Centre approved the Production Linked Incentive Scheme for textiles that aims at making the country regain its dominance in the global textile trade. The PLI scheme was expected to have a positive impact on states like Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. The idea of Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme, announced for textiles by the government, was to create huge employment opportunities and extend support to companies that were interested in scaling up business in the sector, a senior government official said here. The advantage of PLI Scheme is to invest in those projects, which are covered under the scheme for the products, and create huge employment and achieve production turnover for companies, Textiles Ministry Additional Secretary Vijoy Kumar Singh said. "As a government we are looking at the creation of employment, opportunities for people, our citizens. So, the creation of employment opportunities is liked by both the central and state governments. So jointly, we will work towards the success of this scheme. That is our objective," he told reporters. Recently, the Centre approved the Production Linked Incentive Scheme for textiles that aims at making the country regain its dominance in the global textile trade. The scheme was expected to have a positive impact on states like Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, a PIB release said. According to Singh, the scheme would help create additional employment of over 7.50 lakh people directly. The government would provide incentives worth Rs 10,683 crore to the industry over a period of five years, he added. is to support the industry in the initial period and once they become of some size and scale themselves, they will be competitive (enough) on their own strength. " The PLI Scheme for textiles was part of the overall announcement of PLI Schemes for 13 sectors made during the budget for FY 2021-22 with an outlay of Rs 1.97 lakh crore. The minimum production in the country is expected to be around Rs 37.50 lakh crore and minimum employment generation to be one crore over a five-year period, the release said.
Source: Economic Times
At this juncture I would urge the IBA Chairman to scout for good competent resources and technology adoption for capitalisation. IBA should not be merely an association that passes banking issues to the RBI, it must rather strive to integrate with economic reforms for boosting growth," Financial Services Secretary Debasish Panda said. The Finance Ministry on Wednesday asked Indian Banks' Association (IBA) to play a pivotal role in the resurgence of the economy in the 75th year of India's independence. "At this juncture I would urge the IBA Chairman to scout for good competent resources and technology adoption for capitalisation. IBA should not be merely an association that passes banking issues to the RBI, it must rather strive to integrate with economic reforms for boosting growth," Financial Services Secretary Debasish Panda said. Inaugurating the Delhi office of IBA, the secretary suggested that the Association can also look at providing training and skilling to middle management banking professionals so as to unburden banks in the same task. "IBA has a pivotal role to play in terms of research and key banking issues and a significant role to play in the resurgence of the economy in the 75th year of India's independence," he said. During the occasion, IBA Chairman Rajkiran Rai said IBA's transformation started in 2018 and is now more closely involved in the business side operations than mere advocacy. IBA is involved in finding new solutions for the customers especially during the pandemic and has come up with guidelines for the cohesive functioning of the entire banking system, IBA CEO Sunil Mehta said. The Association has pushed reforms including the corporate lending system, dealing with issues like syndicate lending and multiple financing, he said.
Source: Economic Times
About 44% of the 1,200 business leaders surveyed across US, Japan and Singapore are planning additional or first time investments in India and nearly two-thirds of first-time investments will be made within the next two years, according to a survey undertaken by consulting firm Deloitte. The survey, conducted during the peak of the second wave of the Covid19 pandemic in India this year, found that a large proportion of international business leaders remain confident in India’s short- and longterm prospects and are readying plans to make additional and first- time investments in the country. An analysis by Deloitte showed that India will need $8 trillion of gross capital formation (new greenfield assets) to become a $5 trillion economy by FY2027. Based on past trends, India will need at least $400 billion, cumulatively, over six years, in FDI. When asked to identify sectors most likely to see new investments utilities (energy infrastructure) led the way (57%), reflecting India’s plans to significantly grow its renewables capacity, while financial services (49%) and healthcare (48% ) also ranked highly. India has the strongest positive perception in the US when compared to markets such as China, Brazil, Mexico, and Vietnam. Given US and UK’s strong historic ties with India, US and UK business leaders expressed greater confidence in India’s stability. However, respondents from Japan and Singapore currently view Vietnam as their preferred investment destination, the survey showed. “After the challenges of the past 18 months, the survey is a positive validation of the underlying strengths of the Indian economy, in particular its appeal for foreign investors. We believe the outlook can only get better because of India’s improving ease of business, which includes fiscal benefits and other reforms. These positive steps further convince me that India is moving towards its ambition of a US$ 5 trillion economy,” Punit Renjen, Deloitte Global CEO was quoted as saying by a statement from the consulting firm. Although there is significant crossover, more business leaders, especially in Japan, are making investments in India for access to the domestic market rather than using India as a springboard for exports, the survey showed. It said that despite recent reforms to improve ease of doing business in India, awareness among investors remains low. Business leaders in Japan (16%) and Singapore (9%) were least aware of initiatives such as the digitisation of customs clearance and production linked incentives for manufacturers. Accordingly, India was perceived as a more challenging environment to do business compared to China and Vietnam. Roughly 75% of business leaders said they were more willing to invest in India after being made aware of existing government programmes, incentives and reforms, according to the w survey.India can target attracting greater FDI into seven capital-intensive sectors—textile & apparels, food processing industry, electronic goods, pharmaceuticals, vehicles & parts, chemicals & API, and capital goods—that have contributed $181 billion of merchandise exports in fiscal year 2020-21. It said such investments will help improve the export growth of these sectors by six times to US$1,075 billion by FY2026-27.
Source: Times of India
Its focus is at odds with the country's imperative of having an employment-promoting trade policy. Recent statements from the commerce ministry have indicated that India is going to revamp its Free Trade Agreement (FTA) strategy and that FTA negotiations would be expedited towards early conclusion. The news is encouraging given that India has not signed any major FTA in the last 10 years, when the cumulative number of regional trade agreements in force globally has increased from 224 to 350. India signed its last trade agreement, a Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) with Malaysia in 2011.
Source: Business Standard
India's unorganised retail that stands at 90 percent, is the key towards digitising and providing an access to new products and shopping experiences. A recent article stated that there are 70 million online shoppers in India, of whom only 10 million can be classified as 'digital nativ What will it take for the next billion Indians to shop and transact beyond just online engagement? The solution is a seamless shopping experience with both online and offline merged together. With omnichannel, digital first, O2O terms thrown around, India shoppers are already ahead of the curve. They are value and price-conscious yet aspirational. While 65% of discovery happens online, 97% of shopping takes place offline. The winner will be one who can offer an affordable, high-quality experience both online and offline to a billion people. India's unorganised retail that stands at 90 percent, is the key towards digitising and providing an access to new products and shopping experiences. A recent article stated that there are 70 million online shoppers in India, of whom only 10 million can be classified as 'digital natives'. These numbers mean that today in a country of 1.3 billion people, less than 1 percent would be considered to be digital natives. What does that mean? One can say that digital natives as a percentage of India's population will rise. However, a more important question is what are the alternatives to a simple pureplay online business in India? Given India's disparate income levels, urban structures, demographics and social patterns, could the digital play look different in a more developed world? Just like India simply leapfrogged the desktop era into accessing the internet via mobile phones directly versus the evolution in the West, is it possible that a majority of Indian consumers will leapfrog the online only models and go straight to phygital commerce which is a combination of physical and digital? We have already seen this trend shaping up in China since 2016 with the launch of Alibaba's New Retail and Tencent's Smart Retail. Given the size of the unorganised offline retail space in India, the opportunity to digitise and vertically integrate the space provides a fruitful opportunity. The significant investments and businesses that have been seen in unorganised retail over the last few years suggest that investors and entrepreneurs realise that Indian unorganised retail presents a massive opportunity. However, the focus so far has been on horizontal solutions that look at using technology to make unorganised retail more efficient. Indian unorganised retail sector needs a vertical solution. This sector has a hyper-local distribution. The business solution needed is one that can utilise some percentage of the millions of unorganised retail stores to generate value for both the stores and the consumers. To understand this better, let us look at what the unorganised retail sector lacks: A high-quality inventory Real-time data A supply chain that is modernised to deal with a demanding consumer Technology that links the consumer to the factory Fluid sales and marketing The ability to generate demand Acquire consumers over and above the usual walk-ins The ability to use the unorganised retail assets to integrate all the way from the consumer to the factory, create massive scale to serve a billion people is where the real value creation and opportunity lie. These solutions will create new models of commerce that can enable Indians to have a digital shopping experience with the best of both the online and offline worlds. The vertical solutions that give rise to new models of commerce will be the game changer. While helping keep a tab of accounts better the question is, can a vertical solution leverage unorganised retail to deliver a 20X increase in per-store sales. To paraphrase venture capital terminology, the keys to the kingdom will need the 'hard things' to be done both via technology and operations. The future belongs to those who can build models that can organise millions of unorganised retailers to expand and create new markets. The last unconquered consumer market of the world, India, will see $100 billion internet businesses emerge when a billion Indians access the digital experience.
Source: Economic Times
The Government is working towards supporting the migrant workers who have returned due to the havoc caused by the pandemic, he added. According to him, the essential prerequisites are readily available in the state and new avenues are being created in the textile sector based on the skill of the locals. The proposed textile park of Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) at Bhadrak in Odisha will become functional in 2024. This was announced by Ranjan Kumar Mohapatra, director HR at NSE 1.00 % at the CII webinar on Rebooting Textile and Apparel held on Wednesday He said that the 900- tonnes per day textile park will be set up with an investment of around Rs 1,971 crore
Source: Economic Times
NITI Aayog vice chairman Rajiv Kumar is of the view that the corporate sector should take the lead in setting the world order post the pandemic. “Governments world over have tried but so far the corporate world has not lent their shoulder to reshape the world order,” he said. NITI Aayog vice chairman Rajiv Kumar has called for setting up of new coalitions of like-minded nations while strengthening and promoting the existing multilateral institutions to ensure a liberalised and multilateral order is put in place to serve the global community. “Openness is under threat in some sense. We need to put our heads together to ensure a liberalised and multilateral order is put in place,” Kumar said while addressing a session of LEADS 2021 on future of global governance and development partnerships, organised by the Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Kumar is of the view that the corporate sector should take the lead in setting the world order post the pandemic. “Governments world over have tried but so far the corporate world has not lent their shoulder to reshape the world order,” he said. “Economic Recovery is strengthening. This is the time to prepare for the post Covid world order,” he said, adding it can only happen when countries maintain the openness seen after the World War. According to Kumar, the business as usual approach will not work and that countries will have to think fresh, boldly and not have to be scared of entering into coalitions. “The world is too divided. We need to build new coalitions, if possible, between nations that respect the rule of law and the multilateral forum,” he said. Kumar further said that the existing multilateral institutions have failed to achieve the primary objective of convergence between nations. “The world is going through turbulent and transition times. We need global institutions that are nimble and sensitive. They should not retain inertia of the moment but respond to such times,” he concluded.
Source: Economic Times
Pratibha Syntex, India-based vertically integrated, sustainability-oriented manufacturer of knitted textile products, has announced the successful completion of the foundational level of Supplier to Zero headed by Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals (ZDHC) foundation. Driven by a strong progressive vision, Pratibha Syntex is committed to creating relationships across the value chain bringing together over 35,000 farmers, 10,000 employees and renowned global apparel brands from over 20 countries. It has a capacity to produce over 22,000 ton of lint, 28,000 ton of yarn, 10,000-ton fabric and more than 6 million garment pieces annually, the company said in a media release. The company also has certifications required for sustainable business practices, which include Zero Liquid Discharge, ISO 14001, SA 8000, Fair Trade, WRAP, OCS, GOTS, C2C- Gold Certification, Global recycled Standards, BCI and Bluesign. “It is said that fashion is an ideology, a way to express oneself. People run after fast fashion to keep up with the fashion trends they see online. It is difficult to change the mindset of a generation that believes in the virtual presence of something so temporary. To fulfill this never-ending demand, in many countries (particularly developing) manufacturers use harmful chemicals. To deal with this Greenpeace challenged the respective industries to cut down on 11 of the most harmful and toxic chemical group, that’s when ZDHC foundation was created by textile, apparel and chemical industries to remove and replace these toxins from the work cycle and environment,” the company said. ZDHC started focusing not only on consumers but also workers and environment of the production countries. It created a list called Restricted Substance List (RSL) followed by Manufacturer Restricted Substance List (MRSL). ZDHC ensures proper chemical management by training the stakeholders in sustainable chemical management. Roadmap to Zero is a programme by ZDHC to support the supply chain to get rid of toxins. It works on all the three aspects of the manufacturer/supplier, which are input, process and output. This programme ensures workers safety and reduces environmental impact. Supplier to Zero is a roadmap to sustainable chemical management leadership for supplier/manufacturer. “It gives us immense gratification in declaring that we are carrying out sustainable business practices to ensure health of our people as well as our planet. We are diligently moving towards the second level that is progressive. We have a remarkable group of people who work meticulously in order to achieve goals of the company. It is a blessing to have a strong team with strong individual vision to make the world a better place. With such a team, Pratibha Syntex leads the way to become a manufacturer with zero use of hazardous chemical,” the company said in the release.
Source: Fibre2 Fashion
Priyanka Chopra’s pop-star husband Nick Jonas has given a ray of hope to Solapur’s garment industry which is struggling to survive in the Covid-19 pandemic. During the recent ‘Remember This Tour’ of The Jonas Brothers, Nick wore a printed shirt and posted his picture on social media. The fabric and design of the shirt resemble the famous GI-tagged Solapur Chaddar, a cotton blanket. The picture trending on social media has attracted attention to the fabric and local manufacturers say that the interests of netizens might provide a much-needed lifeline to the industry. “Many dress designers come to Solapur to buy Chaddars. In fact, there are many experiments being made with the Chaddar. Nick Jonas’s picture has suddenly attracted huge attention to the traditional Solapur Chhadar. This much-needed attention has come at a right time” says Amitkumar Jain, Director, Associated Garments Cluster Foundation.
‘Worn down by Covid’
Jain said, “In the last one and half years the textile and garment industry in Solapur is facing a tough time. Especially, the garment industry which makes school uniforms for the majority of firms in India has suffered heavy lossesas there was no demand as schools were shut. Many garment industrialists are moving towards the fashion industry and Jonas’ shirt has given them a ray of hope”.
One of a kind material
Solapur Chaddar is GI tagged product known for its durability, design, and all-season use. In the last one and half years, many Chaddar producers in Solapur have gone online to sell their products. Not surprisingly they are happy with Nick Jonas for indirectly helping their venture. Interestingly, the comment section on Jonas’s picture on Instagram is full of mentions to Solapur Chaddar. “That shirt is literally made out of Indian blanket” commented one of the netizens while the another simply said, “Solapur ki chaddar”. “There will be more searches about Solapur Chhadar on search engines. Imagine someone here presenting the idea of Chaddar shirt. He would have been ridiculed. But fashion trends set by stars definitely help. We hope that there is more publicity for Solapur Chaddar. It is only going help us in these testing times,” said industrialist Darshan Kocher.
Source: The Hindu Businessline
Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan have agreed to increase the trade turnover between the two neighboring countries to 1 billion U.S. dollars after the Uzbek-Turkmen intergovernmental commission's meeting held in Tashkent, the Uzbek Ministry of Investments and Foreign Trade said Wednesday. The two sides have also agreed to accelerate the approval of the draft agreement on the creation and regulation of the activities of the Uzbek-Turkmen border trade zone, it said. The talks also include a wide range of issues of cooperation in investment, trade and economic, industrial, energy, agricultural, water management, scientific and technical, transport and transit and cultural and humanitarian spheres. According to the Uzbek Ministry of Investments and Foreign Trade statement, currently 160 enterprises with the participation of Turkmen capital operate in Uzbekistan, and the volume of trade between the two countries in the first half of this year increased by 20 percent compared to the same period last year. "An agreement was reached to intensify the development of new joint projects to create agro-industrial complexes, textile, leather and footwear industries, production of cars, electrical appliances and building materials," the statement said. The countries have also agreed to increase transport connectivity between the two countries, a phased resumption of air flights, the provision of mutual tariff preferences for transport corridors, and the prospects for using the infrastructure of the Turkmenbashi seaport in Turkmenistan.
Source: Xinhua
Vietnam earned $21.625 billion from textile and garment exports in the first seven months of 2021. Of this, yarn exports accounted for $3.163 billion while fabric and garment exports were valued at $18.461 billion, according to the preliminary data released by the customs IT & statistics department, general department of customs, Vietnam’s ministry of finance. Fabric and garment exports from the Southeast Asian nation increased by 13.2 per cent year-on-year to $18.461 billion during January-July 2021. Of this, the US alone accounted for nearly half or $9.195 billion, followed by Japan and South Korea with exports to these countries valued at $1.841 billion and $1.492 billion, respectively. Vietnam also exported 1,162,724 tons of yarn, registering a sharp rise of 31.9 per cent year-on-year by volume, according to the data. This was valued at $3.163 billion, registering a surge of 65.0 per cent. Of this, China imported around 54.56 per cent or $1.726 billion, followed by $61.449 million by India. In 2020, Vietnam's textile and garment exports earned $33.546 billion, registering a decline of 9.35 per cent over $37.009 billion exports in the previous year. While yarn exports were down 10.5 per cent to $3.736 billion, fabric and garment exports decreased by 9.2 per cent to $29.809 billion. For 2021, Vietnam has set a target to earn $39 billion from its textiles and garments exports, according to the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association (VITAS).
Source: Fibre 2 Fashion
Bangladesh and Australia today signed the Trade and Investment Framework Arrangement (TIFA) to attract investment and remove trade barriers between the two countries through discussion. This is the second such bilateral trade related platform for Bangladesh as the country also signed the Trade and Investment Cooperation Forum Agreement (TICFA) with the USA in November 2013. We need foreign investment in Bangladesh. Australia is a very potential country for us for investment and it is an important export destination also," Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi told The Daily Star by phone after signing the agreement. "The trade with Australia is growing every year. We are ready to approve Australian investment in any sector here." A big investment team from Australia is scheduled to visit Bangladesh in the first part of next year, the minister also said. Munshi also said both the sides will hold meetings soon to decide the guidelines of the TIFA on how and when they will hold dialogues under the platform. The signing of the TIFA is not related to the duty preference but mainly to the investment issues between the two countries. Currently, as a least developed country (LDC) Bangladesh enjoys preferential duty benefit on export to Australia. Munshi and his counterpart Australian Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment Dan Tehan signed a framework on trade and investment between Bangladesh and Australia at a virtual signing ceremony. The TIFA, the first of this kind between Australia and Bangladesh in the last five decades, is expected to provide a platform for institutionalised economic interactions and to open newer opportunities for trade and investment between the two countries. A Joint Working Group (JWG) will be formed under TIFA, with due representations from relevant sectors and sub-sectors, according to a statement from the Bangladeshi high commission in Australia.
Source: The Daily Star
Pakistani Federal Minister of Industries and Production Makhdum Khusro Bakhtyar on Tuesday afternoon urged Tajikistan to invest in CPEC projects. Bakhtyar held a virtual interactive session with Sherali Kabir, Minister for Industries and New Technologies. Ismatullo Nasredin, Ambassador of Tajikistan to Pakistan and senior officials from both sides also attended the meeting. During the meeting, the two sides deliberated upon the framework of industrial sector cooperation between the two countries in view of Prime Minister Imran Khan’s official visit to Tajikistan in a couple of days. Both sides identified six areas of cooperation including textile, mining, leather, food processing, pharmaceuticals and surgical equipment. The Minister apprised that Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan would be accompanied by a delegation of businessmen reflecting each identified sector of cooperation. He said that the presence of the business community and industrialists from both sides would help establish long-term B2B cooperation between Pakistan and Tajikistan. He also highlighted the Investment-friendly atmosphere of Pakistan and offered attractive opportunities for foreign investment – especially in the CPEC SEZs - including joint ventures in priority areas of cooperation. While speaking with Tajik counterpart, the Minister called for industrial complementarities and synergies between both countries to energize business to business interaction avenues to expand bilateral trade and industrial development agenda. The Minister also underscored the vibrant industrial sector of Pakistan along with the highly skilled labor force in construction, textiles, leather, footwear, surgical equipment, sports goods, automotive and mobile phone manufacturers and light engineering sectors. The Minister also apprised the meeting about promulgation of the National Electric Vehicles Policy and Mobile Device Manufacturing Policy. He said that the revised version of Automotive Development Policy and the new National SMEs Policy would expand Pakistan’s industrial base. Sherali Kabir, Tajik Minister for Industries, shed light on five years' plan of the Government of Tajikistan for mining and exploration of rare metals, coal and minerals in his country. He discussed the setting up of free distribution channels along the border of the neighborhood and invited Pakistani companies to explore opportunities in increasing trade and financing across the region. He also expressed the hope for enhancing economic and industrial sector ties between both countries during the official visit of Prime Minister of Pakistan to Tajikistan.
Source: China Economic Net
Commerce ministry expressed annoyance at the revenue board letter The commerce ministry Wednesday held a meeting with the stakeholders on apparel exports through the back-to-back letter of credit (LC) without a bond licence. "The stakeholders were positive to amend the Vat law and the Bangladesh Bank guidelines to settle the issue," said sources who were at the meeting led by Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi. The ministry will sit with the businessmen and public officials again on Thursday to chart the course, said the meeting sources. They said the Wednesday meeting tasked the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) to inform how many readymade and terry towel factories do not have a bond licence, how many workers the factories have and how much the factories export. "We hope the laws and guidelines will be amended soon," Mohammad Hatem, senior vice-president of the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturer and Exporters Association (BKMEA), told The Business Standard. Shahadat Hossain Sohel, chairman of the Bangladesh Terry Towel & Linen Manufacturer and Exporters Association (BTTLMEA), also told TBS the same. The revenue board in a letter on 31 August requested the Bangladesh Bank not to allow non-bonded apparel factories to enjoy back-to-back LC, saying "it contradicts the central bank's guidelines". The revenue board move put around 500 knitwear and home textile exporters without a bond licence in a limbo. Industry people say if the back-to-back LC benefit goes, more than 500 RMG and home textile factories will no longer be able to procure raw materials and accessories from local and foreign sources on credit. A top Bangladesh Bank official who was at the Wednesday meeting said, "The commerce ministry expressed annoyance at the revenue board letter to the central bank." In a back-to-back LC, an importer issues an LC to an exporter and the exporter can use it as collateral to get another LC issued for sourcing raw materials and accessories on credit. If the facility goes, RMG and home textile factories will have to make full payments plus VAT in cash for local purchases, which will make their survival very difficult. The Customs Valuation and Internal Audit Commissionerate in the report sent to the revenue board argued exporters who have availed the duty drawbacks facility or have purchased duty-free raw materials under back-to-back LC facility are not eligible for this incentive – known as alternative cash assistance – as per a central bank circular concerning the issue. The audit commissionerate report and revenue board move stirred the businessmen — resulting in the ministry intervention to settle down the issue.
Source: TBS News
