Textile industry experts opine that because of Telangana’s approach of setting up an integrated ‘fibre to fabric’ park, it is poised to attract investments from domestic as well as international players.
Sushil Sancheti, secretary, Telangana Spinning & Textile Mills Association, said: “The margins in the textiles sector are very thin… in such a scenario, companies would like to optimise logistics costs. Hence, KMTP offers a viable option for players who also want to expand their units in India but are looking at a different location.”
In fact, during the latest Union budget, FM Nirmala Sitharaman announced the Mega Integrated Textile Region and Apparel (MITRA) scheme as part of which seven textile parks will be established across the country over three years to attract investments and boost employment in the sector.
Jayesh Ranjan, principal secretary, IT & industries, Telangana said that KMTP will be a front-runner in garnering support from the Centre as the project ticks all the eligibility boxes.
Sancheti said that though India is mulling setting up such massive units now, these kinds of units have been existing for over two to three decades in China and now in Bangladesh and Vietnam.
To boost the textiles sector, Rajat Wahi, partner, Deloitte India said the government can also consider signing free trade agreements with large consumption economies, such as the US and Europe and diversify its export markets to tap countries such as Japan, Brazil and Russia.
“The sector is also moving towards responsible, sustainable and eco-friendly manufacturing, and can leverage India’s potential in organic textile products. Further, the restriction on imports from China is likely to give a boost to the Indian manufacturing sector,” he said.
Source: The Times of India
Loan growth is slowing across financial markets. Growth in non-food credit slipped back below the 6% mark to 5.92% year-on-year (y-o-y) during the fortnight ended January 29 from 6.35% y-o-y in the previous fortnight.
As on January 29, outstanding non-food credit stood at Rs 106.17 lakh crore, data from Reserve Bank of India (RBI) showed. Deposits with the banking system continued to grow at a fast clip and stood at Rs 147.98 lakh crore, up 11.06% y-o-y. The credit-deposit ratio was 71.75%.
The total bond issuances in January amounted to Rs 60,942 crore, 4% lower than in December, 2020 and and 27% lower year-on-year, data from Prime Database showed. Banking and term -lending entities accounted for the highest 54% share in total debt issuances. Commercial paper issuances in January fell to Rs 1.38 lakh crore, 26% lower y-o-y .
Most large banks have been saying that they are seeing a pick-up in economic activity and expect that to translate into higher loan growth, largely on the back of housing loans. At the same time, the largest lender State Bank of India (SBI) has moderated its growth expectation for FY21 to 7% from 8-9% earlier. It expects to return to double-digit growth only by the second half of FY22.
Chairman Dinesh Khara said after SBI’s Q3 results that corporate loan growth is subdued even now. “We would see growth coming from the public sector entities’ capital expenditure.
That is why I have indicated credit growth more in the range of 7%, considering the fact that only two months are left for the financial year.
So, earlier we had indicated 8%, which is now deferred to 7% credit growth,” he said.
For both public sector banks (PSBs) and private banks, much of the fresh lending in the last few quarters has been in the government segment as also in gold loans. The emergency credit line guarantee scheme (ECLGS) has also helped step up loan sanctions to small enterprises.
At the same time, banks are exercising greater caution while lending, which may also be keeping growth restricted at the current levels. Rakesh Jha, chief financial officer, ICICI Bank, recently told analysts that the bank has tightened some of the parameters for lending based on the current environment.
“The entire focus is to ensure that we get a set of customers who we are comfortable with in terms of return of capital and that’s the philosophy across all portfolios,” he said.
Banks’ investments have been on the rise as many companies are preferring to raise money through the market route rather than through loans. According to a report by Care Ratings, banks’ credit investments increased by 4% in November, 2020 compared with the year-ago period (8.4% y-o-y growth in November, 2019) aided by the long term repo operations (LTRO), targeted long term repo operations (TLTRO) and partial credit guarantee (PCG) schemes.
Bonds and debentures accounted for the highest share in banks’ credit investments at 69.4% in November, 2020, followed by financial institutions and commercial papers (CPs) at 16% and 10.3%, respectively, and mutual funds at 4.3%.
Source: The Financial Express
Income tax practitioners have raised concerns over the Budget proposal to scrap Income-Tax Settlement Commission (ITSC) offering one-time life opportunity to errant taxpayers.
While the government expects the move will simplify tax administration, ease compliance and reduce litigation, tax experts claim any non-compliance would have severe cost and penalty implications.
Voicing their apprehensions concerning the Finance Bill 2021’s proposal to discontinue the ITSC from February 1, 2021, the Kolkata chapter of Income Tax Bar Association (ITBA) has, in a letter addressed to FM Nirmala Sitharaman, said applicants with cases pending for disposal at various levels of the settlement proceedings have been 'left in the lurch'.
The proposal, the letter dated February 9, 2021, states, is 'gross injustice to applicants whose cases are pending before ITSC as on January 31, 2021. The discriminatory treatment meted out to such applicants is impermissible under Article 14 of the Constitution, and goes against the very spirit of giving a person right to a fair and effective hearing and rebuttal.
Assessees who have filed applications before the Commission to settle their disputes by paying taxes and interest and in return, get immunity from penalty and prosecution, will now have to fight his case before multiple layers of appellate and judicial bodies.
"This will result in spurt of litigations and delayed collection of revenue. It will also ruin business of many entrepreneurs as they will be wasting their energy and resources in protracted litigations," S K Tulsiyan, president, ITBA, Calcutta, said. ET has a copy of the letter.
According to a Mumbai based accountancy expert, scrapping of the 44-year old Commission may encourage taxpayers to become tax compliant and fulfil tax obligations as any non compliance would have severe cost and penalty implications. "Contrarily, it may compel many to find ways to wriggle out of it and evade levies,” he said.
Elaborating further, he said, ITSC's image took a beating because of the wrong perception that it is a window for compulsive tax evaders. "It is for assessees who have been compelled to hide their income because of business or personal compulsions.
Additionally, the Commission was not set up to deal with only search and seizures matters, but also for compliant assessees keen to pay up their tax liabilities at one go without any provocation from the department."
Unlike his peers, S K Patodia & Associates’ Mihir Tanna feels the Settlement Commission had outlived its utility value with the government encouraging voluntary compliance. "Power of the Settlement Commission was challenged.
The commission was also facing other administrative issues. Moreover, the government had invoked several other provisions and proposals to settle cases by reducing litigation through ‘Vivad Se Vishwas’ scheme.”
Some practitioners termed the Budget 2021-22 proposal 'unconstitutional, as institutions like ITSC cannot be scrapped until the Bill is passed and becomes a law'.
"That apart, ITSC is a quasi-judicial body independent of CBDT and all applications filed till January 31, 2021, must be settled by the same body. How can the cases be brought under the purview of an interim board which reports to CBDT," the practitioner argued on conditions of anonymity.
Keeping in mind the havoc Covid-19 pandemic has had on the financial health of the country and its economy, ITBA, Calcutta, has requested finance ministry to reconsider their decision of scrapping ITSC from February 1.
"Alternatively, the government can contemplate allowing ITSC to receive fresh applications till March 31, 2021, and settle the pending cases within a stipulated time frame."
Source: The Economic Times
India’s exports to the US — the country’s largest outbound destination for goods — suffered a blow due to the Covid-19 pandemic in calendar year 2020 with outbound shipments declining 11.3 per cent to $51.13 billion compared with 2019. But things are on a mend as December exports have posted a rise of 14.2 per cent (year-on-year) to $4.89 billion, as per government figures.
Imports from the US in January-December 2020 posted a sharper decline of 20.1 per cent to $27.39 billion, which increased India’s trade surplus by 1.4 per cent to $23.79 billion.
“In December 2020, Indian exports to the US registered the largest monthly year-on-year increase with 14.2 per cent growth. December also marked the fourth consecutive month of positive growth, indicating a strong recovery in trade,” according to monthly commercial report for December by the Embassy of India in Washington DC.
The export items which posted sharp increases in December 2020 include art of stone, plaster, cement, asbestos; food industry residues; oil seeds, miscellaneous grains, seeds; wadding, felt, twine and ropes; toys, games and sport equipment; ceramic products, and products of animal origin.
‘Robust recovery’
Indian exporters, too, have reported an increase in enquiries and demand from the major markets of the US and the EU, which has given them hope for the future after suffering months of battering due to a decline in global demand.
According to a recent assessment done by the Engineering Export Promotion Council, which has 60 per cent of its members from the MSME sector, the past few months have shown a robust recovery in the external demand from the major markets of the US and Europe.
“Unlike what has been observed in previous months, Indian exports, showing strong growth in December 2020, are not replacing existing market shares in the US as there was commensurate increase shown in the imports of these products from the rest of the world,” the Indian Embassy report observed.
The Indian exports to the US which registered significant decline in December 2020 include lead and articles, apparel and accessories, footwear, explosives, and railways and tramways equipment.
The US connect
In the top 10 product groups where Indian exports saw a significant decline, the US saw a decline in global imports in nine of the same product groups, indicating that India underperformed due to a significant decline in US demand, the report stated.
India’s overall exports in April-January 2020-21 declined 13.58 per cent (year-on-year) to $228.25 billion while its exports in January 2021 increased 6.16 per cent to $27.45 billion compared with the same month last year, as per figures recently released by the Commerce and Industry Ministry.
Source: The Hindu Business Line
Himatsingka Seide Ltd, an Indian manufacturer, retailer and distributor of home textiles, reported marginal 0.9 per cent sales growth to ₹681.65 crore in its third quarter (Q3) FY21 ended on December 31, 2020, compared to sales of ₹₹675.85 crore in the same period previous year. EBITDA for Q3 FY21 jumped 26.2 per cent to ₹157.33 (Q3 FY20: ₹124.71 crores).
“We have made significant progress on our operating performance during the quarter. We remain focused on improving the capacity utilisation levels across our manufacturing facilities while enhancing market share across key regions,” Shrikant Himatsingka, managing director & group CEO, said in a press release.
Profit after tax was ₹74.64 crore (₹39.35 crore). Total expenses for the quarter were ₹607.0 crore (₹636.5 million).
In line with Himatsingka’ s strategy to expand its global brand portfolio, company entered into a new licensing agreement with The Walt Disney Company for the European region.
The license will give Himatsingka the rights to design, develop, manufacture and distribute a broad range of home textile products inspired by Disney's vast archives and characters from all its franchises including Disney, Marvel, Pixar and Lucas, as company reported in the release.
“Our impetus on deleveraging and improving capital efficiencies continue to gain traction and will be central to our operating strategy going into FY22,” Himatsingka said.
Source: Fibre2Fashion News
S&P Global Ratings on Tuesday said Indian economy is on track for a recovery in the next fiscal year beginning April 1, as consistent good performance of the farm sector, flattening COVID-19 infection curve, and a pickup in government spending are all supporting the economy.
Stating that India needs many things to be right for its recovery to continue, S&P said the country needs to quickly and thoroughly vaccinate most of its 1.4 billion people.
"The emergence of yet more contagious COVID-19 variants with the potential to evade vaccine-derived immunity present a major risk to this recovery. As does the possibility of early withdrawal of global fiscal stimulus," S&P said in a report titled 'Cross-sector outlook: India's escape from COVID'.
It said the budget for fiscal 2021-22, will also support the recovery, with higher than expected expenditures. India's improving growth prospects are critical to its ability to sustain the higher deficits associated with its more aggressive fiscal stance.
The economy still faces important risks as it transitions from stabilisation to recovery. We estimate that India faces a permanent loss of output versus its pre-pandemic path, suggesting a long-term production deficit equivalent to about 10 per cent of GDP, S&P said.
"The Indian economy is on track for a recovery in fiscal 2022, bolstering corporate earnings and demand for utilities. The recovery's pace and scale determines the sustainability of the government's higher fiscal deficit and debt stock... Consistently good agriculture performance, a flattening of the COVID-19 infection curve, and a pickup in government spending are all supporting the economy," S&P said.
The US-based rating agency said a sustained earnings rebound is key for ratings to stabilise as roughly one quarter of ratings are still on negative outlook.
On the banking front in India, it estimates the system's weak loans ratio at 12 per cent of gross loans and credit cost to remain elevated at 2.2-2.7 per cent.
"Faster economic recovery and steps taken by the Reserve Bank of India and the Indian government to cushion the effect of the economic crisis have helped ease the stress on bank balance sheets.
"In our view, India's banking system's performance is likely to start improving materially in fiscal 2023, trailing an economic recovery of 10 per cent in fiscal 2022. On a positive note, banks are building capital buffers and reserves to deal with the COVID crunch," S&P said.
Source: The Economic Times
The Southern Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SGCCI) has opposed the central government’s decision to merge the goods and service tax (GST) from the current four slabs. The SGCCI has written a letter to the union finance ministry stating that the move to merge four slabs into three would have a negative impact on the textile sector. The Centre has proposed to reduce GST slabs from the current 5%, 12%, 18%, and 28%, to three slabs — 8%, 18%, and 28%.
SGCCI office bearers stated that currently GST is levied on 5%, 12% and 16% slabs in the MMF sector. The fabric currently attracts 5% GST, which the government said it was considering to raise to 6% or 12% during the 7th GST Council meeting.
But given the opposition of the industrialists, the decision was postponed for a while. However, the issue is likely to be discussed again at the upcoming GST Council meeting.
Meanwhile, on the basis of representations received by the SGCCI and FIASWI, the Chamber briefed union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on the situation that could arise in textile sector if the tax slabs were changed and requested not to change the GST rate.
If the GST rate on fabrics is increased, the end product can become expensive and this can have a direct impact on demand.
In addition, if the GST rate on yarn and fabric is kept the same, the attractiveness of the benefits under the Advance Authorization or EPCG scheme may decrease and this may lead to a decline in India’s exports.
Dinesh Navadiya, president of SGCCI said, “Rate of raw materials in the textile sector such as yarn, POY and FDY is likely to go up if GST rates are increased. This can cause weavers a lot of trouble. At the same time, the government may lose revenue.”
Source: The Times of India
After two consecutive quarters of contraction, India's GDP is set to revert to the growth territory in the October-December 2020 period compared to the year-ago period, according to a report. Private consumption and government spending will help the economy post a turnaround during the December quarter and the GDP will grow 0.7 per cent, Icra Ratings said in a report on Tuesday.
The economy contracted almost by a fourth in the June quarter and by 7.5 per cent in the September quarter in the current fiscal. Even as a recovery is underway, official estimates peg the FY21 contraction at 7.7 per cent.
It can be noted that the economic growth has been on a downward spiral for over three years till it went into a contraction mode.
"The forecasted growth in Q3 FY21 while undoubtedly mild and uneven is nevertheless welcome as it signifies that the economy has exited the COVID-19 pandemic-induced recession after two tumultuous quarters," the rating agency said.
Its principal economist Aditi Nayar said the revival in central government spending supported the Indian economy's exit from the recession in Q3 FY21 and pointed out that after a decline of 14.2 per cent in Q2FY21, the Government of India's (GoI's) non-interest revenue expenditure rose by 22.9 per cent in Q3 FY21.
She said almost all the non-agricultural lead indicators tracked by the agency recorded a continued, albeit uneven, improvement in volume terms in the December quarter on continued unlocking of the economy, uptick in consumption during the festive season, and central government spending.
According to Nayar, most of the tracked indicators rebounded to a growth on a year on year basis in the December quarter although this was on the low base of Q3 FY20, and that aviation was among the outlier which continued to contract.
The agency said the Index of Industrial Production recorded a "sedate 1.0 per cent rise" for the same quarter while rising raw material prices contributed to lower margins in some sectors.
However, the profitability for a large portion of the formal listed space remained healthy, benefitting from the cost-cutting measures that had been undertaken at the peak of the pandemic as well as rising volumes.
Further, Nayar said the formal part of the Indian economy has shrugged off the pandemic blues and is gaining traction at the cost of the smaller and less formal segment, which is hastening the process of the formalisation and also contributing to a consolidation in favour of the larger players.
In what the agency termed as a "sobering note", it said the January 2021 round of the Reserve Bank of India's Consumer Confidence Survey of respondents in 13 major cities indicated only a modest pickup in consumer sentiments which it called as an outcome of the weaker recovery in the informal and contact-intensive sectors.
Source: The Economic Times
Res.Q, a cutting-edge shopfloor process digitisation solution, has partnered with Welspun Group to support them on their journey towards a digital factory floor.
India’s leading vertically integrated home textile company will start with quality management module which is Res.Q | QMS.
According to the teams at Res.Q, the textile business of Welspun group began their search for a Quality Management Solution for their home textile facility located in Anjar, Gujarat. With unique manufacturing processes, their search criteria included an agile, user-friendly and a real-time tool in order to make data-driven decisions.
Puesh Ajmani, Chief Digital Officer, Welspun India Limited, commented, “Being an industry leader, Welspun has a unique manufacturing process, one that has paved the way to achieving greater heights.
Thus, while seeking digital solutions, it was crucial to find a partner that delivered value whilst ensuring the current processes and practices of the organisation are not impacted. We are delighted to collaborate with Res.Q to aid and digitise quality management process.”
It’s worth mentioning here that the installation at Welspun is the first deployment executed 100% remotely by the Team of Engineers at Res.Q, effectively showing how simple the solution is to deploy.
“We undertook this project in the midst of a global pandemic, limited travel and understanding the unique manufacturing process at Welspun was our biggest concern.
We needed to deliver value while working totally remotely, the team put together by Welspun showed exceptional skill and eagerness for tech adaptation which made this project great success,” said Thushitha Kularatne, CEO, Res.Q.
Source: Apparel Online
In November 2020, Indian government announced a huge budget for PLI scheme for ten sectors including textile products. The man-made fibres (MMF) and technical textiles (TT) segments were to be provided an incentive from a corpus of ₹10,683 crore over 5 years. According to industry experts, this would boost Indian textiles manufacturing in MMF & TT segments.
The ministry of textiles has isolated 50 key segments of textiles and apparels such as sanitary pads, tampons, sweaters, and jerseys, to introduce under the PLI scheme.
Experts suggest that MMF and TT segments have a huge demand globally but exports from India are comparatively low. The 40 HS lines of MMF and 10 HS lines of TT accounted for approximately $180 billion world trade. Hence, it is expected to get investments in these segments which includes high value-added products.
Currently, India’s growth in these segments is comparatively low with expensive raw materials and high tariff barriers apart from cheaper imports from neighbouring countries.
The PLI scheme would allow India to significantly compete on MMF based garments as well like jerseys and sportswear and would increase the export potential manifold as traditionally India has been able to compete in the international market only on cotton apparel but not on MMF based apparel due to high import duties of raw materials.
The garment sector is expected to benefit the most as more avenues have opened for MMF based garment production as well as exports.
Source: Fibre2Fashion News
After having excelled in the fields of IT and pharma, Telangana is now weaving dreams of making it big in the textiles sector. While the youngest state is a late entrant and will have to compete with other established states like Gujarat and Tamil Nadu to attract investments, its focus on creating an end-to-end value chain for the industry is expected to boost its prospects, said experts.
To begin with, the state is setting up the country’s largest textiles park — Kakatiya Mega Textile Park (KMTP) — spread over 1,200 acres, that will offer a complete manufacturing ecosystem for the textiles and apparel industry within its premises.
Jayesh Ranjan, principal secretary, IT & industries, Telangana, said KMTP will be a game-changer because no other textile hub in the country sports an end-to-end manufacturing ecosystem.
“The land acquisition is over and now we are in the process of developing infrastructure,” said Ranjan. “We have already allotted 350 acres of land to two companies — Youngone Corporation and Ganesha Ecosphere.”
Korea’s Youngone Corporation, which is into sports and outdoor wear, will be setting up eight manufacturing units on a land parcel of 300 acres in the park at an investment of around Rs 1,000 crore.
This Korean giant, that has units in Bangladesh and Vietnam, is likely to commission its first unit in KMTP this year.
Ganesha Ecosphere, which is into recycled polyester staple fibre, has already begun construction activity and is expected to commence operations this year.
KMTP is also setting up plug-and-play infrastructure for local weavers and textile manufacturers and will be setting up a common effluent treatment plant.
Ranjan said that in 2021, training centres will be set up in Warangal and its catchment villages so that the local population can be trained, and once the units are ready, they will have access to trained workforce.
The state government is also keen on promoting technical textiles and will be setting up the country’s first technical textile testing lab with the help of the Centre at KMTP this year. “Currently, the manufacturers have to send their products abroad for testing,” Ranjan said, adding that around Rs 150 crore is expected to be invested by the Indian government in setting up the lab.
Source: The Times of India
E-commerce in India grew by 36 per cent and 30 per cent year on year (YoY) in terms of order volume and gross merchandise value (GMV) respectively in the fourth quarter of last year, according to a report by Unicommerce, an e-commerce focused supply-chain software-as-a-service (SaaS) technology platform, and global management consulting firm Kearney.
The average order value, however, declined by 5 per cent during the period as compared to same period of the previous year, said the report.
The report showed that personal care, beauty and wellness as well as fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) and healthcare were the biggest beneficiaries and saw volumes grow by 95 per cent and 46 per cent YoY respectively, according to a news agency.
Tier-2 and tier-3 cities accounted for a 90 per cent YoY incremental volume and value growth. Interestingly, brand websites reported 94 per cent volume growth in Q4 2020 as compared to the same period in 2019.
"The e-commerce industry has emerged as the backbone of the retail industry and small and big players have realised the immense potential that e-commerce holds," Unicommerce chief executive officer Kapil Makhija said in a statement.
The report showed that FMCG and pharma as a category reported growth of 92 per cent on the brand website and 62 per cent growth on the marketplace.
Source: Fibre2Fashion News
Brazilian Ambassador to Bangladesh Joao Tabajara de Oliveira Junior has said Bangladesh and Brazil can make a stronger alliance on trade and economic front getting out of the current pandemic situation in a “more creative way”.
“We’ve to get out of this (pandemic situation) stronger than before,” he told UNB in an interview, adding that countries will have to be more creative in the post-Covid era.
Ambassador Tabajara said the government of Bangladesh remains committed to the current path of exiting from the least developed countries (LDCs) group.
He said there might be many challenges in the trade area after Bangladesh graduates and Bangladesh needs to develop trade agreements with various markets to expand export going beyond the traditional markets.
Tabajara said Brazil believes that Bangladesh-Brazil can make a stronger alliance considering Bangladesh a big economic power. “It has nothing to do with the size of the country, but the size of the economy and market is huge.”
The Brazilian Ambassador said he sees much more spaces for cooperation and everybody can have normal access to each other’s market.
Asked whether he was successful to show Bangladesh a new Brazil, the Brazilian envoy said he believes he is getting to do this despite the Covid-19 situation.
One of the great results of that work was the establishment of Brazil-Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industries (BBCCI), said the Ambassador.
Brazil is South America's most influential country, a rising economic power, and it has made major strides over the past few years in its efforts to raise millions out of poverty, although the gap between the rich and the poor remains wide.
“Brazil, being the heart of Latin America, could be a new front for trade and investment from Bangladesh,” Ambassador Tabajara mentioned.
He said confidence is very important to develop this partnership and the two countries are trying to promote private sectors between.
Responding to a question on the trade issue, the Ambassador said they are in discussions to ease tariff issues to boost trade between the two countries. The bilateral trade volume is now less than US$ 2 billion.
“We can develop a tariff agreement or arrangement, and this will be a great thing for both the countries,” he said.
Ambassador Tabajara said they have to establish many basic things so that their economies can benefit in the post-pandemic era. “Let’s do something.”
Bangladesh imports sugar, wheat, and cotton from Brazil and exports apparel products, pharmaceuticals, plastics, tableware, vegetable textile fibre, jute goods, and manmade filaments.
Responding to a question on technological cooperation, the Brazilian envoy said they are at the final stage to sign a technical cooperation agreement so that the two countries can start sharing and exchanging cooperation in all the areas that Bangladesh could be interested like agriculture.
“With this agreement, Bangladesh and Brazil can do an agriculture revolution here. With Brazilian techniques, the system of management and methods, everything we developed can be applied here,” he added.
Ambassador Tabajara said such cooperation will help Bangladesh get the fourth time higher production in the agriculture sector without using new land. “I believe, thus Bangladesh can cut dependence on import and can even export more.”
On food security, the envoy said there is a lot of space to develop relations, and food security is one of them.
Amazon Rainforest
The exploitation of the Amazon rainforest, much of which is in Brazil has been a major international worry since the wilderness is a vital regulator of the climate.
Sought comment on that, the Ambassador said Brazil remains very active in this part. “The new government is giving a new strategy and structure to protect Amazon.”
“Amazon is very rich. You’ve everything there. It’s a paradise of natural resources. Now there’s a new national force to deal only with the Amazon issues comprising air force, navy, and army,” said the Ambassador.
More than 1,200 square kilometers of forest in the Brazilian Amazon was wiped out in the first four months of 2020, a 55% increase from the same period last year, international media reported quoting the government agency which tracks environmental destruction via satellite images.
Ambassador Tabajara said Brazil was one of the most active countries in the climate change deal negotiations.
Public Diplomacy
Responding to a question on public diplomacy, the Ambassador said he has enormous agenda here but things go slow due to the Covid-19 situation.
“Brazil now has a better image and it’s better known than before. We’ve embassy here since 2010 but it was known to all. But now people know well about our presence,” he said.
Source: The Independent News
The Department of Science and Technology-Philippine Textile Research Institute (DOST-PTRI) late last month launched its PTRI Textile Gallery, Design and Innovation Hub and the Philippine Textile e-portal as part of the 2021 Tela Conference with the theme ‘Fashioning Philippine Textiles in the Now Normal and in the Year of the Creative Economy”.
The new hub is meant for those who need workspace and want to collaborate with other textile innovators, according to media reports from the country.
The hub will showcase the latest innovation in the textile industry and will be open for designers, micro, small and medium enterprises and start-ups as a collaborative hub where they can come together and showcase the talent and designs, enabling them to develop innovative textile products.
The e-portal called the Philippine Textiles Portal is a collaboration with the Philippine Commission for Women. It aims to connect people with the handloom weaving and natural dyeing communities.
The website hosts relevant information like the history of the country’s weaving and dyeing culture, a colour library and a directory of communities and producers of local fabrics that can be matched with both domestic and international buyers. The e-portal will also serve as online one-stop-shop for customers, suppliers and weavers .
Source: Fibre2Fashion News
Pakistan has strong strategic, diplomatic and economic relations with Saudi Arabia and Pakistan cannot forget the financial assistance of Saudi Arabia in the form of oil, construction of educational institutions and on Kashmir cause; this was stated by Mian Nasser Hyatt Maggo, President of the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) in a meeting with Nawaf bin Said Al-Malki, Ambassador of Saudi Arabia in Pakistan who visited FPCCI along with Nahar Abdulaziz Almugbel, Commercial Attache of Saudi Arabia.
The meeting was attended by Vice Presidents FPCCI Athar Sultan Chawla and Hanif Lakhani, Zakaria Usman, Former President FPCCI, Junaid Ismail Makda, Chairman Pakistan Saudi Arabia Business Council and members of the Business Council.
While welcoming the Ambassador, Mian Nasser Hyatt Maggo, President FPCCI stated that Saudi Arabia is an important trading partner of Pakistan but there is no trade agreement between two countries and trade between both countries held on the basis of MFN tariff rate applied to all members of WTO.
While quoting the statistics, he informed that the share of Pakistan in Saudi Arabia’s trade is just 1 percent; while in Pakistan’s trade is approximately 7 percent.
The reason for this minuscule share is mainly unawareness, and a non-aggressive marketing of Pakistani products.
He emphasized on the activation of Joint Business Council between two countries whose agreement was signed in 2000 and since then, only three meetings were organized. He also underlined the need of exchange of delegations, holding of B2B meetings and exhibitions.
In his remarks, Nawaf bin Said Al-Malki, Ambassador of Saudi Arabia underscored the need of removal of trade barriers and promotion of trade through direct route.
He stated that Pakistan and Saudi Arabia both posses huge natural resources which can be utilized for enhancement of bilateral relations. He also informed that there is huge potential in rice, textile, sea food, sports goods, agro-based products and there is a need of direct interaction between the traders of both countries in these commodities.
Nahar Abdulaziz Almugbel, Commercial Attache of Saudi Arabia also emphasized on the enhancement of bilateral trades and investment.
Junaid Ismail Makda, Chairman Pakistan Saudi Arabia Business Council also highlighted the trade potentials and focused on person to person interaction between countries for enhancement of bilateral trade. He also emphasized on activation of Joint Business Councils and exchange of delegations.
Athar Sultan Chawla, Vice President FPCCI discussed holding of exhibitions and PR campaign in Saudi Arabia for soft and peaceful image of Pakistan. He also suggested opening of Saudi Arabia EXIM bank branch in Pakistan for trade facilitation. Hanif Lakhani, Vice President highlighted the potentials of bilateral trade in textile sector.
During the meeting, the members of Pakistan Saudi Arabia Business Council also highlighted the issues related to imposition of ban on exports of shrimps from Pakistan.
The members also requested for enhancing the share of Pakistani basmati rice as Pakistan contributes just 10 percent in overall imports of Saudi Arabia rice while remaining 90% Saudi Arabia is importing from India and Thailand.
The members also requested multiple entry visa to genuine businessmen on the recommendation of FPCCI within shortest possible time. The members also suggested holding of Biryani Festival regularly in Saudi Arabia and enhancement of overseas employment for Pakistani workers in Saudi Arabia on the same terms and condition prior to COVID-19.
Source: Business Recorder News
Carrington Textiles, the largest producer of workwear fabrics in the UK, and Sapphire Textile Mills, a vertically integrated company manufacturing cotton yarn, fabric and home textile products, have announced a joint venture (JV) in Pakistan under the name of Carrington Textiles International. The new venture will have dyeing and finishing operations.
Carrington Textiles International will provide up to 20 million metres a year of dyed and white fabric to its global customer base. This will increase Carrington's capacity to 130 million square metres a year.
The joint venture is the start of a series of investments that Carrington Textiles’ parent company, the RTS Group, are implementing across the rest of its production facilities in Europe.
"This new partnership between the two textile giants has been developed after a solid relationship of more than 20 years and offers customers the widest range of woven workwear fabrics, including cotton rich, polyester/cotton, stretch and new sustainable fabrics, all manufactured to the highest industrially launderable standards," Carrington Textiles said in a statement.
As part of the joint venture, both companies will combine their strengths in manufacturing, marketing, research, and development to bring value to the market. The new production facility, now in operation, has some of the most modern European dyeing and finishing plant and machinery, including a double width dye range for greater efficiency, the statement said.
"With the closeness to Sapphire’s existing spinning and weaving operations, as well as to other existing local suppliers, this adds to the ability of Carrington Textiles International to provide a vertically integrated manufacturing solution, reducing lead times and further enhancing service to customers.
Finished stock will be warehoused in Lahore, Asia and the South African port of Durban, ensuring the best possible service to all major markets," the statement added.
“Following years of working closely with Sapphire as one of our strategic loomstate suppliers, we have made the next logical step together and invested in a new state-of-the-art dyeing and finishing factory in Lahore.
This not only gives us our own European engineered manufacturing plant in Asia, but it also provides access to a vertical operation, from spinning through to weaving, dyeing and finishing.
All of the dyeing and finishing machinery has been specified by our technical experts to meet the exacting standards of the workwear market and we are confident this integration of our supply chains will help to give our customers the best chance to succeed in a challenging and exciting market,” said Carrington Textiles’ CEO John Vareldzis.
"Carrington Textiles International is an excellent project we are excited to be part of, and we are pleased our longstanding relationship with Carrington Textiles has developed into this joint venture," said Sapphire’s COO Nabeel Abdullah.
Additionally, the RTS Group, parent company of Carrington Textiles, and Pincroft Dyeing & Printing in the United Kingdom, Melchior Textil GmbH in Germany, MGC in Portugal and Adventum Technologies in Russia, have announced a range of strategic investments to support the continuing development of their global footprint, from a solid manufacturing base and with a strong local presence in key markets.
“Following the UK’s departure from the EU, and despite any real warning of what the shape of Brexit would look like, we are pleased that all of our hard work, planning and preparation has meant that we have been able to continue to supply all of our customers. Having put our investment plans on hold until we had greater clarity, we are now ready to start investing in two of our manufacturing sites, Pincroft and MGC,” said Vareldzis.
Source: Fibre2Fashion
The recently published summary on trade by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) indicates a continued promising trend.
Exports from Pakistan surpassed $2.1 billion in January 2021. Imports were reported at $4.7 billion.
Although the figures were lower than the values reported in December 2020, the year-on-year growth rate of exports was impressive, at 8.11%. On the other hand, imports too continued to increase year-on-year, at 14.85%.
Furthermore, exports in the first seven months of FY21 increased 5.53% over the value reported for the previous period. Imports increased 6.92% in the seven months. The trade deficit widened 8.27%.
Although Pakistan has reported a decrease in exports of 9.89% in January 2021 in comparison to December 2020, the overall trend in the last seven months does suggest an upward trajectory as compared to the stagnancy reported in recent years.
According to a statement of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) titled “World trade volume rallies in third quarter after Covid-19 shock”, the third quarter of 2020 showed a recovery in global trade as the volume of trade increased 11.6% compared to the second quarter of 2020.
However, it was still 5.6% lower than the volume reported in the same period of previous year. The total value of merchandise trade declined 4% year-on-year in the third quarter of 2020.
A closer look at the monthly data published by the WTO suggests that China was an exception as its exports increased not only 21% year-on-year in November 2020, but it also continued to report positive export growth rates since July 2020.
On the other hand, the United States reported negative monthly year-on-year growth rates since July 2020.
Although the Asian region did recover in the third quarter of 2020 and reported a positive export growth of 2%, primarily driven by China, it was an anomaly compared to the sharp decline in trade experienced by other regions such as North America, South and Central America and Europe.
Furthermore, the year-on-year monthly import growth in the European Union and the US was on average negative between July 2020 and October 2020. Figures for November 2020 showed a recovery as positive values were reported for both.
On the other hand, imports into China showed positive growth values since September 2020.
Finally, all commodities experienced a positive quarter-on-quarter price growth in the third quarter of 2020. The largest increase was in prices of fuels, which rose 34% in the third quarter of 2020, having decreased 18.5% and 35.1% in the first and second quarters respectively.
Prices for manufactured goods remained relatively stable with their quarter-on-quarter percentage change oscillating between -1.1% and 3.5%.
Market share
Unctad published a report titled “East Asian economies drive global trade recovery” in February 2021, identifying the countries that had either gained or lost their market share in 2020.
According to the report, the recovery process has been uneven with several countries facing significant challenges. China was a clear winner in terms of market share it gained, followed by Taiwan.
On the other hand, countries such as India, Japan and Mexico lost both their global export share and the global import share, signifying their predicament as the pandemic ravaged their economies.
Further analysing Pakistan’s export trend, the exports of textile products increased 7.8% in dollar terms in the first seven months of FY21 over the same period of previous year.
Exports of knitwear, bed wear and towels grew more than 16%. Interestingly, the exports of cotton cloth declined 7.7%.
With a large spike in exports of finished textile products, there is increasing demand for intermediate goods in the industry that were previously exported rather than domestically consumed.
Exports of leather manufactures showed a growth of 6.4%, driven by exports of leather gloves. Exports of pharmaceutical products increased 23.6%. This is crucial given that the pandemic took a much higher toll on other countries compared to Pakistan.
There was a similar surge right before the pandemic hit Pakistan. This provides an opportunity to seek long-term benefits for the pharmaceutical industry from the trade linkages developed by the local pharma companies.
Higher demand for cars
As reported earlier in this article, imports into Pakistan have also increased. They breached $5 billion in December 2020, which was 24.5% higher than the value reported for December 2019.
Imports of textile machinery increased 28.2%, while those of office machinery rose 42.4%. Imports of mobile phones increased 82.5%.
A significant increase was reported in imports of transportation equipment, particularly CKD/SKD units of motor cars, which increased 5,000% in December 2020 over the value in December 2019.
This suggests that the demand for motor vehicles has increased, which was heavily subdued in the last couple of years.
Furthermore, there is an increase in imports of raw cotton and synthetic fibre, indicating an increase in activity in the textile sector. This is matched by the improving business confidence indicators reported by the SBP-IBA Business Confidence Survey in December 2020.
The industrial sector not only reports current economic conditions to be favourable but the expected economic conditions in the next six months to improve as well.
With exports increasing in recent months, the challenge is to ensure that this increase is sustainable given that exports from other similar economies are likely to recapture their lost market share.
The recent announcement by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) to facilitate startups, fintechs and exports is a step in the right direction. Furthermore, there is a need to upgrade machinery and equipment to ensure better competitiveness of domestic producers. The rising trend in the Temporary Economic Refinance Facility (TERF), which is aimed at promoting investments, balancing, modernisation and replacement (BMR), suggests an encouraging trend.
Lastly, the removal of regulatory duty on imports of unfinished goods for the textile industry is definitely a positive step to boost its production capacity and exports. This new trend in export growth after years of stagnancy must be made sustainable.
Source: The Express Tribune
37 Bangladeshi textile and readymade garment (RMG) manufacturers have started investing in Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Shilpa Nagar (BSMSN) economic zone – govt. has been developing the country’s largest industrial park, the BSMSN, on 30,000 acres of land – to launch high-end apparel factories.
Where, apparel manufacturers will produce fabrics, formal shirts, t-shirts, trousers, yarn, sweaters, polo shirts, manmade fibers, blazers and sportswear. Around the US $650 million will be invested altogether.
Nevertheless, the textile and RMG investors expect to start constructing their factories in 2022. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, local investors picking a go-slow policy as fresh lockdowns at main export destinations caused a substantial fall in demand.
Some investors have already received industrial plots at the park signing a 50-year lease.
Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority (BEZA) has been developing the allocated plots by providing them with access to gas, power, water, sewage lines and other utilities.
BEZA has also been enhancing connectivity by building roads both in and around the zone.
“I bought an industrial plot at the BSMSN and plan to initially invest $100 million, mainly to produce high-end textile and garment items,” said AK Azad, Managing Director of Ha-Meem Group, a leading exporter of Bangladesh.
On a cautious note Azad added, “However, I will not make this investment in the current year amidst the COVID-19 fallouts. Instead, I will start working on the new project from 2022.”
The employment figure is small, as high-end garments need less of a human touch compared to conventional garment manufacturing.
“I hope that by the end of the year, the development of industrial plots would be completed, like connections of electricity, gas and other utilities,” added Azad.
Md M Mohiuddin Chowdhury, Chairman of the Industrial Zone’s Standing Committee of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), said, “So far some 48 local garment manufacturers have applied for plots at a section inside the BSMSN designated for the sector.
Out of 48 applicants, 37 have so far received confirmation of getting an allotment.”
Moreover, some development activities like installation of power, gas connections, preparation of the plots and construction of internal roads and boundary walls need to be completed.
“I hope by this year, all of those activities would be completed for the handover of the plots to the investors as the development activities of BEZA are going on,” Mohiuddin Chowdhury said.
Chowdhury informed further that BEZA may hand over the plots at this year’s end.
Once the investors receive the plots, they will start the construction of their mills and factories.
“So expect that in the next two and a half years, the actual production will start. Most of the mills and factories have been planning to construct factories of global standard to produce high-end apparel items as conventional garment business has become very competitive,” said Chowdhury.
The proposed investment holds a huge prospect, like around $1,400 million worth of garment items could be exported from the proposed factories, employing about 100,000 workers.
Chowdhury informed that so far, 37 of 48 investors have either made full or partial payments for their industrial plots.
Syed Nazrul Islam, Director of Well Fashion, said recently he received his one-acre industrial plot as he was done making the payment.
Islam said, “I am waiting for another plot on two acres of land to be handed over soon to build modern factory buildings.”
With an initial investment plan of TK 1 billion to build a woven composite garment factory for manufacturing high-end products but it will take another year to start construction due to the COVID-19’s effects.
Nazrul Islam revealed, “I have a plan to construct a global standard garment factory to produce high-valued garment items.”
Md Junaid Abu Salay Musa, Director of Epyllion Group – another leading garment exporter – said he has a plan to set up a factory at the BSMSN to manufacture high-end woven and knitwear items for upscale customers in the western world.
“It would take more than one year to go for construction as BEZA was still developing the zone.”
However, BEZA Executive Chairman Paban Chowdhury said development activities on BEZA’s part have already been completed and now other government agencies were completing their parts to prepare the plots.
Paban Chowdhury said, “Some 37 RMG entrepreneurs have received their industrial plots so far as they have already paid 50% or 100% of the price. Many of them can start constructing their industrial units as BEZA has already developed the plots providing connections to power and gas.”
Adding that, “I hope BEZA can complete all the development activities by the end of the current year for investors. The BSMSN also offers options for all other industries.”
Source: Textile Today
Kuraray has become a participant in the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) - a global framework of companies and organisations working for sustainable social development. It signed to become its member on December 17, 2020. The company has also joined the Global Compact Network Japan, which comprises Japanese companies which have signed the UNGC.
The participating companies and organisations of UNGC demonstrate responsible and creative leadership and act as good members of society.
The top management of companies and organisations that sign the UNGC commit to supporting the Ten Principles of the United Nations Global Compact, which centre on protecting human rights, eliminating unfair labour, conserving the environment and preventing corruption.
In line with its mission of "For people and the planet—to achieve what no one else can," the Kuraray Group has pursued business development that helps improve the natural environment and the daily living environment since its founding in 1926. In 2019, the group amended its Sustainability Concept and revised its material issues (materiality).
“By signing the UNGC and clearly stating our corporate position, we will further promote sustainability management based on the Kuraray Group’s corporate statement and continue helping realise a sustainable society,” the company said.
The principles of the UN Global Compact are that businesses should support and respect the protection of internationally proclaimed human rights and make sure that they are not complicit in human rights abuses.
Businesses should also uphold the freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining; eliminate all forms of forced and compulsory labour; abolish child labour; eliminate discrimination in respect of employment and occupation; support a precautionary approach to environmental challenges; undertake initiatives to promote greater environmental responsibility; encourage the development and diffusion of environmentally friendly technologies; and work against corruption in all its forms, including extortion and bribery.
Kuraray was founded in 1926 for the purpose of commercialising synthetic rayon, which was a cutting-edge technology at the time. Following the Second World War, in 1950 the company became first in the world to commercialise polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) fibre, under the brand name Kuralon.
Source: Fibre2Fashion
Apparel sales in the United States declined by 19 per cent in 2020, according to a survey by The NPD Group, which found sales of comfy cozy categories like sweatpants increased by 17 per cent, those of sleepwear rose by 6 per cent, and those sports bras grew by 10 per cent during last year. Fashion footwear sales declined by 27 per cent during the year.
Due to the ‘work from home’ trend, tailored clothing, dresses and dress shoes, which were already losing share to more comfort-oriented attire pre-pandemic, were hit particularly hard in 2020, the survey found.
In footwear, fashion sneaker sales also declined year on year, although at a much softer rate than the overall category.
Regardless of whether consumers adopt more permanent work-from-home routines or go back to the workplace, demand for fashion with elements of comfort will stick around for the long term.
Seventy per cent of consumers in an NPD survey reported that once they can return to work and other activities, they plan to dress just as or more casually than they did prior to the pandemic.
NPD’s ‘Future of Footwear’ report forecasts that in 2021 the fashion category will recuperate, though it will regain less than half of the volume it lost in 2020.
Source: NPD Group News
According to a study by the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), Bangladeshi readymade (RMG) items have seen a sharper fall in prices compared to the Vietnamese products in the European Union and US markets.
The value of 100 kg of made-in-Bangladesh cotton fibre T-shirt dropped by 1% year-on-year to 1,091.5 euros in 2020.
Whereas the CPD study found that the same category product manufactured in Vietnam saw a 3% price rise, reaching 2,157.9 euros last year.
Equally, the price of each 100 kg of women or girls’ cotton fibre pullover made in Bangladesh reduced by 7 percent year-on-year to 1,329.5 euros in 2020 whereas the price of the Vietnamese ones remained unchanging at 2,157.8 euros.
The prices of each 100 kg of Bangladeshi man-made fibre pullovers for women and girls fell by 6 percent to 1,319.4 euros from 1,409.6 euros in 2019 at the EU markets. Still, the Vietnamese variant has seen only a 3 percent year-on-year price fall, hitting 1,906.2 euros in 2020.
In the US market, the price of a dozen of Bangladeshi T-shirts made from cotton fell by 20 percent to $17.99 in 2020 from $22.43 in 2019 while the price of the same product made in Vietnam dropped by 17 percent to $31.9 in 2020 from $38.2 in 2019.
The price of a dozen of Bangladeshi made sweaters and pullovers dropped by 2 percent to $39.31 in 2020 from $40.23 in 2019.
Nevertheless, the prices of the same Vietnamese product remained stable at $47.1 in 2019 and 46.9 in 2020.
The price of a dozen of Bangladeshi made trousers for women and girls made from cotton fibre dropped by 12 percent to $64.17 in 2020 from $72.88 in 2019 while its Vietnamese variant has seen only a 6 percent price fall, reaching $84.6 in 2020 from $90.5 in 2019.
Bangladesh’s apparel export performance was driven by both volume and value factors, according to the CPD study. Exchange rate management is emerging as a vital factor, driving export competitiveness, CPD said.
The CPD also said the export target set for fiscal 2021 to achieve 21 percent growth over fiscal 2020 will not be achieved.
It will take some time to even reach the pre-COVID export level of $40.5 billion.
Knitwear has performed better in the July-January period of FY21 (+3.8%) compared to Woven wear (-10.9%).
Jute and jute goods (+27.1 percent) and home textiles (+44.3 percent) have posted robust growth.
The global demand for manmade fibre apparel and synthetic leather products are rising at a fast pace.
There is a need to revisit the incentive regime given new export products and export market dynamics, the CPD said in its State of the Bangladesh Economy in FY20-21.
The trade balance further weakened in FY2020 with a faster fall in exports (-16.9 percent) compared to fall in imports (-8.6 percent).
However, the scenario reversed in FY2021, when over the first half of the fiscal year, imports fell at a faster pace (-6.8 percent) than exports (-1.1 percent), leading to some improvement in the trade balance.
Thanks to the continued robust flow of remittances, the balance of payments position at the end of the first six months of FY2021 in December 2020 shows significant improvement.
However, the overall scenario hides a diverse range of undercurrents and many narratives, with the level of export earnings lowering, continued slow performance in case of import payments and the backdrop of continued healthy performance of remittances, the CPD study said.
Rubana Huq, president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) recently said, “As far as the forecast of ‘positive growth’ is concerned, we would need to calculate the growth of 2021 based on the export figures of 2019 since 2020 was an abnormal time to compare export.”
She added that it is tough to forecast the future of our exports in the backdrop of the present unstable situation but things may stay challenging for us at least till the 3rd quarter of this calendar year.
“It’s not the export market and demand only which will determine the performance of export, but the worrying financial situation of the factories here is to be factored in to assess how long it would be possible for individual enterprises to withstand the prolonged shock,” Huq added.
Huq also said that the garments sector has had a consecutive downturn in export in December by 9.64 percent, which wrapped up the annual export performance for 2020 with an unprecedented fall of 16.94 percent.
In December of 2020, woven garment export posted the worst performance since June 2020, as it dropped by 18.07 percent.
Thanks to the demand for apparel for home use, the knitwear export managed to have a comparatively stable position with -0.45 percent growth in December.
While looking at the two years’ trend, it shows that growth between October 2018 and 2020 was -26.03 percent, and November 2018 and 2020 was -14.32 percent.
“The 2 years change in export for December is -8.55 percent, meaning that we exported 8.55 percent less in December this year compared to what we exported in December 2018,” Huq added.
“So, given the effect of lockdowns in Europe and the USA and their impact on retail and demand, the worst ever Christmas sales the world has seen, and most of all the effect of price decline, which is around 5 percent since September 2020, it was a dark year for the industry,” she said.
As the doubts and stresses caused by the second wave persist coupled with the relatively poor administration and unavailability of a vaccine, and the impact on the global economy it would leave, this downtrend in export will probably continue till April of this year, said Huq.
Source: Textile Today
India is poised to clear some new investment proposals from China in the coming weeks as frosty relations between the two neighbouring countries thawed amid an easing in border tensions, said three government officials with knowledge of the matter.
Last week, India and China began disengagement from the Pangong Tso area, in the Ladakh region of the western Himalayas, following a nearly nine-month-long standoff after the worst clash between the neighbouring countries since 1962.
At the height of the tensions, India framed various policies targeting China, including blocking the nation from participating in government tenders, compelling any Chinese company investing in India to seek approvals and banning dozens of Chinese apps.
The foreign investment rule change by the Indian government said investments from an entity in a country that shares a land border with India would require government approval, markedly slowing investments flows from China.
The rule change had put in limbo over 150 proposals from China worth more than $2 billion, hurting the plans of Chinese companies in India.
Among the proposals delayed was China's Great Wall Motors' acquisition of a General Motors' plant in India.
"We'll start giving approvals to some greenfield investment proposals, but we will only clear those sectors which are not sensitive to national security," one of the officials said.
The officials, who asked not to be named as the discussions are private, did not give details of the proposals they plan to clear in the coming weeks.
The prime minister's office did not immediately respond to an email seeking comments, while the home ministry did not respond to an email, call or message.
The government will also look to clear some other brownfield projects - new investments in existing projects - that are not a risk to national security after the first round of clearance to new investments, the above officials said.
The government is also considering allowing some investment from Chinese firms in certain sectors via the "automatic" route, or without government scrutiny, said the officials.The officials said investments for stakes of up to 20 percent, in "non-sensitive" sectors, may revert to the automatic route for nations with which India shares land borders.
Source: The Economic Times
