NewsBytes

Nagaland forms panels to address climate change issues and strengthen local governance

The Nagaland Assembly has established two new committees aimed at tackling the challenge of climate change and reinforcing the effectiveness of rural and urban local bodies in the state. “The continuous efforts of our Assembly members to bring governance closer to the people made the formation of these two committees with a global perspective not only necessary but urgent,” Speaker Sharingain Longkumer said. The panel on climate change will play a crucial role in driving parliamentary efforts to combat the climate crisis, particularly in reviewing proposed climate legislation and assessing government performance on climate commitments, officials said. The Committee on Urban Local Bodies & Nagaland Village Councils would focus on enhancing local governance and decentralisation, officials said.

Musk, DOGE try to slash government by cutting out those who answer to voters

For decades, conservatives in Congress have talked about the need to cut government deeply, but they have always pulled back from mandating specific reductions, fearful of voter backlash. Now, President Donald Trump's administration is trying to make major cuts in government through the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, run by billionaire Elon Musk — an initiative led by an unelected businessman who's unlikely to ever run for office and was appointed by a termed-out president who no longer needs to face voters again. The dynamic of cutting government while also cutting out those who answer to voters has alarmed even some fiscal conservatives who have long pushed for Congress to reduce spending through the means laid out in the Constitution: a system of checks and balances that includes lawmakers elected across the country working with the president.

India pegged as No 1 source market for London's ambitious new 'Growth Plan'

The UK's capital city has unveiled an ambitious new ‘Growth Plan' to provide an estimated 27 billion pounds extra tax revenue to fund vital public services in London and across the country, with India pegged as its number one source market in terms of foreign direct investment. The plan, unveiled recently by Mayor of London Sadiq Khan along with growth agency London & Partners, aims to restore productivity growth to an average of 2 per cent a year in the next decade, which is hoped would make London's economy 107 billion pounds larger by 2035. India has been on a growth curve for the last three years, overtaking the US as London's single-largest FDI source market in 2022-23 and continuing through 2023-24.

EU’s aggressive environmental regulations biggest hurdles of FTA talks with India: GTRI

The European Union's (EU) aggressive environmental regulations, particularly the carbon tax, deforestation rules, and supply chain due diligence laws are one of the biggest hurdles in the negotiations for a proposed trade pact with India, economic think tank GTRI said. It said that these regulations could impose additional costs on Indian exports. Under the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), Indian exports of steel, aluminum, and cement to the EU could face tariffs of 20-35 per cent, even if an FTA is signed, the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) said in its report. This raises concerns that while EU goods would enter India duty-free, Indian exports would still face these indirect barriers in Europe, it added.