Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs Arun Jaitley along with Minister of State for Finance and Corporate Affairs Arjun Ram Meghwal and Minister of State for Finance Santosh Kumar Gangwar. Following are the main points of Finance Minister Arun Jaitley's Budget Speech presented in Parliament:
Source: Fibre2fashion
In most countries the Budget is a non-event. There are no major changes as it follows from a pre-announced policy path. In India it is a huge media and market event identifying losers and gainers. This Budget, in particular, was hyped up as compensation was expected for demonetisation pains.
But the Budget continues sedately on a pre-set path. Even the major reform initiatives announced, such as the measures on poll funding, follow from the Government’s action against black money, as do tax sops to push more spending onto digital platforms, the ₹3-lakh cap on cash transactions, and changes in capital gains in real estate. These measures ensure that long-term gains from demonetisation will materialise. The Budget also adheres to the path of fiscal consolidation. Deficit targets were over achieved and the 3.2 per cent of GDP estimated for next year will continue consolidation. The move to GST was also announced earlier. Despite this the Budget manages to increase capital expenditure by about 25 per cent and give tax cuts to low-income taxpayers and to small firms. The good news is that steady reform in the right direction is improving the economy’s parameters, which is reflected in the Budget. It can have an impact without being dramatic. The assumed nominal rate of growth of 11.75 per cent, reduces deficit ratios, but is not unrealistic. The small, poor and marginalised are a key constituency for this budget. It rewards the poor, honest taxpayer even while inducing her to enter the tax net, and makes it easier for her to buy a house. It thus contributes to shifting society to a norm of universal payment of a low tax, adding carrots to the sticks used against tax evaders. Empowering measures Measures that empower by enhancing capabilities, such as the Mahila Shakti Kendras in villages, are more likely to succeed. There are also more allocations for education and health. These were neglected earlier and can have can major effects on productivity, especially with the attempt to emphasising outcomes. Rather than a universal basic income, at the current stage of low tax/GDP ratios, technology-based conditional transfers can more economically improve human capital. This is the route Aadhaar-based DBTs can take. Giving pregnant women a monetary transfer conditional on hospital delivery is a good initiative. Money transferred to a woman improves her bargaining power, as well as the quality of a household’s spending. Research shows that in poor households where men would spend on drink, women spend on goods that improve the household’s prospects. The rise in road construction in the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana to 133 km per day from 73 km per day earlier is also a positive, as is increasing allocation for MGNREGS but directing it more towards productive assets such as water ponds. These have the potential to permanently raise rural incomes. Government expenditure There is a large increase in expenditure on infrastructure and in rural areas. But this government has been trying to increase public investment since it came to power in 2014, without much impact on aggregate investment, which remains weak. It is true that last year there was not much rise in public investment because of meeting pay commission awards even while staying within deficit targets. But governance and public capacity to spend effectively remains a major weakness. There are attempts to use technology to improve governance. Abolishing the railway budget makes it possible to plan for integrated transport modes. The Foreign Investment Promotion Board, which had become another bureaucratic hurdle, can be closed because steps to allow easier entry to FDI as part of making business easier to do had largely made it irrelevant. Responding to context Much of the Budget is thus consistent with a long-term structural reform path. This is a positive, but there are real weaknesses in domestic demand and in private investment that also need attention. Credit growth is very low. Given uncertainty surrounding international trade in a post-Trump era, and a possible rise in US interest rates that may restrain monetary policy, fiscal stimulus is necessary. Does the Budget deliver this? India’s growth revival after the global financial crisis proved shortlived because it was dominated by consumption oriented towards food where supply bottlenecks existed, so the only result was high inflation. The Budget strategy of spending on agriculture plus putting more money in the hands of low-income consumers may work, however, because food inflation is now low, and much of the spending in agriculture is the type that raises output. This may reverse the sharp reduction in consumption due to demonetisation, while rebalancing away from luxury goods towards middle-class consumer goods. Spending on higher quality mass consumption goods can stimulate investment and innovation. Private investment must, however, recover for sustainable higher growth. Higher quality consumption and lower interest rates from banks flush with deposits will help. But a package is also required for the banks and industries where asset quality has been allowed to deteriorate. Here the Budget does not do enough — ₹10,000 crore as fund infusion is too little. Since the banks are PSBs where the Government is the majority shareholder, the onus is on it. The industries are largely in infrastructure. A package could be designed where asset sales are combined with fund infusion to clean balance sheets, thus equitably sharing pain, and reviving investment. The US did this effectively after the financial crisis. The Budget does promise further action and it should happen. There is some simplification and rationalisation in the tax structure, but more is required. India’s increasing reliance on indirect taxes, which both rich and poor have to pay, is regressive. The reductions in lower income-tax slab rates help address this but it is essential to expand the base of income-taxpayers. The rich data base with the I-T department must be used. The Budget hints at but does not provide any assessment of income tax gains from demonetisation.
Source: Business Line
The Indian economy is going through a major transformative journey. Demonetisation and the ensuing adoption of GST hold a lot of promise for the future even as every churn causes some dislocation in the interim. Globally, clouds of uncertainty dot the horizon, especially following the phenomenal change in the US policy framework. Against this backdrop, the Budget has delivered an extremely well-crafted package — balancing deft fiscal management, a strong push to inclusive growth and furthering the agenda of ease of doing business. In the current fiscal, the Government has managed to contain fiscal deficit at 3.2 per cent of GDP — better than last years’ target of 3.5 per cent. This has been achieved despite the increase in capital expenditure beyond budgeted limits. Tax buoyancy, part of which could have been on account of the demonetisation, may also have contributed to this. That the net market borrowing has been pegged at a significantly lower level than in the previous year should gladden the bond markets and perhaps open up the space for a more accommodative monetary policy. In fact, the finance minister is aiming at a revenue deficit of 1.9 per cent of GDP, going a step beyond the correction recommended by the FRBM committee. This shows that even the quality of fiscal deficit is improving. The Government is intending a big jump in capex, over and above a sharp increase in the current fiscal. This should bode well for the economy, at a time the private sector investment cycle appears sluggish.
The boost to capex appears pointedly in agriculture, the rural economy, and physical infrastructure. After the integration of the railway budget with the general budget, an integral approach is being followed for the transport sector. And this is welcome. The development of multi-modal logistics parts and offering of end-to-end integrated transport solutions by the Railways will enable optimising logistics cost for manufacturers. The new scheme to strengthen the export infrastructure should help at a time of slowdown in global trade flows.
Home truths
The Budget also places a lot of emphasis on roads and housing. Accordingly, the infrastructure status to the affordable housing sector makes immense sense. The record target of ₹10 trillion for agricultural credit, a fund for dairy processing infrastructure, increased focus on creation of productive assets in MGNREGS and ambitious plans for setting up skill centres are all welcome steps. Particularly noteworthy is the bold announcement of bringing one crore households out of poverty by 2019. There was expectation of some tax cuts, especially in the area of direct taxes. There have also been concerns about India’s tax-to-GDP ratio being low and the share of direct taxes being sub-optimal. The minister, in fact, voiced these concerns in his speech. There were also considerations of maintaining fiscal discipline and the imperatives for an investment push to boost growth. Amidst these constraints, it should not be a big disappointment that the finance minister did not carry out a reduction in corporate tax rate across the board. The Government’s roadmap for bringing down corporate tax rate to globally competitive levels over the medium-term remains in force. The extension of the concessional withholding tax rate of 5 per cent on interest on ECBs and extension of this benefit to Masala bonds, as also the increase in the carry-forward period for MAT credit are sweeteners for the corporate sector. The finance minister did give relief in corporate tax to the smaller companies, which is certainly well deserved.
Furthering reforms
There are many announcements in this budget that further the process of economic reforms. An important one is the phase-out of FIPB. This will ease the flow of FDI through transparent and automated processes. The simplification of labour laws into codes is laudable. This should enhance the ease of doing business and help employment creating sectors. The creation of a Model law on contract farming promises to be another important beginning. It can potentially be a game-changer for enhancing farm productivity and infusion of capital and technology into the sector. The divestment target for FY18, at ₹72,500 crore, is an ambitious one. However, the Government seems to be looking at a revised mechanism for time-bound listing of CPSEs and leveraging the ETF mode for divestment. It would help in unlocking a lot of value. Some of the potential value-unlocking targets were already mentioned in the Budget — including listing of the railways’ select enterprises and creation of an integrated public sector oil major. The latter would create an Indian giant, with a strong muscle-power to undertake large investments in the oil and gas sectors in India and abroad. Overall, the divestment game-plan would help balance the fiscal arithmetic and result in more efficiencies and enhanced professionalism in PSUs On the social and political front, the big reforms pertain to the comprehensive concept of political funding. The two needs, of discouraging cash donations and maintaining the requirement of secrecy as to the political party to which a donation is being made, seem to have been achieved through the concept of electoral bonds. It should go a long way in making our political process cleaner. The finance minister also enunciated a number of steps to discourage cash transactions and to encourage the digital mode of payments — taking recourse to the carrot-and-stick method. The tax sops given for the equipments that form part of the digital payment infrastructure, launch of Aadhaar Pay and creation of a Payments Regulatory Board in the RBI are all enablers in the move towards a digital economy.
These steps constitute a natural follow-up to the process that has been set in motion since demonetisation. Over time, this should help make India a tax-compliant society and in realising the conversion of the informal economy into the formal economy.
Overall, the Budget carries forward the previously announced priorities of the Government, and continuing reforms. It should help the economy rebound faster in FY18 and to move forward on our medium-term objectives of a poverty-free, growth-enabled and cleaner society.
Source: Business Line
Building on credit support to the medium and small enterprises announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on New Year’s eve, the Union Budget offered a further push to the country’s informal manufacturing sector by proposing a 5 percentage point cut in corporate tax to 25 per cent for businesses with a turnover of up to Rs 50 crore. The tax cut is expected to impact 96 per cent of the country’s MSME sector — cumulatively accounting for almost half of India’s GDP and over 80 per cent of the overall employment — and could help in increasing tax compliance in the informal sector, which had borne the brunt of the government’s demonetisation move. From the Centre’s perspective, the revenue forgone estimate for this measure is expected to be Rs 7,200 crore per annum. Announcing the move, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley cited tax data to suggest that during financial year 2015-16, 2.85 lakh companies that recorded profits of less than Rs 1 crore paid tax at an effective rate of 30.26 per cent even as 298 companies that recorded profits of above Rs 500 crore paid effective tax rate of 25.90 per cent. “In order to make MSME companies more viable and also to encourage firms to migrate to company format, I propose to reduce the income tax for smaller companies with annual turnover up to Rs 50 crore to 25 per cent,” Jaitley said. As per data for Assessment Year 2015-16, there were 6.94 lakh companies filing returns of which 6.67 lakh companies would fall in this category — translating into 96 percentage of companies getting the benefit of lower taxation. “This will make our MSME sector more competitive as compared to large companies,” Jaitley said. “The medium and small enterprises occupy bulk of economic activities and are also instrumental in providing maximum employment to people. However, since they do not get many exemptions, they end up paying more taxes as compared to large companies,” he said. On the proposal, Richard Rekhy, CEO, KPMG in India, said: “…96 per cent of MSMEs have been provided a tax-cut which might go a long way in increasing compliance and help alleviate the disruption in fund-flow”. The tax concession for small businesses comes in the wake of reports of the negative impact of the currency withdrawal move, which had hit the MSME sector badly and threatened to dent bank loan books on their exposure to this sector. The Reserve Bank of India, in its financial stability report released in December 2016, had warned against a sharp rise in NPAs of banks as the banking stability indicator showed elevated risk for the banking sector due to continuous deterioration in asset quality, low profitability and liquidity of companies, especially in the SME segment. “The stress test indicated that under the baseline scenario, the GNPA (gross non-performing assets) ratio may increase from 9.1 per cent in September 2016 to 9.8 per cent by March 2017 and further to 10.1 per cent by March 2018. If the macroeconomic conditions deteriorate, the GNPA ratio may increase further under such consequential stress scenarios,” the report noted.
Source: Indian Express
The Cotton Textiles Export Promotion Council (TEXPROCIL) today welcomed the Budget and appealed the Government to restore some of the incentives relating to interest subvention for merchant exporters and cotton yarn and MEIS The job creating package for textile sector found a worthy mention in the latest Economic Survey 2016-17. However, the made-ups sector which is included in the package still awaits the rates on ROSL scheme (Refund of State Levies), TEXPROCIL Chairmanbenefit for cotton yarns. Ujwal Lahoti said here. He said he hoped the rates will be announced soon so that the sector could take advantage of this path breaking scheme. Lahoti He further stated that the Economic Survey 2016-17 in Chapter 7 has expressed concern on Indian exporters of garments/ textiles being disadvantaged in foreign markets on account of absence of Free Trade Agreements (FTAs). In fact the Economic Survey has estimated that anwelcomed the 5 per cent reduction in corporate income tax for medium and small enterprises with Rs 50 crore turnover. This will benefit a large number of MSMEs in the textile sector also. He appreciated that the Government will continue to take measures to boost growth as well as employment generation. He however stated that export sector, which was languishing on account of low overseas demand and rising protectionism, had not found a mention in the budget. He appealed to the Government to restore some of the incentives relating to interest subvention for merchant exporters and cotton yarn and MEIS benefit for cotton yarns. FTA with EU and UK can lead to almost 1 lakh additional jobs being created in the garment sector apart from an increase in exports of USD 2 billion. If fabrics and made-up industries are also included in this calculation, the exports can easily increase to USD 3.5 billion and an additional 1 million jobs can be created. Considering the fact that the FTA with EU may take some time, Government should immediately consider giving an additional benefit of 3% MEIS for exports of made-ups to EU so that the adverse impact can be mitigated to some extent, till such time the FTA is signed. M B Raghunath, President (Sales & Marketing) of Mafatlal Industries welcomed the budget and stated that the garment sector will have a boost on long term basis due to 35 per cent increase in government expenditures in rural infrastructure development; rural investment and rural economic improvement will boost demand for textiles and garments. SSI & Medium Scale textiles and garment manufacturing companies will be benefiting from this. Overall it is an encouraging budget with a long term vision, Raghunath said. AP KRK
Source: The Times of India
The textile bodies have welcomed Union budget 2017-18 which has focused on the development of infrastructure facilities. Infrastructural development will boost Indian exports and will also promote textile business in the domestic market due to reduction in logistics costs. This Budget will help in the growth of Indian economy in the long run. “The budget focuses on aggressive spending in infrastructure which will also reduce logistics expenses. We are hopeful of doing good business with government introducing various projects for industrial development,” Indian Texpreneurs Federation secretary Prabhu Damodaran told Fibre2Fashion. “The budget is a roadmap for the textile sector. Infrastructural development will not only boost the domestic textile market, but will also ease the exports by reducing logistics costs. A new and restructured central scheme with a focus on export infrastructure, namely, Trade Infrastructure for Export Scheme has also been announced,” said Ajay Sahai, DG Federation of Indian Export Organisations. The textile bodies have also appreciated government’s initiative on tax reduction for MSME, custom duty reduction on nylon yarn and introduction of schemes in agriculture sector benefitting the textile industry. “Income tax for the companies with annual turnover up to Rs 50 crore has been reduced to 5 per cent from the current 10 per cent. This will help companies to bring in new technology and invest in marketing. Usage of natural fibre has increased across the world. However, there is low availability of these fibres in India. The reduction in custom duty will help India to compete in the global market and cater to the needs of the domestic market as well,” he added. “We are dependent on the agriculture sector for raw materials. Various schemes for the development of agriculture will benefit us. We are also consumption dependent industry. With the tax deduction, the spending capacity of people will increase which will also benefit us,” added Damodaran. “Tirupur textile hub houses a large number of MSME industrial units. Tax reduction will boost their business,” said Tirupur Exporters Association president Raja M Shanmugham.
Source: Fibre2fashion
Commerce and Industry Minister Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman has welcomed the Union Budget 2017-18 presented by Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley which provides renewed impetus to manufacturing and Make in India, export infrastructure and Government e-marketplace. Several measures have been announced in the Budget 2017-18 to provide impetus to commerce and industry. The key initiatives include A Special Scheme for creating employment in leather and footwear industries is proposed to be implemented, on the lines of the scheme in textile and apparel sector. The long standing demand of startups has been accepted and the profit (linked deduction) exemption available to them for 3 years out of 5 years is changed to 3 years out of 7 years. For the purpose of carry forward of losses in respect of start-ups, the condition of continuous holding of 51% of voting rights has been relaxed subject to the condition that the holding of the original promoter/promoters continues. Further liberalisation of FDI policy is under consideration and the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) to be abolished in 2017-18.In order to make MSME companies more viable, income tax for companies with annual turnover uptoRs. 50 crore is reduced to 25%. About 96% of companies will get this benefit of lower taxation. This will make our MSME sector more competitive as compared to large companies. MAT credit is allowed to be carried forward up to a period of 15 years instead of 10 years at present. For creating an eco-system to make India a global hub for electronics manufacturing a provision of Rs. 745 crores in 2017-18 in incentive schemes like M-SIPS and EDF. The incentives and allocation has been exponentially increased following the increase in number of investment proposals. Inverted duty has been rectified in several products in the chemicals & petrochemicals, textiles, metals, renewable energy sectors. Duty changes to improve domestic manufacturing of medical devices, those used for digital transactions and capital goods have also been announced. Infrastructure – a key pillar under the Make in India programme has been strengthened with a large budgetary allocation. The total allocation for infrastructure development in 2017-18 stands at Rs. 3,96,135 crores. A specific programme for development of multi-modal logistics parks, together with multi modal transport facilities, to be drawn up and implemented. Tourism is a big employment generator and has a multiplier impact on the economy. Incredible India 2.0 is proposed to be launched to promote tourism and employment. Five Special Tourism Zone, anchored on SPVs in partnership with the States would be set up. Modernisation and upgradation of identified corridor, railway lines of 3,500 kms will be commissioned, 25 stations are expected to be awarded for station redevelopment and 500 stations will be made differently abled friendly by providing lifts and escalatorsduring 2017-18. These provide large opportunities under the Make in India initiative Initiatives in Skill Development provide essential support for the Make in India sectors to thrive. Launch of SANKALP scheme to provide market relevant training to 3.5 crore youth and STRIVE scheme to improve the quality and market relevance of vocational training. A new and restructured Central scheme with a focus on export infrastructure, namely, Trade Infrastructure for Export Scheme (TIES) will be launched in 2017-18. The Government e-market place which is now functional for procurement of goods and services, has been selected as one of the winners of the South Asia Procurement Innovation Awards of the World Bank.
Source: PIB
The budget essentially continued the pattern of the FM’s past reformist budgets, and was directed towards implementing the government’s desire to bring about greater transparency in governance, reduce corruption and create conditions for faster economic growth. This Budget has taken big steps in those directions. The FM raised the issue of cleaning political funding. It is widely acknowledged that the ‘pull’ from the demand for election funding is one of the main drivers for black money generation. Cash donations have been limited to Rs 2,000, and political parties are required to get their accounts audited and tax returns filed in time. This is a good start. The Negotiable Instruments Act will also be amended to enable use of cheques to become more common. Black money generation, tax evasion and corruption are all closely entwined. The FM gave convincing data to show how extensive this problem was. Certainly, availability of digital transactions and GST might reduce this problem to some extent, but it might not be enough. The future will tell. The fiscal deficit in 2017-18 is proposed to be kept within 3.2%, which is quite acceptable. The abolition of the plan, non-plan classification was long overdue. The simplifications and easing of definitions for long-term capital gains in real estate should help in curbing use of black money. The government has given a sop to the lower middle class by reducing the income tax rate for those in the R2.5 lakh to R5 lakh bracket. This was needed, as this group was harder hit by demonetisation than those in higher income brackets.
Source: Financial Express
If there was one thing that was conspicuous in the finance minister Arun Jaitley’s speech on the Union Budget, it was the absence of any major indirect tax changes. Over the past few years, indirect tax changes have tended to dominate the Budget and it was, therefore, unusual that no major changes in indirect taxes were announced in the Budget. While there are a few changes in excise and customs tariff, including an increase in rates of excise duty on cigarettes and exemption of PoS and biometric devices from all types of customs duties, there appeared to be a desire to avoid any major changes in customs, excise and service tax. The expectation of tax experts, who had been predicting an increase in the rate of service tax to align it with the rate under GST, was also belied. An unexpected, albeit welcome change is the abolition of the research and development cess (R&D cess), which was levied at 5% on the transfer of technology pursuant to a foreign collaboration agreement. This cess was earlier creditable for service tax payers subject to a few conditions. The R&D cess has now been abolished and this would specially benefit those companies which were unable to offset the same against their service tax liability. The finance minister mentioned quite a few areas which indicated the government’s confidence in moving ahead with GST. In fact, the preparatory work on GST is being given the top-most priority, and several teams have been working on GST and are now giving it finishing touches. Also, the GST Council through its nine meetings has finalised almost all the issues and an industry outreach programme will begin on April 1, 2017, as per schedule. While these announcements may seem more like a progress report, it was significant that the finance minister mentioned these and thereafter stated that considering the imminent move to GST, there did not appear to be any reason for making major changes in indirect tax. Since excise duty rates on goods would in any case be altered (in some cases, significantly) in the GST scenario, depending on the rate classification exercise currently under way, it is appropriate that no major changes have been introduced now as these would have been relevant for just three months.
The continuation of service tax rate at 15%, including cesses, could be on account of the fact that the government is considering introduction of multiple rates of GST on services, similar to the practice in case of goods, and hence may have wanted to avoid an across-the-board increase. It does appear that the government is extremely confident of introducing GST in July 2017 and hence wanted to avoid any interim changes. It is also important to bear in mind that the finance minister mentioned in the earlier part of the speech that GST was one of the two bold-play initiatives taken by the government and would also facilitate a more tax-compliant economy.
Source: Financial Express
Coimbatore: Industry associations in the city have welcomed the Union government's budget presented by finance minister Arun Jaitley in Parliament on Wednesday, as tax rates for MSMEs and individuals are reduced. But they also expressed some concerns that need to be addressed. Former president of the Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry D Balasundaram said, "Overall, it is a satisfactory budget. We are happy that the central government has reduced the corporate tax for MSMEs from 30% to 25%. We also appreciate the move to reduce the income tax on individuals in Rs 2.5 lakh to Rs 5 lakh bracket to 5% from 10%." The Southern India Engineering Manufacturers' Association (SIEMA) welcomed the back-up action of the government by providing railway lines, roads, 100% rural electrification and reduced lending rates for housing. "The international skill development initiatives can provide availability of skilled labour force and improve global competitiveness. The presumptive income tax reduction linked with turnover will support micro enterprises for tax compliance," president of the association K K Rajan said. SIEMA was not happy with the tax breather for MSMEs. "Though reduction in corporate tax rate will bring some relief, it is disappointing that there are no incentives for SMEs for investments and for plant expansion and machinery," Rajan said. According to the Confederation of Indian Industries, the budget was positive and reformative. "Measures in the areas of affordable housing, agriculture, rural economy and infrastructure will further open up avenues for investment and new livelihoods. It is heartening to note that the sectors of education, skill development, healthcare as well as women have been accorded special priority," said the chairperson of CII Coimbatore zone, Nethra J S Kumar. Tiruppur Exporters' Association president Raja M Shanmugham appreciated the allocation of Rs 2,200crore to skill labour. He said, "This would be beneficial to the Tirupur cluster as it will help the textile industry address the problem of labour shortage and improve industry's growth." Regional chairman of Federation of Indian Exporters' Association A Sakthivel said the introduction of Trade Infrastructure Export Scheme with budget allocation of Rs 3.96lakh crore will help the Indian exporters to become globally competitive. "Today, exporters are forced to incur additional expenditure of more than 7% of their exports due to poor infrastructure," he said. The finance minister announced 100 Indian International Centres. President of Coimbatore SIDCO Industrial Estate Manufacturers Association (COSEIMA) M V Loganathan said that their industrial estate should be allocated one such centre covering all trades.
Source: The Times of India
After the disruption caused by the November demonetisation of high-value notes, what the economy needed most of all from the Budget was an absence of further shocks. This was not a year for ambitious budgeting or bold initiatives. Also, as Arun Jaitley outlined at the start of his Budget speech, there is considerable uncertainty facing the economy, domestically and internationally. Given this context, Mr Jaitley has delivered what the situation demanded: A Budget whose principal message is stability and responsibility. The result is the relief rally on the stock market. For the sixth year in a row, the fiscal deficit is being reduced. To investors and financiers at home and abroad, this will be a strong message about the system’s seriousness in pursuing a key macro-economic objective. The pay-off will come, if not now then later, in the form of better credit ratings for the country, and easier access to capital on better terms—which should facilitate faster growth. Mr Jaitley’s fourth Budget is also notable for the conservatism that marks his revenue projections, and the tight control that he has maintained on expenditure. While tax revenue is expected to grow by about 12 per cent in 2017-18, more or less in line with projected GDP growth, this owes a great deal to the expectation of a 25 per cent surge in income tax receipts, on top of a similar surge this year. If such a bonanza materialises, it would be a positive fall-out of demonetisation. The assumptions on revenue growth in excise, customs and service tax show a contrasting picture of caution, almost certainly because of the uncertainty that will come with the introduction of the goods and service tax (GST) later in the year. The bad news comes in the form of a drop projected for the inflow of non-tax revenue, primarily on account of smaller spectrum fees and possibly public sector dividends. The result is that over-all revenue grows modestly. The finance minister has responded to this prospect by keeping down growth of expenditure to a miserly 6.6 per cent in a year when nominal GDP growth is expected to be 11.75 per cent. Two consequences have followed: The giveaways on income tax and corporation tax have been selective and strictly limited, and the individual outlays show modest increases for the most part. Although Mr Jaitley made a point of outlining how tax evasion is manifestly rampant, it is encouraging that income tax coverage will improve to 2.6 per cent of GDP. It could improve further, and well might in the coming years as evasion becomes more difficult—or, at least, less easy. However, the decision to split companies into two categories for the purpose of corporate taxation invites the problems that marked small-scale industry reservation: Companies are being given an incentive to stay small, or to be split into multiple entities so as to enjoy a lower tax rate. This is retrograde. In terms of expenditure, the focus has been on allocations for existing programmes. No new ones have been announced, suggesting that the Modi government’s bouquet of “schemes” as the Budget calls it (replacing the abolished “Plan”) have been rolled out in entirety. To the extent possible in the face of revenue constraints, Mr Jaitley has tried to boost capital expenditure—which has gone up from 12 per cent of the total in the 2013-14 Budget to a projected 14.4 per cent for next year. That is still a modest number, given the requirements of investment in physical infrastructure. What bears asking is why centrally-sponsored schemes continue to account for such a large chunk of the Budget, growing faster than over-all expenditure both this year and the next. Greater devolution of funds to states should mean fewer and smaller centrally-sponsored schemes. The Budget has its share of policy announcements. The move to capture all legislation governing labour under one legal umbrella, and a new law on contract farming are to be welcomed. The latter is unavoidable in the wake of the fragmentation of farm holdings into individually unviable units. While the abolition of the Foreign Investment Promotion Board has been generally welcomed, one must wait to see what system replaces it. Similarly, the creation of an oil mega-corporation by merging existing government-owned companies could end up being a mixed blessing. There is logic to merging upstream and downstream operations, but corporate cultures differ and often make such mergers problematic. Also, over-arching oil megaliths like Brazil’s Petrobras and Russia’s Rosneft tend to invite political misuse; one needs to learn from the troubles and scandals that have engulfed Petrobras in recent times. The attempt to clean up political funding is welcome, and gives added meaning to the Modi government’s drive to reduce corruption and the black economy, but the proof of the pudding will be in the eating. What does the Budget do to promote growth, which has dipped in the wake of demonetisation? Not enough. What is particularly bothersome is the fact that the government banks’ bad debt problem continues to evade a solution. The Budget’s provision of another ~10,000 crore as equity support, on top of ~25,000 crore provided in each of the last two years, is simply not enough. Bank credit growth has collapsed to desperately low levels. Since no economy can grow without credit keeping pace, the government needs to come out with effective solutions. Last year’s bankruptcy law needs to be made operative, and the promise of the Banks Board Bureau needs to be actualised. A final word is required on the improved presentation of Budget numbers and announcements. They have been grouped and collated so as to achieve greater transparency and facilitate easier understanding. Like so much else in economics, Budgets too need to be de-mystified.
Source: Business Standard
The Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB), which vets and approves foreign direct investment (FDI) proposals not cleared through the automatic route, will be abolished in 2017-18, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has announced. “A roadmap for the same (abolition of FIPB) will be announced in the next few months. In the meantime, further liberalisation of the FDI policy is under consideration and necessary announcements will be made in due course,” Jaitley said. The Finance Minister, however, did not clarify the alternative mechanism for routing FDI proposals in case they did not qualify for automatic clearance. One option, he said, could be the designated Ministries and Departments handling the proposals. “The concerned ministry dealing with it is one alternative,” Jaitley said. The government would carry out the proposal in the course of the year and all options would be looked at, he said. There will also be further liberalisation of the FDI policy and necessary announcements will be made in due course, the Finance Minister said in his Budget speech. “It will be interesting to see the approval mechanism the government will put in place for sectors/areas that currently continue to be under the approval route, such as retail trade, defence and in-kind (non-cash) FDI investments,” said Radhika Jain, Director, Grant Thornton Advisory Private Ltd. Through two previous tranches of FDI liberalisation, the BJP-led government has already ensured that more than 90 per cent of total FDI inflows are now through the automatic route. The FIPB has also put in place e-filing and online processing of FDI applications. “We have now reached a stage where FIPB can be phased out,” said Jaitley. Finance Ministry officials clarified that existing FDI procedures for defence and sectors that entail national security will be subject to controls. “The proposal to abolish FIPB is a bold move, expected to reduce M&A (mergers & acquisition) timelines, and create new investment opportunities for foreign investors,” said Mukesh Butani, Managing Partner, BMR Legal. FDI increased from ₹1,07,000 crore in the first half of last year to ₹1,45,000 crore in the first half of 2016-17. This marks an increase of 36 per cent, despite a 5 per cent reduction in global FDI inflows, the FM said.
Some restrictions
The government allows 100 per cent FDI in most sectors. While FDI up to a certain limit, say 51 per cent or 74 per cent, is permitted through the automatic route in many sectors, for higher FDI it has to be routed through the FIPB. While India has liberalised FDI rules in most sectors, there are some where restrictions remain.
In the defence sector, while the government allows 100 per cent FDI, it is subject to conditions, such as the foreign investor providing access to modern technology.
The single-brand retail sector continues to be weighed down by the condition of compulsory domestic sourcing of 30 per cent of inputs, which could be relaxed for a few years if the investor qualifies as one manufacturing items with cutting-edge technology.
In multi-brand retail, while the policy allows 51 per cent FDI, the government has so far opposed entertaining any new application in the area.
FDI is prohibited in lottery, gambling, atomic energy, , and railway operations.
The Ministry of Shipping, as a part of its ‘Green Port Initiative’ has been emphasizing on use of renewable sources of energy to power Major Ports across the nation. The Ministry aims to set up 91.50 MW of solar energy capacity at the twelve Major Ports and 45 MW of wind energy capacity by the two Major Ports of Kandla and V. O. Chidambaranar. Major Ports have started the process of setting-up renewable energy projects by investing Rs.704.52 crores (Solar–Rs. 412.02 Cr and Wind–Rs. 292.50 Cr) in these projects. When completed, these renewable energy projects will help in the reduction of carbon dioxide emission by 136,500 MT annually. These projects will also help to reduce cost of power purchased by utilization of renewable energy for power generation, resulting in estimated saving of Rs 75 crores annually, when fully commissioned. The wind energy projects will be executed by two Major Ports namely Kandla Port and V.O. Chidambaranar Port. The total capacity of the wind energy projects is 45 MW out of which 6 MW has already been commissioned by Kandla Port. A total of 15.20 MW of solar projects has also been commissioned with Visakhapatnam Port leading the way with 9 MW, while the other ports in which solar projects have been commissioned are Kolkata Port (0.06 MW), New Mangalore Port (4.35 MW), V.O. Chidambaranar Port(0.5 MW), Mumbai Port (0.125 MW), Chennai Port(0.1 MW), Mormugao(0.24 MW) & JNPT(0.82 MW). The remaining solar power projects will be commissioned phase wise and is expected to be completed by 2018. It may be recalled that a MoU was signed between Indian Ports Association (IPA) and Solar Energy Corporation of India on the 15th of October, 2015 for the development of solar power projects at Major Ports. This is a new initiative by Major Ports which has been taken in line with the ‘Green Port Initiative’ policy of the Government of India.
Source: PIB
The Union Budget for this fiscal year tabled in Parliament by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has generated a mixed response in the business fraternity of Ludhiana. While the industry appreciated the government focus on infrastructure and thrust in investment in agriculture and rural development, at the same time it said the government should have walked a little extra mile to boost the industry by offering tax incentives. Engineering export and hand tools The engineering industry comprises hand tools, auto parts, casting and forgings, cycle parts, textile equipment, etc. The total turnover of engineering exports from Punjab alone is around Rs 30,000 crore. SC Ralhan of Ludhiana-based Sri Tools Industries and also president of the Federation of Indian Exporters Organisation, said: “The investment of close to Rs 4 lakh crore in the infrastructure encompassing road, railways and aviation would not only improve competitiveness of the manufacturing and exports sector but would reduce the logistics cost of exports as well. While Trade Related Infrastructure Scheme is welcomed, it would require sufficient funding to make an impact. The MSME sector with a turnover of up to Rs 50 crore will get a boost with reduction in income tax. He added that the global challenges highlighted in the Union Budget require us to be on our toes and revisit our strategy to push exports in such volatile global conditions. Ralhan expressed his disappointment as aggressive marketing strategy through an Export Development Fund did not see the light of day. Textile industry In Punjab, the textile industry accounts for 19% of the total industrial production and contributes about 38% of the total exports from the state. Punjab accounts for 14% of the total cotton yarn production in India and is one of the leading exporters of yarn, hosiery and ready-made garments. “The government has already announced a Rs 6,000-crore package in 2016 for the textile and apparel sector, so there were not much expectations. However, setting up skill development centres and the Finance Minister’s announcement to bring reforms in labour laws is likely to boost the textile sector,” said Ajit Lakra, managing director, Superfine Knitters Ltd. However, yarn traders said it’s aimless budget without any concrete road map. Radhey Shyam Ahuja, a yarn dealer from Ludhiana said: “We wanted tax relief but it was not mentioned in the Budget, which will hurt the traders. But at the same time we welcome the government move to lower the income tax slab.” Cycle industry With more than 50,000 cycles manufactured every day, Ludhiana is the hub for bicycle manufacturing in India. Rishi Pahwa, Joint MD, Avon Cycles, said: “Increased spending on infrastructure will boost the demand for cycles. Also, the MSME sector with a turnover of up to Rs 50 crore will get a boost with a reduction in income tax by 5 per cent. This will benefit the vendors as well as manufacturers. Thirdly, the limiting of cash deposit to Rs 3 lakh is a welcome step by the government as it will discourage unorganised players.”
Source: The Tribune
Underlining the need for synergising efforts between Centre and states to boost the country’s exports on sustainable basis, Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday said it is trying to formulate a scheme which could provide financial support and create export infrastructure in states. “There is an immediate need to synergize our efforts and jointly take appropriate steps to boost India’s exports — which is the only sustainable way in today’s international trade environment,” said the minister. Since January 2016, the centre has managed to contain trade deficit due to controls on imports, she said. Further, she had also asked states to consider higher allocation of resources for export infrastructure from their increased devolution of funds to which “I expected that at least the ongoing ASIDE projects would be completed by the states. I am still awaiting an affirmative action on this from the states.”
“I hope, we can soon succeed in achieving a consensus for the roll out of this scheme - Trade Infrastructure for Export Scheme (TIES),” Sitharaman said, adding so far only 17 states have developed their export strategy aligned with the national policy on trade.
Sitharaman said that the Department of Revenue has promised to refund tax claims of exporters within seven days under the new GST regime. Exporters have been demanding ab-initio exemption from payment of taxes under the GST regime. In today’s meeting, the exporters were assured “that on 90 per cent of the amount of refund, within seven days, the refund will be made and if there is an undue delay, interest will be paid on the amount due.” Elaborating on the issue, Commerce Secretary Rita Teaotia said that the remaining 10 per cent will be subject to whatever verification revenue department is required to do.
Source: Indian Express
The international crude oil price of Indian Basket as computed/published today by Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC) under the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas was US$ 53.96 per barrel (bbl) on 31.01.2017. This was lower than the price of US$ 54.63* per bbl on previous publishing day of 30.01.2017. In rupee terms, the price of Indian Basket decreased to Rs. 3658.83 per bbl on 31.01.2017 as compared to Rs. 3717.14 per bbl on 30.01.2017. Rupee closed stronger at Rs. 67.81 per US$ on 31.01.2017 as compared to Rs. 68.04 per US$ on 30.01.2017. The table below gives details in this regard:
|
Particulars |
Unit |
Price on January 31, 2017 (Previous trading day i.e. 30.01.2017) |
Pricing Fortnight for 01.02.2017 (Jan 12, 2017 to Jan 27, 2017) |
|
Crude Oil (Indian Basket) |
($/bbl) |
53.96 (54.63*) |
54.03 |
|
(Rs/bbl |
3658.83 (3717.14) |
3680.52 |
|
|
Exchange Rate |
(Rs/$) |
67.81 (68.04) |
68.12 |
* Since Oman & Dubai prices were not available due to holiday in Singapore on 30.01.2017, the price of Indian Basket Crude oil could not be derived. Therefore price of Indian Basket as of 27.01.2017 had been considered.
Source: PIB
Market opportunities in Africa's textiles industry. (Photo: Business Wire)Multimedia Gallery URL LONDON-- Several emerging markets in Africa have become the new popular sourcing hubs in the global textile and apparel industry in recent years – namely Ethiopia and Kenya are leading the trend. However, other nations in the region, for example Nigeria, may experience some turbulences in the sector. Details about apparel exports growth in Ethiopia and Kenya, as well as the challenges faced by Nigerian textile industry are some of this week’s featured stories on BizVibe. BizVibe is the world’s smartest B2B marketplace and allows users to connect with over seven million companies around the globe.
Source: Yahoo Finance
Kenya is undertaking measures that include allowing textile companies in the Export Promotion Zones (EPZ’s), to sell up to 20 per cent of their production in the domestic market, without paying duties. This policy is being put in place to boost local textile production, by encouraging domestic sales of textiles and meet an increasing local demand. “We want Kenyan citizens to have access to high quality products that are sold in overseas markets, which is the reason for introducing the policy change” minister of industry, trade and cooperatives Adan Mohamed added during the launch of the progress report on textile and garment sector. The report informs that the country’s textile and clothing exports have risen to $415 million at the end of 2016. “Domestic producers are under pressure due to the import of large volumes of second-hand clothing, which however, will reduce once there is a rise in local production,” the minister observed.
Source: Fibre2fashion
Danish Mission in Islamabad Deputy Head Jakob Rogild Jakobsen addressing the Pakistan Textile Exporters Association (PTEA) in Faisalabad on Tuesday said that Pakistan was a huge market, which offered excellent opportunities to Danish businessmen in various sectors, particularly the textile sector. The two countries has been enjoying historical friendship and traditional cooperation in many fields for the last many years but more efforts were needed to further strengthen the ties by holding business-to-business meetings and exchange of trade delegations. Though the trade volume between Pakistan and Denmark is improving, it is not depicting the real potential and could be improved further as there are huge investment opportunities in Pakistan. Pakistan has great untapped potential, which could be well utilized by cementing relationship between the business communities of the two countries. Speaking on the occasion, PTEA chairman Ajmal Farooq termed Denmark an important trading partner in the European Union. Both countries were the potential economies but the bilateral trade between them was negligible, which must be enhanced. He stressed the need for frequent exchange of trade delegations, B2B interactions and establishment of display centres in both countries to further strengthen the trade ties. He appreciated the Danish government’s support to Pakistan in securing GSP Plus status and hoped for similar type of assistance and cooperation from it in future as well. He said that it is the right time to redesign the existing trade strategies to have a wider and pragmatic cooperation in trade and investment. They want to build a new relationship focused on common business interests. As there were many significant opportunities for Pakistani and Danish businesses to create long lasting and highly valuable commercial partnerships. Pakistani textile exporters had been traditionally concentrating on European and American markets in the past and had built good reputation in home textiles.
Source: Yarns and fibres
Apparel and footwear company executives throughout the country increasingly are focusing on the Border Adjustment Tax (BAT) provisions in a package of tax reform proposals that are pending before the U.S. House of Representatives. If enacted, the BAT will fundamentally change the way in which apparel and footwear executives structure their businesses. Among other things, it will result in triple taxation of most clothing and shoe imports. That's right. Triple taxation. Let's see how this would work. Tax #1 Going forward, these articles (except for imports under free trade agreements) will still have to pay the applicable import duty when they cross the border. The duty is assessed as a percentage of the value of the imported item. Average duties for apparel and footwear equal about 13 percent, although for some footwear the rate exceeds 65 percent. In 2015, the U.S. government collected about $14.5 billion on apparel and footwear imports, approximately 42 percent of all duties collected by the U.S. government. Tax #2 Under the BAT proposals, companies will not be able to deduct the cost of goods sold (COGS) — a practice they can do now — from their income taxes when those costs are associated with imports. This means that the value of imported goods — the same value on which the duty is assessed — will also be taxed, but at the corporate income tax rate. This would be a new tax, but assessed on the same goods already being taxed for duty purposes. Under the proposed 20 percent rate, this new tax would generate another $22.5 billion on the $112.7 billion on clothes and shoes made offshore. The alternative to this would be for the U.S. government not to change its laws to come into compliance, and instead choose to weather those punitive tariffs. This is what happened a few years ago when Europe successfully imposed punitive tariffs on U.S. Tax #3 Denying the ability to deduct the COGS means companies will also be unable to deduct the costs associated with the import duties they pay on those goods. This means companies will be required to pay yet another tax – assessed at the corporate income tax rate – on the import duty paid on those goods. As noted before, import duties on apparel and footwear equaled $14.5 billion, so the tax on those duties (using the same 20 percent corporate income tax rate) would equal another $2.9 billion. Taken together, apparel and footwear companies importing goods will now pay two separate taxes on the same transaction (duties at the border, and the tax on COGS), and then pay a third tax on the duty costs that are included as a COGS expense. That's triple taxation. So what happens with all this money that the government is now collecting? Informal estimates suggest that this proposal will generate close to $1.2 trillion in revenue over the next 10 years. This money will be used to offset (government speak that means “pay for”) the revenues the government will no longer collect because of provisions in other parts of the tax reform package, such as the decrease in overall tax rates, the exclusion of export revenue from taxation, and another provision to enable full and immediate deductions of capital expenditures. Many in our industry have expressed concerns that this triple taxation will result in a huge increase in their tax bill — one that may even exceed their profits. Some folks tell us they will have to raise prices to survive, dramatically cut their U.S. workforce, or both. Some economists believe such dire outcomes will not come to pass because foreign exchange rates will adjust to offset any damage. But that seems unlikely, especially when there has been no definitive correlation between exchange rates and apparel and footwear prices during the past 10 years — when we have seen volatility in both indices. Further, most purchasing contracts for shoes and clothes are already denominated in dollars, so they would be resistant to any changes in exchange rates. Another concern focuses on how other countries may react in response to this change in U.S. tax law. If history is any guide, other countries will sue the U.S. through the World Trade Organization (WTO) for violating international trade obligations. They will claim that we are subsidizing exports, or treating imports and domestic production differently. In fact, the U.S. lost a similar case about 10 years ago. That suit compelled a change in U.S. law to avoid the imposition of punitive duties on U.S. exports. exports of skinny jeans. Of course, some countries may not want to wait for the WTO and just go ahead and retaliate much sooner. None of these scenarios seems attractive. Like many in the business community, we are strong advocates of tax reform that will support economic growth and simplify our overly complicated tax system. But reform that triply taxes some parts of the economy — leading to job losses, stirring inflation, and exposing the economy to retaliation by other countries — doesn't seem like a good fit. To learn more about this new proposal and to find out what you can do to help, please contact us at membership@aafaglobal.org. Additionally, AAFA will host an open-industry meeting at MAGIC on Feb. 22. More information is available here. Stephen Lamar is executive vice president at the American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA), responsible for the design and execution of AAFA lobbying strategies on a series of issues covering trade, supply chains, and brand protection. In these roles, he also advises AAFA member companies on legislation and regulatory policies affecting the clothing and footwear industries.
Source: Apparel Magazine
The Moscow region is expected to become one of the centres of the Russian technical textiles and nonwovens production during the next several years, due to the ever improving investment climate and the increase in state support, according to leading Russian analysts and technical textiles producers. In recent years, the development of technical textiles industry has become one of the priorities for the Moscow city government. This is confirmed by the statements of local officials. According to an official spokesman of the department of economic policy and development of Moscow, last year more than 30 local technical textiles and nonwovens producers received support from the Moscow city government, and there is a possibility that the same policy will be implemented this year. The provided support is mostly in the form of tax incentives and benefits. According to the Moscow city government, it means that tax burden against some local producers of technical textiles and nonwovens, which production facilities are located within the territory of the city, was reduced by 17-25%. It is planned that this year another 28 companies, specialising in the technical textiles and nonwovens production, will receive the support from the Moscow authorities. According to Maxim Reshetnikov, head of the Moscow Department of Economic Policy and Development, the development of technical textiles industry in recent years has become a priority not only for the Russian federal government, but also for the Moscow regional authorities, which is reflected in the design of benefit packages, aimed at producers. As part of these plans, Moscow authorities plan to establish up to 10 technology parks and technopolises that will provide tax- and other benefits to their residents, as well as reduced rents and consultation services, while the priority will be given to the domestic producers. At the same time, the list of the proposed benefits also includes the abolishment of income tax, property tax, land tax, as well as the reduction of land rent. It is reported that R&D support in the implementation of these plans will be provided by the Moscow State University, one of Russia’s largest and most prestigious higher education institutions, which has recently announced its plans to invest in R&D activities in the field of nonwovens and technical textiles. Currently, the Moscow technical textiles industry is comprised of several large-scale enterprises, probably the biggest of which is Thermopol, one of Russia’s leading producers of nonwovens. Implementation of these plans will be part of the existing regional programme, which is known as The support the real economy for import substitution within the territory of Moscow city and the Moscow region According to Soyzlegprom, the decision of the Moscow city government to provide significant benefits to those producers, which are willing to make significant investments in the city’s technical textiles industry, should significantly improve the , and which was launched by the Moscow city government in the beginning of last year, with the aim to ensure import substitution. In exchange of support provision, investors in turn will be obliged to make commitments to invest at least 1 billion rubles (US$ 15 million) in the implementation of their projects within the territory of the Moscow city and the Moscow region during the next five years. It is planned that the majority of future production will be supplied for the needs of the local market, as Moscow still remains the largest consumer of technical textiles and nonwovens products in Russia. According to analysts of the Moscow Department of Economic Policy and Development, the consumption of technical textiles in the Moscow region will be steadily growing in coming years, due to the ongoing recovery of the Russian economy from the consequences of the financial crisis and the growth of demand for technical textiles from the major consuming industries, in particular, defence, which, according to predictions of analysts of the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade, will consume up to 60% of the domestic technical textiles production in the coming years. Still, despite Moscow being Russia’s richest region (in terms of purchasing power of local consumers) to date, rapid development of the local technical textiles industry has been challenged by serious obstacles. According to the Department of Economic Policy and Development, the industry requires long-term investments, primarily in fixed assets, while the provision of state support will help to solve this problem. At the same time, the lack of inter-city distribution network for raw materials, semi-finished and finished products to date has been another problem, which complicated the development of the Moscow technical textiles industry. In the meantime, leading Russian technical textiles producers have already welcomed the plans of the Moscow city government to create conditions for the development of the city’s industry. According to Andrei Razbrodin, head of the Russian Union of Textile and Light Industry Producers (Soyzlegprom), a public association, which unites Russia’s leading textile and technical textiles producers, in recent years leading Russian producers have managed to keep the same production volumes as in the past, despite the financial crisis and its consequences in Russia; however, they were not able to achieve any growth. situation in the entire Russian technical textiles industry and will provide an impetus for its further growth. Analysts believe that Moscow could become one of the centres of the Russian technical textiles and nonwovens production in the coming years and to overtake Tatarstan Republic, as well as some other regions in the Russian Ural and Siberia, which are characterised by rich raw materials base. This should also help to implement ambitious state plans to increase the share of domestically-made technical textile products from the current 25% to about 60% of the market.
Source: Innovation in Textiles
PUNE : The report "Top 10 Fabrics Market (Antimicrobial Textiles, Coated Fabrics, Fire Resistant Fabrics, Non- Woven Fabrics/Textiles, Performance Fabrics, Polymer Coated Fabrics, Protective Fabrics, PTFE Fabrics, Smart Textile, and Technical Textile) - Global Forecast to 2021", published by MarketsandMarkets, The report study covers the top 10 fabrics markets which have high growth prospects during the forecast period. Browse 71 market data Tables and 53 Technical textiles accounted for the largest market share among theFigures spread through 202 Pages and in-depth TOCon "Top 10 Fabrics Market" Early buyers will receive 10% customization on this report. The key markets covered in this report include non-woven fabrics/non-woven textiles, technical textiles, performance fabrics, coated fabrics, polymer coated fabrics, protective fabrics, fire-resistant fabrics, PTFE fabrics, smart textiles, and antimicrobial textiles. Technical textiles market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 5.2% during the forecast period Top 10 Fabrics Market and is projected to grow at a CAGR of 5.2% from 2016 to 2021, in terms of value. Increasing adaptability of new products have influenced traditional manufacturing to escalate the pace of innovation, and upgrade the traditional fibers by contributing to the technical developments in textiles. The Asia-Pacific region led the global technical textiles market in 2015. This is mainly due to advancements in technologies and the increasing demand from the automobile, healthcare, aerospace, agriculture, and other industries. Performance fabrics is projected to grow at a CAGR of 4.8% during the forecast period Performance fabrics are fabrics that are engineered for a wide variety of uses, where performance of the fabric is the major parameter, and can be used for defense, industrial safety, sports & adventure gear, and automotive & aerospace applications, among others. The growing awareness of personal hygiene and an increasing consciousness regarding physical fitness along with the demand for better performing fabrics for defense and industrial applications are the major drivers in the market. The global performance fabrics market size is estimated to be valued at USD 65,523.57 million in 2016 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 4.21% from 2016 to 2021. Non-woven fabrics/textiles is projected to grow at a CAGR of 7.9% during the forecast period Non-woven fabrics/textiles are largely used in industries such as, hygiene, medical, automobile, and construction. The introduction of products with reduced costs for usage in highly cost-sensitive hospitals and the availability of modern health care are driving the consumption of non-woven fabrics/non-woven textiles. The global market size of non-woven fabrics is projected to reach USD 51,468.5 billion by 2021, at a CAGR of 7.87% from 2016 to 2021.
Source: Yahoo Finance
MINNEAPOLIS - US apparel retailer Target Corp is introducing a new green chemistry policy aimed at removing harmful chemicals used in its textiles products, with the retailer set to ensure suppliers disclose ingredients in certain products it sells by 2020. Target says it will invest US$5 million in "green chemistry" over the next five years in a drive to reduce or eliminate hazardous substances in the chemicals used in its products. Among the substances being targeted are perfluorinated chemicals and potentially carcinogenic flame retardants.
Source: Ecotextile News
Melco has launched EMT16 Plus, an upgrade of its embroidery machine technology, EMT16, with enhanced processing power, which also comes with a six year limited warranty. In case of multi head configurations, EMT16 Plus outperforms conventional multi heads by as much as 50 per cent, as in case of any issue, each head can be started and stopped independently. According to Melco, this feature is not available in conventional multi head embroidery machines, as when one of the embroidery heads must be stopped to change a bobbin or correct some other issue, production halts on the other three heads as well, because they can only operate unison. “While in the EMT16 Plus, each head can be started and stopped independently of the others, creating a highly efficient production environment,” the company stated. In the new technology, thread feed is controlled with Acti-Feed technology, Melco's patented thread control system, in which thread feed, is automatically monitored and adjusted and there are no manual tension knobs to adjust.
Source: Fibre2fashion
The Kenyan ministry of trade has welcomed the US announcement of withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Agreement, as its duty free exports of textiles to the US, under the Africa Growth Opportunity Act (AGOA), would have hit Kenya bitterly. Under TPP, 12 other countries would have been eligible to export duty free to the US. Earlier last year, Kenya and other AGOA signatory countries had lobbied to delay implementing TPP, which would have resulted in rivalry for duty free textile exports with 12 Pacific Ocean countries. “The withdrawal from this trade agreement by Donald Trump is good news for Kenya, particularly the country’s textile industry,” Kenyan media reported, quoting the ministry of trade principal secretary Chris Kiptoo. The country’s textile and apparel exports account for about 80 per cent of Kenya’s overall exports under the agreement. (AR)
Source: Fibre2fashion
