Ease of Doing Business for MSMEs: The textile ministry is considering PLI 2.0 since it has an unutilized budget of about Rs 4,000 crore after it approved 64 applications with an investment potential of Rs 19,798 crore and projected turnover of Rs 1.93 lakh crore in the next five years under the first phase of the scheme Ease of Doing Business for MSMEs: The government in the second edition of the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for textiles may introduce incentives for manufacturing of garments and home textiles such as blankets and bed spreads, and textile accessories like lace, button, and zippers, as per a report by The Economic Times. The Ministry of Textiles is considering three investment thresholds of Rs 15 crore, Rs 30 crore and Rs 45 crore, with double turnover as the criteria for incentives that would range between 8% and 10% under the ₹4,200 crore scheme. A minimum number of stitching and sewing machines could be added as another benchmark to avail the benefits. “The scheme will attract investment and reduce the import dependence in textile accessories,” said an official. He added that such value addition sectors are labourintensive that require low investment but have a high potential to create jobs. The minimum turnover for the selected companies would be set at twice their investment in the first year and then 20 per cent increase in turnover over the previous year, as per the report. The textile ministry is considering PLI 2.0 since it has an unutilized budget of about Rs 4,000 crore after it approved 64 applications with an investment potential of Rs 19,798 crore and projected turnover of Rs 1.93 lakh crore in the next five years under the first phase of the scheme. The first edition of textile PLI scheme required minimum investment of Rs 100 crore and Rs 300 crore while the minimum turnover required to be met for incentive was Rs 200 crore and Rs 600 crore, respectively. However, this time Industry had sought a lower investment threshold of ₹25 crore instead of ₹100 crore in the second PLI and a waiver from the condition to set up a new company for investment purpose.
Source: Financial Express
Import, Export, Trade for MSMEs: The export credit insurance premium paid by the micro and small enterprise (MSE) exporters holding the ECGC Small Exporter’s Policy, will now be eligible for reimbursement from the Ministry of MSME as per the agreement. Import, Export, Trade for MSMEs: The Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium enterprises (MSMEs) has appointed Export Credit Guarantee Corporation of India (ECGC) as the implementing agency for the ‘Capacity Building of First Time MSE Exporters’ (CBFTE) component of the International Cooperation (IC) Scheme, as per the report from Knowledge and News Network (KNN). The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the MSME Ministry and ECGC on Tuesday in the presence of B.B. Swain, Secretary, Ministry of MSME. The export credit insurance premium paid by the micro and small enterprise (MSE) exporters holding the ECGC Small Exporter’s Policy, will now be eligible for reimbursement from the Ministry of MSME as per the agreement. The MSME Ministry will release the grant amount to ECGC on reimbursement basis under the scheme on submission of the reimbursement claim in the proforma accompanied by the documents as prescribed by the Ministry. The amount received from the Ministry of MSME, will then be transferred by ECGC to the beneficiaries, the report said. An exporters will be entitled to a maximum reimbursement of Rs 10,000 or actual, whichever is lower during the ongoing financial year. To avail the benefits under the CBFTE scheme, MSEs need to have a valid Udyam Registration and the Import Export Code Number which shouldn’t be older than three years on the date of export shipment. The scheme is applicable to the MSE exporters associated with the manufacturing sector. PM Modi had launched the CBFTE scheme in June this year to boost the quality of MSME products and services to improve their participation in the global value chain and realise their export potential.
Source: Financial Express
A Vietnam-India business matching event was held in Hanoi on September 22, on the occasion of the Vietnam visit by 42 enterprises of the India-Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IVCCI). A Vietnam-India business matching event was held in Hanoi on September 22, on the occasion of the Vietnam visit by 42 enterprises of the India-Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IVCCI). Speaking at the event, Vice President of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) Nguyen Quang Vinh appreciated the working visit of the Indian business delegation, which took place just ahead of the 50th anniversary celebration of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries later this year. For Vietnam, India has always been a strategic partner in trade and has a lot of potential for cooperation; in which mechanics and engineering for production are an important part of bilateral trade. IVCCI President Ajoykant Ruia said that with a stable economic and political environment, a young, abundant and highly skilled workforce, Vietnam is currently a safe and reliable destination. Indian investors are really interested in expanding their investment in Vietnam thanks to its strengths in supporting industries, mechanical engineering, garment and textiles, and footwear and to enjoy incentives from signed free trade agreements. In 2021, Vietnam-India two-way trade turnover surpassed 13 billion USD. This year, the two governments set a goal of raising the figure to 15 billion USD. As of December 2021, India had 313 valid projects with a total registered capital of 910 million USD, ranking 25th out of 140 countries and territories pouring capital into Vietnam.
Source: Vietnam Plus
Britain and India formally launched free trade agreement talks in New Delhi on Thursday with the aim of wrapping up a deal by the end of the year that could boost annual bilateral trade by billions of pounds. Britain has made a deal with India one of its post-Brexit priorities as, free from the European Union's common trade policy, ministers look to gear trade policy towards faster-growing economies around the IndoPacific region. Meeting in New Delhi on Thursday, Indian trade minister Piyush Goyal and his British counterpart Anne-Marie Trevelyan said they would also launch an "early harvest" or a limited-scope interim trade agreement in the next few months, before finalising the free trade agreement. "This is an opportunity that we must seize to steer our partnership along the track of mutual prosperity for the decades to come," Trevelyan said. Britain said the deal could almost double British exports to India, and by 2035 boost total trade by 28 billion pounds ($38.3 billion) per year. Total trade in 2019 was worth 23 billion pounds, according to British statistics. India and former colonial power Britain already share strong trade ties, and more than a million people of Indian origin live in Britain after decades of migration. India is seeking greater opportunities for Indians to live and work in Britain, and any trade deal could be contingent on relaxing rules and lowering fees for Indian students and professionals going to Britain. However, Goyal said that sensitive issues will not be a roadblock as both countries will not make them a necessary condition for the trade deal. "Nothing is necessarily a deal-breaker in this agreement," Goyal said. "And I will not think there is any way for anybody to worry about issues which are sensitive to any country, because both sides have agreed that sensitive issues are not our priority," he added. Ministers want to tap into the wealth of India's middle classes and their appetite for premium British products like Scotch Whisky. They also hope India can become a big customer of its green technology industry, and that existing service sector trade routes can be strengthened.
Source: Reuters
Under the scheme, it provides facilities for selling products such as handicraft, textiles, and local farm produce The Railways has decided to increase the allotment of outlets in stations under ‘one station one product’ to three months as against 15 days earlier, according to a new order. ‘One Station One Product’ was announced in the Union Budget 2022-23 and aims at promoting the government’s ‘vocal for local’ initiative by providing an opportunity for passengers to buy local products via sale outlets at railway stations. Under this scheme, the Railways provides infrastructure in the form of outlets and stalls for selling products such as handicraft, textiles and handlooms, local agricultural produce, spices and forest products etc. “The period of allotment of OSOP [One Station One Product] outlets...the competent authority has accorded approval for delegation of powers to DRMs to decide the period of allotment of OSOP outlets up to a period of three months depending upon the prevailing local conditions/requirements,” the order issued on Tuesday said. Fee hike However, this will also mean an increase in the registration fees. As per a May 2022 order, a registration fee of ₹1,000 was charged for a 15-day allotment on a lumpsum basis. The fee can be modified depending on the size of the station. “...the registration fee shall increase proportionately...,” it said.
Source: The Hindu
Industry in the coming decades will be driven by research, innovation and sustainability and those firms that invest in these areas recognising their vast potential will turn out to be the leaders, Jain said. He was speaking at an event of the Public Affairs Forum of India. Jain said several groups within the government are working on the ‘Vision 2047’ for the country. “So, what our finance ministry and the economists of the country have come out with…They have created three scenarios of India’s growth in these 25 years. The most pessimistic, most optimistic and the most realistic…”. “The most realistic scenario says that today we are $3.2 trillion economy, (by) 2047 we will be $32.8 trillion economy, 10 times of the current size in these 25 years,” he said. On the Independence Day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had called for a solemn pledge to turn India into a developed country by 2047. Jain said the goal of being a developed nation will be a reality “if we continue to get our act right”. Industry in the coming decades will be driven by research, innovation and sustainability and those firms that invest in these areas recognising their vast potential will turn out to be the leaders, Jain said. “Only that particular company will become the leader which invests in research, and innovation.”
Source: Financial Express
The Chinese yarn that can't go to the US is now finding its way into the Indian market at cheaper rates, further reducing demand for expensive domestic Indian cotton yarn that has already been down. Indian cotton has been one of the cheapest in the world till September 2021, when Indian as well as global cotton prices started rising. The US ban on textiles originating from the Xinjiang province of China has compounded the problems for India's cotton yarn spinning industry, with half of the mills becoming idle in the past four to five months. The Chinese yarn that can't go to the US is now finding its way into the Indian market at cheaper rates, further reducing demand for expensive domestic Indian cotton yarn that has already been down. Indian cotton has been one of the cheapest in the world till September 2021, when Indian as well as global cotton prices started rising In September 2021, prices were around ₹51,000 a candy (of 356 kg). Then it reached around ₹1.1 lakh by April this year. During these seven months, the pace of increase of Indian cotton prices was much faster than that of global cotton, which made Indian yarn uncompetitive. "We used to export 110-120 million kgs of yarn a month, which came down to 40-45 million kgs a month from June due to high cotton prices. Last month, we imported 4,000 containers of cotton yarn from China, which is around 80 million kgs," said an executive of a textile company from North India. India imported $568 million of cotton and cotton products in April-July 2022, more than double the $259 million imports a year earlier. The import of these products from China was $46.6 million The domestic industry has been affected adversely. Lalit Mahajan, senior vice president at Welspun India, said: "Most of the mills have either shut down their spindles or have gone for making substitute fibres like viscose, polyester, etc. Our (India's) yarn exports in August fell to less than one-third of the normal monthly yarn exports. The export orders for Indian yarn, textile, garments, etc., are very low, while the Indian domestic cotton and yarn prices are still higher by 23% than the New York futures prices," he said. The industry executive from North India said: "If the cheaper Chinese yarn is coming to India, it is going to be a big problem for Indian spinners. Chinese cotton and yarn have always been costlier by 10-25% than Indian cotton. Normally, no import of cotton yarn used to take place from China." Atul Ganatra, president of the Cotton Association of India said about 50% of the spindles had become idle. "The entire spinning industry is depressed due to the unprecedented price fluctuations in cotton that we saw in 2021-22. Exports have fallen by 70%," Ganatra said. Indian yarn exported to China and Bangladesh gets converted into fabric and garments and then gets exported to Europe and the US. A fall in garment imports by Europe and the US due to recessionary pressures, in turn, has already cut the demand for Indian yarn from China and Bangladesh. The impact due to the US ban on fabrics from Xinjiang has added to that. Indian cotton yarn was always competitive in the world. Now, Chinese cotton yarn has started coming into India due to the issues related to Xinjiang province, speculation on cotton prices in the Indian market and a delay in the removal of import duty on cotton," said K Selvaraju, secretary general of the South Indian Mills Association.
Source: Financial Express
The Rajasthan Assembly passed the Rajasthan Goods and Services Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2022, which proposes that the registration of companies would not be cancelled The Rajasthan Assembly on Thursday passed the Rajasthan Goods and Services Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2022, which proposes that the registration of companies would not be cancelled even if they fail to file the return for six months. Also, the system of issuing credit notes will also start. Education Minister B.D. Kalla introduced the bill in the house on behalf of the minister in charge. After the discussion on the bill, Kalla in his reply said that many facilities are being given to the traders in the bill, which will also increase the revenue of the state government. He said that the Input Credit Tax has been reformed in the Bill. Interest will now be payable after using the credit tax on an incorrect claim of input credit tax by the dealer. Also, a system for issuing credit notes has been included in the Bill. The minister said that a provision has also been included in the bill that the registration will not be cancelled if the return is not filed for six months. Along with this, corrections have also been made in the returns of GSTR-1, 3 and 8. This will prevent discrepancies in returns. The Minister-in-Charge informed the House that due to the efficient financial management of Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, there has been an increase in the tax collection of the state. In the base year (2017-18) of GST, tax collection of Rs 12,137 crore was made in the state, which reached Rs 27,501 crore in the year 2021-22. He said that an increase of 32.5 per cent has also been registered in the GST collection of the state as compared to the previous year, which is more than the neighbouring states of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Haryana. He said that there was an outstanding of Rs 3,780 crore which the Centre has to provide to the state. The chief minister also wrote a letter to the central government for the compensation amount, on which no action has been taken so far.
Source: Business Standard
The proposed comprehensive free trade pact between India and the United Kingdom, likely to be signed by next month's end, could accelerate joint ventures, and boost bilateral investments, the head of the body promoting bilateral trade said on Thursday. Richard Heald, executive chair of the UK India Business Council (UKIBC) said negotiation teams were working overnight to meet the deadline of Diwali, the Indian festival of lights falling on Oct. 24, as political leaders had already given a go-ahead. "Negotiations teams no more have negotiation rounds, they are working 24X7," to finalise the pact, he told Reuters in an interview noting UK businesses looked forward to collaborating with Indian companies in renewable energy, autos, education, health care and defence sectors once the pact was signed. Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier this month held a telephone conversation with his UK counterpart Liz Truss and exchanged views on further strengthening the IndiaUK comprehensive strategic partnership in all sectors. India expects to increase exports of leather, textiles, jewelry and food products besides more visas for Indian students and businesses. India's merchandise exports to the UK rose over 28% to $10.5 billion in the 2021/22 financial year ending March, while imports rose to $7 billion. Both countries launched negotiations in January this year for the trade pact that aims to double bilateral trade to $100 billion by 2030.
Source: Financial Express
Bilateral trade between India and the United Arab Emirates will achieve the $100 billion target sooner than expected, India’s envoy to the Gulf state has said. Ever since the pact was inked in February, trade between the two countries has already exceeded $72 billion and is soon expected to touch $90 billion Bilateral trade between India and the United Arab Emirates will achieve the $100 billion target sooner than expected, India’s envoy to the Gulf state has said. “The trade has already crossed $72 billion and if things continue this way, it will soon cross $90 billion,” the ambassador of India to the UAE Sunjay Sudhir said on Thursday. The two countries had inked a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) in February to increase non-oil bilateral trade by 2027 in February. The virtual ceremony was witnessed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the President of the UAE Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in the company of senior ranking officials. “We are looking at meeting the target of $100 million well before the five-year deadline,” Sudhir said during an event held to welcome low-cost carrier (LCC) IndiGo’s maiden direct flight between Mumbai and UAE’s sixth largest city of Ras Al-Khaimah. The negotiations for the agreement, which began in September and were concluded in record 88 days in December, provide major concessions such as enhanced market access and reduced tariffs to companies of both countries. Other than aluminium, copper and petrochemicals, pharmaceutical and agricultural products, the deal also covers services, investments, intellectual property and a commitment by the UAE to grant 1.4 lakh visas to highly skilled workers from India by 2030. Furthermore, it is expected to generate 10 lakh jobs in export-oriented industries like textiles, handloom, gems and jewellery, leather and footwear based in India. Bilateral trade between India and the UAE stood at $43.3 billion in FY2020-21. India exported goods worth $16.7 billion to the Gulf state, while imports aggregated at $26.7 billion during the fiscal.
Source: Business Today
Despite being hit by factors like a rise in commodity prices, Japan's economy has picked up with accelerated resumption of economic activity and the public protected from COVID-19, according to the Bank of Japan. The economy is likely to recover, with the impact of COVID-19 and supply-side constraints waning, the bank said in a monetary policy statement issued today. The economy, however, is expected to be under downward pressure stemming from a rise in commodity prices due to factors like the situation surrounding Ukraine, it noted. Thereafter, as a virtuous cycle from income to spending intensifies gradually, Japan's economy is projected to continue growing at a pace above its potential growth rate. The year-on-year rate of change in the consumer price index (CPI of all items except fresh food) is likely to increase toward the end of this year due to rise in prices of items such as energy, food and durable goods. Thereafter, the rate of increase is expected to decelerate because the contribution of such price rises to the CPI is likely to wane, it noted. Meanwhile, the underlying inflationary pressure is projected to increase on the back of improvement in the output gap and rises in medium- to long-term inflation expectations and in wage growth. The bank will support financing, mainly of firms, and maintain stability in financial markets, and will not hesitate to take additional easing measures if necessary, it said. It also expects short- and long-term policy interest rates to remain at their present or lower levels.
Source: Fibre 2 Fashion
A jump in US apparel imports from Nicaragua during July has seen the Central American nation push El Salvador out of the league table of top 10 apparel suppliers to the US according to official data from the US Office of Textiles and Apparel. During July, US imports of apparel from Nicaragua rose 13.4% to 62 MM2 year-on-year. In volume terms, it came in sixth place of the top 10 apparel suppliers to the US during July. It is the second consecutive month Nicaragua has booked an increase in apparel shipments to the US, bumping it back into the top 10 supplier list. Speaking to Just Style recently, The University of Delaware’s associate professor of fashion and apparel studies, Dr Sheng Lu, explains that US fashion brands and retailers are keeping a close eye on Nicaragua mainly because it is the second largest sourcing base in the CAFTA-DR region, accounting for about 22-23% of US apparel sourcing from CAFTA-DR, only after Honduras. He adds the Biden administration is very keen on expanding apparel sourcing from the CAFTA-DR region as a tool to solve the root cause of migration. Total apparel imports into the US grew 17.4% to 2,939 MM2. Here is the breakdown: • Of the top 10 apparel suppliers to the US, nine saw shipment volumes grow in July, the largest growth coming from India at 52.3% to 122 MM2. • Cambodia also saw significant growth during July of 50% to 128 MM2 on a yearon-year basis. • Indonesia experienced the third-largest jump in shipments at 45.9% to 95 MM2. • This was followed by China, which remains the largest apparel supplier to the US of the ten. China booked shipment growth of 22.7% to 1,271 MM2. • Vietnam, the second largest apparel supplier to the US saw apparel shipment volumes rise 17.4% to 422 MM2. • This was followed by Honduras, which experienced a 13.2% increase in shipment volumes to 86 MM2. • While Bangladesh, the third largest supplier of apparel to the US, saw shipment volumes grow by 4.38% to 203 MM2, slightly behind Pakistan, which continues to steadily gain ground and saw shipment volumes grow 4.68% to 77 MM2. • Mexico was the only one of the top ten to see a decline in shipment volumes to the US of 20.4% to 62 MM2 during July. Total textile and apparel imports in value terms were up 25% to $12,197 MM2. Textile imports, in value terms, grew 3.1% to $2.86bn. In volume terms, they were up 10.2% to 7,067 MM2. India ranks well on the apparel sourcing scorecard from GlobalData, with its ability to create basic products, innovation and ability to develop products with buyers and price advantage sitting between 4 and 4.5 out of 5, though it doesn’t do as well on vertical integration or its ability to source new materials, and its compliance and sustainability are at the lower end of the ranking. According to research from Just Style, India’s apparel sector is said to be flourishing through sustained domestic sales growth and lucrative government incentives. Invest India, a central government’s investment promotion agency, said the country’s clothing and textile sector manufactured goods worth US$108.5bn in the financial year ending March 2020. And its man-made fibre industry is expected to be central to its growth. There has been a sharper focus on technical textiles and the construction of mega-production units have been major features defining the progress of the India apparel sector. Until now India’s textile and clothing manufacturing industry has thrived on the reliable supply of domestically produced cotton. However, now with the country’s ministry of textiles setting a target to increase the country’s textile and clothing exports to $100bn by 2026 – up from $30.4bn in the financial year ending March 2021, MMF will be key. Meanwhile, apparel buyers are set to benefit from a logistics agreement between Cambodia and Thailand, aimed at establishing a cooperation framework that is expected to improve the competitiveness of South east Asia’s apparel supply chain Both countries are members of The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean ), which has established free trade agreements with several leading apparel-importing countries or regions such as the EU, Japan, and the recently implemented Regional Comprehensive and Economic Partnership (RCEP). A closer partnership between the two on logistics would reduce transportation costs and improve the region’s capacity to meet trade agreements’ rules of origin requirements and develop an ever more integrated and competitive regional apparel supply chain. Earlier today (22 September) it was confirmed that Cambodia’s minimum wage will increase to US$200 per month following months of negotiations between trade unions, the government and factory owners. The minimum wage is an increase of $6. Cambodia’s trade unions had been seeking a minimum wage of US$215 while factory employers were suggesting it remained at $194.
Source: Just – Style
China’s small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have maintained their recovery momentum with the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Index standing at 88.3 for August 2022, the same as for July 2022. The recovery has been attributed to government policies intended to stabilise the economy. The index comprises many sub-indexes, which are used for estimating the progress and projections of SMEs. The sub-index for the industry sector, that had declined in July, rose by 0.1 points in August. The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Index is determined by conducting a survey of 3,000 SMEs, Chinese media reports said quoting the China Association of Small and Medium Enterprises.
Source: Fibre 2 Fashion
