With the release of this instalment, total Rs 29,613 crore has been released in the first three months of the current financial year as Post Devolution Revenue Deficit Grant to states. The Finance Ministry on Wednesday said it has released third monthly instalment of revenue deficit grant of Rs 9,871 crore to 17 states. With the release of this instalment, total Rs 29,613 crore has been released in the first three months of the current financial year as Post Devolution Revenue Deficit Grant to states. “The Department of Expenditure on Tuesday released the 3rd monthly instalment of Post Devolution Revenue Deficit (PDRD) Grant of Rs 9,871 crore for the year 2021-22 to 17 states,” the ministry said in a statement. The Centre provides PDRD grant to states under Article 275 of the Constitution. The grants are released as per the recommendations of the Finance Commission in monthly instalments to meet the gap in Revenue Accounts of states post devolution. The 15th Finance Commission has recommended PDRD grants to 17 states — Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Uttarakhand and West Bengal. The eligibility of states to receive this grant and the quantum of grant was decided by the Commission based on the gap between assessment of revenue and expenditure of the state. Assessed devolution for financial year 2021-22 was also taken into account by the Commission. The 15th Finance Commission has recommended total PDRD grant of Rs 1,18,452 crore to 17 states in 2021-22. The grant is released to states in 12 monthly instalments.
Source: Economic Times
Relieved though at the sight of easing lockdowns in the other states and hopeful that goods will start moving, the garment and textile producers have a new worry in the fluctuating rates of yarn, their biggest raw material. They claim that the hike is artificial. The manufacturers look to the state and central governments for help in increasing production. Sharing his concerns with the media, Bharatiya Vyapar Mandal senior vicepresident Radhe Shyam Ahuja said: “In the last one year, the price of yarn increased by 64% or more. The cost of each kilogram of acrylic yarn moved from Rs 170 in September 2020 to now Rs 280. PC Yarn which, one of the commonest raw material, went from Rs 150 to Rs 240 in the same interval, while cotton yarn blew up from Rs 250 to Rs 300.” Ahuja, who also is president of the Ludhiana Yarn Dealers Association, said: “The huge increase and frequent fluctuation in the yarn rate hurts not only the garment and textile industry but also the yarn traders and general public. A handful of people engineer this fluctuation. We are trying to alert the central and state governments, along with expecting a solution.” Knitwear Club chairman Vinod Thapar said: “A pricier yarn is beyond our understanding, as the ground report suggests a huge drop in demand over the last few months due to a fall in production. Instead of declining, the rates have shot up, that too by 50 to 60%, which makes it clear that this is a man-made situation. The garment makers who lost sleep over how to dispose of the huge stock that piled up during the lockdowns now must also find a way to absorb the price shock. Moti Nagar United Factory Association executive member Hemant Abbi said: “A costlier yarn has given us a big headache. Many members shut their factories and got into trading because they couldn’t take more losses. The rest of us also feel helpless, since the trend of unjustified increase in the yarn rates has not changed for a year and the government is unable to do anything about it.”
Source: Times of India
The terms of reference for the task force include reviewing all existing rules; processes and procedures; ensuring that these are kept simple; and ensuring that all interfaces/processes are completely online. A task force for reducing the compliance burden for citizens and business has been constituted by the commerce department, according to the Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR). DGTR, an investigation arm of the department, deals with issues related to anti-dumping, safeguard and countervailing duties. The terms of reference for the task force include reviewing all existing rules; processes and procedures; ensuring that these are kept simple; and ensuring that all interfaces/processes are completely online. They also include identifying regulations with provisions for criminal liability and ensuring de-criminalisation of such cases wherever possible. A stakeholder consultation of the task force was called on June 10, it said. "You all are accordingly requested to participate and offer your views and suggestions for simplification of rules, processes and procedures related to DGTR organisation in order to make them simpler and user-friendly," it added. Representatives from Export Inspection Council, Agriculture and Processed Food Production Export Development Authority), Marine Products Export Development Authority, Directorate General of Foreign Trade, DGTR and special economic zones are part of the task force.
Source: Economic Times
Exports to the US, UAE and Bangladesh rose by about 60 per cent to $500 million, 57.86 per cent to $173 million and 212 per cent to $166.3 million respectively. Exports to the US, UAE and Bangladesh rose by about 60 per cent to $500 million, 57.86 per cent to $173 million and 212 per cent to $166.3 million respectively. Exports rose by 52.39% in the first week of June pushed by sectors including engineering, gems and jewellery and petroleum products. Imports surged by 83% in the said period, according to PTI which quoted preliminary data from Commerce Ministry. Total exports from June 1-7 stood at $7.71 billion while imports came in at $9.1 billion in the same period. Petroleum and crude oil imports surged by 135% to $1.09 billion. Imports of electronic goods and pearls, precious and semi-precious stones increased by 45.85 per cent to $324.77 million and 111 per cent to $294 million respectively. Exports to the US, UAE and Bangladesh rose by about 60 per cent to $500 million, 57.86 per cent to $173 million and 212 per cent to $166.3 million respectively. Similarly, imports from China, the US, and UAE grew by 90.94 per cent to USD 809.53 million, 89.45 per cent to $410.65 million and 164.55 per cent to about $400 million respectively. India's exports grew by 67.39 per cent to $32.21 billion in May, driven by healthy growth in sectors such as engineering, and petroleum products.
Source: Economic Times
Problem is that Indian manufacturing companies spread protectionism...you are the people who start talking and promoting protectionism. Every time India has grown when exports have grown, and therefore it's very important that India allows global competition to take place and Indian companies must have the guts and the courage to take on global competition, and therefore it's very important that you people do not start promoting protectionism,” he said. Indian companies must stop promoting protectionism and complaining about imports via Free Trade Agreements (FTAs), and instead become globally competitive and seize the opportunity to penetrate global supply chains at a time when companies are looking to invest in alternative locations, Amitabh Kant, CEO, Niti Aayog said………
Source: Economic Times
Finance Ministry releases monthly economic review; says India is one of the economies that witnessed positive year-on-year growth in last 2 consecutive quarters…
Source: Economic Times
“Over the long arc of time, and the long investment horizon, India is a very attractive destination. And it is attractive because the fundamentals are attractive: the talent pool, the demographics, the consumer base, the democratic tradition,” the India-born Punit Renjen said in an interview. India was hit by a tsunami—the highly virulent Delta strain of Covid—but the country still remains an attractive destination for long-term global investors, Deloitte’s global CEO Punit Renjen told ET. “Over the long arc of time, and the long investment horizon, India is a very attractive destination. And it is attractive because the fundamentals are attractive: the talent pool, the…………..
Source: Economic Times
Government plans to unveil new policy to extend benefits of welfare schemes for migrant workers. Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao, who declared that migrant workers in the State were partners in development of Telangana during the first wave of Covid-19 while extending all possible assistance to them, is now planning to come up with a new policy to extend the benefits of welfare schemes to them. Officials of Labour and Industries Departments have already begun a special drive to collect complete data on migrant workers in the State. The new policy for the welfare of migrant workers is aimed at extending all the benefits of the State government’s welfare schemes to them, especially providing ration cards, healthcare, education and also skill development training. The officials concerned have been directed to take up a special drive to collect complete data collection of migrant workers in the State within 10 days. Subsequently, the government will work out the modalities for extending the welfare benefits to migrant workers. “The State government received a lot of appreciation for its work with regards to migrant workers during the first lockdown. The Chief Minister has since been discussing the possibility of extending various welfare schemes to them, on various occasions. It was then observed that the State government had no specific data pertaining to these migrant workers,” a top official told Telangana Today. Telangana was the first State to not only provide ration, shelter and also cash to migrant workers during the first lockdown period, but also arranged for their rail transportation free of cost. Officials of Labour and Industries departments have been directed to prepare an action plan to collect data from all industries such as pharmaceutical, textiles, rice mills, and construction among others. Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar directed the officials to coordinate with the department concerned, appointing a nodal officer and to take up a special drive to collect data within 10 days. While the officials are collecting data pertaining to the exact number of migrant workers in the State, it is estimated that the figure would be around 6.5 lakh. The data of migrant workers is essential to work out modalities of extending government welfare schemes to them and its financial implications on the State budget. Sources said the State government was already providing free ration rice to several migrant workers as per the Central government’s policy upon shifting their ration card to the State. Similarly, the officials are working out feasibility of extending education and health care facilities as well as skill development training programmes by making optimum use of the Central funds.
Source: Telangana Today
Punjab-based textile and apparel industry availed credit of Rs 7,600 crore as of December 2020, a decline of 6.7% year-on-year. This is due to the suspension of manufacturing activities in the aftermath of Covid-induced lockdown in March 2020, according to a report by Centre for Research in International Finance (CRIF) and Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI). Ludhiana contributes 10% to total exports Ludhiana contributes around 10% to total exports from the country and caters to 30% of the domestic apparel demand. With an installed capacity of 750 lakh spindles, the northern region contributes 15% to the total capacity of the country. Out of this, Ludhiana-Jalandhar-Amritsar region accounted for Rs 7,560 crore. The number of active loans stood at around 15,000 units as of December 2020. Punjab ranks sixth in terms of credit portfolio. Maharashtra has the largest share of credit portfolio at Rs 40,400 crore, followed by apparel clusters such as Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, West Bengal and Delhi. Nationally, the total credit availed by the sector as of December 2020 stood at Rs 1.62 lakh crore, a decline of nearly 20% y-o-y. Navin Chandani, MD & CEO, CRIF India, said, “Each state has a unique contribution to the apparels and textile sector. The government announced a special package in May 2020 under the AatmaNirbharBharat Abhiyan that is set to benefit small-scale entities. The right policy interventions, abundant availability and fair access to raw materials along with surplus available labour can further boost the development of this crucial sector.”
Source: Tribune India
Recently. as the COVID-19 pandemic has been brought under control in many countries around the world, importers of Vietnamese textile and garment products have been opening up great opportunities for enterprises to boost production and expand their export market. Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, many countries around the world applied blockades and social distancing as well as closed their borders to limit the spread of the epidemic. According to the General Department of Customs, the total export turnover of textiles and garments reached nearly US$9.7 billion in the first four months of the year, an increase of 10.7% over the same period last year. The United States continued to be the largest importer of Vietnam’s textile and garment products at US$4.7 billion during this period, a year-on-year increase of 18.7%, accounting for 48.7% the country's total export value of textiles and garments, followed by Japan at US$1.07 billion and the EU at US$942 million. Textile and garment enterprises have signed orders until the end of third quarter. Many units have signed contracts for orders until the end of the year and are entering into negotiations for 2022. This is considered a positive signal in the market, following more than one year of being “frozen” due to COVID-19 and also an “open” signal for businesses to boost exports, striving to achieve export turnover of US$39 billion. According to the US Department of Commerce, the country’s GDP growth reached 6.4% in the first quarter of this year (the biggest increase since 1984) and personal consumption increased by 10.7% - the second highest growth rate since 1960. The figure proves the increasing consumer demand. Similarly, the European Commission (EC) also revised the EU's GDP growth forecast to 4.3% in 2021 and 4.4% in 2022 as the region is on track to recover and accelerate consumer demand after a long time of blockades and consumption restrictions. It can be seen that the successes in COVID-19 control, along with the economic recovery of countries around the world, have created a great opportunity for domestic textile and garment enterprises to boost the production and exports of their products. However, it is not easy to do this in the context of businesses having to implement the "dual" goals of preventing and combating the COVID-19 pandemic while ensuring economic development. In the face of the complicated developments of the epidemic in the country, risks can occur at any time. When just one infection is detected, the whole factory will have to stop production, causing great damage to the enterprise. Therefore, they should flexibly and quickly adapt to market changes during and after epidemic outbreaks; proactively change production and business methods; promote appropriate technological innovation and digital transformation to take advantage of opportunities from new-generation free trade agreements. In addition, businesses have expressed their wishes that the Government should have prompt mechanisms and policies to support them or launch economic support packages suitable for each industry, especially for enterprises with a large number of employees and direct damage due to the pandemic.
Source: Nhandan
Exporters on Wednesday proposed the government to slash the withholding tax by 50 percent to enhance earnings. In its budget proposals announced at a press conference, the Pakistan Hosiery Manufacturers Association (PHMA) said, at present, the withholding tax on exports is one percent, which is considered as the final liability. The government should reduce it to 0.5 percent in the upcoming Federal Budget 2021/22, as it would help in enhancing the country’s exports. Exporters also demanded immediate release of the outstanding tax refunds to provide sufficient liquidity to the industry for the purchase of raw materials and production of end products. The exporters suggested the government avoid revenue collection under the head of the Export Development Fund (EDF), as the same was already an additional burden on the exporters. They urged the government to release funds that were stuck under the Drawback of Local Taxes and Levies (DLTL). Besides, the uniform tariffs for electricity and gas should also be notified for all industries across the country. Muhammad Jawed Bilwani, central chairman of PHMA, said that the country has posted a growth of 14 percent in exports during the current fiscal year. This growth would be around 25 percent if the exporters were given outstanding tax refunds, he added. Bhiwani, however, praised the present government for releasing the significant amount under the sales tax refund system launched by the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) last year. The association had submitted tax proposals with the aim of increasing the revenue collection and broadening the tax base, he added. The textile industry is the largest sector, fetching foreign exchange of over $15 billion annually, he said, adding that exports of this sector can be enhanced by reducing the rates of duty and taxes. Zubair Motiwala, chairman of the Businessmen Group (BMG), said that the government was borrowing through international bonds at higher rates, which was only increasing the debt burden. He urged the government to incentivize the industry for increasing manufacturing and exports.
Source: Bolnews
Integrity advanced identification thread technology is now available for the ECO100 recycled sewing thread range of American & Efird, (A&E), based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Exploiting CertainT, the polymerase chain reaction-based technology of New York-based Applied DNA Science, brands can authenticate and validate their products anywhere within the supply chain with the ECO100 sewing threads. A brand’s products and components can be authenticated by a quick, in-the-field optical verification and, when needed, by using a portable qPCR test for a forensic analysis of the molecular tag. Australian celebrity designer Sara Caverley will use A&E’s ECO100 thread products in her Calverly footwear brand. “During my time as a designer, one of the biggest lessons I’ve learned is the importance of supply chain security,” she said. “It is essential that Caverley products are produced with sustainable components that can be traced throughout their supply chain while ensuring we are delivering the very best to our customers. A&E’s ECO100 recycled sewing threads provide tangible proof of the one-of-a-kind leather and luxury trimmings used in our products.” “Our customers are hyper-aware of the detrimental effects of counterfeit products, from lost sales to the potential loss of brand equity,” added Chris Alt, executive vice president at A&E. “It’s a real and global threat. Our expansion of Integrity secure thread technology developed with Applied DNA Sciences is a natural progression for us to address our customers’ needs and extend our brand protection solutions.” The CertainT platform has three technology pillars – Tag, Test, Track – which allows raw materials and products to be tagged with a unique molecular identifier. This identifier can then be tested for its presence as it travels throughout a global supply chain. All the data points associated to tagging and testing are tracked by uploading to a secure cloud database. The platform can be used across industries such as textiles, cannabis, military, leather, fertiliser, pharmaceuticals, personal care.
Source: Innovation in Textiles
On the occasion of releasing its 2021 Spring Report, EURATEX calls the European Institutions to implement a new Industrial Strategy which will effectively support the European textiles industry. EURATEX welcomes the fact that Textile and Clothing industry is recognised as one of the 14 essential ecosystems of the European economy, but we need to take effective measures to support these sectors, and take into consideration the global dimension. Economic data for 2020 in EURATEX Spring Report show preoccupying trends. Figures reflect a dramatic contraction in demand and production: EU turnover contracted by - 9.3% in textiles (which is in line with the general manufacturing average) and by -17.7% in clothing, compared with 2019. Furthermore, supply chain disruptions and substantial price increases of some raw materials are putting significant pressure on the T&C industries across Europe. The trade deficit for European textiles and clothing jumped from € -47 bln in 2019 to € -62 bln in 2020, an increase of more than 30%, which is almost entirely due to the import of Chinese face masks and related products. Fortunately, more recent figures from the 1st quarter of 2021 indicate some signs of recovery. That figure illustrates very well today’s political discussions on the future of the European industry. Many European companies have made considerable efforts to adapt their production to the pandemic, but clearly this was not enough. Whether the production cost in Europe is too high or the EU should adapt its procurement rules, the industry needs have a coherent long-term plan to become more competitive and conquer new markets. EURATEX General Assembly highlighted the critical role of the new EU Industrial Strategy. The inclusion of textiles and clothing in the fourteen ecosystems is a step in the right direction to consolidate the industrial base but we should look also at the global challenges. European companies should continue investing in innovation, design and quality, in combination with a structural move towards more sustainable textiles. At the same time, the EU should create an environment – both inside the Single Market and globally – where everybody plays by the same rules. “We should build a transition pathway which is based on an honest dialogue between the industry and policy makers, ensuring an effective level playing field” commented President Alberto Paccanelli. “I am also glad that TEKO, the Swedish Association for textiles and fashion companies, became again one of our members. It is sign that the industry is united. It is now time that the EU institutions deliver on their promises”.
Source: Textile World
Accelerating Circularity will test commercial textile-to-textile supply systems in the United States Towels, T-shirts and denim will be among the components of new circular textile-totextile supply system trials beginning soon. Accelerating Circularity Inc. announced the launch of the project, which is supported by a grant from the Walmart Foundation. Steering committee members include Target, Lenzing, Unifi, Gap Inc., VP, Fabrikology, Giotex and gr3n. They will also participate in the trails, which will unfold in phases over the course of two years. Built on the models presented in the organization’s March 2021 Modeling and Linking Report, the trials will move spent textiles through the entire circular system, from collection, sorting, feedstock pre-processing, fiber production, yarn spinning, and fabric production through product design, manufacture, marketing and retail. The trials will leverage new systems and technology for digital identification of products and materials – enabling the identification, transparency, and circular product passports in the circular economy. Based on research and intensive consultation with industry stakeholders, the trials will target the following key systems: • Spent textile feedstocks: post-industrial, pre-consumer, and post-consumer • Feedstock fibers: Cotton, polyester, and cotton-poly blends • Recycling technologies: mechanical cotton, chemical cotton, mechanical polyester, chemical polyester • Finished goods: t-shirts, denim, towels Accelerating Circularity has already identified key collection strategies, including brand and retail take-back, plus potential system trial partners. “Connected product” innovator EON is also confirmed to participate in the trials to advise on building robust, scalable traceability and transparency infrastructure for this emerging circular system. Companies that wish to be considered for participation in the trials, including logistics providers, collectors, sorters, preprocessors, recyclers, fiber producers, finished goods manufacturers, brands, retailers, traceability and assurance providers, testing labs, standards systems, and support services, should register via www.acceleratingcircularity.org/stakeholder-registry.
Source: Home Textiles Today
