1.   

'Economic development must be environmentally sustainable': Manmohan Singh

Warning that environmental degradation could have serious consequences, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday emphasised that economic growth should be based on optimal use of natural resources and development must be environmentally sustainable. Often, he regretted, “economic policies designed to promote growth have been implemented without considering their full environmental consequences, presumably on the assumption that these consequences would either take care of themselves or could be dealt with separately.”

2.   

Cabinet removes sugar sector curbs to clip output swings

India has taken steps to remove curbs on domestic sugar supplies after months of debate as the world's second-biggest producer hopes to iron out sharp swings in output that have triggered volatility in global prices.India, the biggest sugar consumer, will no longer force mills to sell sugar to the government at a discount and will not limit the amount they can sell in the open market, Food Minister K.V. Thomas told journalists on Thursday after the Cabinet agreed the changes.

3.   

PM, Sharma Germany-bound to boost ties

India and Germany would hold the second joint cabinet-level meeting in Berlin on April 11. The first such meeting, held in New Delhi in May 2011, was chaired by German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Commerce & Industry Minister Anand Sharma, along with other senior Cabinet ministers, would accompany Singh to Berlin. This meeting, too, would be chaired by Singh and Merkel.

4.   

Await pragmatic foreign trade policy on April 18’

The government will unveil a ‘pragmatic’ Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) on April 18, said Union Minister of Commerce, Industry and Textiles Anand Sharma here on Wednesday. The annual supplement to FTP is likely to provide sops to exporters in order to boost exports and bridge the widening current account deficit (CAD). The trade deficit touched a record high of 6.7% for the December quarter of 2012-13.