top of page

By:

Rajendra Joshi

3 December 2024 at 9:20:26 am

Pakistan eyes India’s sugar shortage

Kolhapur: Twenty-seven years after the controversial “Sugar Gate” episode during the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government, Pakistan is once again eyeing India’s sugar market, this time seeking permission to export up to 1.2 million tonnes of sugar to India amid a tightening domestic supply situation and a sharp rise in prices. The Pakistan Sugar Mills Association has approached the Pakistan government seeking approval to export up to 1.2 million tonnes of surplus sugar to India. The proposal comes...

Pakistan eyes India’s sugar shortage

Kolhapur: Twenty-seven years after the controversial “Sugar Gate” episode during the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government, Pakistan is once again eyeing India’s sugar market, this time seeking permission to export up to 1.2 million tonnes of sugar to India amid a tightening domestic supply situation and a sharp rise in prices. The Pakistan Sugar Mills Association has approached the Pakistan government seeking approval to export up to 1.2 million tonnes of surplus sugar to India. The proposal comes days after India permitted duty-free imports of one million tonnes of sugar to cool domestic prices, raising the possibility of Pakistani sugar entering the Indian market. The proposed exports are significant against the backdrop of the controversy that erupted in Parliament in August 1999, when India imported sugar to address a domestic shortage. The Congress had then alleged that a substantial portion of the imports came from Pakistan and accused the Vajpayee-led BJP government of favouring sugar mills linked to the family of then Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. The government rejected the allegations, but the episode became a major political controversy. The latest development has acquired added significance because India is again facing a delicate demand-supply situation in sugar. Prices have surged sharply, with retail sugar prices nearing the Rs 70-a-kg mark in several markets. The Centre’s decision to allow one million tonnes of duty-free imports is aimed at improving domestic availability and containing prices ahead of the festival season. Pakistan’s sugar industry sees an opportunity in the situation. According to the Pakistan Sugar Mills Association, Pakistan had around 2.8 million tonnes of sugar stocks as of August 15, while monthly domestic consumption is estimated at about 550,000 tonnes. Pakistan’s sugar industry has also highlighted the country’s foreign-exchange constraints. The timing of the proposal is therefore significant. India’s decision to open a window for duty-free sugar imports has created an opportunity for Pakistan’s sugar industry to dispose of its surplus stocks while earning valuable foreign exchange. For India, however, any proposal to source sugar from Pakistan is likely to carry political as well as economic implications. The memory of the 1999 “Sugar Gate” controversy remains relevant, particularly because the proposed Pakistani exports come at a time when sugar prices and domestic availability have once again become politically sensitive issues. Whether Pakistan is eventually permitted to enter the Indian sugar market remains to be seen. But the request has already revived memories of a controversy that once shook Parliament and has placed Pakistan’s surplus sugar stocks squarely in the spotlight of India’s current sugar crisis.

Hidden Cost of Digital Lives

The discarded device may no longer be useful to its owner, but many of the materials inside it still have value.

The scale of the e-waste problem is enormous. A United Nations study estimated that 62 million tonnes of e-waste were generated worldwide during 2024-25. Yet only a fraction was disposed of or recycled through proper systems.


An electronic device may look like a single object, but it is actually a complex combination of many components and materials. Each of these components has a specific function, and together they allow the device to perform the tasks we have come to take for granted.


A computer, for example, contains a motherboard, processor, RAM, hard disc, power supply, integrated circuits, capacitors, diodes and numerous other components. A mobile phone contains batteries, speakers, microphones, antennas, connectors, circuit boards, SIM slots, cables and many tiny electronic components. Televisions contain capacitors, resistors, transformers, integrated circuits, tuners, diodes and other components. When these gadgets become waste, all these materials become part of the e-waste stream.


Broadly, e-waste contains iron and steel, non-ferrous metals such as copper and aluminium, glass, plastics, electronic components and materials such as rubber, ceramics and wood. This composition makes e-waste both a problem and an opportunity. The discarded device may no longer be useful to its owner, but many of the materials inside it still have value.


Valuable materials are present in discarded electronics and can potentially be recovered and reused. Recycling them reduces the need to extract fresh raw materials and saves energy and resources. But improper disposal creates serious environmental concerns. Electronic products can contain substances that may contaminate soil, water and air when they are dumped, burned or dismantled improperly. Informal handling can also expose workers and communities to hazardous substances.


Throwaway Culture

Technology itself is not the enemy. The problem lies in a system where gadgets are produced, consumed and discarded at an increasingly rapid pace. As newer models appear and older devices are replaced, the volume of discarded electronics continues to grow.


Perhaps the most important question we need to ask is not “What is the latest model?” but “Do I really need to replace the device I already have?”


We can reduce e-waste by using electronic devices for longer, repairing them whenever possible, donating functioning devices, returning old products through authorised collection systems and ensuring that discarded electronics reach responsible recyclers. These are simple choices, but collectively they can reduce the amount of electronics entering the waste stream.


Every mobile phone or computer that we dispose of is more than a piece of unwanted equipment. It contains valuable resources that should not be wasted—and materials that should not be allowed to pollute our environment.


Why It’s Dangerous

Unlike ordinary household waste, e-waste can contain a mixture of hazardous substances. Electronic gadgets contain numerous components made with or containing metals and chemicals such as lead, cadmium, mercury, chromium, beryllium, antimony, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), brominated flame retardants and phthalates.


These substances do not simply disappear when a computer or mobile phone is thrown away. They remain within the discarded equipment and can become a concern when that equipment is dumped, burned or dismantled improperly. Long-term exposure to some of them can affect the nervous system, kidneys, bones, reproductive system and endocrine system. Certain substances are also known to have carcinogenic or neurotoxic properties.


The danger becomes particularly serious when e-waste is handled through crude and unauthorised recycling practices. In such operations, wires may be burnt to recover copper, circuit boards may be heated or dismantled, and components may be broken apart without adequate protection. Such practices can release hazardous substances and expose workers and nearby communities.


More on this next week. Till then, have a great weekend!


(The writer is an environmentalist. Views personal.)

Comments

bottom of page