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Business News/ Politics / Policy/  News in numbers | Exports decline to $22.17 billion, imports to $28.44 billion in May
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News in numbers | Exports decline to $22.17 billion, imports to $28.44 billion in May

In other news, Didi Chuxing, China's rival to Uber, raises $7 billion in new funding

Commerce and industry minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that the decline in exports has bottomed-out though the pick-up may be slow. Photo: Indranil Bhoumik/Mint Premium
Commerce and industry minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that the decline in exports has bottomed-out though the pick-up may be slow. Photo: Indranil Bhoumik/Mint

$7 billion

What is it? The amount Didi Chuxing has raised recently.

Why is it important? This is double of what Uber had raised about a fortnight ago, leaving the Chinese company flush with $10 billion in cash, signalling intensifying competition in China. This may force Uber, which spent $1 billion this year to grow its share in China, to increase its focus on India that only makes it a tougher battle for Ola Cabs in India.

Tell me more: Uber, which received $3.5 billion funding from Saudi Arabia’s wealth fund a few days ago, is looking at the leveraged loan market to raise as much as $2 billion. Didi has a pact with US’s Lyft, India’s Ola and Grab in Southeast Asia—to take on Uber—to use each other’s apps when customers travel to other markets in their network.

2,500

What is it? The maximum airlines can charge per hour of flying on regional routes, as per India’s first National Civil Aviation Policy.

Why is it important? This, along with other rules, is aimed to encourage more people to take up air travel and boost economic growth. The policy is aimed at helping the government achieve its target of growing domestic passengers from 80 million to 300 million by 2022. India’s annual trips per capita is just 0.04 compared to 0.3 in China.

Tell me more: The other decisions include allowing all airlines to fly international routes provided they deploy 20 aircraft or 20% of their total capacity (whichever is higher) for domestic operations, development of “no-frills" airports at an indicative cost of 50-100 crore and stricter rules for making airlines fly on underserved routes.

1,000

What is it? The number of studies on humans and animals reviewed by an international working group of 23 scientists, after which they concluded that there is inadequate evidence to show that drinking coffee causes cancer.

Why is it important? This surely brings cheer to the millions of coffee lovers across the world, who may or may not have known that the World Health Organization (WHO) had listed the beverage as a “possibly carcinogenic" agent for nearly 25 years. While coffee drinking has been observed to have reduced the risks of liver and uterine cancers, the evidence was inconclusive for 20 other types of cancer.

Tell me more: The scientists, however, found positive associations between drinking very hot beverages (65 degree Celsius or more) and cancer of the esophagus and it is now classified as “possibly carcinogenic".

0.79%

What is it? The year-on-year decline in exports in May to $22.17 billion.

Why is it important? This is the slowest pace of contraction in 18 months, driven by exports of gems and jewellery, chemicals and engineering goods. Commerce and industry minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that the decline in exports has bottomed-out though the pick-up may be slow. The Federation of Indian Export Organisations expects double-digit growth in exports from October onwards, which could help in achieving $300 billion in exports in 2016-17.

Tell me more: Imports declined 13.16% in May to $28.44 billion, leaving a trade deficit of $6.27 billion.

1.15 lakh tonnes

What is it? The quantity of pulses procured by the Indian government during the kharif and rabi seasons for buffer stock creation, against the target of 1.5 lakh tonnes this year.

Why is it important? Despite this, a sudden shortage in stocks has pushed the prices of pulses to as much as 170 per kg. To bring down the prices of pulses, the government has increased the buffer stock of pulses to 8 lakh tonnes for this year and the Cabinet has okayed imports of pulses from Myanmar and some African countries.

Tell me more: The food ministry has asked private agencies that import pulses to dispose off the stocks within 45 days to ensure proper supply in markets and the state governments to take action against hoarders.

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Published: 16 Jun 2016, 01:02 PM IST
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