Newsprint

Asia's oldest active newspaper, 'Mumbai Samachar', which published reports on the first war of Indian independence in 1857, the death of legendary Rani Laxmibai of Jhansi and the birth of Congress, is turning a new page in its illustrious history by digitising its rich legacy. Established in 1822 by Fardunji Marzban, a Parsi scholar, the newspaper's management has launched a new project to digitise and document the rich legacy of the Gujarati daily. Located in a colonial-era building in Mumbai's prominent Horniman Circle area, the newspaper has weathered many storms during its 203-year-old history, including a drop in subscription and readership after the advent of the internet, news apps and social media expansion, but continues its journey. 'We are in talks with different agencies to restore the old files in our archives, which is a national legacy. Similarly, we want to create a website whose content will be about 10,000 stories published in the newspaper in the last 200 years,'

The Indian Newspaper Society has urged the government to scrap the five per cent Customs duty on newsprint to allow publishers to manage their operational costs more effectively. In a statement, the INS said a combination of factors affecting the price and availability of newsprint -- geopolitical uncertainties, logistics, rupee depreciation and Customs duty -- have created a formidable burden for publishers in the country. The escalations in the conflict in West Asia, as well as the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, have significantly affected the global supply chain, including for newsprint, the organisation said in its statement issued here on Monday. The Indian Newspaper Society (INS) urgently appealed to the government to reconsider the imposition of five per cent Customs duty on newsprint. "This measure, if withdrawn, would provide much-needed relief to the print media industry, allowing publishers to manage their operational costs more effectively and ensure the continued

Govt must avoid protectionist measures

Sri Lanka is facing its all-time worst foreign exchange crisis after the pandemic hit the nation's earnings from tourism and remittances

The commerce ministry's investigation arm DGTR has recommended the imposition of antidumping duty on newsprint

Newsprint cost has jumped in the last three months due to demand-supply imbalance post pandemic

The total consumption of standard newsprint in India is 2.5 million tonnes and the indigenous mills have a capacity of 1 million tonnes only, the INS had said

In the probe, DGTR will determine the existence, degree and effect of alleged dumping on domestic manufacturers

Data shows during April to September 2019, imports rose to $706 million from $602 million during same period a year ago

Earlier this month, the Indian Newspaper Society (INS) asked the government to withdraw the 10 per cent customs duty imposed on newsprint

In the beginning of 2017, paper companies did not undertake price hikes

DGFT notification restricting import of the material through actual users stayed by Calcutta High Court