Indian players can capitalise on increasing labour costs in other countries, says Darshana Vikram Jardosh The Centre is giving a push to the textile and clothing industry to leverage the traditional strengths in the man-made fibre (MMF) sector, Minister of State for Textiles and Railways Darshana Vikram Jardosh said on Wednesday. The focus would be on manufacturing, infrastructure, technology, innovation, and skills, she added. Inaugurating a virtual conference on ‘$450 billion Global MMF Textiles Trade: Growth Beacon for the Indian Textile Industry’, organised by the Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI), the Minister said India had a long way to go to emerge as a leading manufacturer of MMF textile products globally. While the industry would face stiff competition from established players in the sector - China, Taiwan, South Korea, etc., increasing labour and manufacturing costs in these countries would give ample opportunities for Indian players. The Indian industry could attract global investments to produce high value-added MMF products. Industry captains should give thrust to the MMF sector by investing in it and taking maximum advantage of schemes such as Production Linked Incentive, PM MITRA, etc. “It will not only increase India’s share in the global trade but also provide huge employment opportunities for the Indian youth,” she said. The Textiles Secretary Upendra Prasad Singh said the world was adopting China+1 policy and it was the right time for the Indian textile manufacturers to boost the trade of MMF products. The Centre was aware of the issues of the MMF Sector. However, it would only adopt the right policy measures keeping in view the interests of the larger segment. T. Rajkumar, chairman of the Confederation, urged the Centre to bring the entire MMF value chain under 5% GST to address the issue of inverted duty structure and also sought schemes for the production and development of MMF raw-materials similar to that of natural fibres.
Source: Fibre 2 Fashion
Indian textile exports are likely to cross the $40 billion mark in this fiscal, said textiles secretary Upendra Prasad Singh. However, he added that he is not comfortable with maximum increase in exports coming from cotton yarn. He also appealed to the industry to work with the government to emerge again as the 2nd largest exporter of textiles and apparel (T&A) products in the world in the next 2-3 years. The government has realised that the growth in the textile sector can be achieved only through promoting right policies in the MMF Sector. The world is adopting China+1 policy for obvious reasons, and therefore, it is the right time for the Indian textile manufacturers to boost the trade of MMF products and increase its share in the global arena, said the textiles secretary while delivering the keynote address at CITI’s Man-Made Fibre Conclave 2022 on Wednesday. He further said that the government is aware of the issues of the MMF Sector, however, it will only adopt the right policy measures keeping in view the interests of the larger segment. He said that the PLI and PM MITRA schemes were designed keeping in mind the growth potential of the MMF Sector and apprised the industry that several states have shown interest to be a part of PM MITRA scheme for promoting growth of textile sector in their states and provide adequate employment opportunities. Chief guest Darshana Vikram Jardosh, minister of state for textiles and railways, inaugurated CITI’s MMF Conclave 2022. The minister stated that India has to cover a long way to emerge as one of the leading manufacturers of MMF textile products. She stressed that the growth path is not so easy, and India has to face stern competition from the established players of MMF like China, Taiwan, South Korea, etc in terms of product quality, scale, lead times and prices. However, with increasing labour and manufacturing costs in these countries, there is an ample opportunity for India to attract global investments in the manufacturing of high value-added MMF product categories. The minister urged the industry to take a quantum jump by heavily investing in the MMF sector and taking maximum advantage of the schemes like PLI and PM MITRA for the holistic development of this particular sector. It will not only increase India’s share in the global trade but also provide huge employment opportunities for the Indian youth.
Source: Fibre 2 Fashion
Thursday, New Delhi, 10th March 2022: “The Indian Textile Industry which is the largest industrial employer of the country has the potential to become the second largest manufacturer of textile products in the world after China. It has the unique feature of having presence of the entire textile value chain right from the fibre to fashion and along with growing demand for technical textiles to not only fulfil the ever-growing demand of the domestic sector but also of the rest of the world”, said Smt. Darshana Vikram Jardosh, Minister of State for Textiles and Railways, during her inaugural address at CITI’s ManMade Fibre Conclave 2022 held on 9th March 2022. The Minister said, “the theme of the Conclave USD 450 Billion Global MMF Textiles Trade: Growth Beacon for the Indian Textile Industry itself shows what the global market holds for the Indian Textile Industry especially for the MMF Sector” as the same is growing at a significant pace. The Minister stated that “the textile industry is one of the priority sectors for the Government of India and appreciated CITI for organising MMF Conclave 2022 at such an opportune time”. The Minister stressed that “India has to cover a long way to emerge as one of the leading manufacturers of MMF textile products, however, the growth path is not so easy, and India is facing stern competition from the established players of MMF like China, Taiwan, South Korea, etc. in terms of product quality, scale, lead times and prices.” The Minister elaborated that “due to increasing labour and manufacturing costs in these countries, there is ample opportunity for India to attract global investments in the manufacturing of high value-added MMF product categories.” The Minister also stated that “the Government is looking towards the inclusive and participative development of Indian textile sector and accordingly, the Government’s central focus has recently been on increasing the textile manufacturing many-folds by developing the best-in-class manufacturing infrastructure, up-gradation of technology fostering innovation, enhancing skills and utilising traditional strengths in the MMF textile sector.” The Minister exhorted the industry captains to heavily invest in the MMF Sector and take advantage of recently announced schemes like PLI and PM MITRA for the holistic development of this particular sector. This will increase India’s share in the global trade and provide huge employment opportunities for the Indian youths. The Secretary (Textiles), Shri Upendra Prasad Singh stated that the Government has realised that the growth in the textile sector can only be achieved through promoting right policies in the MMF Sector. The world is adopting China+1 policy for obvious reasons, and therefore, it is the right time for the Indian textile manufacturers to boost the trade of MMF products and increase its share in the global arena, while delivering the KeyNote Address at the CITI MMF Conclave 2022. Shri U.P. Singh stated that “the Government is aware of the issues of the MMF Sector however, it will only adopt the right policy measures keeping in view the interests of the larger segment.” The Secretary (Textiles) that the PLI and PM MITRA schemes are designed keeping in the mind the growth potential of the MMF Sector and apprised the industry that a number of states have come forward to establish PM MITRA parks for promoting growth of textile sector in their states and provide adequate employment opportunities. Shri U.P. Singh concluded by saying, “the good days are ahead and appealed to the industry captains to work in tandem with the Government to emerge again as the second largest exporter of T&A products in the world within the next 2-3 years.” Shri T. Rajkumar, Chairman, CITI appreciated the Government for successfully signing India-UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA). He said that the textile industry is very excited about this trade pact and is also optimistic about the ongoing trade agreements with the leading Textile & Apparel markets such as Australia, UK, EU, Canada, etc, while delivering the Welcome Address in the Inaugural Session. Shri T. Rajkumar while pointing out the issues, such as, inverted duty structure, lack of technical know-how, huge dependence on imported machineries, etc. stated that “these issues are acting as bottlenecks in the overall growth of the Indian MMF Sector. He urged to the Hon’ble Minister to bring the entire MMF value chain under 5% GST ambit to address the issue of inverted duty structure and also requested to announce schemes for the production and development of MMF raw-materials similar to that of natural fibres like cotton, wool, silk, jute, etc.” Shri Prashant Aggarwal, Jt. Managing Director, Wazir Advisors while delivering the theme presentation stated that the Government is consistently working on providing conducive environment by developing quality infrastructure, concluding FTAs with major economies of the world to attract big investments in the textile sector. It is now for the industry captains to work on investment partnerships and capacity building through training in India and outside in order to capitalize the emerging trends in the MMF based Textile Industry. Wazir Advisors was the Knowledge Partner of CITI’s MMF Conclave 2022. The eminent speakers, industry captains, moderators and subject-experts from the entire textile value chain brainstormed the Sessions on “Global Market Situation and Emerging Trends in the MMF Based Textile Industry” and “Growth Opportunities for Indian Companies in the MMF Sector”.
Source : Press Release
Initiatives like PM-MITRA would enable embedding sustainability in the value chain and would make the industry future ready giving it a competitive edge globally, said Shubhra, Trade Advisor at Ministry of Textiles. She talked about India’s policy, its sustainability targets and ambitions related to Indian textile industry and sustainability at a webinar on ‘India-France: Market Opportunities and Areas of Cooperation for a Sustainable Textile and Fashion’ organised by Embassy of India, Paris in collaboration with Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC). The opening remarks were given by Dr Praphullachandra Sharma, DCM, Embassy of India, Paris. Speaking on the current status and outlook for Indian apparel exporters, AEPC Chairman Narendra Goenka said, “Indian apparel industry is very well aware of the alarming fact that without sustainable supply chains, the fashion industry will become less and less viable. Sustainability is now counted as one of the major pillars of apparel export business and a growth tool. “India offers to the world a complete value chain solution from farm to fashion giving us a competitive edge towards efficient implementation and monitoring of the sustainability throughout the supply chain through triple bottom line (TBL) approach involving three pillars of sustainability that are economic, social, and environmental,” he added. The webinar covered various subjects from environment sustainability like water usage, energy consumption, chemical loads, air emission, carbon emission, solid waste, and landfill, to circularity and social sustainability such as inclusivity, skilling, labour reforms and women empowerment. Importance of blockchain and traceability was also discussed. The key speakers were from LVMH, Fashion Green Hub, Decathlon, Jamini and Intellecap.
Source: KNN India
India has recently launched Project SURE - Sustainable Resolution - a firm commitment from the industry to move towards fashion that contributes to a clean environment Apparel industry is aware that without sustainable supply chains, the fashion sector will become less viable and sustainability is now counted as one of the major pillars of export business, industry body AEPC said on Thursday. Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) Chairman Narendra Goenka said India offers to the world a complete value chain solution from farm to fashion giving it a competitive edge towards efficient implementation and monitoring of sustainability. "The Indian apparel industry is very well aware of the alarming fact that without sustainable supply chains, the fashion industry will become less and less viable. Sustainability is now counted as one of the major pillars of apparel export business and a growth tool," he said in a webinar held on Wednesday. Speaking at the event, Shubhra, Trade Advisor, Ministry of Textiles said that initiatives like PM-MITRA, under which seven mega textile parks will be set up across the country, would help in promoting sustainable growth of the sector and make the industry future ready. India has recently launched Project SURE - Sustainable Resolution - a firm commitment from the industry to move towards fashion that contributes to a clean environment. Indian brands have pledged to source/ utilize a substantial portion of their total consumption using sustainable raw materials and processes by 2025.
Source: Business Standard
The share of the manufacturing sector in the country’s gross domestic product (WTO) has remained stagnant at about 15% for three decades. As India negotiates with other countries to hammer out a raft of free trade agreements (FTAs), analysts say New Delhi’s policies shouldn’t be driven by dogmas of any particular sector, but its focus must be on a judicious mix of interventions for both manufacturing and services. Of course, some others feel that services exports need to be prompted more vigorously. The debate on whether services should get precedence over manufacturing in the formulation of export strategy was reignited as, in a recent interview to a media outlet, former RBI governor Raghuram Rajan felt exports of information technology-enabled services, along with professional services such as legal, medicine, accounting, should be the focal point of India’s trade strategy and not manufacturing. Nevertheless, the economists that FE spoke to said manufacturing needs “greater handholding” at the moment, as the country has some inherent strength in services. They were also unanimous in their clamour for removing structural bottlenecks — including a sharp cut in logistics costs — and negotiating for greater access to advanced markets to spur manufacturing. At the same time, they conceded that policymakers must come out with facilitative frameworks to widen the services export portfolio, the bulk of which is still driven by just IT and ITeS. The share of the manufacturing sector in the country’s gross domestic product (WTO) has remained stagnant at about 15% for three decades now despite successive government’s declared policy intent to raise it to about 25%. Meanwhile, the services sector has continued to grow and captured the share ceded mainly by agriculture and now accounts for about 60% of the economy. India last month clinched an FTA with the UAE and is in talks for such pacts with Australia, the UK, the EU, Canada, the GCC nations and Israel. Pronab Sen, eminent economist and former chairman of the National Statistical Commission, said India’s services sector has grown despite limited support from the government. So, it just needs to “keep that window open” and facilitate further growth without resorting to obstructive policy interventions. “At the same time, greater focus must be on manufacturing, as it has very strong backward linkages with immense employment potential. For one direct job in manufacturing, 3-4 employment opportunities are created indirectly due to backward linkages. Moreover, the issue with services is that while India wants greater access in Mode 4 (free movement of skilled professionals across the borders) in its trade negotiations, other countries are not willing to give it, saying it will clash with their immigration laws. Also, if the government has announced so many production-linked incentive schemes, it must create opportunities for companies to export the products as well.” Biswajit Dhar, professor at the Centre for Economic Studies and Planning of JNU, said: “India’s trade negotiations must include a mix of both goods and services and must vary, depending on the partners. Services exports have been driven by IT and ITeS services over the years. While India has to further consolidate its position in these services, it has to scale up exports in other areas, including in education and health.” Noted trade economist Nagesh Kumar said India already has certain strength in services, given the availability of skilled workforce at affordable cost. But in manufacturing, it lags potential in a big way and needs more policy interventions. “If India can get barriers in access to critical markets in manufacturing exports removed through trade agreements, it will certainly help. For instance, in textiles and garments, Bangladesh is doing pretty well because of its duty-free access to large markets like the EU and the US, given its status as a least developed country.” Prahalathan Iyer, chief general manager (research & analysis) at Exim Bank, said services exports are growing faster than those of manufactured products and have great potential. “Thus, it would be appropriate to put both services and merchandise exports together on the negotiating table. With regard to the forthcoming negotiations, particularly with the developed countries like the EU, the US, Australia etc, we need to have a comprehensive approach that should also include investments, so that India could become a manufacturing hub for the world,” Iyer said.
Source: Financial Express
China’s government has signalled a willingness to deploy further policy support to ensure stable economic performance ahead of an important party leadership congress later this year, according to Fitch Ratings, which recently said it will prove challenging to meet a real gross domestic product (GDP) growth target of around 5.5 per cent for 2022 given the continued drag from a property slowdown and a less favourable global backdrop for exports. The authorities set a real GDP growth target of around 5.5 per cent for 2022 at the March annual session of China’s legislature, the National People’s Congress (NPC). Growth slowed to 4 per cent year on year (YoY) in the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2021. Fitch’s baseline forecast is for the economy to grow by 4.8 per cent in 2022. Fitch expects China to adhere to its strict COVID-19 approach this year. Disease control measures could pose risks to growth, particularly if there is a large outbreak, as is occurring now in Hong Kong, Fitch said in a note. It does not expect the Russia-Ukraine conflict to pose major risks to China’s growth outlook, though it will push up import prices for key commodities, including oil. However, China’s geopolitical positioning in the crisis could further strain its relations with Western democracies and hurt economic ties with them over the longer term, it said. The government will continue to use tax cuts and tax rebates to support growth, amounting to roughly CNY2.5 trillion (about 2 per cent of GDP) in 2022, up from around CNY1 trillion in 2021.
Source: Fibre 2 Fashion
India’s ongoing trade negotiations must consider whether the deals will strengthen imports into the country or incentivise inflow of investment India very recently signed a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with UAE, some two and a half years after it opted to sit out of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). While the concession details under the CEPA are awaited, India is actively engaged in other discussions on trade deals, prominent amongst them being the ones with UK, USA, and EU. It will be a good idea to look at the intent, reality, and other ramifications of India’s trade agreements, especially in regard to goods. Amongst the existing Preferential Trade Agreements (PTAs), the most commonly used by exporters and importers, are the agreements with the ASEAN region, South Korea, Japan, and South Asian countries. If we exclude nearly $84 billion from the total import bill on account of fossil fuel imports, we see that while these regions constitute a significant portion of India’s non-oil trade, the majority of trade is still outside of these regions. It is noteworthy that India has significant trade deficits with three of the aforementioned regions. Another factor to note is that three of these regions have significant manufacturing capacity and investment in their own territories. Thus, India’s ongoing initiatives in trade agreements must consider whether such deals strengthen imports into India or incentivize investment. This is all the more important as the Centre has laid out schemes like Phased Manufacturing Programs (PMPs) and Production Linked Incentives (PLIs) to encourage investment in Make in India. Trade agreements and PMPs: The Indian government has been focusing its efforts at promoting manufacturing in India as a solution to unemployment. To this end, fiscal policies and incentive schemes have been tailored towards attracting FDI in Make in India. Under the PMP, calibrated reductions in customs duty rates on inputs and intermediate goods have been provided along with higher duty rates on finished products. However, considering that many of the finished products are covered by zero duty rates under existing trade agreements with some regions or countries, manufacturers with existing facilities in such countries may not have a compelling reason to move manufacturing to India. An illustration of this is in the recently announced PMPs for hearable devices, wearables (smartwatches) and smart meters. The rates of duty for components of these products are to increase gradually from nil to 10 or 15% over four years. The final products are chargeable to higher duty rates of 20-25%. However, two of these three products can be imported at nil rates of duty and one of them at 5% duty under the India-ASEAN trade agreement. Similar benefits exist under other agreements and may inhibit the uptake of the PMPs by multinational manufacturing entities. Trade agreements and PLIs: In the past two years, the government has launched incentive schemes wherein based on a threshold level of capital investment and incremental production, subsidies are to be given to approved applicants. Such schemes cover 15 product categories as of now. In some cases, the attraction of incentives could score over the benefits of importing goods under low or nil rates of duty under PTAs. The proposition could become even more attractive if it is combined with certain pre-existing special governmental schemes that reduce costs and conserve cash flow. While the application window for most of the PLI schemes has closed, a few may be extended and depending on the success of current schemes, more could follow. Trade governance: PTAs are governed by written agreements between nation states or groups of nation states and domestic laws of the signatories. However, the enforcement of the commitments thereunder, depends on the extent to which the parties honour them. Contrary to a violation of a multilateral or plurilateral agreement entered into under the aegis of the WTO, enforcement mechanisms external to the parties, do not exist for PTAs. In an ideal world, the parties would adhere to and honour everything they have signed. However, in the real world, the committed benefits could be allowed or disallowed by customs rules (for example the CAROTAR in India) and customs officials, conditional upon certifications and validations. Mechanisms exist in the FTAs themselves to solve such matters, but in a situation where entities of different sizes and economic power attempt to resolve such issues, the resolutions may not be acceptable to all parties. Better governance mechanisms are needed. It is expected that a holistic view, keeping in mind the government’s schemes on investment and trade governance, would inform future negotiations as well as review of existing trade agreements of India.
Source :Financial Express
The Embassy of India, Paris in collaboration with Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) organized a webinar on ‘India-France: Market Opportunities and Areas of Cooperation for a Sustainable Textile and Fashion’ yesterday. Dr Praphullachandra Sharma, DCM, Embassy of India, Paris, gave the opening remarks. Ms Shubhra, Trade Advisor, Ministry of Textiles talked on policy and sustainability targets and ambitions related to Indian textile industry and sustainability. Trade Advisor emphasized on the fact that the Indian Government is employing different policies to improve productivity and reduce environmental pollution. “Initiatives like PM-MITRA which is establishing seven mega textile parks across the country would enable embedding sustainability in the value chain and would make the industry future ready giving it a competitive edge globally” the advisor said. Speaking on the current status and outlook for Indian apparel exporters, AEPC Chairman, Shri Narendra Goenka said, “Indian apparel industry is very well aware of the alarming fact that without sustainable supply chains, the fashion industry will become less and less viable. Sustainability is now counted as one of the major pillars of apparel export business and a growth tool. “India offers to the world a complete value chain solution from farm to fashion giving us a competitive edge towards efficient implementation and monitoring of the sustainability throughout the supply chain through triple bottom line (TBL) approach involving three pillars of sustainability that are economic, social, and environmental.” he said. India has recently launched Project SU.RE which stands for ‘Sustainable Resolution’ - a firm commitment from the industry to move towards fashion that contributes to a clean environment. Indian brands have pledged to source/ utilize a substantial portion of their total consumption using sustainable raw materials and processes, by the year 2025. The webinar dwelled on various subjects from environment sustainability like water usage, energy consumption, chemical loads, air emission, carbon emission, solid waste, and landfill, to circularity and social sustainability such as inclusivity, skilling, labour reforms and women empowerment. Importance of blockchain and traceability was also discussed. The webinar, which had key speakers from LVMH, Fashion Green Hub, Decathlon, Jamini and Intellecap, saw a huge response with more than 50 participants including manufacturers, retailers, designers, policymakers, start-ups, innovators in sustainable fashion and textile industries, consultants, export councils, and government bodies.
Source: PIB
The United States and Pakistan agreed to reinvigorate and revitalize trade and business relationships to enhance bilateral trade and investment. It was decided during a meeting under the Pakistan-United States Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) held in Islamabad, said a press release issued by the Ministry of Commerce. Federal Secretary Commerce, Muhammad Sualeh Ahmad Faruqui, co-chaired the meeting along with Christopher Wilson, Assistant United States Trade Representative (AUSTR) for south and central Asia. Secretary Commerce appreciated the visit of AUSTR which coincided with the 75th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic ties between Pakistan and the USA. Mr. Wilson acknowledged the longstanding and robust relationship between the two countries and hoped that this visit further strengthens the trade ties between the two countries. Pakistan and the USA discussed a wide array of issues aiming to foster bilateral trade and investment, cooperation in agriculture, textile, healthcare sectors, promoting digital trade and e-commerce, protecting intellectual property, promoting labor rights and economic empowerment of women. It was agreed to further strengthen bilateral relations and to take steps to enhance trade and economic cooperation. Pakistan and USA would work to support more business-to-business contacts and interaction between the governmental organizations.
Source: Pakistan Today
Bilateral trade between Cambodia and the European Union (EU) was valued at 4.5 billion euros (4.98 billion U.S. dollars) in 2021, up 4.6 percent from a year earlier, said a joint press release on Thursday. Main products Cambodia exported to EU are agricultural products, including milled rice, textiles, footwear, travel goods and bicycles, while key items the kingdom imported from EU include construction materials, food and beverage, electronics and pharmaceutical products, among others. The joint press release was issued at the end of the 11th Cambodia-EU Joint Committee Meeting, which was held here in a hybrid format and cochaired by Cambodian foreign ministry's secretary of state Luy David and Paola Pampaloni, deputy managing director for Asia and Pacific of the European External Action Service. The meeting discussed economic recovery measures, bilateral trade and investment relations, technical cooperation, market access issues, and the ongoing efforts to further improve the business environment, including the new Law of Investments, and diversify Cambodia's economy, it said. "The two sides also committed to further strengthen cooperation to ensure that Cambodia's investment climate remains open, well facilitated, competitive, and conducive to sustainable socio-economic development," the release said. "The meeting also exchanged view on regional and global trade development including updates on economic integration in ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations) and across the wider Asia-Pacific region, EU-ASEAN regional trade relations and the updates on WTO reforms, among others," it added. The next meeting will be held in 2023 in Brussels, the release said.
Source: Xinhua Net
The UK Government plans to share options with stakeholders on a textiles and apparel policy framework that includes Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) by the end of 2022. The UK government is conducting ongoing research to develop options for a textiles policy framework that includes EPR and it is said to be committed to engaging stakeholders on these options by the end of this year. The UK Government’s Resources & Waste Strategy for England report identified textiles as being one of five priority sectors for a potential EPR scheme alongside chemicals, construction, food and metals. The report defines the textiles sector as including at least all clothing, as well as other household and commercial textiles such as bed linens. A UK EPR scheme specifically for textiles would mean producers of apparel and textiles would contribute to the costs of recycling and this would be supported by measures to encourage better design and labelling. The scheme would also aim to boost the reuse and recycling of apparel and textiles and reduce the environmental footprint of the sector. The Government’s draft Waste Prevention Programme for England that was published for consultation in March 2021 is also said to affirm its commitment to an EPR scheme and sets out its consultation approach. The Government is already showing its commitment towards reducing waste within the fashion sector by starting engagement with stakeholders on the Textiles 2030 initiative. Textiles 2030, which was launched in April 2021 by WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Programme) is a ten-year voluntary clothing and textile waste initiative to try to slash the environmental impact of UK clothing and home fabrics through practical interventions along the entire textiles chain. In its first six months it had recruited over 92 signatories and affiliates, spanning brands, retailers, re-use and recycling organisations from across the fashion and textiles sector. Earlier this week a report was published revealing that Europe plans to be the world’s first region to get tough on fast fashion and its waste problem. The European Commission plans to set out new laws on 30 March.
Source: Just Style
Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) has established a professorial chair in polymer and textile engineering with professor Danladi Abdullahi appointed as the chair occupant. The chair is essentially for the promotion of educational advancement and pursuit of academic excellence in the area of polymer textile engineering through teaching, research and publications. Danladi’s appointment, according to the letter, is for “an initial period of three years in the first instance and may be extended for an additional period not exceeding two years subject to satisfactory performance," ABU said in a press release. Polymer engineering covers aspects of the petrochemical industry, polymerisation, structure and characterisation of polymers, properties of polymers, compounding and processing of polymers and description of major polymers, structure property relations and applications. Textile Engineering is the science that deals with all the activities and methods which are involved in the process of textile manufacturing.
Source: Fibre 2 Fashion
Countries that have very close economic links with Ukraine and Russia are at particular risk of scarcity and supply disruptions and are most affected by the increasing inflows of refugees, according to a statement issued by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), whose executive board met recently on the economic impact of the war in Ukraine. While the situation remains highly fluid and the outlook is subject to extraordinary uncertainty, the economic consequences are already very serious, the statement said. Energy and commodity prices have surged, adding to inflationary pressures from supply chain disruptions and the rebound from the COVID-19 pandemic. Price shocks will have an impact worldwide, especially on poor households for whom food and fuel are a higher proportion of expenses. Should the conflict escalate, the economic damage would be all the more devastating. The sanctions on Russia will also have a substantial impact on the global economy and financial markets, with significant spillovers to other countries, the IMF statement said. In many countries, the crisis is creating an adverse shock to both inflation and activity, amid already elevated price pressures. Monetary authorities will need to carefully monitor the pass-through of rising international prices to domestic inflation, to calibrate appropriate responses, it said. Fiscal policy will need to support the most vulnerable households, to help offset rising living costs. This crisis will create complex policy tradeoffs, further complicating the policy landscape as the world economy recovers from the pandemic crisis, it added. Moldova has requested an augmentation and rephasing of its existing IMF-supported program to help meet the costs of the current crisis, and IMF staff are actively discussing options with the Moldovan authorities.
Source: Fibre 2 Fashion
