Indian exports fell by 7.2 per cent in value terms in FY21, as the world wrestled with the COVID pandemic which had a severe impact to consumption because of the lockdowns and consequently to global trade. The exports had surged by more than 60 per cent in March to USD 34.45 billion as against USD 21.49 billion in the year-ago period. Reserve Bank Governor Shaktikanta Das on Friday pitched for enhanced policy support for the exports sector, given a rebound in global trade. The external demand is strengthening and the global demand conditions are set to improve further on fiscal stimulus packages and fast progress of vaccination in advanced economies, Das said while announcing the Monetary Policy Committee's (MPC) decision to go for status quo in rates. "The need of the hour is for enhanced and targeted policy support for exports. It is opportune now to give further policy push by focusing on quality and scalability," he said. According to him, the conducive external conditions are forming for a durable recovery beyond pre-pandemic levels. Further, the governor said that India's exports in March, April and May this year have seen an upswing, which is evident of the sector's potential. It can be noted that Indian exports fell by 7.2 per cent in value terms in FY21, as the world wrestled with the COVID pandemic which had a severe impact to consumption because of the lockdowns and consequently to global trade. The exports had surged by more than 60 per cent in March to USD 34.45 billion as against USD 21.49 billion in the year-ago.
Source: Economic Times
Though the economy suffered badly due to the COVID-19 crisis, textile industry managed to survive the trying times and is now set to blossom, said textile industrialist Subhash Sawariya. He believes that Free Trade Agreement with Europe will make India the largest textile exporter in Asia leaving China, Pakistan and Bangladesh far behind. “Due to international politics, European countries and the US are turning away from China and turning towards India for their textile requirements. Besides, Pakistan is losing international customers due to inferior quality of its textile products whereas Bangladesh failed to meet orders from across the world. So, India becomes the obvious choice,” Sawariya explained. Sawariya said that western countries do not use same clothes for a longer period so the demand of textile items is always high there. “This is the time for India to cash upon opportunity and make good money from textile export,” he added.
Source: Free Press Journal
As COVID-19 surged through the U.S. last spring and summer, the country found itself facing an alarming shortage of the personal protective equipment (PPE) frontline health care workers desperately needed to battle the pandemic. This year, on the other side of the globe, India is embroiled in the same struggle, except for one key thing. Until mid-2020, the U.S. relied on China to produce most of the PPE it used. In contrast, India is self-reliant – it can produce its own PPE because of its widespread support for and adoption of the technical textiles industry. Technical textiles such as nonwoven fabrics are important components of face masks, medical gowns and PPE. It wasn’t always this way, but the work of one Texas Tech University professor over the last two-plus decades has played a vital role in preparing India for the very fight it’s in now. After completing his doctorate in materials, textiles and fiber science in 1998, Seshadri Ramkumar joined Texas Tech. In 1999, with a major investment from the U.S. Department of Defense, he began researching nonwoven materials for defensive applications, such as chemical and environmental decontamination. The Indian government had begun its own work in the nonwovens sector, but it was nascent. To help the field grow, Ramkumar – now a professor of advanced materials – has partnered with the Indian government and technical textiles organizations around the world to host conferences in India since the early 2000s. The “International Conferences on Advances in Fibrous Materials, Nonwoven and Technical Textiles” were organized with several institutes in India in collaboration with The Institute of Environmental & Human Health (TIEHH) at Texas Tech since 2004. The events have been sponsored by notable industry groups, including the American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists (AATCC), the Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry (INDA), the Technical Association of the Pulp and Paper Industry (TAPPI) and the Industrial Fabrics Association International (IFAI). “If you go back 20 years, the nonwoven industry really did not exist the way it is today,” explained Kanti A. Jasani, president and owner of Pennsylvania-based Performance & Technical Textile Consulting, who attended the 2006 conference as an AATCC representative. “Some products were being made, but not in the manner, scale or quality in which they are being made today – and that’s because of Dr. Ramkumar’s contribution, working with the major industry partners in India. Every year, he is in India during the summer, lecturing, holding seminars, visiting mills and helping companies.” INDA hosted its first business conference in India, “Link with India,” in October 2007 to introduce the emerging textiles and nonwovens industry to a wider audience. “Dr. Seshadri Ramkumar served as tutor for the first nonwovens training course in Mumbai in January 2007 and was instrumental in assisting INDA with these efforts,” said Lori Reynolds, director of events and administration for INDA. In 2008, Ramkumar published a report on India’s technical textiles sector, “India Rising: Opportunities in Nonwovens and Technical Textiles,” which estimated its growth through 2050. So far, he’s been right. In 2006, India produced about 30,000 metric tons of nonwoven fabrics. In 2019, it produced 536,000 metric tons. Professor A. Venkatachalam, former department chair at PSG College of Technology and former dean of textile technology at the Bannari Amman Institute of Technology, explains that the conferences and collaborations Dr. Ramkumar initiated across India with many entities and government bodies have given India significant expertise in nonwovens – and that has well positioned the country to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. “India’s textile sector – particularly strong spinning and considerable knitting, weaving, apparel fashioning, chemical processing, textile machinery manufacturing, raw material and cost-effective operatives – has been recognized markedly in the world textile map for a long time,” Venkatachalam said. “Dedicated schemes by the Ministry of Textiles for research and development, training and investment, and enterprising business communities have led to flourishing technical textiles, specifically in the nonwoven sector. The development of quality products at an international standard has prompted India to gear up during COVID-19 times to come up with PPE products.” Ramkumar, the inventor of the FiberTectTM decontamination wipe, has played an especially integral role in India’s development of the technical textiles sector. “His contribution is largely in terms of making the technology available,” Jasani explained. “Did he make the face mask? No. Did he help people make a face mask? Yes. Did he show them what a face mask is and what it takes to make an effective face mask? Yes. Did he show a very cost-effective way of producing them? Yes. “He is very active in teaching people and helping India’s governmental bodies. They recognize him as an authority on this subject, and he is welcomed by the industry and the institutions across India with open arms.” Looking back, Ramkumar thought he was just helping to grow an industry, but the tangible effects of his work have now gone far above and beyond what he anticipated. “I never thought at the time that this would be a real, impactful work, but it is now because India is making its own PPE,” Ramkumar said. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. To start something and see it years later saving lives, it’s very humbling.”
Source: Lubbock online
In a letter to Union FM Nirmala Sitharaman, Mitra also sought that the compensation period be extended by five years beyond July 2022, which will provide stability to states’ finances currently reeling under the effects of Covid pandemic and cyclones Yaas and Taukte. West Bengal finance minister Amit Mitra has asked the Centre to revise its projections of compensation cess due to states for FY22 to Rs 2.13 lakh crore - based on nine-month average of FY21 revenues -instead of Rs 1.58 lakh crore, which will be met through market borrowings. In a letter to Union FM Nirmala Sitharaman, Mitra also sought that the compensation period be extended by five years beyond July 2022, which will provide stability to states’ finances currently reeling under the effects of Covid………………
Source: Economic Times
The finance minister further requested ministries to aim and achieve more than their capex targets. Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman has asked ministries to front load their capital spending, saying that the enhanced capital expenditure would play a critical role in revitalising the economy hit by the pandemic. She also asked ministries to ensure that central public-sector enterprises (CPSEs) cleared dues of micro, small and medium units at the earliest. Sitharaman made these remarks at a review meeting on the infrastructure roadmap ahead………….
Source: Economic Times
The government should understand that it is the prime mover. RBI’s liquidity measures, expansive and innovative as they have been, have only served to increase the volumes of cash the banks have been depositing with the RBI under reverse repo. The Monetary Policy Statement and the governor’s statement announcing it held no surprises. Despite a promise to come out with out-of-the-box measures to sustain growth, the policy was pretty much a repetition of the previous statement, with minor variations. RBI seems to want to communicate that there is only so much that it can do. The governor’s statement contained an interesting observation: on balance, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) was of the view that at this juncture, policy support from all sides is required to regain the momentum of growth…………..
Source: Economic Times
Government can insist on guidelines, but the units should start functioning’ Industries in the State are gearing up to resume operations on Monday, expecting the government to relax the lockdown restrictions……….
Source: The Hindu
The Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, Shri Shaktikanta Das has announced that the Policy Repo Rate will remain unchanged at 4% and that the Marginal Standing Facility and Bank Rate will remain at 4.25%. The Reverse Repo Rate too will remain unchanged at 3.35%. He informed that Monetary Policy Committee was of the view that policy support from all sides is required to gain growth momentum and to nurture recovery after it takes root. “Hence policy rate has been left unchanged and accommodative stance has been decided to be continued as long as necessary to revive and sustain growth, while ensuring inflation remains within target” the Governor said while delivering RBI’s bi-monthly monetary policy statement through an online address. Economy projected to grow at 9.5% in 2021-22 The Governor informed that according to RBI, Real GDP growth is projected to grow at 9.5% in 2021-22. Explaining the basis for this, he noted that unlike the first wave, impact on economic activity is expected to be relatively contained in the second wave, with restrictions on mobility being regionalised and nuanced. While urban demand slowed in April and May 2021, vaccination process is expected to gather steam in coming months and should help to normalise economic activity. The rebound in global trade is expected to support India’s export sector. He observed that rural demand is expected to remain strong, due to forecast of a normal monsoon. The Governor announced that the Consumer Price Index inflation is projected at 5.1% in 2021-22. Additional Measures The Governor also announced a set of additional measures with the objective of reviving the economy and to mitigate the adverse impact of the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. 1. On-Tap Liquidity Window for Contact-Intensive sectors: A separate liquidity window of Rs. 15,000 Crore is being opened till March 31, 2022 with tenures up to three years, at the repo rate. Under this scheme, Banks can give fresh lending support to hotels, restaurants, travel agents, tour operators, aviation ancillary services and other services including private bus operators, rent-a-car service providers, event organizers, spa clinics, beauty parlours and saloons. 2. Special Liquidity Facility of Rs. 16,000 Crore to SIDBI, for on-lending / refinancing through novel models and structures at Repo Rate, for a period of up to one year. This is to further support credit requirements of MSMEs, including those in credit-deficient and aspirational districts. 3. Expansion of coverage of borrowers under Stress Resolution Framework 2.0, by enhancing maximum aggregate exposure threshold from Rs. 25 Crore to Rs. 50 Crore for MSMEs, non-MSME small businesses and loans to individuals for business purposes. 4. Permission given to Authorized Dealer banks to place margins on behalf of FPI clients for transactions in Govt. securities within banks' credit risk management framework. This will ease operational constraints faced by Foreign Portfolio Investments and promote ease of doing business. 5. Regional Rural Banks can now issue Certificates of Deposit (CDs) Further, all issuers of CDs will be permitted to buy back their CDs before maturity, subject to certain conditions. This will facilitate greater flexibility in liquidity management. 6. National Automated Clearing House (NACH) to be available on all days of the week (currently available only on bank working days), effective from August 1, 2021. NACH being a popular and prominent mode of direct benefit transfer to large number of beneficiaries, this measure will enhance customer convenience. The Governor also took note of the following observations made by the Monetary Policy Committee: 1. Rural demand is expected to remain strong thanks to forecast of normal monsoon. Increased spread of COVID-19 infection in rural areas is a downside risk. 2. Inflation print at April at 4.3% has brought some relief and policy elbow room. 3. Real GDP growth is projected to grow at: 9.5% in 2021-22 18.5% in Q1 7.9% in Q2 7.2% in Q3 6.6% in Q4 4. Consumer Price Index inflation is projected at: 5.1% in 2021-22 5.2% in Q1 5.4% in Q2 4.7% in Q3 5.3% in Q4 5) RBI has conducted regular Open Market Operations and injected additional liquidity to the tune of Rs. 36,545 Crore till May 31, in addition to Rs. 60,000 Crore under Government Securities Acquisition Programme (G-SAP) 1.0, during current year i) Another operation under G-SAP 1.0 for purchase of Govt. Securities worth Rs. 40,000 Crore to be conducted on 17 June, 2021 ii) G-SAP 2.0 to be conducted in Q2 of 2021-22 for secondary market purchase operations worth Rs. 1.20 Lakh Crore to support market 6) India's exports in March, April and May 2021 have been on an upswing, conducive external conditions are forming for a durable recovery beyond pre-pandemic level 7) As of May 28, 2021, the country's Foreign Exchange Reserves had touched 598.2 Billion US Dollars; the country is at a striking distance of reaching $ 600 billion of Forex reserves. In his closing statement, the RBI Governor said that growth impulses are still alive and the RBI’s measures announced today are expected to reclaim the growth trajectory. “India’s position as Vaccine capital of the world with leadership in production of pharma products can change the COVID-19 narrative,” he pointed out.
Source: PIB
RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das while announcing the Monetary Policy on Friday said that India's forex reserves may have exceeded $600 billion mark. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) actively engages in both purchases and sales in the foreign exchange market and its various segments, he said. ''The success of these efforts is reflected in the stability and orderliness in market conditions and in the exchange rate in spite of large global spillovers. In the process, strength is imparted to the country’s balance sheet by the accumulation of reserves,'' Das added. The country's foreign exchange reserves rose by $2.865 billion to a record high of $592.894 billion for the week ended May 21, boosted by gold and currency assets, RBI data showed on Friday. The previous all-time high for the forex kitty was $590.185 billion for the week ended January 29, 2021. Expressed in dollar terms, the foreign currency assets include the effect of appreciation or depreciation of non-US units like the euro, pound and yen held in the foreign exchange reserves. The Monetary Policy Committee voted unanimously to keep repo rate unchanged at 4% and maintain an accommodative stance. Reverse Repo Rate is maintained at 3.35%, MSF (Marginal standing facility) rate at 4.25% & Bank Rate at 4.25%. "The MPC was of the view that at this juncture policy support from all sides is required to gain the momentum of growth that was evident in the second half of 2021 and to nurture the recovery after it has taken root," Das said. The rupee slumped 16 paise to 73.07 against the US dollar in opening trade on Friday after the Reserve Bank kept policy rates unchanged for the sixth time in a row.
Source: Live Mint
In the previous fiscal which ended on March 31, 2021, the department had issued Rs 2.62 lakh crore worth refunds to more than 2.38 crore taxpayers. The income tax department on Thursday said it has issued Rs 26,276 crore refunds to more than 15.47 lakh taxpayers in two months of the current fiscal. Of this, personal income tax refunds worth Rs 7,538 crore have been issued in over 15.02 lakh cases. Corporate tax refunds of Rs 18,738 crore have been issued to 44,531 taxpayers. "CBDT issues refunds of over Rs 26,276 crore to more than 15.47 lakh taxpayers between 1st April, 2021 to 31st May, 2021," the income tax department tweeted. The I-T department did not specify for which financial year the refunds pertained to. However, it is believed that the refunds were for tax returns filed for the 2019-20 fiscal. In the previous fiscal which ended on March 31, 2021, the department had issued Rs 2.62 lakh crore worth refunds to more than 2.38 crore taxpayers. The refunds issued in 2020-21 were 43.2 per cent higher than the Rs 1.83 lakh crore issued in 2019-20.
Source: Economic Times
As climate change concerns are moving to the forefront of consumer minds, the apparel industry has been under pressure to adopt sustainable practices, as per a recent report. In the apparel industry, it is critical to develop robust textile recovery infrastructure and scale up textile recycling technologies that can handle mixed postconsumer textile waste. Lux Research, a leading provider of tech-enabled research and innovation advisory services, in its report titled Closing the Loop: Understanding the Viability of Textile Recycling, examined the viability of textile recycling through studying the technoeconomics of solvent-based recycling technologies and textile waste collection. Building a clear understanding of advanced recycling technologies and developing an outlook for the future of textile waste is crucial for every stakeholder in the apparel value chain. Material and chemical companies need to understand how textile recycling can create new market threats and opportunities. Consumer-facing brands mapping out future sustainability strategies need to understand how the future development of textile recycling will affect product design, the report said. It further added that recyclers need to know which technologies will be economical and the outlook for adoption. Government entities also need to decide which technologies to endorse and how the outputs of these technologies fit into regulatory frameworks. Additionally, investors need a clear picture of process economics to gauge possible returns. Solvent-based textile recycling will struggle to turn a profit, as poor-quality textile waste streams drive down solvent recovery rates, the report found. It will be critical to develop collection and separation infrastructure concurrently with textile recycling to overcome this bottleneck. In the near term, recyclers will rely on pre-consumer textile scraps from textile mills and production facilities as well as hospital and hotel linens; in the longer term, brands will develop textile recovery infrastructure through resale channels with sorting capabilities. "The textile supply chain and collection infrastructure must be developed side by side with textile recycling and be supported through multiple initiatives, including reuse, takeback programmes, and municipal support," said Tiffany Hua, senior research associate at Lux Research and lead author of the report. "Textile collection and sorting technologies will make or break the economics of apparel recycling." The report further concluded that consortia will be critical to developing the textile recycling infrastructure as an industry. With consumer pressure only increasing in the apparel industry, collective investment in these advancements will be vital for the years ahead.
Source: Fibre 2 Fashion
Sri Lanka's earnings from textiles and garments exports increased by 6.3 per cent yearon-year to $1.333 billion during the first three months of 2021, according to the statistics released by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka. Exports of textiles increased 20.7 per cent to $78.4 million, while garment exports were up 4.7 per cent to $1.219 billion…………..
Source: Fibre 2 Fashion
Cambodia and other ASEAN member states on June 2 concluded negotiations with the EU on the ASEAN-EU Comprehensive Air Transport Agreement (CATA), which is set to become the first ever bloc-to-bloc accord aimed at improving air connectivity between and beyond ASEAN and the EU when it comes into effect. The final meeting to conclude the talks was held virtually and co-chaired by Ministry of Public Works and Transport director-general for Logistics Chheang Pich. Pich hailed the conclusion of talks as the “achievement of an important task” for the Kingdom, saying: “This is the effort of all relevant officials in this work, I am very proud of this endeavour as a Cambodian.” The EU remains ASEAN’s third largest trading partner after China and the US, and accounts for about 10.6 per cent of Southeast Asian bloc’s trade, according to the European Commission (EC). And ASEAN is also the EU’s third largest trading partner outside Europe, after China and the US. The bloc-to-bloc goods trade was to the tune of more than €189.47 billion ($230 billion) last year, while bilateral trade in services clocked in at €93.5 billion in 2019. In 2019, EU foreign direct investment (FDI) flows into ASEAN were €313.6 billion, and ASEAN FDI stocks into the EU amounted to €144 billion, the EC reported. “The EU’s main exports to ASEAN are chemical products, machinery and transport equipment. The main imports from ASEAN to the EU are machinery and transport equipment, agricultural products as well as textiles and clothing,” it said. Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Cambodia chapter chairman Thourn Sinan emphasised that the agreement would expand the currently limited number of direct flights to the EU, noting that China and South Korea account for the majority of air routes to the Kingdom. “One of the shortcomings in the tourism industry is that flight connections are still limited. In the past, we relied heavily on the countries around us,” he said. But “depending on others means losing competitiveness in the tourism sector”. “As I see it, if the government can connect Cambodia to Europe or major European cities with direct flights, that’d be a godsend for Cambodia, given the EU’s huge market, with the potential for Cambodian agricultural and industrial goods,” Sinan said. The Kingdom exported $17.21537 billion worth of goods last year, up by 16.72 per cent from $14.74874 billion in 2019. The EU ranked as the second largest market after the US, buying Cambodian merchandise to the tune of $3.20387 billion, down by 17.73 per cent, the Ministry of Commerce reported. And according to Ministry of Tourism data published on May 13, Cambodia welcomed just 70,901 International tourist arrivals in the first quarter of this year, down by 93.9 per cent from 1,155,226 in January-March 2020, as the global Covid-19 pandemic prolonged. Last year, Cambodia welcomed 1,306,143 international tourists, down by 80.2 per cent from 6,610,592 in 2019.
Source: Phnom penh Post
The 11-member Trans-Pacific Partnership trade bloc has agreed to open accession talks with the UK. The British government, which asked to join the TPP in February, said membership was a huge opportunity in a post-Brexit world. A working group is now expected to be set up to discuss tariffs and rules governing trade and investment. The UK is not expected to join the TPP, which includes Australia, Mexico and Japan, until next year at the earliest. International trade secretary Liz Truss said in a statement the decision to begin the accession process was "excellent news". "It will help shift our economic centre of gravity away from Europe towards fastergrowing parts of the world, and deepen our access to massive consumer markets in the Asia Pacific. "We would get all the benefits of joining a high-standards free-trade area, but without having to cede control of our borders, money or laws." She said the government would present plans to Parliament "in the coming weeks" before starting negotiations. Since Brexit, the government has sought to replace many of the trade deals it had as a member of the EU, but has yet to sign one with a new country or trade area. China, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand have also expressed interest in joining the TPP, which covers a market of nearly 500 million people. The US was initially involved in the process to set up the bloc, but pulled out on former President Donald Trump's first day in office in 2017. The TPP's current members are Japan, Malaysia, Vietnam, Singapore, Brunei, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Mexico, Chile and Peru. The UK is currently negotiating a trade deal with Australia, which has raised fears among British farmers that their domestic markets could be flooded with cheaper beef and lamb. Critics have said an Australia deal will be used as a template for a TPP agreement. However, the UK government has said farmers and exporters generally should view such deals as opening up new markets overseas.
Source: BBC
AMITH, the Moroccan textile and apparel industry association, joined ITMF as a new member association in May 2021. AMITH represents the entire textile and apparel value chain of Morocco. The industry comprises around 1,200 companies that employ around 195,000 persons. In 2019, the Moroccan textile and apparel industry exports earned around €3.5 billion. The International Textile Manufacturers Federation (ITMF) founded in 1904 is the international forum of the global textile value chain. Its members are from textile and apparel production countries that represent around 90 per cent of global production. With AMITH joining ITMF a win-win-situation is created. An important player and voice of North Africa’s textile and apparel industry will make use of the international network and platform that in return will be benefit from AMITH’s perspective and input,” Dr. Christian Schindler, director general of ITMF, said in a press release. "Joining ITMF provides us and our members with a unique access to a platform of the global textile value chain. The world is getting more and more integrated. Therefore, cooperation along the textile value chain and understanding its complexity is paramount,” said AMITH general manager Fatima-Zohra Alaoui.
Source: Fibre2Fashion
Vietnam spent nearly 6 billion U.S. dollars in cloth imports in the first five months of this year, posting a surge of 33 percent year on year, according to the General Statistics Office on Friday. Between January and May, Vietnam imported some 736,000 tons of cotton worth roughly 1.3 billion U.S. dollars, up 11 percent in volume and 19.7 percent in value year on year. Over the period, the Southeast Asian country also spent over 1.1 billion U.S. dollars importing 508,000 tons of yarn, up 34.4 percent and 25.8 percent respectively year on year. Last year, Vietnam spent over 11.8 billion U.S. dollars in importing cloth and earned roughly 29.5 billion U.S. dollars from exporting garments and textiles, according to the office. China was Vietnam's largest supplier of cloth, followed by South Korea and Japan.
Source: Xinhua
