Mumbai: The Synthetic and Rayon Textiles Export Promotion Council (SRTEPC) welcomed both Shri Piyush Goyal Hon’ble Union of Minister Textiles, Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and Smt. Darshana Vikram Jardosh, Hon’ble Minister of State for Textiles and Railways in Mumbai. This is the first official meeting of the SRTEPC with the Ministers after their recent allocation of new portfolios. The SRTEPC team comprising Shri Dhiraj Raichand Shah, Chairman SRTEPC, Shri Bhadresh M. Dodhia, ViceChairman and Shri S. Balaraju, Executive Director updated the Ministers about the Manmade fibre and MMF blended textiles sector in the country. Shri Bhadresh M. Dodhia, ViceChairman made a presentation during the meeting giving a brief stock of the current situation of the sector and required policy support and guidance from the government for overcoming the emerging challenges in exports. Shri Bhadresh M. Dodhia, ViceChairman informed that the global fibre production and consumption trends are dominated by the Manmade fibres. The global fibre production ratio between MMF and natural is 70: 30 whereas in India it is opposite. There is tremendous opportunity in the MMF segment and India should tap this in right time, Shri Bhadresh M. Dodhia stated. He also mentioned that sustainable textiles are the future for the textile sector and Government needs to encourage this segment as well. Hon’ble Minister has appreciated the innovative products developed from PET bottles and directed to forward a detailed technical note on the scope and prospects of the sustainable textiles and the support required from the Government. While giving the presentation it was also mentioned that exports had declined after reaching an all-time high in 2014-15 post withdrawal of the chapter – 3 benefits viz., FMS, FPS, MLFPS, etc. At this, the hon’ble Minister suggested the Council to give a detailed comparison of the export scenario during the time of the mentioned Schemes and thereafter i.e., introduction of MEIS. Shri Dhiraj Raichand Shah, Chairman SRTEPC informed the Ministers that the processing units in the country have to be improved in order to cater to the international quality standards required for exports. As the processing segment is highly capital intensive and gestation period in revenue neutralisation is too long, he has urged that the Government should formulate a separate Scheme and provide policy support for facilitating international standard processing units in the country During the discussion, the Hon’ble Minister has requested the Council to send a detailed note on the possibilities of setting up of processing units with state -of-art technology and the expected interventions required for the same from the government. Other issues that the SRTEPC ViceChairman focused during the presentation were on release of all the pending dues of the exporters under Drawback, MEIS, IGST, ROSL, RoSCTL, TUFS on an urgent basis, fibre neutrality and a uniform 5% GST rate for entire value chain in the MMF textiles segment, Special Export incentive of 3% on fibre & yarn, 4% on fabric, 5% on made-ups for at least 6 months or till the impact of coronavirus subsides and global markets stabilise, announcement of RoDTEP Rates and benefits of the RoDTEP Scheme to the entire MMF textile value chain viz., fibres, yarns, fabrics, made-ups, with a minimum rate of 7%, extension of the EPCG Scheme for the next 5 years, inclusion of entire MMF textile value chain in the PLI Scheme, Special Scheme to attract investment in entire MMF textile value chain, continuation of the ATUFS beyond 31st March 2022 in line with the AatmaNirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan, devise a mechanism to make available real-time textile data on production, consumption, exports, etc.
Source: Global Textiles
Mumbai: After taking over charge of the Ministry of Textiles, Shri Piyush Goyal made a maiden visit to the Office of the Textile Commissioner, Mumbai to review the textile sector schemes and their progress and suggested measures to speed up the implementation. The Minister took review of the various schemes/activities implemented/ undertaken by the Office of the Textile Commissioner, Textiles Committee, Cotton Corporation of India Ltd, Export Promotion Councils and Textile Research Organizations. The Minster of State for Textiles Smt. Darshana Jardosh, was also present in the meeting. Shri U.P. Singh, Secretary (Textiles) and Shri V. K. Singh, Additional Secretary joined the meeting from New Delhi through Video Conferencing. During the course of his interaction, the Minister emphasized the need for close liasioning and co-ordination between the Government agencies and the local elected representatives for making a congenial atmosphere in implementing the various Government initiatives. The Minister opined that the applications received under subsidyoriented schemes should be processed in a transparent manner using automation keeping in view the broad objective of each scheme and necessary mechanism should be devised so that personal contact of industry and department can be eliminated and standardized process free discretion. Special dispensation for MSME to be done for recorded reasons. For accelerating the progress of TUF scheme, he suggested that the major issues to be outlined and deliberations with the stakeholders including Banks may be arranged to resolve the issues once forever. He also suggested that formats for submission of Statutory Returns from industry may be simplified. He emphasized on rationalization and optimal use of manpower of Office of the Textile Commissioner and Textiles Committee. The Minister highlighted the need for stepping up the productivity of cotton and necessary initiatives to be taken up with the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare. The Cotton Corporation of India to work out possibilities for providing kapas plucking machines to the cotton farmers through Start-ups established by way of availing Mudra Loan and special models to be developed for supporting small players. Shri Goyal emphasized the issue of elimination of child labour in the Textiles Sector and suggested to convene a meeting with stakeholders for making a strategic plan. While reviewing the activities of export promotion councils, the Minister of Textiles suggested broad based industry interaction for developing country oriented comprehensive trade agreement. Also, develop Financial Instruments to have backstopping to industry, which are not subsidy focused and enable stable credit flow from banks through such a guarantee, added the minister. The minister also emphasized the need for development of futuristic valueadded products and its exhibition. He viewed the need for developing the technical textiles for use of wagon covers and optimal utilization of National Technical Textiles Mission to leverage our strengths and address market requirements. He also stressed the need to brand Pashmina wool internationally. Further, he urged Textile Research Associations to become self-sufficient instead of depending on Government grants. The Minister said that Textiles sector is the biggest employer as well as the biggest exporter. He said that the sector can play a very important role in fulfilling the Hon’ble Prime Minister’s vision of doubling farmer’s income, creating job opportunities for youth and enabling every Indian citizen to live a life of self-reliance and self-respect.
Source: PIB
The draft pledged as much as 11% incentive to large companies for investments over Rs 500 crore in greenfield projects in technical textiles. New textiles minister Piyush Goyal will soon review a proposed Rs 10,683-crore production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for products made of man-made fibre and technical textiles, amid clamour for reducing the lofty turnover and investment targets for companies to avail of benefits, sources told FE. Goyal, who is also the commerce and industry minister, faces a tough task, as the labourintensive garment sector, comprising mainly MSMEs and dominated by cotton-based players, also wants the inclusion of value-added cotton products in the scheme to benefit a large number of businesses. But the demands go against the government’s intent of luring mainly large companies to create few champions in key sectors through various PLI schemes. In textiles and garments, it also seeks to correct India’s historical policy bias towards cotton-based value chain that is, in fact, contrary to the global consumption pattern. The idea is to reclaim India’s export markets after ceding substantial ground to Bangladesh and Vietnam in recent years. Goyal took over as the textiles minister on July 8, taking over from Smriti Irani. In its draft PLI scheme floated earlier, the textile ministry proposed incentives in the range of 7-11% in the first year. But only those firms with annual turnover of at least Rs 100 crore were to make the cut. The benefits in all categories were proposed be reduced by 100 basis points each year after the first year and granted for a total of five years from FY22. “It’s a very important scheme, as it has potential to create a huge number of jobs. So, obviously, the minister’s guidance will be sought and he will review it,” said an official source. The draft pledged as much as 11% incentive to large companies for investments over Rs 500 crore in greenfield projects in technical textiles. The benefit, however, was linked to an incremental turnover of Rs 1,500 crore in the first year and a 25% rise in turnover each year after that. It also suggested that firms with an annual turnover of Rs 100-500 crore will be eligible for an incentive of 9% for brownfield projects. This will be subject to an increase in turnover by 50% each year. Similarly, companies with a turnover of Rs 500 crore or more were to be granted a 7% incentive in the first year. The benefit was tied to the condition that turnover has to be raised by 50% in the first year and by 25% each year after that. The incentives were proposed to be extended for incremental production in 50 laggard categories (40 man-made-fibre-based garments and 10 technical textiles). Interestingly, some players, who are struggling to cope with a Covid-induced liquidity squeeze, want the rollout of the scheme to be deferred so that they can take advantage of it. Raja M Shanmugham, president of the Tirupur Exporters’ Association, the country’s largest garment cluster, hailed the PLI scheme. However, he said, for the large number of MSMEs to reap the benefits of the PLI scheme, the criteria need to be relaxed and cotton products that see substantial value addition need to be brought under its ambit. More importantly, the need of the hour is to prevent the firms from sinking into oblivion by facilitating greater and easier credit at affordable rates, he added. “Unless the MSMEs survive this crisis, how will they be able to gain from the scheme and contribute to exports?” he asked. According to noted textiles expert DK Nair, the scheme seems well-intentioned, but the targets, especially for incremental turnover, will be hard to meet. Moreover, assessing incremental turnover of companies, especially the unlisted ones, will be a herculean task, given the scope for manipulation between group firms, Nair added. Even before the pandemic struck, textile and garment exports shrank 8.6% year-on- year to $33.7 billion in FY20. As such, the sector’s share in the overall merchandise exports has been sliding consistently in recent years, having dropped from as much as 13.7% in FY16 to just 10.8% in FY20, the lowest in around a decade. Last fiscal, such exports dropped by 10% to $30.3 billion, worse than a 7% contraction in overall merchandise exports. Globally, while China remains the most dominant player and leads by a huge margin in both textiles and garments, India has been beaten by both Bangladesh and Vietnam in recent years in apparel exports.
Source: Financial Express
21st Session of India-Italy Joint Commission for Economic Cooperation (JCEC) was held on 09th July 2021 virtually. Mr. Piyush Goyal, Commerce & Industry Minister and Mr. Luigi Di Maio, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Italy cochaired the Session. Both sides held extensive discussions on bilateral trade and Investment and economic cooperation in the areas of Food Processing, Textiles, Leather, Railways, Start-ups and promotion of SMEs which play crucial role in economic growth and employment generation. The bilateral market access issues and non-tariff barriers were also discussed to facilitate trade and investment. The progress on the outcomes of India-EU leaders Summit in Porto, Portugal was also reviewed. Indian side also raised the issues of Mutual recognition of COWIN Vaccine Certificate and opening up of Travel restrictions, longer duration of Business Visas and Portability of social security benefits of Indians working in Italy. Following the India-Italy JCEC G2G Meeting, a G2B Session focusing on Energy partnership was held virtually in the presence of the two Ministers. During the meeting, 3 Indian companies (Indian Oil Corporation, Adani Solar, ReNew Power) and 3 Italian companies (Enel Green Power, Snam, Maire Tecnimont) made presentations focusing on the areas of green economy, clean technology and promotion of use of renewable energy for grid-based multi-energy systems. During the Session, both the Ministers reiterated the vision laid down by the Prime Ministers of India and Italy, under the Plan of Action adopted on 6th November 2020, to promote energy transition, leveraging technology and climate partnerships. They underscored the pioneering role played by India and Italy at the multi-lateral fora as early adopters of ambitious clean energy targets and invited the private and public sectors of both countries to explore synergies to further enhance mutual energy capacities. Home Revised wage rate index likely next month; base year to be 2019 (Source: Yogima Seth Sharma, Economic Times, July 12, 2021) The government will soon revive the wage rate index and change its base year to 2019 from 1965. The revised index will capture the impact of inflation on wages and form the basis for determining the statutory national floor level minimum wage, said officials. “Work is in the final stages. The index with revised base year could be launched next month,” said a senior labour ministry official, who did not wish to be identified. “The appreciation in the index till 2019 will be used to determine the minimum wages in the country.” The labour codes provide for a statutory national floor level minimum wage for all workers in the country. A committee has been formed to determine the national floor level minimum wage, based on which minimum wages in different categories of states and skill sets will be determined. Once implemented, no state will be allowed to give wages below the minimum wage. In 2014, average daily absolute wage rate in the country stood at ₹272.19 while the allIndia index number of wage rates appreciated 6.35% compared to that in 2013. The current minimum wages in India, determined on the basis of Consumer Price Index for Industrial Workers (CPI-IW), stands at ₹178 per day and is not binding on states. Wage rate under the index is the sum of basic wage and dearness allowance in respect of workers who receive both these components while for other workers the actual consolidated amount of earnings represent this wage rate. “The government should not only revise the base year but also expand the coverage of the index to include more establishments so that it can be used as one of the critical inputs for determining the national floor level minimum wage,” said labour expert KR Shyam Sundar.
Source: PIB
Importers, exporters, domestic industry and trade associations are invited to give views on the subject for consideration by the government by August 10 on the 'MyGov.in' portal. The government has identified a host of Customs exemptions for review and has invited suggestions from trade and industry bodies on the same. Importers, exporters, domestic industry and trade associations are invited to give views on the subject for consideration by the government by August 10 on the ‘MyGov.in’ portal. Some key products covered under the list include fabrics, games/sports requisites, magnetron for microwave manufacturing, specified parts for PCB, set-up box, routers, broadband modem, contraceptives and artificial kidney. The list also includes magnetic tapes, photographic, filming, sound recording/ radio equipment, parts/ raw material for manufacture of goods supplied for off-shore oil exploration, specified machinery/ parts covered in textile industry. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her 2020-21 Budget speech had announced that a further review of existing customs exemption notifications would be undertaken through extensive consultations. Giving a list of 97 notifications, the Government said certain Customs exemptions have been identified for purpose of further review. “Suggestions are invited in respect of their review which may include the need for review of the notification, amendment in wording of the notification for bringing clarity, consolidation, other relevant factors such as extent of use, etc,” it added. The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) last year too had conducted this crowdsourcing exercise to identify the customs duty exceptions which need to be reviewed. Following that, the government has now drawn up a list of notifications and invited stakeholder views for a comprehensive review. Exemptions from customs duty have been given in public interest from time to time and a review of the Customs laws and procedures would help to align them with the needs of changing times and ease of doing business. Abhishek Jain, Tax Partner, EY, said the government seems to be looking at exemptions prevalent for divergent sectors as is evident from the list of targeted Customs exemption entries released by the government.
Source: Business Standard
Energy saving certificates, under the ‘Perform, Achieve and Trade’ scheme, are helping industry optimise energy consumption The energy markets have become a key facilitator in supporting distribution utilities and industrial consumers to plan, meet and optimise their power consumption in a transparent, competitive, and flexible manner. Over the last decade, power exchanges have contributed significantly in bringing about a great deal of efficiency in the generation, transmission, procurement and supply of electricity. Considering that only 6 per cent of the power that is consumed in the country is traded on the exchanges, this is a significant contribution. The Perform, Achieve and Trade (PAT) scheme and the energy saving certificates (ESCerts) therein are playing a key role in building an efficient industry and eventually a sustainable energy economy. According to International Energy Agency (IEA), the primary energy demand in India is currently at around 900 MTOE (million tonnes of oil equivalent) in which the industrial sector accounts for around 20 per cent around 140 MTOE. When it comes to electricity consumption, the industrial and commercial sector consumption, at 576,424 GWh, accounts for around 51 per cent of the total electricity consumption in India standing at 11,30,244 GWh. Therefore, it becomes extremely imperative to boost efficiency in this segment to make the entire industrial value chain economically and environmentally sustainable. Driven by factors like increase in incomes and economic growth, India’s primary energy demand is expected to increase to 1,500 MTOE by 2030. Hence efficiency improvements are the mainstay of long-term power sector decarbonisation strategies. To address the pertinent area of energy efficiency, the government of India enacted the Energy Conservation Act, 2001 and established the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) in March 2002. The government also launched the critical Perform, Achieve and Trade (PAT) scheme or earning carbon credits through trading of Energy Saving Certificates (ESCerts) on the power exchanges for the industrial sector to benefit from their investments in energy efficiency. While there are no doubts about efficiencies leading to savings, it was also felt necessary to quantify such savings and monetise them, thus motivating the consumers to be proactive in getting their strategies right. About 13 lakh ESCerts traded on the power exchanges under PAT cycle-1 greatly helped designated energy intensive industries to optimise their specific energy consumption and also gain incentives through trading. The weighted average price discovered in the first cycle of trade was about ₹770 per certificate, implying about ₹100 crore worth of incentives for the designated consumers. Further, according to BEE data, at country level, PAT-1 enabled ₹2,600 crore worth of investments by the industry in energy efficient technologies and helped achieve 31 million tonnes reduction in CO2 emissions.
ESCert trading
PAT is a multi-cycle scheme encompassing several industry sectors. The first cycle (2012- 15) aimed at reducing specific energy consumption in 478 industrial consumers across eight industry sectors — aluminium, cement, chlor-alkali, fertiliser, iron and steel, paper and pulp, thermal power and textile. PAT cycle I achieved an energy saving of 8.67 (MTOE which was 30 per cent over the target, saving approximately ₹9,500 crore. Based on the success of PAT cycle I, the market instrument was further extended to second cycle that includes three more sectors — petroleum refinery, railways and electricity distribution utilities — besides the earlier eight industry segments. Thus a total of 11 industry segments that are high energy consumers are covered. In its second cycle, from 2016 to 2019, PAT aims at achieving an overall energy consumption reduction of 8.869 MTOE for which the energy reduction targets were assigned to the direct consumers in these 11 sectors. The trade in energy savings certificates under PAT Cycle-2 commenced in the first quarter of fiscal 2022 on the power exchanges. The second cycle has far greater potential in terms of net trade, as the scheme is deep as well as wide enough to achieve significant efficiency gains. It has 89 more designated consumers (DCs) from existing sectors and 84 new DCs included from additional industries, adding to a total of 621 industrial consumers across the country. The Ministry of Power and Bureau of Energy Efficiency had notified the price of per metric tonne of oil equivalent for DCs of PAT cycle as ₹18,402 for the year 2018-19.
Paving the way
As the fastest growing developing nation, industrialisation and urbanisation in India are expected to increase in the years ahead. A crucial — and even more challenging — task ahead is to put the industrial sector on a path of widespread energy efficiency and sustainability and a switch to progressively lower-carbon fuels. Energy efficiency is key to promoting industrial and economic competitiveness and growth. Besides focus on efficiency, adoption of low carbon renewable technologies for competitive and sustainable energy supply as well as continuous research into other advanced technologies, including green hydrogen, to decarbonise the ‘hard-to-abate’ sectors is the need of hour and sector-specific policy measures are required to march towards carbon neutrality. Furthermore, as a signatory of the Paris Climate Agreement, India aspires to reduce global greenhouse gases (GHGs) in order to limit the global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius and cut down emission intensity by 33-35 per cent from 2005 levels. All these ambitious aspirations indeed require a dramatic overhaul of the energy systems and enhanced role for energy efficiency through innovative policy frameworks, advanced technologies and innovative approaches for accelerating energy efficient operations and transition to a low-carbon economy.
Source: The Hindu Businessline
The Indian economy has been adversely impacted by the coronavirus pandemic and the recovery has been relatively sluggish in the wake of the second COVID wave. With India's story remaining "very strong", the economy will register a doubledigit growth in the current fiscal and the disinvestment climate also looks better, said Niti Aayog Vice Chairman Rajiv Kumar. He also asserted that the country is prepared in a far better manner in case there is a COVID wave as states have also their own lessons from the previous two waves. "We are now hopefully getting past our (COVID-19) pandemic... and the economic activities will be strengthened as we get into the second half of this (fiscal) year given what I have seen for example various indicators, including the mobility indicators," Kumar told PTI in an interview. The Indian economy has been adversely impacted by the coronavirus pandemic and the recovery has been relatively sluggish in the wake of the second COVID wave. Against this backdrop, the Niti Aayog Vice Chairman exuded confidence that the economic recovery will be "very strong" and those agencies or organisations which have revised their GDP estimates downwards for this fiscal may have to revise them upwards again. "Because, I expect India's GDP growth this (fiscal) year would be in double digits," he said. The economy contracted by 7.3 per cent in the financial year ended March 31, 2021. Among rating agencies, S&P Global Ratings has cut India's growth forecast for the current fiscal to 9.5 per cent from 11 per cent earlier, while Fitch Ratings has slashed the projection to 10 per cent from 12.8 per cent estimated earlier. The downward revisions were mainly due to slowing recovery post second COVID wave. Indicating the possibility of a strong rebound, the Reserve Bank has pegged economic growth at 9.5 per cent in the current fiscal that ends on March 31, 2022. Asked when private investments will pick up, Kumar said in some sectors like steel, cement and real estate, significant investment in capacity expansion is happening already. In the consumer durable sector, it might take longer because consumers might feel a little hesitant due to uncertainty on account of the pandemic, he said. "Full-fledged private investment recovery, we should expect by the third quarter of this (fiscal) year". Responding to a query on concerns over a possible third COVID wave, Kumar said the government is much better prepared in case such a situation comes up. "I think the government is far better prepared now to face the third COVID wave, if at all it does come up... I feel the impact of the third wave on the economy will be much weaker than it was during the second wave and the beginning of the first wave," he said. According to Kumar, the government's preparation is very significant and also the states have learned their own lessons. Recently, the government announced an additional Rs 23,123 crore funding, mainly aimed at ramping up health infrastructure. On whether the government will be able to achieve its ambitious disinvestment target this fiscal, Kumar said that despite the second COVID wave and its significant impact on the health side, markets have remained buoyant and they touched new heights. "I think this sentiment not only will continue but it will strengthen as we go forward... India story remains very strong especially with respect to the FDI which has now created a new record both for 2020-21 and between April to June in 2021-22," he said. Pointing out that a good number of IPOs of startups are lined up, he said,"the climate for disinvestment is looking better and I am very hopeful that the disinvestment target would be fully realised." The government has budgeted Rs 1.75 lakh crore from stake sales in public sector companies and financial institutions. Achieving the target will be crucial for the government's finances which have been stressed due to the pandemic and resultant increase in spending activities. When asked about the option of the government issuing COVID bonds to raise money, Kumar said, "Well give it whatever names you like, the point is that if the government needs to borrow more money for expanding capital expenditure, it could go ahead because that will attract more private investments". He noted that the government should issue bonds, whether these are COVID bonds or infrastructure bonds, the name is not so material, and pointed out that bond yields have not risen despite the higher borrowing requirements of both the central and state governments. "This means that there is an appetite for government borrowings and the deficit would be financed without much difficulty," he said. Making a case for stepping up borrowing, Kumar mentioned about agencies like the IMF, the World Bank and the ADB recommending that one should not worry too much about the size of the deficit because of the special circumstances the pandemic has created. According to the 2021-22 Budget, the government's gross borrowing was estimated at Rs 12.05 lakh crore for this fiscal. On high CPI and WPI inflation numbers, Kumar said that he does not want to second guess RBI here and he would leave it to them. "RBI's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) minutes and as well as their announcements have made it very clear that at the moment inflationary expectations are not entrenched at high level.“ANd that this is perhaps a temporary phenomenon and we will go back to inflation level within the target range of RBI," he said.
Source: Economic Times
State industries minister Shahnawaz Hussain on Sunday directed the officials to prepare a detailed project report (DPR) for reviving Bihar Institute of Silk and Textiles (BIST). Shahnawaz, who was on a two-day tour of Bhagalpur division to review the industrial growth in the region, visited BIST, which has been closed for a long time. He directed the Khadi Mall CEO, Ashok Sinha, to monitor the plan to restart the BIST, so that it is able to provide qualified and technical graduates for textiles industries. Shahnawaz said the institute was imparting education in the field of handloom textiles, silk and other related streams of learning. Referring to the staff issue, the minister said there are 71 sanctioned posts but 63 are vacant. “We will try to fill up the vacancies and get the works related to recognition of the BIST and its courses by All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) as soon as possible. We will also take steps for its affiliation to Aryabhatta Knowledge University (AKU). The courses and syllabus will be in accordance with AKU. BTech (textile) course will be resumed after restarting the BIST,” Shahnawaz said. “It will provide the necessary technical knowledge to the handloom and tussar silk weavers and also provide vocational training,” he added.
Source: Times of India
Dialogues are on with 12 to 13 potential investors to set up manufacturing units The textile sector in Telangana is poised for a major thrust that would place it on a different orbit with more than a dozen companies in serious dialogue with the State government on investments to set up their manufacturing units in various parks across the State. If Korean textile giant Youngone Corporation provided the trigger with its decision in April to set up manufacturing units and start operations at the Kakatiya Mega Textile Park (KMTP) within six months, the announcement by Keralabased Kitex Group, the world’s second largest manufacturer of kids’ apparel, to invest Rs 1,000 crore for establishing manufacturing units at KMTP is expected to serve as a major impetus. Many national and international companies are now looking at Telangana to set up their units. “Dialogues are on with 12 to 13 potential investors and the discussions are in different stages. While talks with some companies are in final stages, the rest are in the initial and mid-level stages,” a senior official from Handlooms and Textile Department told Telangana Today. Since State formation, the State government has accorded top priority to the development of textiles and apparel sector. In the last few years, there has been a steady inflow of investments from various companies to set up their units in different textiles parks across the State, the official pointed out. Early this year, the Department of Handlooms and Textiles signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Gokaldas Images Private Limited (GIPL) for setting up a 500- machine garment factory in Sircilla. The plant will manufacture knitted inner-wear for export employing 1,100 persons, of whom about 75 per cent will be women. Established in 1978, GIPL is one of the first garment exporters from India. The company has 15 factories across the country and employs more than 10,000 persons. After its first investment of Rs 1,150 crore at Chandanvelly in Rangareddy for carpet tiles manufacturing, US conglomerate Welspun Group made its second investment of Rs 415 crore for an advanced textiles project. The plant will use non-woven technologies to manufacture high performance innovative material including personal protection, medical disposables, hygiene, cosmetic, coating substrate and others. The plant will be commissioned by September 2021. Ganesha Ecosphere, which is into extracting fibre from used PET bottles, commenced construction works at KMTP. The company is setting up two projects under two subsidiaries Ganesha Ecotech Private Limited and Ganesha Ecopet Private Limited. Ganesha Ecopet will set up a recycled Polyester Filament Yarn plant with an investment of Rs 300 crore in 30 acre employing over 500 persons. The plant will be operational by October 2022. Ganesha Ecotech will set up a washed PET flakes and polypropylene fibre plant with nearly Rs 200 crore investments in 20 acre and employ over 500 persons. The plant will be operational by June 2022. After commissioning the first weaving unit in November 2019 at Whitegold Spintex Integrated Textile Park in Ibrahimpatnam, Divya Textiles commenced three additional units during the 2020-21 financial year. Five more units are under construction. The line of activity will be primarily weaving, garments and technical textiles. There were some disruptions in execution of works at developmental projects in Warangal and Sircilla due to Covid-related lockdown during summer last year. But works at Apparel Park, Weaving Park and Common Facility Centre at Sircilla and KMTP picked up pace later in the year. A few important projects in Chandanvelly, Rangareddy were flagged off during the second half of 2020-21.
Source: Telangana Today
Exports to Bangladesh grew 11% in the previous fiscal year even as India’s overall exports contracted 7% because of the pandemic, according to government data. Bangladesh jumped four notches to become India’s fifth-largest export destination in the year ended 31 March as exports to many of the nation’s traditional markets shrank because of the pandemic while its eastern neighbour continued to report economic growth. Exports to Bangladesh grew 11% in the previous fiscal year even as India’s overall exports contracted 7% because of the pandemic, according to government data. Bangladesh has experienced an unprecedented economic transformation over the past decade and is set to surpass India in terms of per capita income. India’s exports to most of its key destinations contracted as the coronavirus pandemic disrupted supply chains. Among the country’s top 20 export destinations, shipments grew only to China (27.5%), Indonesia (21.7%) and Brazil (7%), apart from Bangladesh. While the US ($51.6 billion) remained India’s top export destination, China ($21.2 billion) became the second biggest export market, surpassing the United Arab Emirates ($16.7 billion). However, it is Bangladesh that raced ahead of countries such as Singapore ($8.7 billion), the UK ($8.2 billion), Germany ($8.1 billion) and the Netherlands ($6.5 billion). Even Nepal ($6.8 billion) jumped a notch to become India’s ninth-largest export market. In FY21, India’s top export items to Bangladesh were cotton and cotton yarn ($1.5 billion), electricity ($517 million), fuel ($496 million), rice ($354 million) and corn ($328 million). Unlike India, Bangladesh avoided a recession in 2020 even though its gross domestic product (GDP) growth slowed down to 2.4% from 8.2% a year ago because of the pandemic. The World Bank has projected its economy to gradually recover from growing at 3.6% in 2021 and 5.1% in 2022 as private consumption, the main engine of its growth, is supported by normalizing activity, moderate inflation, and rising readymade garments exports. Sanjay Kathuria, senior visiting fellow at the Centre for Policy Research, said the rise of Bangladesh as a sub-regional economic power is unambiguously good for India. “Its growing middle-class provides a big market for Indian agriculture and manufactured goods, as well as for services. The FY21 trade data is proof of this. In addition, Bangladesh is already the biggest source of medical tourists to India. Significantly, its increasingly ambitious private sector can be a major source of foreign direct investment in India’s North-East, and India’s northeastern states as well as the central government should be paying attention to this aspect of Bangladesh’s potential," he added. India could immensely benefit from Bangladesh’s growth, said Nisha Taneja, a professor at the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER). “India has for several years been a major supplier of cotton and cotton fabric for Bangladesh’s readymade garment industry. Bangladesh depends heavily on its readymade garments sector as it accounts for 45% of its manufacturing GDP and 85% of its exports. In 2021, Bangladesh’s readymade garments exports are expected to overshoot pre-covid levels. This sector was allowed to continue its operations despite the lockdown and was also able to absorb a major stimulus package given by the government. As a result, the sector has been able to quickly respond to rising global demand since July 2020, which may well be one of the major reasons for a quick economic recovery," she added. India should also pay special attention to help Bangladeshi firms access India’s vast market, Kathuria said.
Source: Live Mint
The Indian Texpreneurs Federation (ITF) has appealed the state government to facilitate the small and medium apparel and home textiles sector to expand by setting up plug and play garment stitching facilities in small towns. “We can pick 10 to 15 small towns with good workforce availability and create small plug and play infra for stitching facilities. This will spread the sector in various parts of our state and help avoid overcrowding in a few clusters. This will also create new employment in small towns,” ITF said in a memorandum to textiles minister R Gandhi and industries minister Thangam Thennarasu. Giving a five-point suggestion for growth of the textile sector in the state, ITF convenor Prabhu Damodharan and board member Saravanan, who met the ministers, said the state could work out a roadmap to capitalize on the opportunity emerging with MITRA park scheme by creating an integrated plug and play apparel park to build scale, competitiveness and enable the medium sized companies to expand. Underlining the need to devise a special theme to brand the textile and apparel sector in the state as the most sustainable destination for fashion sourcing, ITF said such a branding would also help the sector capture the market share in value-added products. Pointing to the good trade relationship between the state and Japan, ITF said the state government could facilitate a working group with 50 apparel companies to work exclusively with the Japanese apparel market.
Source: Time News Network
The Council of Ministers, or Cabinet, on July 9 approved the Draft Law on Investment, following a plenary session chaired by Prime Minister Hun Sen via a Zoom call. Once enacted, the new law will replace existing legislation – the 1994 Law on Investment and 2003 amendment, according to a press release on the minutes of the session. Optimism is high that the law will be a crucial provider of new and greater options to absorb more local and foreign investors. "The law is aimed at increasing Cambodia's potential at attracting more domestic and foreign investors," Hun Sen said, adding that peace and stability are key priorities for investors. "We see that investors prioritise this when deciding on Cambodia as an investment destination, regardless of the global situation on politics and trade," he added. Comprising 12 chapters and 42 articles, the law is designed to offer more appropriate and effective investment benefits on the basis of independence, ownership and the economic situations of the investors and the nation, according to the press release. It will also strengthen complementary capabilities, in particular to take into consideration incentives for priority areas, technological innovation and technical assistance, job creation, skills training, research and development, and small- and medium-sized enterprises. According to government spokesman Phay Siphan, the draft law on investment was initiated under the Cambodian Industrial Development Policy 2015-2025. Its objective is to establish an open, transparent, predictable legal framework that is conducive to investment and to attract and promote investment by Cambodians or foreigners in a quality, efficient and effective manner for the socio-economic development of Cambodia. The law will raise Cambodia’s competitiveness and productivity of local industries, establish investment incentives, strengthen connectivity to regional and global supply chains, ensure economic diversification, and protect the rights and interests of investors. It also addresses dispute settlements related to investment projects, delegation of power to municipal and provincial administrations, and reductions in registration certificate processing times and compliance obligations – such as inspections. Cambodia Chamber of Commerce vice-president Lim Heng previously told The Post that the private sector expects the investment law to take effect soon. The law is relatively flexible to technological developments and international trade in the digital era, and was refined amid the global economic turmoil caused by the health crisis, he said. Heng noted that the law was drafted with input from the private sector. The CDC signed off on 70 projects with a total capital investment of $2.428 billion in the first half of this year. This is according to calculations by The Post based on CDC statements issued via Facebook throughout the January-June period. The CDC approved 29 investment projects in textiles, garments, footwear and travel products with a capital investment of $194.71 million. In 2019, investment approvals logged $9.40 billion, of which China invested $2.75 billion, followed by Hong Kong at $912.55 million and Japan at $298.84 million, according to the CDC.
Source: Phnom Penh Post
South Korean manufacturers' business sentiment soared to a two-year high, largely buoyed by optimism about a fast rebound of the tech industry, data showed Sunday. The business survey index (BSI), compiled based on a survey of 1,034 manufacturers, showed an overall market forecast of 97 for the April-June period, the Korea Institute for Industrial Economics and Trade (KIET) said. The corresponding number for sales stood at 100. A BSI larger than 100 means that optimists outnumber pessimists. The figures hit the highest levels since the index was reorganized in the third quarter of 2019. The numbers represent a five- and nine-point increase from the previous threemonth period. The outlook for domestic demand stood at 99, swinging to an increase from a quarter ago. The forecast for exports rose to 102, advancing for four straight quarters. Among key industries, the BSI for semiconductors stood at 107 for the second quarter, with that for general machinery, petroleum, chemicals, steel and secondary batteries also above the 100 mark. In contrast, the sentiment for displays, autos, shipbuilding and textiles remained low at 87.
Source: YNA
Adviser to Prime Minister on Commerce and Investment Abdul Razak Dawood has said that sustainable growth in exports is the only solution to cope with the economic problems of the country. Addressing the members of Pakistan Textile Exporters Association (PTEA) here on Sunday, Abdul Razak Dawood said that the country’s exports had witnessed the highest ever 18pc surge in FY 2020-21 despite adverse impacts of COVID-19 pandemic. The world’s major economies shrunk mainly due to the deadliest COVID-19 waves, but it was Pakistan that showed tremendous performance in increasing the exports, he added. All credit goes to our valued exporters who performed extremely well even in challenging times of pandemic, he maintained. He said that although we had achieved the highest ever increase in exports, however, there were still huge challenges which needed to be resolved once and for all for attaining sustainability in exports. He said that the PM had strong believes that economic revolution in the country could only be possible through trade promotion and all possible support to export sector was being extended to achieve optimum growth. Responding to a question, he assured that Duty Drawback of Taxes (DDT) incentive would remain continue for textile exports whereas Export Development Fund would be utilised for export promotion only. While quoting the example of jute industry, he said that the government facilitated it and extended to it zero duty, which resulted in surge in exports of jute products. He stressed the need to focus on diversification and SMEs promotion as these two segments would lead Pakistan towards economic heights. National Assembly Standing Committee Chairman on Finance & Revenue Faizullah Kamoka said that the textile industry was the backbone of the economy whereas textile exporters were playing a vital role in the economic development of the country. He assured that amendment in Section 203-A of the Income Tax Ordinance would be reversed. Earlier, PTEA’s patron-in-chief Khurram Mukhtar commended the strenuous efforts of the adviser for uplifting the country’s exports. He congratulated the government on achieving the highest ever export growth this year. He said that Pakistan could become an economic giant by utilising its trade and investment potential.
Source: The News
Mongolia keen to broaden economic, cultural ties with Bangladesh With its political continuity and well-thought-out developmental plans alongside economic sustainability, Bangladesh not only stands out in South Asia but also in other developing countries, says Mongolian Ambassador to Bangladesh G Ganbold. “I think these accomplishments of sustainable economic growth are internationally acknowledged,” Ambassador Ganbold told UNB in an interview noting that there are many scopes for further broadening bilateral relations between Bangladesh and Mongolia in the areas of cultural exchange, trade and economic cooperation. He said Bangladesh, as an emerging and growing economy, is accomplishing truly impressive socio-economic growth under the dynamic leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Apart from impressive development in infrastructure, including highways, electricity and drinking water supply in rural areas and increased agricultural production, poverty reduction, vaccine coverage of under 5 years old children, per capita GDP growth, Bangladesh is leading other developing countries, said the Ambassador. “We’re both Asian and developing countries with parliamentary democracy and market economy,” he said, adding that Mongolia was one of the first five countries that recognized Bangladesh’s independence because of which some countries even went to terminate its diplomatic relations with Mongolia. Mongolia also co-authored the UN resolution together with India and Bhutan in support of Bangladesh. “We’re enjoying excellent bilateral relations ever since then and have successfully been collaborating on the international arena,” he said, extending his warm greetings to Bangladeshi friends on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of Mongolia's National Day that falls on July 11. Responding to a question, the Ambassador said being developing countries, they both have the same challenges like benefits of sustainable economic growth need to be seen through the welfare of people. He said Mongolia is richly endowed with natural and agriculture-based resources and light industries while Bangladesh is well known with its textiles and readymade garment and pharmaceutical industries. “Therefore, we can learn from each other’s experience and also promote mutually beneficial trade and economic relations. With the advent of modern means of transport and ICT tourism is growing exponentially,” said the Mongolian envoy. He said, “We all know this challenge of pandemic alike the earlier ones will be extinguished with our combined efforts.
Source: The Independent
