The secrets of Sikkim

There are three varieties of tiny dried fish, though God knows that Sikkim is far off from any sea

Travelling Tiffin | Marryam H. Reshii

source:livemint

 

 

It’s my pet theory that you have never really explored a new destination till you’ve seen its market. It was with this in mind that I set off to the floor above the local taxi stand in Gangtok. Extreme pressure on real estate and not much in the way of flat land means that Gangtok has many examples of unlikely business “tie-ups”: The loan-disbursing department of the state government shares space with a popular restaurant; an upmarket curio store doubles up as a cyber café and every cigarette stall does roaring business in car-mirror danglers.

Fiery: The dallae khursani is consumed fresh, not dried.

So it was no surprise that the city’s vegetable market was located at the shared taxi stand (as distinct from the outstation taxi terminus). And what a treasure trove the market was! The flaming scarlet cherry-like objects were the tear-inducing cherry peppers, one of the hottest chillies of the region, though they pale in comparison to the bhut jholokia of Nagaland. Dallae khursani, as the fiery devils are called, are only sold and consumed fresh — never dried. If you don’t think you’ll be able to make it to the market again soon, you can buy dallae chutney, sold in plastic containers in multiples of 100g.
There are mushrooms on sale that look like enoki but are not, a vegetable that resembles asparagus spears but is not, ferns, nettles, dried and fresh yak cheese, bamboo shoots and fermented soya beans and an intriguing vegetable that the vegetable seller assures me is “sweet karela”.
There are three varieties of tiny dried fish, though God knows that Sikkim is far off from any sea; loads of common vegetables such as gourd, okra and tomato, even spices such as cumin, coriander seeds and panchphoran in deference to the tourists, many of whom are from West Bengal.
The strangest thing is that in spite of a thriving local cuisine, all you get in restaurants (besides shahi paneer and mutton korma) are momos and thukpa. Had I not buttonholed a near stranger and begged him to host me for a Sikkimese dinner, I would never have stumbled upon the delicacy of sliced, steamed bamboo shoot with crumbled chhurpi, the locally made paneer.
Cooked minimally, it was accompanied by thick slices of steamed pork; Sisnu, a subtly flavoured soup of nettle leaves; and an intriguing vegetable dish made of mustard and other leaves collectively called gundruk and only eaten fermented. If gundruk was surprisingly close to Korean kimchi, Sikkim’s kinema or fermented soy beans is very similar to a popular Japanese cold starter.
There’s a curious reluctance on the part of hoteliers and restaurateurs to serve tourists the food of the state: It seems almost like a conspiracy to keep it a well-guarded secret and to unleash one culinary cliché after another on visitors. You cannot even call Sikkimese food bland: not with fresh dallae khursani and the pounded version to eat with your rice.
Chhurpe with Chillies
Sikkimese food does not take long to cook. There are no spices to speak of — only fresh red chillies. The only similarity with Indian cooking is the other ingredients added along the way: ginger, garlic and onions. Although Sikkimese chhurpe (which means curdled milk and usually refers to fresh paneer or to the dried version, which is a hard rock-like substance — an acquired taste) is often made of cow’s milk, as opposed to yak’s milk, it has a completely different taste from regular paneer, having more of a fresh, milky flavour.
Ingredients:
250g paneer, mashed with the back of a fork
3 fresh red chillies or
3 dried whole red chillies soaked for an hour in water and then chopped coarsely
1 small knob of butter
1 tsp ginger, finely minced
1 tsp garlic, finely minced
1 small onion, chopped
Method:
Heat the butter in a kadhai or wok, add the onion and sauté till translucent. Add the ginger and garlic and stir continuously to avoid sticking to the wok. Then add the mashed paneer and salt. After the water content of the paneer has evaporated, add the chillies, stir to mix thoroughly and serve.
Write to travellingtiffin@livemint.com

Mahesh Kumar/Associated Press
Telugu Desam Party (TDP) activists throw a motorcycle into the Hussain Sagar lake in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh as they stage a protest against the government’s decision to hike petrol prices by 7.54 rupees a liter.  The sign in Telugu reads ”common man cannot afford me.”.
source:NYtimes

Indian scientists-turned-entrepreneurs at Strand Lifesciences crack the genetic code to save lives

by Peerzada Abrar,ET Bureau 

A seven-year-old Japanese boy suffered from a neuromuscular disorder that impaired the functioning of his muscles. Since the age of two, he had trouble releasing his grip or in getting up from a sitting position, which rendered him immobile. Japanese doctors suspected that he was suffering from a rare genetic disorder characterised by abnormalities of the skeletal muscles, including muscle weakness and stiffness.

However, a clearer picture emerged when they used a software application built by a Bangalore-based bioinformatics firm Strand Life Sciences. Avadis NGS, a data mining and visualisation platform, helped doctors to make a rapid analysis of the boy's genome mutations after sequencing his DNA. They identified the biology responsible for the disorder and the correct medication was given.

"Human DNA is around three-billion-letters long and in that you have to search for a few letters of mutation," says Vijay Chandru, chief executive of Strand Lifesciences, who co-founded the firm with Ramesh Hariharan, Swami Manohar, and V Vinay over a decade ago.

The co-founders were all professors at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc). Unlike many academicians, their approach to biological research has been extremely practical. This helped them to become financially successful lifesciences entrepreneurs.

As academicians, besides taking consulting projects for the industry, they also developed various technologies at the institute. Among them was Simputer, a hand-held computer released a decade ago as a low-cost alternative to personal computers.

The entrepreneurship bug bit the professors, when salt-to-software conglomerate Tata Group head Ratan Tata, who is also the IISc court president, in his address said that though scientists were doing good work, that was not translating into private enterprises. After negotiations with the administration, they turned Strand into a spin-off from the IISc - India's first example of sanctioned faculty entrepreneurship in a public institution.

Soon, they bagged a contract from Boston-based biotech firm Genomics Collaborative. Genomics, which was headed by Michael J Pellini, now chief executive of Foundation Medicine, wanted an elaborate system that would collect and analyse half a million samples of nucleic acids or biological molecules essential for known forms of life on this planet.

When Strand started, it was already earning revenues of half-a-million dollars. Strand then moved up the value-chain and built a technology platform named Avadis, a software that could access, visualise, analyse and discover to solve data problems in biotechnology. To scale up its operations, it raised a total of $5.5 million from investors - UTI Venture Fund, Westbridge Capital Partners and a Japanese strategic investor.

However, the biggest challenge for the entrepreneurs was not fundraising, but the terrorist attack that happened at IISc in 2005, when Dr Chandru suffered grievous bullet injuries in both arms and chest.

Strand was in the middle of some critical product deliveries and was planning to enter the US market, when the incident occurred.

"However, my colleagues at Strand and co-founders stepped up to the plate and ensured that the company ran smoothly in my absence," said Chandru, who remained out of action for almost a year to recuperate. Strand has seen its margins go up by 15-20% in fiscal 2012 and now has a strength of 150 employees, many of whom have Phd and IIT-degrees.

Today, Strand's tools are being used by 2,000 laboratories all across the world, including Karolinska Institute in Sweden, one of Europe's largest medical universities and USA's Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, focused on nuclear and basic science. The other top laboratories include University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and Koch Institute, a cancer research centre affiliated with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Since August 2011, one of the biggest concerns for the Indian economy has been the rapid decline in the value of the rupee. Moreover, there seems to be no end to this fall. With the rupee now touching an exchange rate of about Rs 54.8 per US dollar, the Indian currency continues to set newer records, albeit, on the lower side. In fact, this is not an anomaly but a long term trend. If you look at the rupee-dollar exchange rates over the past two decades, the rupee has continuously lost value against the dollar. In 1992, you could buy a dollar for just Rs 28.95. The same dollar would now cost you close to Rs 54.8. That means the rupee's value against the dollar has dropped by a strong 47% in the last 20 years.

Source: Rediff.com

---

May 24, 2012, 5:59 am

India’s Faltering Economy Could Get Worse

By HEATHER TIMMONS

Adnan Abidi/ReutersPeople walk past a roadside currency exchange vendor in New Delhi, May 22, 2012.

Few economic experts in recent months have been as critical of India’s fiscal policy and governance and as bearish about the country’s economic future if reform does not happen as Rajeev Malik, senior economist with CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets, an independent research and brokerage firm.

Several recent indicators suggest his bearishness may not have been misplaced. In November of 2011 Mr. Malik warned that India’s currency could fall to 57 rupees to the United States dollar (at the time it was trading at about 52 rupees to the dollar) – on Thursday afternoon, the rupee was trading dangerously close, at 56.2 to the dollar. In December of 2011, he cut India’s economic growth forecast for the fiscal year that began April 1, 2012 to 6.3 percent, a forecast that has just recently been echoed by other economists.

Courtesy of CLSA Asia-Pacific MarketsRajeev Malik, senior economist at CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets.

In an interview with India Ink, Mr. Malik discussed Wednesday’s petrol price increase, what the government should do next and what role he thinks Congress Party President Sonia Gandhi plays in stifling economic reform in the country.

Q.

What are the options available to the central government and the Reserve Bank of India to slow the rupee’s free fall?

A.

The ball is very much in the government’s court and with Congress President Sonia Gandhi. The R.B.I. is doing whatever it can, and is taking a sensible approach. The last thing it should do is effect a particular level [for the currency] and then defend it at the cost of losing a large amount of foreign reserves. There could be greater pressure in the future on the currency from heightened global aversion, so it would be suicidal to squander reserves.
In all of this, the R.B.I. cannot be the savior. No central bank can be the savior. The Indian government creates the mess and the R.B.I. is the vacuum cleaner, but even a vacuum cleaner can’t do a good job in a garbage dump.
The first thing the government needs to do is wake up and acknowledge there is a problem. Just saying that there are external problems, when almost all of India’s problems are home grown, is not enough. The external issues amplify the domestic imbalances but government’s policies in recent years have significantly worsened those imbalances.
There are many Band-Aid fixes that can be done, but relevant long-lasting benefits require significant hikes in fuel prices to cut subsidies, getting the fiscal and current account deficits under control, improving the local investment climate, squeezing out inflation, attracting foreign direct investment and moving forward with reforms.
Growth is going to be trapped around the 6 percent mark and downside could still be there – it could clearly be lower if nothing is done by the government.
There are no painless options. The can has been kicked down the road so often and for so long, there will be unpopular moves but they have to be undertaken.

Q.

Is Wednesday’s steep petrol price hike a sign the government has finally woken up and is ready to make the reforms needed?

A.

It is a start but it only shows a government trying to marginally make up the distance it has fallen behind. It is still wedded to doing the least possible needed to avoid a major systematic problem rather than being pragmatic enough to undertake reforms so that India can do much better. It is merely doing enough for the economy to survive, not thrive.

Q.

What’s the next move the government should make after the fuel price hike?

A.

We have to see significant increases in diesel and cooking gas prices. The prices of other things, like electricity and coal, have to be closer to market-clearing levels.
The government needs to jump-start investment and create a more enabling environment for growth.
What makes the Indian situation so very unique is that it is not as if the problems are not known or the solutions; it is the implementation that doesn’t happen because of political myopia.
The current dual political structure doesn’t work. It is ironic that the world’s largest democracy has a selected, not popularly elected Prime Minister. The people who do understand economics don’t have the political strength to make decisions, those who have political power either don’t understand economics or are too fixated on populism.

Q.

What does a weak rupee actually mean? If it doesn’t have a big impact on most Indian citizens, why should politicians address it?

A.

A weak rupee is a symptom of the underlying problem, it is not the problem; it is the messenger rather than the message. It is the outcome of chronically high inflation, policy incoherence and self-inflicted injuries.
Consumer price inflation is over 10 percent, the rupee is in free fall, growth has been crippled and reforms have become a figment of people’s imagination.
The rupee has weakened more since the end of July 2011 than it did during the 1991 devaluation. The significant depreciation now will have a much smaller positive impact than in 1991 because it is not accompanied by a reform agenda. In 1991, the Indian government didn’t have a choice; the International Monetary Fund forced it to put in path breaking reforms.

A.

Q.

What is our worst case scenario? How low could the rupee go?

A.

We don’t know. No one can really forecast currencies very accurately, in the near term and given global uncertainty.
The rupee could easily fall between 57 and 60 to the dollar depending on how the European Union situation plays out. We just have to see what the government ends up doing.

Q.

You must speak with government and political advisers. Do you get the sense the central government appreciates the necessity of doing something now?

A.

There seems to be a disconnect. The people who understand the gravity of the situation and know what needs to be done don’t have the political capital to push through things. A lot of the relevant people get it; one doesn’t need to be a whiz kid in economics to appreciate what India is going through.

Q.

You mentioned Sonia Gandhi earlier – is she the major roadblock standing in the way of the economic reforms that need to happen?

A.

It is understandable that she has a political agenda. But strong and well-balanced economic growth will offer more, not less, opportunities for her well-intentioned redistributive agenda. Not undertaking reforms that will boost growth needed to meet the rising aspirations is a one-way path for the government to be out of a job.
I don’t think people are opposed to helping the poor. But the popularity of hand-outs needs to change. Growth is the best answer to poverty.
We require political will to do something. The more the government waits, the stronger and more unpopular these corrective measures will have to be.
This interview has been lightly condensed and edited. 

European Pressphoto Agency
Farmers thrash paddy with cows in Panikhaiti village on the outskirts of Guwahati,
 Assam. According to local media reports the Brahmaputra River and its tributaries
are rising at an alarming rate due to a heavy monsoon and destroying a large
 quantity of the rabi or secondary crop in the state..

Tibetan exiles protest against Chinese rule over
Tibet in New Delhi. (Express Photo: Prem Nath Pandey)

SCBs to come up in Sikkim, NE and areas populated up to 99,999

Souce: iSikkim

New Delhi, 23 May, 2012:
As per the extant Branch Authorization Policy of Reserve Bank of India (RBI), general permission has been granted to domestic Scheduled Commercial Banks (other than Regional Rural Banks) to open branches, in centres with a population up to 99,999 and in all centres of the North-Eastern States and Sikkim, subject to reporting.
In order to further expand the banking network, RBI has advised that while preparing their Annual Branch Expansion Plan, the banks should allocate at least 25 per cent of the branches proposed to be opened during a year in unbanked rural centres with population upto 9999. Further, under the “Swabhimaan” financial inclusion campaign, banking facilities have been provided to over 74,000 villages having population over 2000.
There are 93,659 branches of Scheduled Commercial Banks (SCBs) functioning in the country as on 31st March, 2012 out of which 34,671 branches are in rural areas and 24,133 are in semi-urban areas, which together constitute about 63 per cent of the total bank branches.
With a view of achieve the objective of greater financial inclusion, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issued instructions to all Scheduled Commercial Banks in November 2005, to make available a basic banking ‘no-frills’ account either with ‘nil’ or very low minimum balances as well as charges that would make such accounts accessible to vast sections of population. As per RBI, the number of no-frills accounts outstanding with Public Sector Banks (excluding Regional Rural Banks) and Private Sector Banks at end of March 2012, is 1032.06 lakhs.
This information was given by the Minister of State for Finance, Namo Narain Meena in written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha 

The island of China... That's no typo. The Gobi Desert, Tibetan Plateau, Himalayas, and Pacific Ocean surround the heartland of China like a geographic great wall. We're talking about a nation whose economic model has the world's best experts confused about whether China's about to take over the world... or collapse.

The best way to understand China is to start with its geography.

Source: Financial Express

Bangalore, May 23: 

Samsung Electronics has announced the launch of Samsung GALAXY Tab 2 310, a 7-inch device that is available with 3G and Wi-Fi.

"Tablets are increasingly finding adoption amongst consumers because of their richer more converged experience. Users are able to surf the internet, enjoy multi-media and manage their work and life while being on the move,” said Mr Ranjit Yadav, Country Head, Mobile and IT, Samsung India.

The product weighs 345 grams and comes with a 4,000 mAh battery and 16 GB storage expandable to 32 GB.

It is priced at Rs 23,250. 

• 

TAPI gas pipeline agreement signed

May 23,  7:26 PM India and its new energy partners, Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan on Wednesday signed agreements that will pave way for laying of the 1,680-km line gas pipeline TAPI. The 1,680-km TAPI pipeline will have a capacity to carry 90 million cubic metres gas a day for a 30-year period and will be operational in 2018. India and Pakistan would get 38 million cubic metres each, while the remaining 14 million cubic metres will be supplied to Afghanistan. Describing signing of the Gas Sales and Purchase Agreement, GSPA as important event, Oil Minister S Jaipal Reddy said the TAPI gas pipeline will transform the politics of this region.

An Indian Army T-90 battle tank kicks up dust during the Shoor Veer military exercise near Hanumangarh, located near the India-Pakistan border, on May 3, 2012. – Photo by AFP.

·      The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme now reaches one out of five households in the country. ·      India was the second fastest growing telecom market in the world.  We added nearly 10 crore new telephone connections last year, including more than 4 crore in rural areas. ·      We added new power generation capacity of 20,000 MW last year which is almost equal to the capacity added during the entire 10th Five Year Plan Period. We provided 35 lakh new electricity connections in rural India last year.

Congrats ! Premlata Agarwal

Ajay Maken Flags off the ‘Mountaineering Challenge’ for Premlata Agarwal

Shri Ajay Maken, Minister of State ( Independent Charge) for Youth Affairs & Sports today flagged off the next big leap by ace mountaineer Premlata Agarwal. She has set her eyes on the ‘Mountaineering Challenge’ i.e. to climb the Seven Summits. After scaling Mt. Everest (29,035 ft.), Killimanjaro (19,334 ft.) and Aconcagua (22,841 ft.), the 45 year old mountaineer is all charged up for her climb to the remaining four summits - Mount Elbrus (Europe), Vinson Massif (Antarctica), Mount McKinley (North America) and Carstensz Pyramid (Indonesia). Tata Steel is sponsoring her expedition and has sanctioned Rs 11 lakhs to climb the remaining 4 summits. On the occasion, Shri Maken said “It gives me great pride to flag off another adventurous challenge of Premlata. Efforts of corporates like Tata Steel to support Indian sportspersons are laudable. Premlata’s successful expedition would be unprecedented achievement for India. We wish her all the very best” The one who completes this challenge of conquering all seven summits is considered to be a ‘Hall of Famer’ among mountaineers. If Premlata achieves this towering feat (she has given herself time till 2013), she will become the first Indian and the oldest woman to conquer the seven summits (Mount Everest (Asia), Mount Kilimanjaro (Africa), Aconcagua (Argentina), Mount Elbrus (Europe), Vinson Massif (Antarctica), Mount McKinley (North America) and Carstensz Pyramid (Indonesia). Premlata expressed, “My initiation in the field of adventure came by chance, and has been an uphill journey. I am looking forward to taste success by climbing all the seven summits. I would like to thank Tata Steel and my mentor for their support.” The tentative dates to climb the summits are DENALI (May 20-June 12), ELBURS (July 15- 28, 2012), Carstensz Pyramid (October 14 - 27, 2012), Mount Vinson (Dec. 14 - 29). On prior occasions, Agarwal has participated in several expeditions notable being the Island Peak Expedition in Nepal (20,600 ft) in 2004, the Karakoram Pass (18,300 ft) and Mt Stok Kangri (20,150 ft) in 2006, the First Indian Woman’s Thar Desert Expedition in 2007 which involved a 40 day Camel Safari along the International Border from Bhuj in Gujarat — Rann of Kutch — Thar in Rajasthan, upto Wagah Border in Punjab. These achievements were also recognised as a National Record and found place in the Limca Book of Records.

Air China’s Operations in India

Shri Ajit Singh, the Minister of Civil Aviation informed Rajya Sabha today in a written reply that as per the Air Services Agreement between India and China, designated airlines of both countries are entitled to operate 42 services per week to each other’s territory. At present, Air China is operating 10 services per week to/from India. Air Services are a vital link between two nations to promote trade, tourism and people to people contact.

Cabinet17-May, 2012 20:23 IST

Gas Sales and Purchase Agreement under Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India Gas Pipeline Project

The Union Cabinet today approved the proposal of the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas to permit GA1L( India) Limited to sign the Gas Sale & Purchase Agreement (GSPA) with TurrnenGas, Turkmenistan`s national oil company, for the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) Gas Pipeline Project. The TAPI Gas Pipeline is envisaged to be 1680 Km in length (144 Km in Turkmenistan, 735 Kin in Afghanistan & 800 Km in Pakistan) with a capacity of 90 MMSCMD of gas, with 38 MMSCMD each for India and Pakistan and the remaining 14 MMSCMD for Afghanistan. The Pipeline is expected to be operational in 2018 and supply gas over a 30 years period. The source of the gas is the South Yoiotan Osman field, recently renamed Galkynysh, which has been certified by a reputed international consultant to be holding proven recoverable gas reserves of 16 trillion cubic metres. The provisions of the GSPA have been structured to protect India`s commercial interests as India is at the tail end of the pipeline. Afghanistan and Pakistan have committed to the safety and security of the pipeline through the Inter-Governmental Agreement and the Gas Purchase Framework Agreement signed among the four countries in December, 2010.

Border Roads in Sikkim

Border Roads Organisation is entrusted for construction of border roads in Sikkim under various schemes such as Long Term Perspective Plan - (LTPP-l)-26 roads, LTPP-II - 3 roads, Special Accelerated Road Development Programme (SARDP)-02 roads, Indo¬china Border Roads (ICBRs)-03 roads and other General Staff-34 roads. A total road length of 1463.66 Km is under construction / improvement to Class-9 (Enhanced) / National Highway Double Lane Specifications in Sikkim State. Out of this 155.72 Km length has been completed and works are in progress in remaining length. Further 58 roads of length 828.14 Km are also being maintained by BRO in the State. This information was given by Minister of Defence Shri AK Antony in a written reply to Shri Balkrishna K. Shukla in Lok Sabha today. PK/NN   (Release ID :84261)

Circle of questions

May 22, 2012 - Swami Tejomayananda

• 
 
• 

• Share

Swami Tejomayananda

One of the common questions that many people ask me is: Why did God create the world? Though the question is the same, I have found that the reason for asking, or the actual questions in their minds are different. Let us see why people ask this question in the first place.
A student of science, theology or philosophy has an academic interest in discovering the cause of the world. A person drowning in sorrow or pain, seeing no solution to his problems, in despair asks: Why did God create the world? However, his actual question is: Why am I so unhappy? Sometimes, when we look at the world and see disparity amongst people, natural disasters, innocent people being exploited, etc, we question in anger: Why did God create the world? We feel that God is supposed to be just, kind and loving. How can He watch all the sorrow in the world? Why does He not do something about it?
The theist already believes in God and the world as God’s creation. He has some concept of God and vague theories of how the world is created. Therefore, he wants to know “why” God created the world. Such a question, however, will not arise in an atheist. He may ask: What is the world? How did it come into existence?
I must admit that I too do not really know why God created the world. Once Marconi was explaining in detail how the radio works. He finally admits to his friend, “I know how it works, but I don’t know why it works.”
There are many answers that have been given to explain the motive behind Creation. Let us consider these answers first.
l “Ask Him, He knows best.” The motive behind an action is best known to the one who does the action. Others can only infer the motive. Such an answer does not satisfy us. We think that the person doesn’t know and is avoiding the question.
l “For His recreation.” This creates more questions and even indignation. When we are suffering, He is enjoying. And why does He need recreation?
l “He wanted to manifest His potential to create.” Why did He want to manifest His potential?
l “He wished to manifest His glories.” How can a perfect God create such imperfection?
We see that every answer produces counter-questions. This is because we have a certain, concept of God as a person, sitting somewhere and creating the world. Thus, we end up questioning and justifying our own notions. Now let us give up all our preconceived notions, prejudices, likes and dislikes, and enter into the discussion with an open and attentive mind. Why did God create this world? We shall see next time.

Swami Tejomayananda, head of Chinmaya Mission Worldwide, is an orator, poet, singer, composer and storyteller. To find out more about Chinmaya Mission and Swamiji, visit www.chinmayamission.com.
© Central Chinmaya
Mission Trust.

Sikkim traders boycott border trade when new items come with 29% customs duty

TRADERS SEEK CLARIFICATION FROM COMMERCE DEPTT, DEPTT WILL APPROACH CENTRE ON THE ISSUE
AMEET OBEROI

SOURCE:SIKKIM NOWGANGTOK, 22 May: The joy of five items being added by the Central Government to the list of goods allowed for import from Tibet was shortlived for Sikkim traders, when, on the first day of trading yesterday, another surprise was pulled on them with the imposition of a 29% customs duty on the new goods. Border trade is traditionally kept out of the purview of customs duty and no trader, it is learnt, was informed of 29% duty until they arrived at the Sherathang trade mart yesterday. It might be recalled that although trade was to resume on 01 May, heavy snowfall and the poor condition of the road beyond Sherathang had delayed actual trading. With the weather having cleared up, trade was announced to begin yesterday. Confronted with the imposition of customs duty, Sikkim traders have boycott the trade and resolved not to resume until this regime was lifted.
The 05 new items introduced this year are readymade garments, shoes, quilts & blankets, carpets and local herbal medicines.
As per the schedule, trade did resume on 21 May [Monday] wherein a total of 20 trucks from the Chinese side arrived at the Sherathang Trade Mart but there was no trading because of the boycott by traders from Sikkim.
Speaking to media persons, Commissioner cum Secretary, Commerce and Industries Department, BK Kharel, confirmed that traders from Sikkim have stayed away because of the imposition of customs duty and have also sought a clarification on why this was being imposed.
He went on to add that no public notice on exemption in customs duty has been announced by the Government of India and the duty is only imposed on the new items added recently and was not extended to items on the original list.
The Secretary mentioned that the ‘Trade Welfare Association’ through their General Secretary has also sought clarification on the issues from the department on whether custom duty is applicable on imports from Tibet and whether goods imported through this border trade can be sold to states outside Sikkim.
The department will be approaching the Government of India for necessary clarifications on the issue raised by the Association after availing prior approval from the state government, informed the Secretary. He informed that the department will also write to the Ministry of Commerce regarding this issue.
Mean while, Sikkim traders have reiterated that until and unless custom duties are not lifted, they will not take part in trading.
“We the traders have taken it on ourselves not to do any trading until the Custom Duty on the 05 new items is lifted,” informed one of the traders, while speaking to NOW! today. “The goods that we bring from Nathula are not of the finest quality and we have to sell it cheap and now, if we have to pay custom duty then who will buy these goods at a higher price as the same can be purchased from Siliguri markets at cheaper rates,” he added.
He further stated that the imposition of custom duty on these new items was only being demanded in Nathula Border Trade and not in the other two border trading outposts.
On the other hand, the Trade Welfare Association has been tirelessly putting in efforts in convincing the Minister concerned to take up this matter at the earliest and then they will also be calling upon the Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha to look into the exemption of custom duty from the Nathula Border Trade.

Subsidy Worth Rs.2,16,297 Crore Payable in 2011-12

Total subsidy payable in 2011-12 was estimated to Rs.2,16,297 crore in RE 2011-12 against Rs.57,125 crore incurred in 2006-2007, which was about 3.79 times of the expenditure incurred in 2006-2007. The details of expenditure on subsidy in 2006-2007 and 2011-2012 (RE) are as follows: (Rs. In crore) Sr. No. Details of Subsidy 2006-2007 (Actual) 2011-12 (RE) 1. Food Subsidy 24014 72823 2. Fertilizer Subsidy 26222 67199 3. Petroleum Subsidy 2699 68481 4. Other Subsidies 4190 7794 Total 57125 216297                     This information was given by the Minister of State for Finance,Shri   Namo Narain   Meena in written reply to a question in Rajya  Sabhatoday.

SAMA President Hishey Lachungpa congratulates Kazi Sherpa for his Everest Summit.

New Delhi: Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament from Sikkim Hishey Lachungpa who is also the President of Sikkim Amateur Mountaineering Association (SAMA), has congratulated Mountaineer Shri Kazi Sherpa for his feat of conquering Mt. Everest at 10 AM this morning.

In a congratulatory message to Mr. Sherpa, Shri Lachungpa has said “I along with all the members of SAMA and entire Sikkimese would like to congratulate Mr. Kazi Sherpa of Indian Himalayan Centre for Adventure and Ecotourism, Chemchey who represented Sikkim as a member of the Mount Everest Expedition 2012 from South Col. While it is a great achievement for Mr. Kazi personally who had been trying to achieve this summit for some years now, it has also brought pride and glory to our state with his feat.”

High Court upholds pan masala manufacturers claim for excise exemption

source:SikkimNow
GANGTOK, 21 May: The Sikkim High Court has granted exemption of excise duty to Unicorn Industries, a mouth freshener manufacturer located at Majhigaon, Jorethang, South Sikkim for the period of ten years, from the date of commencement of its commercial production, in line with the special incentives which had attracted the investment to Sikkim.
Unicorn Industries came into existence and began its production of Pan Masala on 27 June, 2006 in Sikkim. At the time, under a notification dated 09 September 2003 issued under sub-section (1) of Section 5A of the Central Excise Act, 1944, “Special package of incentives for development of Industries in the State of Sikkim, 2002” granted new industries here exemption from excise duty for a period of ten years.
However, a state government, on 25 April 2007 termed ‘pan masala’ as falling under the list of ‘demerit good’ [hazardous to health] and hence not entitled to the exemption. Unicorn Industries had challenged this notification and demanded exemption of Central Excise duty under sub-section (1) of Section 5A of the Central Excise Act, 1944.
The Single Bench of the Sikkim High Court in its recent judgment allowed Unicorn Industries to get the economic incentives of “Special package of incentives for development of Industries in the State of Sikkim, 2002” and as per the Government of India policy for Northeastern states.
In the judgment, Chief Justice Permod Kohli points out that demerit goods have not been defined anywhere in the Notifications published either by the state or the central governments. The High Court observed that ‘Pan Masala’ has not been declared as health hazardous by any notification or order of the Government of India or the State Government. “No material or scientific reports have been placed on record to demonstrate that the Pan Masala containing no tobacco is health hazardous,” the judgement reads.
The Single Bench, further stating that the notification dated 09.09.2003 later amended vide notification of 25.04.2007 “has not been applied retrospectively” observed that “any industry established after the amendment of notification dated 09.09.2003 in the State of Sikkim manufacturing any of the excluded items including the Pan Masala will not be entitled to exemption w.e.f the date of the impugned notification.”
The Sikkim High Court further observed that the State has failed to disclose any material to indicate the public interest that Pan Masala falls under the category of demerit goods and health hazardous and is not supported by any ‘scientific analysis or material’ to justify the plea.