- Though the model APMC Act provides for setting up of markets by private sector, this provision is not adequate to create competition for APMCs even within the State, since the owner of the private market will have to collect the APMC fees/taxes, for and on behalf of the APMC, from the buyers/sellers in addition to the fee that he wants to charge for providing trading platform and other services, such as loading, unloading, grading, weighing etc.
- The 2014 budget recognizes the need for setting up a national market and stated that the central government will work closely with the state governments to reorient their respective APMC Acts to provide for the establishment of private market yards/private markets. The budget also announced that the state governments will also be encouraged to develop farmers’ markets in towns to enable farmers to sell their produce directly.
- The Constitution of India does empower the States to enact APMC Acts under some entries in the List II of Seventh Schedule (State List), viz., Entry 14: ‘Agriculture …’, Entry 26: ‘Trade and Commerce within the State ….’ And Entry 28: ‘Markets and fairs’.
- However, the perception that the Constitution will have to be amended if the centre has to play a decisive role in creating a national market remains open. There are provisions/entries in List III of the Seventh Schedule (Concurrent List) in the Constitution which can be used by the Union to enact legislation for setting up a national common market for specified agricultural commodities, viz., Entry 33 which covers trade and commerce and production, supply and distribution of foodstuffs, including edible oilseeds and oils raw cotton, raw jute etc. Entry 42 in the Union List, viz., ‘Interstate Trade and Commerce’ also allows a role for the union. Once a law is passed by the Parliament to regulate trading in the specified agricultural commodities, it will override the state APMC laws, paving the way for creating a national common market.
- A carbon tax is a tax on the carbon content of fuels (principally coal, oil, and natural gas) that generate CO2 emissions when burned. The tax would apply at a specific rate per ton of coal, per barrel of oil, or per million cubic feet of gas, with the amounts adjusted to equalize implied taxes on carbon content. The rationale of such a tax is to reduce GHG emissions primarily responsible for climate change.
- Previously, the coal cess was doubled from 50 per ton to 100 per ton, also adding to the set of green actions taken by the government.
- Excise duties on petrol or diesel also act as an implicit carbon tax—by putting an effective price on emissions.
- At the high end of available estimates, climate change impacts are only 7 % of the costs associated with congestion and air pollution.
- One can potentially estimate the carbon tax equivalent of excise duty increases in India and thereby calculate CO2 emission reduction benefits. This is especially important in the context of global efforts to deal with climate change where India as the third largest emitter of GHG emission is often looked upon to contribute to the efforts by taking on a target.
- The striking feature is that India has moved from a carbon subsidization regime to one of significant carbon taxation regime—from a negative price to a positive price on carbon emissions. And the shift has been large. For example, the effect of the recent actions since October 2014 has increased the carbon tax by nearly US$60 per ton of CO2 in the case of petrol and nearly US$42 per ton in the case of diesel.
- In absolute terms, the implicit carbon tax (US$140 for petrol and US$64 for diesel) is substantially above what is now considered a reasonable initial tax on CO2 emissions of US$25-US$35 per ton (this will not, however, hold for coal cess).
- The recent actions alone have significantly burnished India’s green and climate change credentials.
- Recently the US and China, the two largest emitters, signed an agreement on climate change whereby China agreed to peak its emissions by 2030 and the US agreed that it would emit 26 % to 28 % less carbon in 2025 than it did in 2005. While these efforts are not unprecedented in terms of their effect on the changing climate, nonetheless the signal for cooperation between two largest emitters has made the world look at India’s future climate commitments.
- Recently, the Government of India revised its coal cess from 50 per ton to 100 per ton. Translating this into a carbon tax equivalent using the emission factor suggests that the carbon tax is around US$ 1 per ton (increase from US$ 0.5 per ton in 2014).
