s carbon burden
- There’s a silver lining to India’s economic slowdown. Carbon dioxide emissions are poised to grow at their slowest — a 2% rise from last year — since 2001, according to an analysis published in Carbon Brief, a site that tracks emission and carbon dioxide trends.
- The rise in C02 emissions from India sees wild swings — from 7.7% in 2014 to 3.5% the next year and then back to 7.8% in 2018. This is the first time that emissions are expected to grow below 3% from the previous year.
Nomad film fete aims to draw local talent
- “Challenging the stigma. Changing the narrative” is the motto of the Nomad Film Festival. One of India’s most sharply focused, the festival is dedicated to showcasing films dealing with the de-notified and nomadic tribes of the country.
- The idea is to harness cinema in helping focus on their struggles and problems, to change the mindset of people about them and help fight the slurs and blots associated with them; misconceptions like they are criminal tribes, thieves and law-breakers.
- The last two festivals were held in 2016 and 2018 and the organisers are gearing up again after a two-year gap to hold the third edition on February 15, 2020 in Delhi. The call for entries has begun and four films are already there in the organisers’ kitty.
Ready to address India’s concerns on RCEP: China
- “China is willing to continue to negotiate and resolve the problems facing the negotiations with India in the spirit of mutual understanding and mutual accommodation,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said in response to a question that New Delhi did not wish to join the regional trade bloc as it apprehended influx of Chinese goods into the Indian market.
- Mr. Geng stressed that India was “welcome to join the agreement as soon as possible”.