Government promotes industry

Government authorities say that building roads and factories in rural areas will industrialize poorer regions of the country and open up new avenues of employment for impoverished farmers.

"Today no farmer – no farmer – wants his son to be agriculture," said Venkaiah Naidu, parliamentary affairs minister. "The reason is agriculture, for a variety of reasons, is becoming unrenumerative."

Supporters of the bill point out that the government is trying to cut red tape and speed up development. Opponents say it will benefit industry at the expense of poor people in India’s vast rural areas.

Land is a politically charged issue in India because farmland has often been acquired for a pittance by past governments. As a result, farmers remain skeptical of legal provisions to give them up to four times the market value of the land.

Билет №17

Provide the Kazakh/Russian translation of the newspaper article.

EU to Thailand: Clean Up Fishing Trade in 6 Months

The European Union on Tuesday gave Thailand a "yellow card" ultimatum to drastically alter its polices on illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing or face a ban at the end of the year on exporting seafood to the EU.

Citing "clear deficiencies," the European Commission reported that action was taken "after thorough analysis of the country's legal framework, enforcement measures and administrative arrangement, which impact on Thailand's ability to comply with its international obligations."

If a "red card" ban is imposed on the Southeast Asian kingdom's seafood exports, that could cost Thailand more than $500 million per year.

The key EU concerns surround Thailand's failure to properly certify the origin and legality of its fish exports.

"Thailand is deeply disappointed at the EU’s decision," said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a statement but added that the government takes the allegations of IUU fishing seriously and "is now firmly seizing the issue."

Thailand's agriculture ministry launched a campaign in Phuket this week to improve the fishing industry’s practices. The government, under the control of a military-led junta since a bloodless coup 11 months ago, reportedly is writing stricter fishing regulations which are expected to be signed into law in July.

Thailand faces a variety of reprimands, including a lowest Tier 3 ranking by the U.S. State Department for human trafficking and safety warnings issued for its commercial aviation sector by the International Civil Aviation Organization, a U.N. agency.

The junta has vowed to rectify all those concerns swiftly; it blames the problems on the civilian government it ousted.

The powerful domestic seafood industry, implicated in IUU fishing and human trafficking, is regarded as having significant political influence in Thailand.

Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, who carried out the May 22, 2014, coup as army chief, has sweeping powers under Section 44 of the junta's interim charter.

The European Commission on Tuesday acknowledged progress made by South Korea and the Philippines in "appropriate reforms of their legal systems and are now equipped to tackle illegal fishing." Thus, according to the EU, the "yellow-card" warnings against those two fishing nations are now withdrawn.

Билет №18

Provide the Kazakh/Russian translation of the newspaper article.

Medvedev: Russia Adapting to New Economic Reality

Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said on Tuesday Russia was suffering significant economic problems because of international sanctions, but the situation could have been much worse and Russia was adapting.

Referring to Western sanctions imposed last year because of Russia's actions in Ukraine, Medvedev told parliament: “Losses from the restrictions which were introduced are significant.”

“According to estimates of some foreign experts, Russia has suffered losses of 25 billion euros ($26.7 billion) in total, which is 1.5 percent of gross domestic product, and in 2015 it could increase several times,” he said in an annual speech to parliament about the government's record.

Medvedev said Russia's economy had contracted by around 2 percent in the first quarter, but that the economic situation could have been far worse and was stabilizing.

On Crimea

He linked the sanctions to Russia's takeover of the Ukrainian province of Crimea a year ago, but said the “historic” step had been justified.

“For many the return of Crimea was the restoration of historic justice, which in its significance is equivalent to the fall of the Berlin Wall, the reunification of Germany or the return to China of Hong Kong and Macao,” he said.

Although the economic situation was stabilizing, he added, “there should not be any illusions” about the difficulties, which had been made worse by the collapse in international oil prices and “by several domestic problems that we weren't able to solve.”

However, Russia had seen worse in the past and could cope, Medvedev said.

“If external pressure intensifies, and oil prices remain at an extremely low level for a long time, we will have to develop in a new economic reality,” he said.

“I am convinced that we will be able to live even in such a reality. The experience of the recent period has shown that we have learnt how to do this.”

Билет №19

Provide the Kazakh/Russian translation of the newspaper article.