Telangana has sanctioned ₹338 crore for the welfare of handloom weavers. It is creating a brand value for the state’s handloom products and has waived off the loans of handloom weavers, state finance minister T Harish Rao told the state assembly recently. Cotton and chemicals required for weaving were also provided at half rates by the government, he said.
Further, the government placed orders for 95.25 lakh pieces of Bathukamma sarees and school uniforms. The government has also created direct employment to 20,000 handloom workers, which created 461 crore orders. Accordingly, the income of power loom workers increased from ₹16,000 to ₹20,000 per month.
The state government released ₹96.43 crore under the Cheyutha Scheme to the weavers, an official release quoted him as saying.
Under this scheme, handloom workers are able to save 8 per cent from their income and government adds an additional 8 per cent to the same. Handloom worker can draw the amount from the bank only after saving that amount for three years.
Source: Fibre2Fashion News
Precision Textiles, a leading supplier of coated fabrics, nonwovens and laminations for the bedding, automotive and healthcare industries, is experiencing increased demand for its fiber products as mattress manufacturers grapple with industry-wide foam shortages. The fiber products can be used in a mattress’s top comfort layer as well as an alternative to firmer foams that support spring units.
Using a combination of both can result in a reduction of foam up to five inches, reducing bedding manufacturers’ reliance on the volatile raw material without sacrificing the feel of the mattress.
“Raw material availability, particularly in foam, is perhaps the most serious challenge our industry is facing today,” says Gerry Welkley, national sales manager of Precision Textiles. “As consumer demand for home furnishings and mattresses continues to grow at a rapid pace, we have been fielding calls from our customers looking for fiber products that can be used instead of traditional foam used in quilted comfort layers as well as alternatives to the firmer-support foams used as support layers deeper inside the mattress build. As these raw material shortages and allocations on foam prevail, retailers and consumers alike are looking for manufacturers that can supply them with products in a timely fashion. Precision Textiles has three solutions in stock and available to help our partners bridge the supply gap without sacrificing the comfort feel of the mattress.”
Engineered to perform as a foam alternative, Precision Textiles’ ECOLOFT, ECOLOFT LUXE and its line of Vertically Lapped Densified Eco-Pads provide the necessary “spring back” and support that foam products offer.
“In addition to being a suitable alternative to bridge the gap, these three products offer increased breathability, providing a cooler night’s sleep, and offer inherent self-extinguishing FR properties,” Welkley adds. “Additional benefits include non-allergenic and recyclable attributes.”
ECOLOFTis a high-quality quilting fiber made by combining conjugated spiral crimp pillow fill with bicomponent polyester. It reduces the amount of combustible materials in a finished mattress by eliminating the traditional polyurethane foam layer behind the fire-resistant (FR) barrier.
The lofty polyester fibers in ECOLOFT also create an added dimension of luxury to mattress panels and borders, while serving as an easy-to-quilt product.A top layer of a mattress constructed with ECOLOFT can displace one quarter of an inch up to three quarters of an inch of foam.
The fiber in ECOLOFT LUXE is produced by combining down alternative pillow fill with bicomponent polyester. Like ECOLOFT, it reduces the amount of combustible materials in a mattress by doing away with the polyurethane foam layer behind the FR barrier. ECOLOFT LUXE is also an easy-to-quilt product that creates an added depth of luxurious silky dimension to a mattress’s panels and borders. A top layer of a mattress constructed with ECOLOFT LUXE can displace one quarter of an inch up to three quarters of an inch of foam.
Vertically Lapped Densified Eco-Padsare formulated to maintain indentation load deflection longer than any conventional fiber pad. Their vertical orientation, as opposed to the common horizontal orientation of other fiber pads, gives a mattress more spring-back for greater support and resilience. They also contain a lower level of volatile organic compounds than conventional foam.Using Eco-Pads can reduce the thickness of an inner support layer of foam by one to four or five inches.
Source: NonWovens Industry News
The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) on Wednesday made a case for setting up a definite time-frame for roll out of simplified GST return forms as frequent deferments are resulting in delay in stabilisation of return filing system.
The GST return system is still a work in progress despite more than three years of GST rollout, CAG audit report presented in Parliament said.
In the absence of a stable and simplified return mechanism, one of the main objectives of roll out of GST i.e. simplified tax compliance system is yet to be achieved, it said.
“During the current audit, we noticed that owing to the continuing extensions in the roll out of simplified return forms, and delay in decision making, the originally envisaged system-verified flow of ITC through ‘invoice matching’ is yet to be implemented and a non-intrusive e-tax system still remains unimplemented,” it said.
It is recommended that a definite time-frame for roll out of simplified return forms may be fixed and implemented as frequent deferments are resulting in delay in stabilisation of return filing system and continued uncertainty in the GST ecosystem, the report said.
The report also noted that indirect taxes collections increased by Rs 16,627 crore during FY20 over FY19.
However, it said there is a declining trend in annual growth of indirect taxes during the last five years.
“The annual growth of indirect taxes (Y-o-Y) declined from 21.33 per cent in FY17 to only 1.76 per cent in FY20. Further, share of indirect taxes in total revenue receipts declined from 38.95 per cent in FY’17 to 36.92 per cent in FY’20,” it said.
Central GST taxes revenue as percentage of GDP declined from 3.08 per cent in FY19 to 2.95 per cent in FY20, it said.
Source: The Financial Express
The Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) on Wednesday urged cotton mill owners to cut yarn prices by Rs 20 per kg to support the growth of the sector as rising rates impact cost competitiveness. AEPC Chairman A Sakthivel's request comes in the wake of Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) reducing cotton prices by around Rs 1,500 per candy earlier on Monday.
"I am requesting all the mill owners to bring down the yarn price by Rs 20 per kg with immediate effect," Sakthivel said in his in his letter to Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI) Chairman T Rajkumar. In the last two months, cotton prices have come down by Rs 2,500 per candy, he said.
Sakthivel has requested all the mill owners' associations to reduce the yarn price for protecting the apparel export industry. "Cotton yarn prices have consistently increased in the last four months," he added.
Source: The Economic Times
Teijin Frontier , the Teijin Group's fibres and products converting company, announced today that it has established Teijin Frontier India Private Ltd in Gurugram, India to conduct sales and trading activities that will further strengthen its global business. Teijin Frontier India will start its operation on April 1.
India has the second largest population in the world and its domestic market is expected to grow steadily. The Teijin Group established its first local subsidiary in 2007 aiming to develop the local market and Teijin Frontier has been conducting market research and sales activities in India since 2010 incorporating diverse sales platforms. The establishment of Teijin Frontier India will strengthen Teijin Frontier Group’s ongoing global business expansion in strategic fields including the environment, mobility and high-performance textiles, three sectors where India is expected to be a key player in terms of both supply and consumption.
Going forward, Teijin Frontier plans to continue strengthening its global value chain for producing yarns, fabrics and finished products.
Teijin is a technology-driven global group offering advanced solutions in the fields of environmental value; safety, security and disaster mitigation; and demographic change and increased health consciousness. Originally established as Japan's first rayon manufacturer in 1918, Teijin has evolved into a unique enterprise encompassing three core business domains: high-performance materials including aramid, carbon fibres and composites, and also resin and plastic processing, films, polyester fibres and products converting; healthcare including pharmaceuticals and home healthcare equipment for for bone/joint, respiratory and cardiovascular/metabolic diseases, nursing care and pre-symptomatic healthcare; and IT including B2B solutions for medical, corporate and public systems as well as packaged software and B2C online services for digital entertainment. Deeply committed to its stakeholders, as expressed in the brand statement “Human Chemistry, Human Solutions,” Teijin aims to be a company that supports the society of the future.
The group comprises more than 170 companies and employs some 20,000 people across 20 countries worldwide. Teijin posted consolidated sales of JPY 853.7 billion (USD 8.0 billion) and total assets of JPY 1,004.2 billion (USD 9.4 billion) in the fiscal year that ended on March 31, 2020.
Source: The Indian Textile Journal
Bringing petrol and diesel under the GST regime is not possible for the next 8-10 years as no state is ready to face the annual revenue loss of over Rs 2 lakh crore on this account, BJP member Sushil Kumar Modi said in Rajya Sabha on Wednesday.
Speaking in support of the Finance Bill, the former finance minister of Bihar dared the opposition to raise the matter in the GST Council, saying no chief minister or finance minister from non-NDA ruled states has opposed any decision of the GST Council.
The Centre and states collectively collect over Rs 5 lakh crore tax on petroleum products, Modi said.
The statement assumes significance in view of the outcry over the rise in petrol price for the past over one year that touched Rs 100 per litre in some states and the demand by the Congress and some other parties that petrol and diesel be brought under the GST regime.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had on Tuesday said in Lok Sabha that she would be “glad” to discuss the suggestion of bringing petrol and diesel under the ambit of the Goods and Services Tax at the next meeting of the GST Council.
Sushil Modi said it is easy for opposition leaders to make statements outside, but no one raises these issues within the GST Council.
“Repeatedly, the issue of putting petrol and diesel in the GST regime is being raked up. I have been associated with the GST for a long time, I want to know from the House, that if petrol and diesel are put under the GST regime, who will compensate for the loss of revenue of over Rs 2 lakh crore to states,” he asked.
“I want to tell this House that it is not possible to put petrol and diesel under the GST in the next eight to 10 years, as no state is ready to lose Rs 2 lakh crore revenue, be it the Congress or any other government,” he said.
He said the Centre and states together earn over Rs 5 lakh crore annually from tax on petroleum products.
“People in the opposition make fun of the GST regime and someone has also said it is ‘Gabbar Singh Tax’. If you have the courage….all states have a presence there … (Congress-ruled) Chhattisgarh or Rajasthan, no chief minister or finance minister has ever opposed the GST structure.
“It is easy to make statements outside, but you need courage as displayed by Narendra Modi to implement the GST. Had there been any other prime minister, he would not have been able to implement the GST,” Sushil Modi told the House.
He explained that if petroleum products are brought under the GST, 28 percent tax would be collected on them as that is the highest slab in the tax regime.
“Presently, 60 percent tax is being collected on petroleum products. This would result in a shortfall of Rs 2 lakh crore to 2.5 lakh crore (to both the Centre and states),” he explained in the House.
“If we collect 28 percent tax on petroleum products, then only Rs 14 would be collected (per litre) against Rs 60 at present,” he pointed out.
“If petrol or diesel price is Rs 100 (per litre) then the tax component is Rs 60 which includes Rs 35 for Centre and Rs 25 for respective states. Besides out of the Rs 35 tax per litre, 42 percent goes to states,” Modi added.
He also slammed those casting doubts on the use of revenue generated from diesel and petrol, stressing that the money is used for development activities.
“It is said that the tax collected on petrol, diesel goes into the pocket of the government. There is no separate pocket of the government. From where will the money come for providing electricity and tap water to all households. The spending of tax collection on the welfare of the country is being challenged,” the BJP leader lamented.
Sushil Modi had been the convener of the GST Council in his capacity as the finance minister of Bihar for a long time.
In the first reduction in rates in over a year, petrol price on Wednesday was cut by 18 paise per litre and diesel by 17 paise per litre as international oil prices tumbled to the lowest since early February.
Petrol price was cut to Rs 90.99 per litre in Delhi from Rs 91.17 per litre. Diesel now comes for Rs 81.30 a litre in the national capital, down from Rs 81.47 previously. Rates have been reduced across the country and vary from state-to-state depending on the local incidence of taxation (VAT).
The prices were last reduced on March 16, 2020.
Source: The Financial Express
The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India has found that the goods and services tax (GST) system is prone to input tax credit (ITC) frauds due to complexity in the compliance system.
“The originally envisaged system-validated ITC through ‘invoice matching’ had not been implemented. The complexity of return mechanism and technical glitches had resulted in roll-back of key GST returns, rendering the system prone to ITC frauds,” CAG said in its report submitted in Parliament on Wednesday.
The GST returns system is still a work in progress despite more than three years of roll-out, it said. “In the absence of a stable and simplified return mechanism, one of the main objectives of GST rollout — simplified tax compliance system — is yet to be achieved,” the report said.
CAG recommended fixing a definite time frame for rollout simplified returns forms as frequent deferments are resulting in a delay in its stabilisation and continued uncertainty in the GST ecosystem. During October 2018 to March 2020, CAG examined records relating to 4,736 of 23,106 refunds in 33 Central GST (CGST) commissionerates. It noticed non-adherence to extant provisions in processing refunds in 280 claims (6 per cent) involving an amount of Rs 16.16 crore.
“We observed instances of irregular grant of refund due to non-consideration of minimum balance in electronic credit ledger, irregular sanction of refund of input tax credit availed of on capital goods, etc,” the report said.
GST shortfall
The CGST revenue was short of the Budget Estimates and the Revised Estimates during 2018-19 and 2019-20. The shortfall vis-à-vis Budget Estimates was 22 per cent and 10 per cent for the years, respectively. Also, CGST revenue grew 2.97 per cent in FY20 over FY19. CGST revenue as a percentage of GDP, however, declined from 3.08 per cent in FY19 to 2.95 per in FY20.
The share of GST remained constant at 62 per cent of the direct tax collections during the last two years (FY19 and FY20).
To a query over this, the finance ministry said on the recommendations of the GST Council, rate rationalisations have been implemented from time to time by the government and, therefore, the actual indirect tax collections may vary with regard to the target set for a financial year.
It should be noted that in December 2015, the report on the revenue neutral rate and structure of rates for GST recommended the range of 15-15.5 per cent as the revenue neutral rate. However, the effective weighted average GST rate as of July 2019 was 11.6 per cent.
In addition, the GST Council revised the threshold turnover limits upwards for registration of taxpayers and the composition levy scheme, which affected GST collections, the ministry said.
Source: The Business Standard
Pakistan’s cotton yarn import is expected to increase in 2021 as demand has been rising with extension of GSP Plus status by the EU, implementation of 2nd phase of CPFTA (China-Pakistan Free Trade Agreement), relief packages from the government, permission of export of all PPEs and, removal of earlier 5.00 per cent of regulatory duty on cotton yarn import.
Under CPFTA, China has eliminated tariffs on 313 (out of 313 products, 130 are from textiles and clothing sector) priority tariff lines of Pakistan’s export interest.
According to Abdul Razak Dawood, adviser to Pakistan's PM on Commerce, the EU’s extension of the GSP Plus till 2022 is expected to boost Pakistan’s textiles exports by $500 million annually.
The total cotton yarn import of Pakistan in 2020 dropped 37.19 per cent to $65.39 million compared to previous year, with an average of $5.45 million per month (2019: average $8.68 million), according to Fibre2Fashion's market analysis tool TexPro.
Pakistan's cotton yarn imports drastically declined in May 2020 due to the COVID-19 outbreak. The value of cotton yarn import moved down to $1.88 million in May 2020 with a plunge of 72.43 per cent over the previous month. It remained around $2.00 million per month from May 2020 to August 2020. It recovered in September 2020 with a growth of 134.17 per cent over the previous month.
In 2021, cotton yarn import into Pakistan is expected to increase by approximately 20.00 per cent to 25.00 per cent compared to the imports in 2020. Pakistan’s cotton yarn import is expected to reach to $81.74 million in 2021.
Source: Fibre2Fashion News
Bangladesh, which is distinguished among the many second line of rising Asian economies with sustained common development price of greater than 7% for the final ten years, has grow to be a beautiful vacation spot for commerce and funding within the South Asian area. PM Narendra Modi’s visit to Dhaka this Friday and Saturday could open up alternative for added Indian investments in Bangladesh.
Bangladesh is ready to graduate from the Least Developed Country (LDC) standing to a growing nation by 2024. It offers nice alternative for Bangladesh to improve its bilateral ties with India and joint collaboration in numerous sectors that may ease Bangladesh’s transition course of.
The web Indian funding in Bangladesh in FY 2020 was USD123.17 million. India occupied eight place with respect to funding in Bangladesh. Major sector that attracted Indian funding in Bangladesh was energy/vitality sector adopted by banking, textile and carrying and telecommunications. Bangladesh exported items price USD 1.09 billion to India and imported USD 5.77 billion price of products within the fiscal 12 months 2019-20.
India is the largest improvement associate of Bangladesh and improvement is the important thing pillar of bilateral cooperation. India started institutional help with the Line of Credit (LoC) in 2010 to Bangladesh for its numerous developmental wants. Since then, India has provided practically $7.36 billion (in three LoCs) to execute tasks, primarily in transport & communication sectors.
Small Development Projects (SDPs) represent an lively pillar of India’s improvement help. India has funded a variety of SDPs together with building of scholar hostels, educational buildings, cultural facilities and orphanages in Bangladesh and a few are at the moment being applied.
According to a latest World Bank report, titled ‘Connecting to Thrive: Challenges and Opportunities of Transport Integration in Eastern South Asia’, easy transport connectivity between India and Bangladesh has the potential to enhance nationwide revenue by as a lot as 17% in Bangladesh.
After analysing the Bangladesh-Bhutan-India-Nepal Motor Vehicle Agreement (BBIN-MVA), the report urged Bangladesh to prioritize infrastructure investments within the nation to maximise commerce & funding advantages. India-Bangladesh bilateral commerce accounts for less than about 10% of Bangladesh’s commerce and 1.0% of India’s commerce. According to the report, all districts in Bangladesh would profit from integration, with the japanese districts having fun with bigger good points in actual revenue.
States bordering Bangladesh resembling Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram, and Tripura within the Northeast, and West Bengal on the west, and states additional away from Bangladesh resembling Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra would additionally acquire large financial advantages from seamless connectivity.
The World Bank’s earlier reviews urged that Bangladesh’s exports to India could enhance by 182% and India’s exports to Bangladesh by 126% if each the international locations signal a free commerce settlement. Improving transport connectivity between the 2 international locations could enhance exports even additional, yielding a 297% enhance in Bangladesh’s exports to India and a 172% enhance in India’s exports to Bangladesh.
Source: The Economic Times
Sustained hike in the global cotton prices in recent months are dealing a blow to the country's textile and readymade garment (RMG) industry that is already hit hard by the pandemic, sector insiders said.
To make the matters worse, spinning mills have enhanced locally produced yarn prices, on an average, by over US $1.50 per kg, they said.
Referring to that, RMG makers said the rising local yarn prices were putting an additional burden on them at a time when the industry was yet to recover fully from the impact of Covid-19 pandemic.
Local millers have raised the yarn prices in the domestic market taking advantage of the coronavirus outbreak, said the RMG makers, adding that the hike in prices of raw materials were eating up the competitiveness of the locally manufactured garment items.
However, spinning mills attributed the hike in cotton prices to rising demands for the item globally and its supply crunch, and upward costs of other related logistics followed by the Covid-19 induced lockdown.
These factors have made the global cotton market volatile resulting in the increased cost of yarn manufacturing locally, added the millers.
Meantime, Bangladesh Garment Buying House Association (BGBA) said they were also facing difficulties in marketing locally made apparel items due to the 'unusual' rise in local yarn prices.
Terming the increase in local yarn prices 'unusual', the BGBA in a letter to the Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA) on March 15 wanted to know the reason behind the hike.
Its president Kazi Iftekhar Hossain in the letter said the global garment trade has been mostly affected by the coronavirus outbreak. The losing competitiveness of the local industry is yet another factor.
It has become difficult to retain the global RMG buyers due to the sustained rise in yarn prices, said Kazi Iftekhar.
Asked, Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA) president Mohammad Ali Khokon said the Covid-19 pandemic had affected not only the local RMG industry but also the primary textile millers.
Prices of yarn largely depend on cotton as the cotton price takes up more than 60 per cent of the yarn production cost, he said.
Moreover, the global cotton market was 'unstable and upward' during the last few months.
Besides, China has purchased a large quantity of cotton from the US and India, he said, adding that the prices of cotton and yarn were higher in the cotton-producing countries like India and Pakistan.
The lockdown has pushed up the use of cotton-based garment items especially the knitted ones, said Mohammad Ali Khokon, attributing the cotton price hike to the demand and supply gap.
According to BTMA, cotton was being traded on an average US$ 0.60 to $0.85 per kg during June to December last year which now ranged between $0.95 and $1.7 per kg in March this year.
Echoing the president, BTMA secretary Monsoor Ahmed explained that due to the Covid-19, cotton harvest had been affected while the pandemic-induced lockdown had pushed up the related trade costs including logistics like shipping and container charges.
Nurul Islam, chairman of Well Group, said the price of raw materials had skyrocketed while costs of logistics had also gone up.
They have to pay US$ 4,000 per container which was $ 900 to $ 1,000 just a few months back, he explained.
Both the spinners and RMG makers are affected and the impact is still unknown as none can predict what would happen in coming months, he said.
Talking to the FE, Fazlee Shamim Ehsan, director of the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA), said yarn price had now increased to $4.0 per kg, which was $2.50 in October and November last year.
They could not maintain their quoted price to buyers as the yarn price increased within the shortest span of time, said Fazlee Shamim, adding that buyers did not pay for the enhanced cost.
Secondly, he said, they are getting less fresh orders when they negotiate buyers keeping into consideration the enhanced yarn price.
Moreover, buyers are offering lower prices, asking for discounts, and deferring shipments and payments citing the Covid-19, he added.
"As a result, we are incurring losses. Despite those, a good number of apparel makers are taking orders less than their production cost mainly to continue their business and pay workers," Mr Ehsan explained.
When asked, Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) president Dr Rubana Huq said at a time when they needed to beat their competitors, rising yarn prices would kill that potential.
According to BTMA, some 425 spinners out of its total 1,461 members provide around 90 per cent yarn demand for knit and 35-40 per cent yarn demand for woven items exports.
The country annually spends US$ 3.5 to $4.0 billion in importing around 8.0 million bales of cotton.
It imports cotton mainly from African countries, India, Australia and the USA while Brazil was added to the importing country list in recent years, according to BTMA.
Bangladesh annually produces only 0.16 million bales of cotton.
Source: The Financial Express Bangladesh
Fashion giants are making slow progress in meeting promises to improve their environmental and social impact, according to a damning sustainability report released Monday.
The inaugural Sustainability Index by the Business of Fashion magazine, the first to offer direct comparisons between the industry's top firms, found they were often falling far short of their ambitious rhetoric on going green.
"The global economy has 10 years to avoid catastrophic climate change and an urgent duty to improve the welfare of the workers who make it tick," said the report, which was put together by a panel of sustainability experts from around the world.
"Time is running out and simply stating an ambition to change is no longer good enough."
It graded the biggest 15 fashion companies across six areas: transparency, emissions, water and chemicals, materials, workers' rights and waste.
Not one company scored more than 50 out of 100, with Swiss firm Richemont and US firm Under Armor faring worst with scores of just 14 and nine overall.
They did not respond to requests for comment.
The best performers were French luxury house Kering and Nike, who scored 49 and 47 respectively.
"Many of fashion's biggest companies still don't know or don't disclose where their products come from, and the further down the supply chain you go, the more opaque things become," the report said.
"That enables exploitation and human rights abuses and creates difficulties measuring the industry's environmental impact."
'Just not working'
A 2019 study by the UN Alliance for Sustainable Fashion found that fashion was the second-biggest consumer of water, and responsible for eight-to-10 percent of global carbon emissions -- "more than all international flights and maritime shipping combined".
The new Sustainability Index said many firms had targets to reduce emissions but little information on how they were faring.
Three firms -- Richemont, Under Armour and LVMH -- had not set emissions targets at all, it said.
Fewer than half were found to have clear goals on reducing the use of water and hazardous chemicals, and only four had a time-bound target to replace oil-based polyester -- the most commonly-used fabric in the world -- with recycled alternatives.
The worst results were on the issue of waste, with the report citing a recent Ellen MacArthur Foundation study that found 40 million tonnes of textiles were sent to landfills or incinerated every year.
"Companies are talking more about circularity than they are embracing it," it said.
Scores on workers' rights were also dismal.
"We have been stuck with the current state of play for more than 10 years and the discourse is still way ahead of the action," Anannya Bhattacharjee of the Asia Floor Wage Alliance was quoted as saying in the report.
"No matter how many committees are set up in factories, they are just not working," she added. "Commitments to a living wage are meaningless if buying prices do not cover the cost of living wages."
Nonetheless, the report sought a constructive tone, saying it was not designed to chastise or praise individual companies, but to encourage innovation.
"Environmental sustainability is bigger than any one brand, supplier or retailer. We all have to work together," wrote another of the authors, Edwin Keh, of the Hong Kong Research Institute of Textiles and Apparel.(AFP)
Source: Fashion United
The exports of textile commodities witnessed an increase of 6.69 per cent during the first eight months of the current fiscal year as compared to the corresponding period of last year.
The textile exports were recorded at $9,999.770 million in July-February (2020-21) against the exports of $9,372.819 million in July-January (2019-20), showing growth of 6.69 per cent, according to latest data of Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).
The textile commodities that contributed in trade growth included knitwear, exports of which increased from $2090.039 million last year to $2467.006 million during the current year, showing growth of 18.04 per cent.
Likewise, the exports of yarn (other than cotton yarn) increased by 7.70 per cent, from $18.879 million to $20.333 million whereas, exports of bed wear increased by 13.71 per cent from $1597.868 million to $1816.882 million.
The exports of towels increased by 16.31 per cent, from $525.048 million to $610.684 million; exports of tents, canvas and tarpulin grew by 33.27 per cent, from $61.704 million to $82.230 million; readymade garments by 2.56 per cent, from $1961.293 million to $2011.505 million; madeup articles, excluding towels and beadwear by 15.14 per cent, from $439.460 million to $505.986 million.
Meanwhile, the commodities that witnessed negative growth in trade included raw cotton, exports of which decreased by 96.47 per cent, from $16.797 million to $0.593 million; cotton yarn decreased by 17.73 per cent, from $737.417 million to $606.685 million whereas the exports of cotton cloth also decreased by 10.37 per cent, from $1378.220 million to $1235.298 million.
On year-on-year basis, the textile exports decreased by 3.12 per cent during the month of February 2021 as compared to the same month of last year. The exports during February 2021 were recorded at $1234.031 million against the exports of $1273.745 million.
On month-on-month basis, the exports from the country witnessed decrease of 6.75 per cent during February 2021 when compared to the exports of $1323.324 million in January 2021.
It is pertinent to mention here that the overall merchandize exports from the country increased by 4.29 per cent during the first eight months of the current fiscal year (2020-21) as compared to the corresponding period of last year.
The exports of the country during July-February (2020-21) were recorded at $16.304 billion against the exports of $15.633 billion during July-February (2019-20), according to the latest PBS data. The imports during the period under review also increased by 7.49 per cent by growing from $31.483 billion last year to $33.840 billion during the first eight months of current fiscal year.
Based on the figures, the country’s trade deficit increased by 10.64 per cent during the first eight months as compared to the corresponding period of last year. The trade deficit during the period was recorded at $17.536 billion against the deficit of $15.850 billion last year.
Source: The Nation
The federal government informed Parliament that India has not acquired any proposal from Pakistan and it’s for Pakistan to overview its unilateral measures on commerce.
“India wishes regular relations together with on commerce with all international locations, together with Pakistan. Pakistan unilaterally suspended bilateral commerce with India in August 2019. It’s for Pakistan to overview its unilateral measures on commerce,” minister of State for commerce and trade Hardeep Singh Puri stated in Lok Sabha Wednesday.
“No,” he stated on being requested whether or not the federal government has acquired any type of proposal from Pakistan.
FDI ecommerce
There isn’t a proposal to usher in adjustments in FDI coverage for e-commerce sector in India, presently, Parliament was knowledgeable. Minister of State for commerce and trade Som Parkash informed Lok Sabha that the federal government has acquired representations from merchants’ our bodies/ associations alleging that sure market entities have created complicated possession buildings to bypass the FDI coverage provisions and are partaking in Stock-based mannequin of e-commerce by managed distributors/most popular sellers. Additional, there are allegations concerning deep discounting, predatory pricing, unique preparations.
“Doesn’t come up,” he stated on being requested whether or not e-commerce marketplaces shall be allowed to have an oblique stake by their dad or mum firms, the brand new firms that are planning to spend money on India shall be affected by the proposed adjustments in FDI coverage and if the federal government is planning to use such a coverage to different retail companies.
Bangladesh rice
Discount of import obligation on rice by Bangladesh is prone to end in greater imports of rice and prone to profit India, Parliament was informed.
“Sure, sir,” commerce and trade minister Piyush Goyal stated in Lok Sabha replying to a query whether or not discount of import obligation on rice by Bangladesh is prone to profit India.
“Discount of import obligation on rice by Bangladesh is prone to end in greater imports of rice by that nation which can end in greater exports of rice from India to Bangladesh,” he stated, including that as exports are affected by a number of elements similar to demand, provide and relative costs, each home and worldwide prevailing, an estimate of the amount of export of non-basmati rice to Bangladesh and quantity of international change to be earned, doubtlessly, is troublesome to make.
Service exports
The way in which ahead on Service Exports from India Scheme (SEIS) for FY20 and extension of SEIS for FY 21 is into consideration, Lok Sabha was knowledgeable.
SEIS has been applied from FY16 to FY19 for notified companies classes and it was introduced that the service classes eligible beneath the scheme and the charges for eligible companies as rendered in FY20 can be notified individually however these haven’t been notified. It was additionally notified that for the companies rendered with impact from April 1, 2020, resolution on continuation of the scheme shall be taken subsequently and notified accordingly. No extension of the scheme for FY21 has been notified, the federal government stated.
Automotive exports
India’s export of cars/vehicles when it comes to amount decreased by 6% throughout 2020-21 (April-January) as in comparison with the corresponding interval of the earlier yr, the federal government informed Parliament.
The explanations for the decline in such export are primarily world financial slowdown and provide chain disruptions because of Covid-19 pandemic. Mexico, Nigeria, South Africa and Saudi Arabia are the highest locations for India’s car exports.
Import discount
25% import discount from $405.3 billion to $304.5 billion has been recorded in 25 of 30 commodity teams throughout from April 2020 to January 2021 over the corresponding interval final yr. These merchandise embrace synthetic resins, plastic supplies, gold, leather-based, machine instruments, iron and metal.
Core sector
The federal government knowledgeable Parliament that the manufacturing of eight Core industries has been adversely affected by the Covid-19 pandemic and related disruptions in demand and provide of products and companies. A number of the demand aspect elements liable for drop in manufacturing are decline in personal last consumption expenditure and gross fastened capital expenditure and uncertainty in enterprise sentiments.
“The imposition of nationwide lockdown to include the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic was a significant provide aspect issue liable for drop within the core sector progress,” Parkash informed Lok Sabha.
The sudden outbreak of Covid-19 has severely impacted a few of the main economies of the world, viz. USA, European Union, UK and Japan. In India too, varied sectors had been affected because of the nation-wide lockdown. Nevertheless, after the lockdown was relaxed, enchancment has been witnessed in a number of sectors of the financial system, he stated.
Logistics Coverage
The draft Nationwide Logistics Coverage is beneath stakeholders dialogue and shall be finalized on completion of the consultations, Parliament was knowledgeable. Nationwide Logistics Platform shall be a unified interface for all logistics companies by built-in digital options developed by completely different ministries, companies and personal entities in logistics sector by open Software Programming Interfaces.
RCEP
The federal government stated that the Regional Complete Financial Partnership (RCEP) was supposed to supply mutually useful outcomes for RCEP international locations however the construction of RCEP didn’t adequately tackle the ambitions and considerations of India’s stakeholders.
“In gentle of those, India determined to not be a part of the RCEP, in its present kind and through the third RCEP Leaders’ Summit held on November 4, 2019 in Bangkok, India conveyed its place that present construction of RCEP didn’t mirror the RCEP Guiding Ideas or tackle the excellent points and considerations of India,” Lok Sabha was informed.
The commerce and trade ministry additionally stated the essential intent of commerce treatment investigations is to eradicate damage triggered to the home trade and create a degree enjoying discipline of open and honest competitors within the Indian market.
ITPO
The work on redevelopment of Pragati Maidan at New Delhi into an built-in Exhibition- cum-Conference Centre is applied by India Commerce Promotion Organisation with a goal completion date of March, 2022, Lok Sabha was knowledgeable.
Source: Newsmatters.in
