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The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved a policy for long-term leasing of railway land for the PM Gati Shakti programme, which the government said will help set up 300 cargo terminals and generate 125,000 jobs.

The new policy will help provide land lease for a longer period of up to 35 years as against five years at present, Union Minister Anurag Thakur told the media after the cabinet meeting.

With an employment generation potential of about 125,000 jobs, the policy will also bring more revenue to the Railways, 300 cargo terminals will be developed in five years, said Thakur.

The new policy will enable the integrated development of infrastructure and more cargo terminals.

Thakur said that apart from leasing the land for setting up cargo terminals, these land parcels would also be used for setting up social infrastructures like hospitals and schools through public-private partnership mode.

In addition to this, solar plants would also be set up on railway land, the minister added.

Thakur informed that land would be leased for new stakeholders for up to 35 years at 1.5 per cent of market value of the land.

British Prime Minister Liz Truss is not new to India-UK ties. Earlier as an International Trade Secretary, and later as a Secretary of State in the Boris Johnson government, she had many virtual interactions with Indian policy-makers. She also visited India a few times in the recent past.

India-UK ties have already been elevated to a ‘comprehensive strategic partnership’, and an ambitious ‘Roadmap 2030’ have been adopted. Fast track negotiations on bilateral Free Trade Agreement (FTA), and the British ‘Indo-Pacific tilt’ have provided new impetus to relations.

As trade minister, Truss saw India as a “big, major opportunity” and “UK and India in a sweet spot of the trade dynamics”. She launched the India-UK Enhanced Trade Partnership (ETP) in early 2021, and believed that “working with India will help enhance the UK’s position as a global hub for digital and services”. While interacting with the Conservative Friends of India during her campaign, Truss asserted that she is “very, very committed to the UK-India relationship”.

As the fourth British Prime Minister in six years, she is taking over at a time when the UK is facing serious economic, political, and foreign policy challenges. The Conservative Party is badly divided. The post-Brexit disruptions are still being felt. The post-pandemic recovery is rocked by the war in Ukraine, higher energy prices, and unprecedented inflation. So, managing different factions within the party, and announcing a new growth and energy strategy will be on top of her agenda.

During the campaign, she asserted that her plan for growth is to “built on Conservative ideas: tax cuts, supply-side reform and deregulation”. Now she wants to “transform Britain into an aspiration nation” with the priorities on economy, energy, and National Health Service (NHS). In the coming days, her government has to roll out specific details of these plans.

Apart from broader convergence of Britain’s post-Brexit ambitions, and India’s economic and strategic priorities, a major deliverable expected is a bilateral FTA. During Johnson’s India visit early this year, a deadline of an agreement by Diwali was fixed.

As 19 out of 26 chapters are already closed, Indian policy-makers are confident that an agreement by the deadline is within reach. Even if we are able to see an agreement by the end of 2022, it will be quite an achievement as negotiations started only in January. An India-UK FTA also has the potential to provide a broader template to India’s other trade negotiations including with the European Union. However, if negotiations are prolonged, it will impact momentum created by the newly-signed FTA’s with Australia and the United Arab Emirates.

Normally, countries sign trade agreements when economic conditions are more favourable. The conditions in the UK are clearly not encouraging when inflation is at a 40-year-high, and the economy is heading towards recession. Although Indian policy-makers are making positive statements, economic difficulties along with change in leadership in the UK may delay the conclusion of negotiations.

Although the UK's Indo-Pacific tilt has been discussed widely, at the moment, London is focused more on war in Ukraine. This is an area where Indian and British perceptions differ. In March when Truss visited India as part of Britain’s ‘wider diplomatic push’ on war in Ukraine, she hoped that Indian views in Russia would change. Her trip to India had also coincided with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov’s visit to New Delhi at the same time. On sanctions against Russia, sharp exchanges were witnessed between Truss and Indian Foreign Minister S Jaishankar.

As she is quite hawkish on Russia at the moment, convergence on many foreign policy issues may not happen automatically. This may impact slowly developing India-UK defence and security cooperation.

Domestic economic priorities, and evolving geopolitical developments including the rise of assertive China have helped boost India-UK ties. Many of the new initiatives were facilitated by Johnson’s close bond with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. As Truss has been part of this process, it will be easy for her to continue with the same agenda. At the moment she may be occupied with domestic economic issues, and Russia. But the broad direction of India-UK ties has already been set. This will be further strengthened by the bilateral FTA whenever it is signed.

Gold prices fell on Wednesday in international markets as the US dollar and Treasury yields rose after economic data bolstered expectations the Federal Reserve will continue on an aggressive rate-hike path. Spot gold was down 0.3% at $1,696.30 per ounce as of 0127 GMT.

At 9.41am, gold contracts were trading 0.52 percent lower on the Multi-Commodity Exchange (MCX) at Rs 50,020 per 10 grams and silver shed 0.72 percent at Rs 52,766 a kilogram.

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Trading Strategy

Nirpendra Yadav, Senior Commodity Research Analyst at Swastika Investmart

Better US economic data signals better health of the economy that supports benchmark Treasury yield which ramps up demand for the US Dollar. Precious metals gave away the day's gains as the US dollar index crossed the 110 mark yesterday. On the data front, US Service PMI stood at 56.9 versus 56.7 putting pressure on precious metal prices. Continuing upward move in the dollar, which moves opposite to gold prices, may put selling pressure on precious metals prices. Gold has resistance at Rs 50750 and support at Rs 50000. Silver has support at Rs 52700 and resistance at Rs 54400.

Pritam Patnaik, Head - Commodities, HNI & NRI Acquisitions, Axis Securities

A surging dollar index and bond yields on the back of a greater probability of Fed hiking rates by 75 basis points has seriously dented gold prices. Encouraged by positive data flows emerging from the US economy, the Fed could easily execute its plans to rein in inflation. With the probability of a 75 basis point hike increasing to 72%, it’s not surprising to see the impact on gold.

The Dollar Index jumped 0.4% to 110.25, an over 20-year high, while the 10-year US treasury yields were also trading at their highest level in the last two months. The bullion pack will be under pressure till the Fed event.

Tapan Patel, Senior Analyst (Commodities), HDFC Securities

Gold prices traded lower on Wednesday with spot gold prices at COMEX trading 0.30% down near $1697 per ounce in the morning trade. Gold prices fell below $1700 per ounce on stronger dollar and better than expected US economic data boosting expectations of aggressive rate hike from Fed. The dollar index surged above the 110 mark lowering demand for safe haven metals.

We expect gold prices to trade sideways to down for the day with COMEX spot gold support at $1676 and resistance at $1720 per ounce. MCX gold October support lies at Rs 49800 and resistance at Rs 50500 per 10 grams.

When food and nutrition are talked of in the same vein in the context of food security, the divergence between the two sometimes gets blurred. Incidentally, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) framework acknowledges food and nutritional security under SDG 2, while health implications under SDG 3. However, it is the nutrition component of food that is inextricably linked to SDG 3, thereby, reinforcing that mere food quantity is not sufficient for food and nutritional security.

This entire contention of causality between SDGs 2 and 3 gets perfectly exemplified in the context of the edible oil value-chain, where used cooking oil (UCO) often emerges as a consumable primarily as a response to the increasing edible oil prices, the price risks emerging from the global markets (due to India’s high import dependency in edible oils), and low-awareness levels across the value chain.

And, indeed, they have adverse health implications. UCO is linked to several chronic ailments, including cancer, heart disease, and organ damage. Due to its adverse health impact, the consumption of UCO in any form is technically prohibited in India. However, as per the estimates of India’s food safety regulator, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), almost 60 percent of the UCO generated in India makes its way back into the food chain, through home and commercial re-use.

Incidentally, the situation with the use of UCO is so alarming in terms of its widespread use that even the top-performing state in terms of FSSAI’s State Food Safety Index of 2022, Tamil Nadu, reveals a dismal picture. A recent survey by a consumer rights group across 13 districts in Tamil Nadu laid found that nearly 1 in 10 food vendors reuse edible oils till the last drop, while 1 in 5 mixed fresh oil with used cooking oils (UCO). One can pretty well make out the conditions in lower-ranked states.

A recent study by The Observer Research Foundation and Koan Advisory Group revealed ubiquitous use of UCO in major Indian metros, despite the existence of better consumer awareness. As per their survey of over 500 food business operators in New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, and Chennai, the practice of re-using edible oil till the last drop is all-pervasive, especially amongst small eateries and food vendors.

The study also indicated that regular under-reporting of UCO use by large eateries is indicative of either re-use of toxic cooking oils in food preparation or illegal sales to downstream buyers. The two demand drivers of UCO are prices of edible oils and low-awareness levels of food safety regulations amongst business operators. Much in keeping with FSSAI findings, the study also revealed that lower propensity of Chennai eateries to re-use UCO due to better awareness levels and commercial channels to dispose of UCO. The same does not hold true for New Delhi, Mumbai, and Kolkata, as per the observations of this study.

The Leeway From This Menace

The FSSAI understands this menace. It launched the Repurposed Used Cooking Oil (RUCO) Initiative in June 2018 to combat this menace by shifting UCO away from the food supply chain towards biofuels, soaps, and oleochemical industries. However, in 2022, the FSSAI took a perplexing step back by allowing the practice of topping up UCO with fresh oil to prolong its use on account of a lack of regulatory capacity to enforce rules.

The findings of the ORF-Koan study are, therefore, a clarion call for all stakeholders in the value chain that more needs to be done on the ground to promote GoI and FSSAI’s avowed Eat Right India Movement. We recommend four steps towards this:

1. The state-level food safety authorities that enforce UCO management rules on the ground are often short-staffed, poorly funded, and lack the necessary testing kits and technology to verify food quality on the spot. There is no substitute for beefing up their capacities from the ground up.
2. The ORF-Koan study found that higher levels of awareness reduce the likelihood of both large and small-size eateries reusing cooking oil by 98 percent. It follows from here that the FSSAI needs to engage with food industry associations, consumer groups, industry bodies, public health experts, doctors, and nutritionists. It should co-opt such stakeholders to run awareness campaigns targeted at food operators. Additionally, there is a need for campaigns aimed at consumers to broad base the risks associated with UCO and provide guidance on safe UCO disposal at the household level.
3. The stakeholders in food manufacturing and services industries must play a proactive role to ensure compliance with food safety standards and regulations. This will require a market-based incentive mechanism that has been successful globally to incentivise responsible food manufacturing and service industries to develop partnerships with UCO aggregators and collectors to sell the waste oils to biofuels, soaps, and oleochemical industries. Given the growth of such non-food industries, there is large scope for commercial linkages to divert UCO from the food stream.
4. Finally, compliance with regulation is contingent upon an enabling infrastructure, including serviceability and access to UCO collectors and aggregators. This will require the FSSAI to engage with the private sector and municipal authorities to improve the physical infrastructure for UCO storage, collection, and disposal.

These steps can help combat a silent epidemic and meet India’s goal of safeguarding the health of its citizens and building a safe, healthy, and sustainable food supply ecosystem.