Month: October 2018

World Coffee Day: The coffee culture is here to stay

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

India is the third-largest producer and exporter of coffee in Asia and the seventh-largest producer and fifth-largest exporter of coffee in the world. It accounts for 3.66 percent (2017) of the global coffee production. The country produces more than three lakh tonnes, with Karnataka contributing 85 per cent of this. Coffee in India has a rich history of 300 years, offering a livelihood to more than 15 lakh families. India grows mainly Robustas (70 percent), with Arabica accounting for the rest.

With 30 percent of Indian coffee being consumed domestically, there is a growing need for new variants of coffee. This has led to the rise of gourmet and artisanal coffee trends in the country. A lot of players have come up with new variants of coffee — green beans, organic coffee, coffee capsules and the like. People travel around the world and tend to bring similar coffee trends to India as well.

There also has been a jump from Robusta to Arabica among Indian coffee drinkers — for the only reason that people now want to treat it like an indulgence than just an addiction or an energy booster. While Robusta varieties were dominant a few years back, blends with pure Arabica are now sold as premium products all over India.

Arabica beans have a sweeter, softer taste, with a tone of sugar, fruit, and berries; Robusta has a stronger, harsher taste. It contains almost twice the caffeine as compared to Arabica and is inferior to the former variety. Robusta grows more easily as compared to Arabica. It can grow at lower altitudes and is less vulnerable to pest and weather conditions.

Today, the face of coffee consumption has completely changed in India. Just like Indian chai (tea) became a staple in houses and cafes, coffee now has increasingly become a staple in European-style cafes. The new trend of sitting/going out for a cup of coffee has seen tremendous growth. Southern cities, specially, have embraced this new trend and boast dozens of cafes and eateries to give people an experience of coffee and its culture.

This culture has not just brought in conversations but also introduced coffee to many Indians for the first time, making the traditional coffee experience exquisite and bringing new varieties on the table.

For Young India, coffee is not just about a new flavour of lattes and cappuccinos. For them, coffee is entering into a new urban space. Coffees are now available in proper coffee houses which allow colleagues and friends to get together. Today, India, with its coffee, has attracted a large number of tourists from different parts of the country who have become fans of the café culture and Indian origin coffee blends.

So, whether you prefer sipping your traditional kaapi at a Karnataka street café or go to a premium café in a trendy establishment in Delhi, it seems that the coffee culture is here to stay.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Milk processing sector needs value addition, says Narendra Modi

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said there is a need for innovation and value addition in the milk processing sector.

He inaugurated modern food processing facilities including Amul’s “ultra-modern” chocolate plant here.

“India is doing well in milk processing but can do even better. The time has come to give importance to innovation and value addition,” he said.

The Prime Minister said Amul was not only about milk processing but it was an excellent model of empowerment.

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Ambassador accuses China of bullying the US using propaganda

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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A week after an official Chinese newspaper ran a four-page ad in a U.S. daily touting the mutual benefits of U.S.-China trade, the U.S. ambassador to China accused Beijing of using the American press to spread propaganda.

U.S. President Donald Trump last Wednesday referred to the China Daily’s paid supplement in the Des Moines Register – the state of Iowa’s biggest selling newspaper – after accusing China of seeking to meddle in the Nov. 6 U.S. congressional elections, a charge China denies.

Trump’s accusation that Beijing was trying to meddle in U.S. elections marked what U.S. officials told Reuters was a new phase in an escalating campaign by Washington to put pressure on China.

While it is normal for foreign governments to place advertisements to promote trade, Beijing and Washington are currently locked in an escalating trade war that has seen them level rounds of tariffs on each other’s imports.

China’s retaliatory tariffs early in the trade war were designed to hit exporters in states such as Iowa that supported Trump’s Republican Party, Chinese and U.S. experts have said.

Terry Branstad, the U.S. ambassador to China and the former longtime governor of Iowa, a major exporter of agricultural goods to China, said Beijing had hurt American workers, farmers and businesses.

China, Branstad wrote in an opinion piece in Sunday’s Des Moines Register, “is now doubling down on that bullying by running propaganda ads in our own free press.”

“In disseminating its propaganda, China’s government is availing itself of America’s cherished tradition of free speech and a free press by placing a paid advertisement in the Des Moines Register,” Branstad wrote.

“In contrast, at the newsstand down the street here in Beijing, you will find limited dissenting voices and will not see any true reflection of the disparate opinions that the Chinese people may have on China’s troubling economic trajectory, given that media is under the firm thumb of the Chinese Communist Party,” he wrote.

He added that “one of China’s most prominent newspapers dodged the offer to publish” his article, although he did not say which newspaper.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Government sets up Competition Law Review Committee

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The government has formed a Competition Law Review Committee to ensure that the legislation is in tune with the changing business environment, according to an official announcement on Sunday.

A Finance Ministry release said that the committee will review the competition regulations in view of changing business environment and suggest the necessary changes.

Among the panel’s mandate is also to look into international best practices in the competition field with a thrust on anti-trust laws, merger guidelines and handling cross-border competition issues.

“In pursuance of its objective of ensuring that legislation is in sync with the needs of strong economic fundamentals, the government has constituted a Competition Law Review Committee to review the Competition Act,” it said.

“In this context, it is essential that the Competition Law is strengthened, and re-calibrated to promote best practices which result in the citizens of this country achieving their aspirations and value for money.”

The committee will also study other regulatory regimes, institutional mechanisms and government policies which overlap with the Competition Act.

The committee consists of the Corporate Affairs Secretary, Competition Commision of India Chairperson, the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India Chairperson, Haigreve Khaitan from Khaitan & Co, Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas and Co Advocate Pallavi Shardul Shroff, former IAS officer S. Chakravarthy, Delhi School of Economics Professor Aditya Bhattacharjea and Corporate Affairs Joint Secretary (Competition), the statement said.

The committee will submit its report within three months of the date of its first meeting, it added.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Gujarat emerging as India’s LNG hub, says Narendra Modi

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said that Gujarat was emerging as the country’s LNG hub, a reason for the people of the state to feel proud.

He was speaking at an event organised to inaugurate the Mundra LNG (liquefied natural gas) terminal, the Anjar-Mundra pipeline project, and the Palanpur-Pali-Barmer pipeline project.

“The LNG terminal is the highlight of today’s programme. I am fortunate to have inaugurated three LNG terminals. When Gujarat got its first LNG terminal, people were surprised. Now, the state is poised to make its fourth LNG terminal.

“Gujarat is emerging as an LNG hub of India. This should make every Gujarati proud,” he said.

Stressing that a strong energy sector was needed for growth, the Prime Minister said: “We cannot alleviate poverty if we are energy poor.

“The aspirations of the people are rising. They want i-ways, gas grids, water grids and optical fibre networks in addition to conventional infrastructure.”

He further said that there were ample opportunities in the tourism sector and the world was keen to come to India.

“We have seen in Kutch too, how the White Rann has become the cynosure of all eyes from across the world,” he said, adding that his government was taking steps to make the aviation sector more affordable and to improve connectivity.

“Efforts have been made to ensure that all villages are electrified. Work is on to electrify every single household in India. We want to bring qualitative changes in the lives of the common citizen of India,” he said.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

India wants to have trade deal with US, says Trump

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

President Donald Trump Saturday said that India wants to have a trade deal with the US because it does not want him to impose tariffs on their products.

Trump remarks, for the second time in recent weeks, comes days after Assistant US Trade Representative Mark Linscott returned from India where he had detailed discussion with senior Indian officials on bilateral trade and a possible trade deal between the two countries.

Trump often accuses India of imposing 100 percent tariffs on American products.

“We have a country, take India. Good relationship. They want to make a deal now because they don’t want me to do what I’m going to do, with I have to. So, they (Indians) call us. They didn’t want to make a deal with anybody else,” he said.

Trump referred to India in the context of his repeated allegation that other countries have been taking advantage of America in the past. Trump in September said India wanted a trade deal with the US despite the US administration’s tough stance on the issue.

“Take India. You talk about free trade. So, let’s say they (Indians) charge us 60 per cent tariff on a product. And for the same product when they send it in (America), we charge them nothing. So now I want to charge them 25 per cent or 20 or 10 or something,” Trump said.

“What do you think? That’s not free trade. We don’t like it. I said, where are these people coming from? So, think of it. Where are they coming from? You have no idea how difficult it is. Where are they coming?” Trump said referring to the conversations he is having with India.

Trump told the crowd that he is using India just as an example.
The president said he can give example of other countries which are “brutal” to what they do with the United States.

“I could give you (examples of) others that are brutal, just brutal what they do to us, how they take advantage of the stupidity. We never even had people negotiate, they just do whatever they want,” Trump said as he went back to the India example.

“Remember this? A lot of the people that are fighting me in what I’m doing have ownership of companies in these other countries. Remember that please. Remember that, or they’re represented by lobbies,” Trump said, as he lashed out at those who are opposing his America First trade policies.
Trump said nobody wants to talk about the jobs created and nobody wants to talk about all the money that’s flowing in to the coffers of the United States of America, he said.

“The people that are against it are usually having companies…you know, you go to these other countries, they have companies there too,” he alleged.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

JSW Cement keen to tap growing green building materials’ market

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

JSW Cement is gearing up to tap the “growing” market for green building materials and sustainable products by adopting eco-friendly methods and using industrial by-products.

“As green buildings are projected to grow to 10 billion sq ft, the market for green building materials and sustainable products is also expected to grow exponentially,” the company said in a statement.

Over 4,300 projects with about 4.7 billion square feet of built-up area have registered for green technology as of September 2017, it said.

India’s green building market is only second to the US and is estimated to double by 2022, valuing around $ 35-50 billion, the statement said.

“JSW Cement is gearing up to capitalise on this opportunity…,” CEO Nilesh Narwekar was quoted as saying in the company release.

On the trend of developers turning to green cement, Narwekar said rising awareness among consumers about the need for environmental preservation have made them conscious of the products they use.

Industries, on their part, are working towards making manufacturing processes more sustainable and earth-friendly, he said.

“Similarly, real estate developers and engineers are focusing on building green spaces in India through the use of smart concepts and green materials in the construction process. As a consequence…, we have seen a substantial growth in consumption of green cement or PSC (Portland Slag Cement),” the CEO said.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow