BSNL's Top 10 Cheapest Recharges: At a time when mobile recharges are getting more expensive, BSNL is offering plans starting from just ₹1. From calling and data to OTT, here are BSNL's 10 cheapest recharges that offer full value for less money
Manchester City have upped the ante in the Premier League title race by flexing their muscles in the January transfer window. Pep Guardiola signed Antoine Semenyo from Bournemouth last week and the Ghanaian has made an instant impact by scoring two goals and providing one assist in his first two
Gold and Silver Rates Today, January 16: In Mumbai, the price of 24-carat gold rises to Rs 1,43,400 per 10 grams, while 22k gold is available at Rs 1,31,450 per 10 grams. Gold and Silver Rates Today, January 16: Gold and silver prices eased on Friday, January 16, as investors booked profits
New Delhi: After its theatrical run, Mastiii 4, the fourth instalment of the popular Masti franchise, is all set for its digital premiere. The adult comedy will soon be available for streaming, allowing fans to enjoy the madness from the comfort of their homes.New Delhi: After its theatrical run
Union Minister Kiren Rijiju immersed himself in the vibrant AKA Miji cultural evening during the last day of the Sarok Festival Golden Jubilee in Bana, Arunachal Pradesh. Arunachal Pradesh: Union Minister Kiren Rijiju immersed himself in the traditional faith and cultural celebrations of the AKA
Jaya Ekadashi 2026 Date And Time: Ekadashi fasts are kept twice every month, once in the Krishna Paksha and once in the Shukla Paksha, and both are intended for the worship of Lord Vishnu, protector and preserver of the universe. On this day, devotees also worship Goddess Lakshmi, seeking peace
India's wool economy is a reminder that trade policy is rarely linear. In the late 1980s, India had one of the world's largest populations of sheep and a wool economy valued at an estimated Rs 4,500 crore at today's prices. Wool sustained an entire ecosystem of shepherds, spinners, sorters
The suggestion in court hearings and in recent media coverage that community dogs are a menace has come as a surprise to many of us working in international dog welfare and public health. After years of measurable public-health progress, human-canine interactions in India appear to be as
Why India’s struggling wool economy offers a cautionary tale for policy makers
India's wool economy is a reminder that trade policy is rarely linear.
In the late 1980s, India had one of the world's largest populations of sheep and a wool economy valued at an estimated Rs 4,500 crore at today's prices. Wool sustained an entire ecosystem of shepherds, spinners, sorters, dyers and weavers.
This landscape changed abruptly in 1991, when India's structural adjustment policies slashed tariffs and dismantled decades of protectionism. The changes opened the country to global trade. While this fuelled a boom in sectors such as software, Indian wool was devastated as imports flooded in.
Three decades later, a new twist has emerged. The global economy, taking its cues from US President Donald Trump, has shifted back toward protectionism.
The few Indian producers who had carved out export niches, especially those working with high-quality fleece, now find themselves squeezed out of their most lucrative market. In a striking echo of the 1990s, the same industry that was undercut by the removal of tariffs three decades ago is now threatened by their re-imposition abroad.
What remains constant is the pastoralist origin of the fibre: the households that continue to rear sheep, even as the wool they shear each year often has no buyers. Whether tariffs fall or rise, the first impact of policy lands on these households.
When India restructured its economy in the 1990s, among the sectors that benefitted enormously was the country's software industry: tech firms accessed imported hardware more easily, the devalued rupee attracted global clients and exports soared to over $12 billion in 2004 from $128 million in 1990-'91.
However, the same policies dealt a devastating blow to the wool sector.
Most of the country's wool was coarse, suited for carpets and blankets rather than fine apparel. But it was a coherent economy, built on breeds adapted to dry landscapes and a network of small users who depended on steady access to local fibre.
For India's pastoralists, wool provided a predictable annual cash flow – even though a larger share of income came from meat and the sales of live animals
Before liberalisation, Indian mills had already preferred imported fine wool but high duties – often 45% – kept domestic fleece competitive. Once tariffs dropped to as low as 4%, cheaper and better quality imports flooded the market.
It wasn't just imports that changed demand. Synthetic fibres, also newly affordable, spread quickly. Domestic users shifted almost overnight to imported alternatives.
Rajasthan's carpet industry, for instance, began importing entire containers of finer, cleaner fleece from Australia instead.
In 1991, Indian wool produced was valued at Rs 4,000 crore at today's prices. By 2001, it had fallen to Rs 2,800 crore.
For Indian shepherds and small artisans, the impact was swift. The price of Indian wool, which was Rs 300 per kg (at today's prices) in the early 1990s, began to plunge, stagnating at around Rs 40 per kg from 1995.
Today, this price remains at Rs 45 per kg-Rs 50 per kg, so low that herders in Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, and Rajasthan often make a loss on every sheep sheared. Many have stopped transporting wool to markets altogether – it is burned, buried, or left to rot because disposal is cheaper than selling it.
The wool produced in India today is valued at close to Rs 600 crore.
The paradox of liberalisation was stark: a policy meant to make India globally competitive ended up crippling one of its oldest and most geographically widespread rural industries.
In 2025, the new era of global protectionism has been prompted by the policies of Trump in the US – India's largest market for textiles and apparel. New duties introduced last year have raised effective tariffs on some Indian goods to 50%-60%.
For woollen garments and niche exports such as fine organic wool, the rates are high enough to knock Indian producers out of the US market entirely. Competitors like Australia and New Zealand face lower duties, giving them a pricing edge.
Meanwhile, India's own policies remain uneven. The government has recently reintroduced protections for synthetic fabrics, imposing a minimum import price to deter cheap polyester. But raw wool imports continue to enter at a duty of just 4%, preserving a long-standing tilt in favour of man-made fibres.
This imbalance amplifies the structural disadvantage created in the 1990s, making it even harder for domestic wool to regain viability.
Lost in policy swings, first toward openness, then toward protectionism, is the simple fact that wool production begins far from ports and mills. It begins with pastoralists moving flocks across drylands, shearing animals adapted over generations to local climates.
For them, though wool was never the main source of income, it was an essential seasonal cash payment that helped sustain their households.
When tariffs fell in the 1990s, the first people to feel the collapse were not mill owners but shepherds walking down from summer pastures to find that nobody wanted their fibre. When tariffs rise in the US today, the immediate effect is absorbed by the handful of herders and processors who built a small but promising export channel, one suddenly rendered unviable.
India has now experienced both extremes: the harm of removing protections too quickly and the harm of facing protectionism elsewhere. The victims, in both cases, are rural producers who operate on thin margins and have little bargaining power in distant markets.
As India debates the future of its textile sector, 2026 is in sharp focus, since it is the International Year for Rangelands and Pastoralism. The story of pastoralist wool offers a cautionary tale. Policies designed for one part of the economy can reshape another in ways that are neither intended nor easily reversible.
The challenge now for India is to rebuild and strengthen a domestic system that values natural fibre and the people who produce it, before another generation of shepherds finds wool too burdensome to carry at all.
Aniruddh Sheth is the research coordinator at the Centre for Pastoralism, New Delhi. Data on the wool economy is based on research being conducted at the institution.
Source: Scroll
Related Posts: IMF Calls India ‘Growth Engine For The World’ Kia India introduces new HTE (EX) trim for Carens Clavis at INR 1 Over 50 Startups Are Being Recognised In India Per Day Is ‘Pax Silica’ invite a high-tech trapdoor or breakout moment for India Air India Passenger Slams Airline For ‘Narrow Seat’ With No Window Or Elbow Room Wheel Of Fortune India Investigation after Air India jet engine sucks in cargo container at Delhi airport Motorola Signature confirmed to launch in India on 23rd January Central Bank of India Q3 results Sheltering stray dogs is impractical when evidence shows India’s animal birth control rules work
Passengers lost their temper on an IndiGo flight after being kept seated inside the aircraft for nearly three hours due to operational delays. Tensions escalated when some travellers allegedly felt their concerns were not being addressed, which led to chaos inside the cabin
Just now
The American oil industry is already excited about this possibility. There's a group called the American Petroleum Institute that represents all the big oil companies in America like Chevron and ExxonMobil. When protests were happening in Iran, the head of this group, Mike Sommers
Just now
Netflix has announced a star-studded slate of upcoming Telugu films that will stream on the platform after their theatrical releases this year. Hyderabad: Eagerly awaited entertainers such as Pawan Kalyan's 'Ustaad Bhagat Singh', Nani's 'Paradise' and Ram Charan's 'Peddi' are among the Telugu films
Just now
Michael Carrick has branded the noise generated around Manchester United by former players "irrelevant" and says Roy Keane's personal comments "did not bother" him. Carrick inherited Keane's number 16 shirt when he joined United from Tottenham in 2006
Just now
Ramalala Pratishtha Diwas 2026 will be observed on Thursday, 22 January 2026. This sacred day marks the third anniversary of Shri Ramalala Prana Pratishtha at the grand Ram Temple in Ayodhya. For millions of devotees across India and the world
Just now
Avantika Malik is the former child actor and entrepreneur who was once married to Happy Patel Khatarnak Jasoos star Imran Khan. Imran Khan recently made headlines after appearing in public for the first time in years at the premiere of Happy Patel
Just now
Shreyanka Patil's five-wicket haul powered Royal Challengers Bengaluru to a 32-run victory over Gujarat Giants. Patil credited a crucial century partnership between Radha Yadav and Richa Ghosh for instilling the confidence to push for a win. The bowlers' effective performance, despite dew
Just now
Rumours around celebrity weddings often travel faster than facts, and this time, it was Mrunal Thakur and Dhanush who found themselves at the centre of a social media storm. Early Friday morning, chatter online claimed that the two actors were set to get married on February 14, 2026
Just now
Royal Challengers Bengaluru has proposed installing 300-350 AI cameras at M Chinnaswamy Stadium, offering to fund the Rs 4.5 crore cost. This move aims to enhance crowd management and fan safety, preventing IPL matches from being moved. The initiative follows a deadly stampede last year
Just now
Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Canadian PM Mark Carney have announced lower tariffs, signalling a reset in their countries' relationship after a key meeting in Beijing. China is expected to lower levies on Canadian canola oil from 85% to 15% by 1 March
Just now
Credit card debt is an increasingly heavy burden for millions of Americans. Selena Cooper, 26, is among those dealing with the strain. A former paralegal at the Social Security Administration, she was left without a stable income when the US government shut down a few months ago
Just now
While the Supreme Court's ruling on Thursday upholding the Rs 14,500-crore ($1.7 billion) tax demand against Tiger Global has major financial implications for the US-based investment firm, a broader impact could be felt on a wide range of venture capital and private equity investors who for years
Just now
The Supreme Court rejected Justice Yashwant Varma's petition challenging the legality of the inquiry committee constituted by the Lok Sabha speaker to look into corruption charges against him. The bench held that Varma is not entitled to any relief and that “no interference is called
Just now
Three of her dusky, jazz-infused soul songs are in Spotify's Viral Top 50. The most popular, a dreamy ballad called Into The Blue, has been played more than five million times. If she continues on this trajectory, Rose could become one of the year's hottest new stars
Just now
Locals in West Bengal's Murshidabad blocked National Highway 12 and burnt tyres on Friday to protest against the alleged attacks on migrant workers from the district in other states. The highway was blocked at Maheshpur in the Beldanga 1 area
Just now
Anyone who flies often knows this feeling. You are in a cramped cabin, have a long journey ahead and someone nearby is playing videos on full volume, unapologetic and uninterrupted. No headphones. No pause. Just sound bouncing off metal walls, turning a flight into a test of patience
Just now
![Navi Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], January 17 (ANI): Following her side's win over Gujarat Giants (GG), Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) spinner Shreyanka](http://newsorbit360.com/files/news/en/imgs/shreyanka-speaks-on-maiden-t20-fifer.webp?height=520)
Navi Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], January 17 (ANI): Following her side's win over Gujarat Giants (GG), Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) spinner Shreyanka Patil reflected on getting her first-ever five-wicket haul in T20s and a more than year long time away from the game due to injury which
Just now
The Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS) has announced the tentative examination schedule for the Common Recruitment Process (CRP) for Public Sector Banks (PSBs) and Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) for the 2026-2027 period. The schedule includes various exams such as CRP PO/MT-XVI
Just now
Shrikant Pangarkar, an accused in the 2017 murder of activist-journalist Gauri Lankesh, won the Jalna Municipal Corporation election on Friday as an Independent candidate in Maharashtra, PTI reported. Pangarkar defeated Bharatiya Janata Party candidate Raosaheb Dhoble from electoral ward number 13
Just now
Stock exchanges BSE and NSE on Friday confirmed that equity markets will remain open for trading on February 1 (Sunday), the day the Union Budget 2026 is scheduled to be presented. Both exchanges said trading on that day will follow normal market hours, with no special or curtailed session planned
Just now
India's credit card market has more than doubled over the past five years, crossing 111 million cards by mid-2025, with spending rising at around 25-30 percent annually, a recent report by Zeta, a banking technology company, has said. Within this boom
Just now
Wipro Q3 Results: IT major Wipro on Friday reported a 7 per cent year-on-year (YoY) fall in its net profit to Rs 3,119 crore for the third quarter ended December 2025 (Q3FY26). However, its revenue during October-December 2025 rose 5.5% YoY to Rs 23,555.8 crore, compared with Rs 22,318
Just now
Lakshya Sen engaged in a gruelling three-game match but fell short in crucial moments, losing to Chinese Taipei's world No. 12 Lin Chun-Yi in the men's singles quarterfinals at the India Open Super 750 on Friday. The 24-year-old from Almora lost 21-17, 13-21
Just now
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) struck a triumphant note on Tuesday after its strong showing in the Maharashtra civic polls, using the occasion to question the very relevance of the opposition's INDIA alliance. Addressing a press conference in Delhi
Just now
Never-before-seen footage of an uncontacted Amazonian tribe has been released by author and conservationist Paul Rosolie during an appearance on podcaster Lex Fridman's show. Author Paul Rosolie has spent two decades working in the Amazon and says the moment was one of the most profound experiences
Just now
Celebrity fitness trainer Vinod Channa recently revealed powerful sources of protein that most people ignore. Channa, who helped Anant Ambani lose weight in the past, opened up about Ayurveda-recommended Hemp seeds. In his recent interaction with Bhavishya Sindwani
Just now
Tarot Card Reading Horoscope Today For January 17: Step into the mystical realm as the tarot cards reveal what the universe has in store for you today. Whether you're seeking clarity in love, career, or personal growth, today's tarot insights offer powerful guidance tailored to your zodiac sign
Just now
