indianeconomicpanorama
42 News the Newsbehind JULY 08, 2019corridors on the Yamuna Expressway
(between Delhi and Agra) and the
National Highway 48 (between Delhi
and Jaipur) will be 500 km, and 18
charging stations will be setup near toll
plazas on the two routes.
According to offi cials, the e-corridors
are proposed to be the fi rst under the
Ease of Doing Business Programme
(EODB) of the Advance Services for
Social and Administrative Reforms
(ASSAR), a private entity which is
supported by the central government.
“The project is about converting
500-km of expressway into electric
corridors with facilities for charging
electric vehicles. Test runs on these
corridors are expected to begin this
September and these e-corridors will
be launched in March 2020,” National
Programme Director EODB at ASSAR,
Abhijeet Sinha, said.
Eighteen charging stations will
be setup on the two routes. Eight
will be between Delhi-Agra and 10
between Delhi-Jaipur. Besides charging
their vehicles, people can also change
batteries.
LABOUR AND
ENVIRONMENT
INDIA COULD LOSE 34
M JOBS IN 2030 DUE TO
GLOBAL WARMING: ILO
REPORT
According to report by the
International Labour Organisation
(ILO) ‘Working on a Warmer Planet:
Th e Impact of Heat Stress on Labour
Productivity and Decent Work’,
India is projected to lose 5.8 per cent of
working hours in 2030, a productivity
loss equivalent to 34 million full-
time jobs, due to global warming,
particularly impacting agriculture and
construction sectors.
Th e ILO) report, which said that
by 2030, the equivalent of more than
two per cent of total working hours
worldwide is projected to be lost every
year, either because it is too hot to work
or because workers have to work at a
slower pace.
“Projections based on a global
temperature rise of 1.5 degrees C by
the end of the 21st century, and also
on labour force trends, suggest that,
in 2030, 2.2 per cent of total working
hours worldwide will be lost to high
temperatures — a productivity loss
equivalent to 80 million full-time job,”
the report said.
Th e country most aff ected by heat
stress is India, which lost 4.3 per cent of
working hours in 1995 and is projected
to lose 5.8 per cent of working hours in- Because of its large population,
India is in absolute terms expected to
lose the equivalent of 34 million full-
time jobs in 2030 in productivity as a
result of heat stress.
“Although most of the impact in
India will be felt in the agricultural
sector, more and more working hours are
expected to be lost in the construction
sector, where heat stress aff ects both
male and female workers,” it said.
National-level GDP losses are
projected to be substantial in 2030, with
reductions in GDP of more than fi ve
per cent expected to occur in Th ailand,
Cambodia, India and Pakistan due to
heat stress.
Heat stress is defi ned as generally
occurring at above 35 degrees Celsius,
in places where there is high humidity.
Heat stress aff ects, above all, outdoor
workers such as those engaged in
agriculture and on construction sites.
Excess heat at work is an occupational
health risk and in extreme cases can lead
to heatstroke, which can be fatal, the
UN agency said.
INDUSTRY
INDIAN WORRIES ON STEEL
IMPORTS
India will continue to be a net
importer of steel for at least the next
two years as high-grade products from
South Korea and Japan fl ow in tax free
amid worries of escalation in supplies
from China, according to Fitch Ratings
Ltd.s local unit.
India imports totalled 7.8 million
tonnes in the year ended March 31,
making it a net importer, and are likely
to stay around that level this year, said
Rohit Sadaka, director at India Ratings
and Research Ltd. Th at could increase
if India joins the proposed Regional
Comprehensive Economic Partnership,
or RCEP, opening the door for cheaper
imports from China.
India, being one of the leading
consuming countries, is a ready market
for their steel as it is a growing market,
he said. It would be a big threat for
the Indian steel players because the
local steel industry would not be able
to compete with China and its huge
surplus.
Bloomberg writes India’s annual
consumption is close to 100 million
tonnes and there are prospects for further
growth from Prime Minister Narendra
Modi’s push to build infrastructure.
Th e country was inundated with cheap
supplies from China until as recently
three years ago, pushing imports
to a record, before the government
implemented measures such as a fl oor
price on shipments, safeguard taxes
and anti-dumping duties to stem the
infl ow. Th e measures and the scaling
down of steel capacity in China helped
push imports lower in the last couple
of years.
Any duty concession to China
under RCEP is going to open
the flood gates for Chinese steel
imports, according to Bhaskar
Chatterjee, secretary general of the