Decision aimed at ensuring implementation of zero liquid discharge, says chairman of Southern India Mills’ Association. Textile processing units at SIPCOT Perundurai have decided to go in for third party monitoring of effluent treatment on their premises. A meeting in this regard was held here recently. P. Nataraj, chairman of Southern India Mills’ Association, said it was essential for units to go in for self-discipline. In order to ensure that the units implement zero liquid discharge it is planned to have a tie-up with an external agency, which will monitor the units. Most of the textile processing houses at SIPCOT are part of export units. International buyers insist on environmental norms and so the units largely have systems in place for zero liquid discharge, he said. SIPCOT houses 35 textile processing units and seven of these are connected to a common effluent treatment plant. Besides, 26 units have a water quality watch centre through which the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board monitors real time data on energy consumption, water consumption, and effluent treatment. Suresh Manoharan, secretary of Perundurai SIPCOT Textile Processors’ Association, said in the last eight years, the level of TDS in wells around the SIPCOT reduced drastically. Textile dyeing units were among the first to start operations at SIPCOT Perundurai. Since then, several chemical processing units started operations. However, if there is an effluent problem it is assumed to be from textile units.
Red category units
The Board should bring in an online monitoring system for all red category units, he said. S. Chinnasamy, coordinator for the welfare association, said though courts directed processing units to ensure zero liquid discharge, many of them let effluents into borewells and wells. The level of TDS in and around SIPCOT ranges between 7,000 and 18,000. The association is demanding closure of all units that do not implement zero liquid discharge. It plans a protest in this regard on June 26 at Perundurai.
Source: The Hindu
MUMBAI: The government is likely to launch a Rs 500-crore credit enhancement fund next month to facilitate infrastructure investments by insurance and pension funds, a senior finance ministry official said on Monday. The fund was first announced in the financial budget for fiscal year 2016-17. "India is launching a dedicated fund may be next month to provide credit enhancement for infrastructure projects which will help in upgrading credit ratings of bonds issued by infrastructure companies and facilitate investment from investors like pension and insurance funds," said Kumar Vinay Pratap, joint secretary (infrastructure, policy and finance), ministry of finance (MoF). He was speaking at an event here on private sector participation in resource mobilisation organised by the MoF. The initial corpus of the fund, to be sponsored by IIFCL (India Infrastructure Finance Company), will be Rs 500 crore, and it will operate as a non-banking finance company, he said. Pratap said there is a "mismatch" at present, where bonds floated by infrastructure finance firms are typically rated BBB, whereas regulatory agencies mandate a rating of at least 'AA' for investments by the long-term pension and insurance funds. He attributed the delay in fructification of the budget announcement to the time taken in amending the NBFC-CE (credit enhancement) notification by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and also getting all stakeholders together. IIFCL will hold a 22.5 per cent stake in the NBFC, while the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) has offered to pick up a 10 per cent stake, Pratap said, adding that state-run SBI, Bank of Baroda and LIC will also have stakes in the firm. The joint secretary said the World Bank had evinced interest to pump-in Rs 5,000 crore for the fund initially, but the government declined it because it wanted to start small for proving the concept. He said at present, the banking system does a bulk of infrastructure project financing and exposes itself to asset liability management (ALM) mismatches and hence, alternatives like raising of money through corporate bonds is necessary. It can be noted that the present state of the banking system, where all the lenders are saddled with NPAs, will also make it necessary to accommodate alternatives. Pratap said bank lending to the infra segment has slowed down in the past few years and the annual growth rates plummeted to 3 per cent between FY14 and FY17, against 43 per cent from FY2000 to FY13. The NPAs from the segment have also ballooned to 9 per cent in FY17, from 3 per cent in FY13, he said. At present, only $110 billion is being invested in infrastructure, against a requirement of $200 billion, leading many analysts to classify India as an infrastructure deficit country. However, he said there is a need for the private sector to be more active on the infrastructure investment front.
Source: Times of India
NEW DELHI: Banking secretary Rajiv Kumar will shortly hold a meeting with banks, power companies, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the power ministry to discuss ways to address issues facing stressed power plants, as directed by the Allahabad High Court, railways and coal minister Piyush Goyal said on Monday. Goyal, who is also holding interim charge of the finance ministry, said he had met power minister RK Singh in the morning to discuss the matter in the backdrop of the high court order. The court had, in a ruling on May 31, directed the finance ministry to hold a meeting of other stakeholders in June to find out whether the issues of stressed power projects facing insolvency proceedings could be resolved. Goyal said that preliminary discussions were held and that the banking secretary would convene aformal meeting shortly. The meeting will include a representation from the Association of Power Producers and the RBI. A finance ministry official said that most lenders to stressed power assets were making recoveries on their loans gone bad through resolution under the bankruptcy law and that the ministry did not expect more public sector banks to come under the RBI’s Prompt Corrective Action (PCA) framework. PCA involves imposition of various curbs such as stopping branch expansion, halting dividend payments, limiting loan limits, audits and restructuring, if warranted. “Public sector banks which are on the verge of coming under the PCA will improve their health within a quarter or two,” the official said. Meanwhile, Goyal said, railways and coal ministries were working together to meet increased coal demand for power plants. “So-called feeling of coal shortage has crept in. The railways and coal ministries are working in close coordination…. We will ensure at no point of time there is any loss of generation due to coal shortage,” he said. Replying to a question on low coal stock position in 25 power plants, he said, “There is a huge demand from power plants. You cannot add new rail lines, but the rail and coal ministries are closely monitoring the situation.” He said that coal production had risen to 567 million tonnes in 2017-18 from 462 million tonnes in 2013-14. The minister said the process to kick-start auction for commercial coal mining blocks was underway. More captive coal blocks would also be auctioned for power, non-power, steel and washeries sectors, he said. Commercial coal mining will help create direct and indirect employment through higher investment and better technology. Talking about the railways, Goyal said that improving safety standards of the Indian Railways while maintaining punctuality of trains was the top priority of the government.The minister said that the railways was fixing the historical backlog of track maintenance works and that he wanted to curb expenditure while improving services. Efforts made by the ministry in the past four years were now showing results, he said. “We have had the best-ever safety record in 2017-18. Consequential train accidents reduced to 62% from 118 in 2013-14 to 73 in 2017-18,” Goyal said. He said the rail safety fund had especially been created to fund safety expenditure over five years. He said that 1.1 lakh safety posts were being filled-up through recruitment, among other measures such as eliminating unmanned level crossings to improve safety. Responding to a question, the minister said that there was no proposal to privatise railway operations in the country. Talking about listing of the railways’ subsidiary Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), he said that the listing had been delayed since he was seeking better valuation. When asked about his plan to restructure the railway board, the top decision-making body of the national transporter that has members from all premier services of railways such as traffic, engineering, stores and accounts, the minister said, "The top management of railways has decided not to divide railways in departments, and officials of the rank of additional secretaries and above have said that instead of dividing themselves into various cadres and services, they will work as one department.In the past four years, the capital expenditure of the railways had increased more than two and a half times, Goyal said. “The average annual capital expenditure in last four years is now more than double the average during 2009-14,” he said. The minister also launched a food menu mobile phone application and another application for railway related queries. Goyal said that the ministry was undertaking all outcome oriented works and that his target was to make the railways self-sustainable and even profitable in the long term. “We are utilising our assets more. The layover time of trains has been reduced substantially. There has been a new thinking in the railways in the last four years that all works have to be undertaken in a speedy way and on a big scale,” he said. The minister said that making the railways more efficient was also among his priorities. “We have increased the pace of electrification as it will help us save fuel cost to the tune of Rs 11,000 crore a year. We’ll gain efficiency by modernising the existing network,” he said.
Source: The Economic Times
Allaying industry’s apprehensions, all three orders passed by the National Anti-Profiteering Authority under the goods and services tax (GST) regime have so far gone in favour of companies. In its latest order, the five member NAA has dismissed complaint against elevator manufacturer Schindler India for charges of profiteering filed by a Delhi business. The complaint pertained to charging of service tax on the payment made to Schindler India before GST implementation on July 1, 2017 and GST for the payment installments made in July when the installation took place. However, since elevators were delivered to the firm before July 1, the tax had been charged without excluding the pre-GST regime excise duty. Hence, the applicant was charged twice — once on the pre-GST excise duty and subsequently on the full value of the material used in the lift. But even before the NAA order, the complainant had requested for withdrawal of application, citing inadequate understanding of GST provision at the time of filing the complaint in September last year. But the authority considered the investigative report of the Directorate General of Safeguard (DGS) before dismissing the petition. “In respect of the two invoices date July 27, 2017, as the installation of the second lift had been completed after coming into force of the CGST Act, 2017, he was liable to be charged GST at the rate prevalent on July 27, 2017,” the NAA order delivered by three members of the authority, including chairman BN Sharma, said. Authority's orders favour firms for anti-profiteering in times of GST. The anti-profiteering mechanism is a three-stage process: A state-level screening committee for local complaints and a standing committee for national-level complaints; investigation by the Directorate General of Safeguards, and a probe by the NAA. “The NAAis trying to understand the business. Pricing doesn’t depend only on rates. They have been selective and methodical in approach,” said Pratik Jain, national leader, indirect tax, PwC India. The NAA is currently looking into 50 complaints and will issue the orders in the coming weeks. The authority also dismissed charges against Basmati rice-exporting firm KRBL for not passing on price reduction benefits under GST. Before that, it had dismissed the complaint against Vrandavaneshwaree Automotive, a Bareilly-based Honda car dealer, by concluding that it did not contravene the anti-profiteering provisions of the CGST Act. Rajat Mohan, partner, AMRG & Associates, said the journey has so far been smooth for the industry. “After more than 300 days of implementation, the NAA has passed only two orders, both of which were in favour of industry,” he said. The NAA is chaired by BN Sharma and is assisted by four senior officials of the rank of joint secretary and above.
Source: Business Standard
Kolkata: In a bid to accelerate exports and to remove the hurdles faced by the industries and exporters, the Bengal government is working towards the formulation of a comprehensive road map, which will not only ease out the process but also contribute towards the economic growth of the state. State Industry, Commerce & Enterprise minister Amit Mitra will chair a high level meeting with the industrialists and all the stakeholders on June 18, with an objective of providing them with better platform and chalk out a road map so that the state's export policy gets a further impetus. The export commissioner office of the West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation (WBIDC) will organise the programme to work on the identified growth sectors and towards the promotion of various products from the state in the international arena. Mitra will hold the meeting to take stock of the steps that need to be taken to achieve the target. When contacted, Vandana Yadav, Managing Director, WBIDC, said that the focus areas would be the sectors like textile and garments, metal and metallurgy, gems and jewellery, food processing, handloom and handicraft. Identifying the needs of the industries and issues relating to the exports would also be looked into. Exporters from Bengal will also get a platform to articulate the problems they might have been facing and get speedy remedies. The government will also listen to the needs of the industrialists and will also assess which areas need to be worked on, to scale up the export growth. According to sources, one of the major problems for the exporters in the state is the lack of a certifying agency. All sorts of goods that are exported abroad need to undergo clearance from the certifying agencies. As there is no city-based certifying agency, the products have to be delivered to other cities for certification. Most of the certifying agencies are based in Mumbai and North Indian cities. As a result of this, exporters from the state face difficulties. It has been learnt that the state government might take up the issue with the Centre in this regard. For example, for food processing industries, there should be a testing lab. Otherwise, it becomes a lengthy process to get the tests done from outside. Scope of setting up a testing lab may also be discussed during the meeting. Exploring the potential markets in the case of textile and garments, gems and jewellery and others would also be worked on. According to a senior government official, the move will not only help the state's economy, but also create demands of various products in the international market. "The government has already come up with an export strategy and now it is the time for preparing a road map to iron out the problems the exporters might have been facing," the official said. It may be mentioned here that after coming to power, the Mamata Banerjee government has made significant improvement in the building of infrastructure and the state has been poised for a big spurt in export. Various sectors like micro, small and medium enterprises & textiles, leather, IT, food processing, horticulture and floriculture and energy have seen an unprecedented growth.
Source: Millenium Post
Snapping two consecutive sessions of decline, the rupee today staged a recovery to close 8 paise higher at 67.42 against the US currency on fresh bouts of dollar selling by exporters and corporates. Weakness in US dollar amidst slight reversal in US treasury yields also helped the domestic currency recoup some losses. The Indian currency had ended at a fresh one-week low of 67.50 last week due to hardening worries over rising global crude prices and sustained capital outflows. Gains in most Asian peers ahead of the crucial meeting tomorrow between the US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un also weighed on the trade, even as investors cautiously await policy decisions from three major central banks this week. The rupee touched a high of 67.28 in early trade before giving back some gains. Though, the overall forex mood remained cautiously ahead of the key central banks monetary policy decisions particularly the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC). The Fed is set to raise the interest rate on Wednesday after the FOMC Meeting minutes from the May meeting consisted of the words "it will be appropriate to raise rates soon," leaving no room for doubts. Currency traders await cues from the macroeconomic data to be released later this week -- including IIP, CPI and WPI along with movement of crude oil prices. On the energy front, crude prices slipped a day after entering bull market, largely pulled down by rising Russian production and the highest US drilling activity in more than three years, but supported by concerns over future Iranian and Venezuelan output. Brent crude futures, an international benchmark, are trading down at USD 75.81 a barrel, in early Asian trade. Meanwhile, Indian bond markets witnessed selling after a brief recovery and the 10-year benchmark bond yield settled higher at 7.96 per cent. In the meantime, foreign investors and funds poured in more than Rs 2,200 crore in the Indian equity markets in the last six trading sessions on the back of easing of global crude oil prices and revival in corporate earnings. Country's forex reserves declined by USD 593.7 million to USD 412.23 billion for the week ended Jun 1 on a dip in the gold assets, Reserve Bank said. The rupee opened with a mild positive bias as 67.48 from last weekend close of 67.50 through the early session at the interbank foreign exchange (forex) market. It extended gains against the dollar in mid afternoon deals on greenback sales by foreign banks, likely on behalf of their custodian clients. After hitting a session's high of 67.28, the local unit struggled to sustain on momentum and succumbed to some fresh downward pressure towards the fag-end trade before ending 67.42, still showing a gain of 8 paise, or 0.12 per cent. The RBI, meanwhile, fixed the reference rate for the dollar at 67.3353 and for the euro at 79.5230. The dollar index, which measures the greenback's value against a basket of six major currencies, was up at 93.58. In the cross currency trade, the rupee also recovered against the pound sterling to end at 90.03 per pound from 90.40 and also bounced back against the Japanese yen to finish at 61.30 per 100 yens as compared to 61.75 earlier. The local currency, however dropped against the euro to close at 79.45 from 79.21 last Friday. Elsewhere, the euro remained severely pressurised against the American currency after recovering from recent two-week highs amid trade concerns. The pound sterling is trading sharply lower against he US dollar, hit hard by a slew of disappointing data after he UK manufacturing output fell the most in 5-1/2 years, asting doubts over the kingdom's economic health even as trade deficit widened more than expected during April. In forward market today, premium for dollar showed a weak to steady trend owing to lack of market moving factors. The benchmark six-month forward premium payable in October softened to 109-111 paise from 109.50-111.50 paise, while the far-forward April 2019 contract finished stable at 252-254 paise.
Source: Business Standard
NEW DELHI: India's fuel demand rose by 3.8 per cent in May as frequent price increases dented auto fuel consumption. Fuel consumption in May totalled 18.71 million tonnes as compared to 18.1 million tonnes in the same month last year, data from the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC) of the oil ministry showed. The rise was lower than 4.4 per cent increase witnessed in April 2018. During May, petrol sales were up by a meagre 2 per cent at 2.45 million tonnes while diesel consumption was flat at 7.54 million tonnes. The primary reason for this small growth was the increase in retail selling price after state-owned oil firms lifted pre-Karnataka poll hiatus to resume daily price revisions from May 14. In the following fortnight, petrol price was raised by Rs 3.8 a litre and diesel by Rs 3.38 a litre. Prices started to fall towards the month-end and are off-record highs now. Petrol price hit an all-time high of Rs 78.43 a litre and diesel peaked to Rs 69.31 on May 29 in Delhi. Today, petrol costs Rs 76.58 a litre and diesel Rs 67.95. In April, petrol sales had risen 9.2 per cent while diesel, which makes up for roughly 40 per cent of all the petroleum product consumed in the country, posted a 2.6 per cent growth in consumption. During May, jet fuel or ATF sale was up 11.16 per cent at 697,000 tonnes. With the government pushing for use of cleaner liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) as cooking fuel by giving free connections to poor women, cooking gas (LPG) consumption was up 14.4 per cent at 2.04 million tonnes. The result of LPG push was a near 20 per cent drop in kerosene usage at 283,000 tonnes in May when compared to the year-ago period. Naphtha sales were up 3.6 per cent at 1.04 million tonnes, while consumption of petroleum coke surged 8.7 per cent at 2.4 million tonnes.
Source: Financial Express
Kochi : After serving a commendable long stint in remittance and forex business, V George Antony, former managing director of UAE Exchange (India), has now shifted his focus to the stock broking business of the group, as Head of UAE Exchange & Finance. According to him, the stock market exposure of the middle-class segment in India is still untapped and therefore, holds immense market potential. He shares with BusinessLine his initiatives to encourage a share trading culture among retail investors for fetching better returns and other market-related happenings. Excerpts:
Given the current volatility in the market, what is your advice to traders?
Trade within your means and buy for the long term. Do not get carried away by the tempting offers available in the market, like multiple times exposure or tips which float through SMS, WhatsApp or e-mail. Buy fundamentally strong shares of well-managed companies and hold on to them till you get the desired profits. The market will go up and down, but hold on to your shares. Do not panic and sell when you see the market going down or when you see loss in your portfolio. Normally good shares are thrown up at the time of quarterly/ annual results, even if the markets go down. Crude oil price changes, currency fluctuations, changes in monetary policy, and GDP fluctuations could see the market oscillate. Major political announcements or global events also bring changes in the market behaviour. The market may eye the 2019 general elections for a clear direction.
Who are your customers? Are you targeting NRIs, especially in Kerala?
We have domestic as well as NRI customers trading on our platform. We give equal focus to all customers, big and small, and do not segregate them based on volume of business. Recently, we have started a research division by appointing experienced persons to give better personalised service to customers. We are also in the process of starting advisory services shortly.
Does your company offer any cost advantage given the challenge of discount broking?
We give best rates to our customers and should be one of the best in the industry today. We try to excel in whatever we offer and give more importance to personalised service. To new customers, we offer free account opening, and free daily brokerage up to a certain amount, so that they learn to buy and sell shares free of cost and gradually come to the mainstream of the securities market. Since last year you have started offering NSE and BSE F&O to your customers.
What is the current situation?
UAE Exchange & Finance is in the stock trading business since 1998, and it has a good customer base. We had taken BSE and NSE F&O to give better offerings to existing customers and for new customers. Now we are able to offer all trading products under one umbrella.
Do you have any expansion plans in stock broking?
Yes, we will be expanding aggressively and are appointing relationship managers in major cities. In addition, we will be focussing on promoting the online platform for trading and supporting customers offline. Customers can open a trading account digitally, sign digitally using Aadhaar, trade over their mobiles or desktops via the mobile app ‘Xtrade’ or through www.uaeexchange-xtrade.com. Trading has become so simple and user-friendly now that anybody can become an expert at it by putting in a little bit of effort. They can trade on the move now with just a few clicks.
On the changes in regulatory policy. The recent policy change by the regulator allowing domestic customers to open trading/demat account using Aadhaar e-KYC digitally is a welcome move; it has wiped out geographical barriers for account opening. NRI customers should be allowed to trade by mapping their NRI accounts. Currently, they have to open a separate PIS account if they wish to do trading in India. Today, where technology is so much integrated and fund trail tracking is so easy, this additional control may be relaxed by the regulators. Customers can be given flexibility to trade by mapping their NRI accounts. This will result in a lot of convenience and less cost to NRI customers who wish to buy and sell shares, and in turn, increase retail market volumes. Do you think shifting focus on MFs and SIP investments will hinder customers from taking independent decisions on their investment plans? Today, customers — big and small — are investing through mutual funds and SIPs. Customers who does not have time to trade by themselves, or those who do not want to take risk or those who had been saving money in monthly savings deposit schemes or investing in chit funds are opting for mutual funds/SIPs. It is also ideal to have a portion of the savings invested through SIPs. In my view, some portion of these mutual fund customers slowly migrate in their second stage to direct trading, seeing the income opportunity and become big traders.
Source: Business Line
Having come under criticism for the poor refund under the Goods and Services Tax (GST), the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs, Bengaluru zone today said Rs 1,183 crore has been refunded since the roll out of GST. The Principal Chief Commissioner of Central Tax A K Jyotishi told reporters here that the GST revenue from Karnataka per month is Rs 6,000 crore excluding indirect central tax of Rs 1,000 crore as duty and taxes on petroleum products. In view of pendency of refunds, the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs launched a special refund drive starting from May 31 to June 14. “This was the second refund drive initiated by the department after the successful rollout of the first refund drive from March 15 to March 30,” Jyotishi said. Under the special refund drive Rs 197 crore has been disbursed, the officer said adding that 96 per cent of the claims havebeen cleared and remaining is still under process. He explained that there was pendency of cases due to the faulty filling of forms. “Even in the slightest error in the filling of forms, it (GST computer programme) will not allow you refund. We have set up a separate desk to resolve the problem,” Jyotishi said. Additional Commissioner Amitesh Bharat Singh said of 1,685 claims for refund, 1,242 were found valid. There was a total refund of Rs 651 of Central GST, Rs 267 of the SGST and Rs 265 crore of the IGST and Customs. “Under the Central GST, the total claim was of Rs 670 crore of which Rs 650 crore has been paid by April end and therest will be decided later,” Singh said.
Source: Financial Expres
The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), a block of eight countries including India, took incremental steps at its 18th summit over the weekend towards wider economic engagements and security cooperation, even as the G7, the world’s most powerful economic bloc, was at the same time embroiled in a spat between the United States and its closest allies that threatened their decades-old partnership. While leaders of the seven major global economies could not reconcile their differences over moves made by the Trump administration, the SCO showed cohesiveness despite persisting differences between member states India and Pakistan, and India and China. Even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed concern over connectivity projects that violate sovereignty of another country and India did not endorse China’s Belt and Road Initiative or BRI in the final communique, the outcome of the summit was not marked by acrimony. Rather India and China carried forward the spirit of the recent summit at Wuhan between PM Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping, and leaders of India and Pakistan exchanged pleasantries. The SCO summit raised hopes of greater cooperation in the Eurasian region, with some of the member states potentially reconciling their differences, which may result in smoother physical connectivity and trade. The summit in Qingdao was utilised by key member states China and Russia to boost Iran’s morale following the US decision to pull out from the nuclear deal. Iran is knocking at the door of the SCO to be made a member. Currently it has the status of an observer in the grouping. At the G7 summit in contrast, US President Donald Trump left in a huff as the other six leaders failed to convince him and he did not want to appear weak ahead of the historic summit with the North Korean leader on June 12. The upheaval caused by decisions of the Trump administration have rattled Europe, China and Russia as well as India. However, while Russia and China are closing ranks, Europe appears to be in disarray. For the SCO, the priority areas have been combating terrorism, drug trafficking, organised cross-border crimes and cybersecurity. However, given the Trump administration’s anti-globalisation stance, the SCO may see more thrust on cooperation in trade, investment and development, perhaps even leading to a joint free trade area, according to some experts. China, with its economic prowess, would appear to dominate the SCO, but India may provide balance in the grouping by standing its ground, as it did on key issues soon after being inducted as a member.
Source: The Economic Times
With a view to ensuring compliance with Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board norms, over 35 textile processing units and industries at SIPCOT, Perundurai, by adopting zero liquid discharge technology, among other steps. This was decided at a meeting convened here by theSouthern India Mills' Association (SIMA) and Perundurai SIPCOT Textile Processors Association, which deliberated on pro-active measures to be taken up to protect the environment. The June 7 meeting unanimously decided to enforce self-discipline to ensure sustainability with regard to the environment, a SIMA press release said here today. Each textile processing unit would ensure compliance with TNPCB norms by adopting zero liquid discharge technology,apart from conserving water and recording effluent treatment performance data with water quality watch centre of the Board, the release said. It was also decided to engage a competent and credible external body, Nataraj said, adding this would create further confidence in the minds of all stakeholders. He said each textile processing unit has invested between Rs 10 crore and Rs 30 crore for ZLD effluent treatment plants and spent huge recurring expenditure to comply with environmental norms. Nataraj said textile processing is the weakest link in the entire textile value chain, particularly in Tamil Nadu and availability of quality water and treatment of textiles in a cost-effective manner has become the major challenge for the processing sector to sustain its viability and survival. He pointed out that Tamil Nadu is one of the fastest growing states complying with various laws in the country and had also pioneered in the adoption of ZLD technology to treat textile effluents to protect the environment. The State Industries Promotion Corporation of Tamil Nadu Ltd (SIPCOT) has encouraged industrialists to follow the regulations and comply with various statutes and has promoted a large number of industries, Nataraj said.
Source: Business Standard
Khadi Gramam project at the heritage village of Aranmula inaugurated Khadi is very much part of Indian culture and its popularity across the globe has increased manifold ever since the government led by Narendra Modi came to power at the Centre four years ago, Union Minister for Textiles Smriti Irani has said. Ms. Irani was speaking after inaugurating the Khadi Gramam project of the Union government at Aranmula on Monday. She said the Khadi Gramam was part of the government project aimed at making the heritage village of Aranmula self-reliant through the production and sale of Khadi products. Ms. Irani said the annual sale of Khadi products in the country had gone up from Rs 3,900 crore to Rs. 7,000 crore now. She said the Mudra loan project launched by the Modi government was a big hit and a large number of unemployed youth had benefited from it. As many as 70% of the Mudra loan beneficiaries were women, she said. Anto Antony, MP, presided over the function. V. Muraleedharan, Rajya Sabha member; G. Chandramouli, Khadi Commission member; Ashokan Kulanada, Kulanada grama panchayat president; and Prasad Verumkal, Aranmula panchayat vice president; spoke.
Source: The Hindu
Surat: In 1981, Surat witnessed the worst accident in its famed textile industry when 98 people died and 105 injured as the four-storey Shantinath Silk Mills crumbled after a boiler explosion. Around 200 firemen had toiled for five days to remove the bodies from the debris. The accident had forced the state government to amend the law and make checking the structural stability of industrial units mandatory and the license be renewed every five years by a competent authority. But the law seems to be remaining only on paper. The collapse of Shalu Dyeing and Printing Mills building on June 9 has raised several questions whether the owners are adhering to safety norms and getting the mandatory structural stability checks done. In Pandesara GIDC, which has got a swanky redeveloped infrastructure at the cost of Rs 62 crore, all the industrial units are more than 30 years old and in a dilapidated condition. In 2017, Pandesara GIDC became a model industrial estate in south Gujarat with facilities like underground electricity network, better water and drainage network, cement concrete roads in 2.12 lakh square metre area. However, majority of the textile mill owners are still complacent when it comes to the periodic checks of the structural stability of their mill structures. President of South Gujarat Textile Processors’ Association (SGTPA) Jitu Vakharia said, “I am not sure whether old units have been doing the internal maintenance of the structure and the machinery. Time and again, we have been holding meetings and asking our members to comply with all the norms of industrial safety. Having fire fighting equipment is must for all. However, in some cases people tend to ignore it and take things lightly.” Vakharia added, “When factory inspectors pay the visit, generally they look for the machinery and pressure vessel stability reports. But, they do not check the structural stability of the building, which can be in bad shape.” It is a fact that out of 100 textile dyeing and printing mills in this estate, few are constructed in the last 15 years, but most of them are those built in the 80’s. Factory inspector at Pandesara R Tarpara told TOI, “A officer has to go for two mandatory inspections every month as per the draw system . We cover our area and units for inspection are decided by the government procedure which is through lots. We check every aspect of structural stability and industrial safety and health issue. In some cases, we ask for immediate action on behalf of owners.” A textile mill owner said on the condition of anonymity said, “The shortage of manpower in the government is serious issue. The department is not able to physically check everything.”
Source: Times News Network
Madurai region has the potential to reinvigorate itself and generate large-scale employment, say industrialists. Two decades ago, there were 27 textile mills functioning in and around the city. Today, only three are operational. The textile sector, a major job giver, is not alone. While sectors such as engineering and automobiles are non-starters in the region, industries manufacturing tyres, rubber parts for auto industries and domestic purposes, garments, knitting and hosiery, powerloom and ancillary units are functioning in the industrial estates at K. Pudur, Kappalur and Uranganpatti and outside. While the textile park near Vadipatti is functioning well, it is not the case with industries in K. Pudur and Kappalur as the operators have plenty of woes. When The Hindu visited some of the industries and interacted with the entrepreneurs and workers in the region, they said that many small and cottage units were no more viable due to competition from cheaper goods imported from China. For modernisation of plants, they required huge capital and expertise. Due to lack of support from the government and pressure from financial institutions to repay loans, many have wound up their business. Factors such as the GST, demonetisation and unfavourable political atmosphere have all contributed to the slugglish industrial growth. Skilled workers have been migrating to Tirupur in search of jobs and engineering graduates to Bengaluru, Chennai and other cities with IT industries. After the district administration exposed how malpractices at big granite quarries in and around Madurai resulted in loss of ₹16000 crore to the exchequer, the State government initiated probe and eventually halted their functioning. This has led to loss of jobs for more than 10,000 workers, who include engineers, diploma holders, technicians and semi and unskilled workers. While most of them had gone to Hosur for jobs in granite quarries, others had migrated to Andhra Pradesh, sources say.
Two new clusters
But former MADITSSIA president KR. Gnanasambandan exudes hope. “All these unfavourable circumstances do not mean the end of the road for Madurai industries. A negative image of Madurai on the social media should be countered with the positive ground realities. Things will change for the bettter and local talents can be tapped. There is ample scope in Madurai for giving employment to students passing out of engineering and arts and science colleges,’ he said. He said a textile cluster was coming up with 40 units near Kariapatti in Virudhunagar district and closer to Madurai. It would give employment to 2,000 people. “An engineering cluster on 50 acres will start functioning in less than six months at Thumbaipatti near Melur in Madurai district. With 25 units, this cluster is expected to give direct employment to 500 people,” Mr. Gnanasambandan said.
MoU with industries
Madurai Kamaraj University advisor (university-industry collaboration) A. Selvaraj said memorandums of understanding with select industries in and around Madurai had been signed. The aim was to enable employable students to have an opportunity to work in Madurai and thus prevent migration. The industries were also being encouraged to tap local talent, Mr. Selvaraj added. While faculty members at the university appealed to the State government to improve the objectives of employment exchanges on the lines of private HR firms and make them pro-active, they urged the government to expedite Madurai-Thoothukudi industrial corridor project as it would attract major business houses. Likewise, the local authorities should be given instructions to improve the infrastructure in the industrial estates and arrange for meetings with bankers for revival of sick units. More importantly, youngsters should be made aware of the consequences of projecting Madurai in a negative way on social media and other platforms, the faculty members said.
Source: The Hindu
The government has moved into the fast lane in resolving the vexed issue of large stressed assets in the power sector. Seizing the the opportunity presented by a recent order by the Allahabad High Court which gave temporary impunity to a clutch of power projects from the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) February 12 circular mandating early detection and resolution of stressed assets by banks, interim finance minister Piyush Goyal and power minister RK Singh on Monday confabulated on the immediate course of action in this regard. While the central bank hasn’t yet indicated any relaxation of its circular, the finance ministry, sources said, would soon write to it and other stakeholders, including power producers, convening a meeting to find a resolution. Even as the meeting will be aimed at addressing power sector issues, it could potential help find a common resolution plan as well for other sensitive sectors, including steel and textiles that are reeling under massive bad loans the sources added. “The secretary-financial services will be convening a meeting of officials (from RBI, banks, other relevant ministries) soon,” Goyal later told a TV channel, adding that the idea was to ascertain if a solution could be found without undermining the IBC (insolvency and bankruptcy code) process. Monday’s inter-ministerial meeting, also attended by finance secretary Hasmukh Adhia and power secretary AK Bhalla, was to ensure that the stakeholders in the government had a common view on how to comply with the HC order, the minister added. Giving relief to the petitioner power projects which are facing the threat of being pushed into insolvency proceedings, the court had ordered that no action be taken in their cases under the RBI circular till the finance ministry called a meeting of relevant stakeholders in June to see if the issues could be resolved. Meanwhile, independent power producers (IPPs) would make presentations to the ministries of finance, power and petroleum & natural gas this week where they are expected to demand permission to use coal allocated under long-term power purchase agreements to serve customers under short-term supply agreements and the setting up of a payment security mechanism, similar to what is now available to NTPC. Bankers have already identified 11 stressed projects under the Samadhan scheme, wherein such projects would be assigned to rating agencies to determine their “sustainable debt” levels. Thereafter, banks would put up to 51% equity of these projects for auction to gauge the industry’s interest in the projects, while the remaining would be held back by banks and existing promoters so that they get a chance to redeem their stakes when demand revives. Rural Electrification Corporation has also come up with a ‘warehousing’ plan to revive stressed power assets and the finance ministry would consider this proposal as well, the sources added. The RBI’s circular requires banks to finalise a resolution plan in case of a default on large accounts of `2,000 crore and above within 180 days (irrespective of sectors), failing which insolvency proceedings will have to be invoked against the defaulter. Since the deadline for the resolution of the first set of such cases is end-August, power producers have been seeking urgent relief. The power ministry has been vocal against the RBI circular’s “impracticality” and a parliamentary panel too had concurred with it, saying, many power plants were “currently under SMA-1/2 stage or on the brink of becoming NPAs (non-performing assets)” due to “unforeseen circumstances” that hit their cash flows, credit rating, etc. NPAs in the power generation sector have more than doubled to around Rs 70,000 crore from Rs 34,244 crore a year ago. About 10,000 MW power generation assets with debts of over Rs 34,600 crore are now before National Company Law Tribunal, constituting 18% of the sector’s exposure to lenders. As of end-March 2018, receivables to IPPs stood at more than Rs 13,000 crore. Additionally, Rs 7,800 crore is stuck due to various delays in receiving orders from regulators. The IPPs are not compensated for the extra money they have to shell out to buy coal at higher prices due to insufficient supply (only 60% of requirement) by Coal India.
Source: Financial Express
Arvind Internet, omni-channel enablement company owned by textiles major Arvind Ltd, is looking to expand its services to new geographies like South East Asia, West Asia and the US, said a top company official. Besides, Arvind Internet is also expanding its domestic business by associating with around 2 to 3 brands every month, he added. We are in advanced talks with several large brands and will be expanding our omni-channel services to customers in South East Asia, West Asia and the US. Our expansion plans include foraying into countries such as Malaysia, Hong Kong, UAE, and Saudi Arabia, amongst others," Arvind Internet Co-Founder & CEO Mukul Bafana told PTI. He added: "Our focus is ensuring retail productivity and seamless end-to-end services for brands while delivering an integrated journey across multiple channels for consumers." Presently, it is working with 43 brands in India -- both Arvind and non-Arvind brands. "We basically enable omni-channel retail for them. We do provide technology and supporting services required by the brand to continue Omni channel journey," Bafana said. The network now covers over 3,000 stores, which makes Arvind Internet as the largest omni-channel enabling company, he added. "From the last year and so, we have become much more focused on b2b software with the companies working with global brand retailers around the world to enable omni-channel for them," he added. Presently, it is working with 15 brands of Arvind Ltd and around 25 other brands which includes Future group and PVH group, which own brands such as Lee, Wrangler, Tommy Hilfiger etc. "It's a very relevant platform for retail brands in India and so we keep adding more and more brands. We keep adding 2-3 brands every month," he added. Its software-as-a-service offers a plug and play solution to brands and retailers. This allows brands to power their primary portals and enable omni-channel services, such as click-and-collect, 2-hour delivery from store, return-to-store etc.
Source: Business Standard
|
Item |
Price |
Unit |
Fluctuation |
Date |
|
PSF |
1375.59 |
USD/Ton |
-0.79% |
6/11/2018 |
|
VSF |
2303.07 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
6/11/2018 |
|
ASF |
3075.96 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
6/11/2018 |
|
Polyester POY |
1394.33 |
USD/Ton |
-0.22% |
6/11/2018 |
|
Nylon FDY |
3622.45 |
USD/Ton |
0.43% |
6/11/2018 |
|
40D Spandex |
5464.90 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
6/11/2018 |
|
Nylon POY |
1670.70 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
6/11/2018 |
|
Acrylic Top 3D |
3255.52 |
USD/Ton |
0.24% |
6/11/2018 |
|
Polyester FDY |
3200.87 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
6/11/2018 |
|
Nylon DTY |
1647.28 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
6/11/2018 |
|
Viscose Long Filament |
3723.94 |
USD/Ton |
0.21% |
6/11/2018 |
|
Polyester DTY |
5902.09 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
6/11/2018 |
|
30S Spun Rayon Yarn |
3075.96 |
USD/Ton |
0.51% |
6/11/2018 |
|
32S Polyester Yarn |
2248.42 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
6/11/2018 |
|
45S T/C Yarn |
3091.57 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
6/11/2018 |
|
40S Rayon Yarn |
3232.10 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
6/11/2018 |
|
T/R Yarn 65/35 32S |
2716.84 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
6/11/2018 |
|
45S Polyester Yarn |
2342.10 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
6/11/2018 |
|
T/C Yarn 65/35 32S |
2623.15 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
6/11/2018 |
|
10S Denim Fabric |
1.46 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
6/11/2018 |
|
32S Twill Fabric |
0.90 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
6/11/2018 |
|
40S Combed Poplin |
1.26 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
6/11/2018 |
|
30S Rayon Fabric |
0.71 |
USD/Meter |
0.22% |
6/11/2018 |
|
45S T/C Fabric |
0.74 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
6/11/2018 |
Source: Global Textiles
Note: The above prices are Chinese Price (1 CNY = 0.15614 USD dtd. 11/6/2018). The prices given above are as quoted from Global Textiles.com. SRTEPC is not responsible for the correctness of the same.
The government will provide more support to local small and medium enterprises (SMEs) which lack the technological knowhow enabling them to add value to finished goods, as this places them at a isadvantage to international peers and results in missed job opportunities for local residents. “In Rakhine State, for example, bamboo is cut down and directly imported to India. Most crops are exported raw. No value is added, which results in lower margins for cultivators and fewer jobs for the people,” said Daw Aye Aye Win, Director General of the Directorate of Industrial Supervision and Inspection (DISI). DISI falls under the remit of the Ministry of Industry and is responsible for helping SMEs gain access to technology, market access and financial support. DISI also conducts safety inspections at industrial workplaces. It said SMEs in the food industry are among the firms most in need of technological support. Around 60 percent of SMEs involved in producing and processing food need help in generating and adding value to their products so as to build quality and scale. “Even if demand is strong, raw or bad quality products will not gain much traction in the international market, where Myanmar products will be competing with goods from other countries. So, access to technology and training should be a priority for local SMEs that wish to gain international market share,” said Daw Aye Aye Win. This is true of locally produced tomatos as well as green tea and coffee, she said. As such, DISI will raise efforts to work together with the private sector to promote locally produced goods, including those made in the states and regions beyond Yangon. This will also help to raise exports and narrow the trade deficit, which is in line with the National Export Strategy, which prioritises products such as beans, pulses and oilseeds, fisheries, forestry products, textiles and garments, rice and rubber. Myanmar exports actually hit their highest level in 50 years in 2017-18, with rice exports estimated to have increased to 2.5 million-2.8 million tonnes compared to the previous estimate of 2.2 million tones. Garment exports also increased. However, improving rice and garment exports were not sufficient to narrow the current account deficit, now 5pc of GDP compared to 3.9pc last year. Imports, driven by strong domestic consumption of overseas goods and demand for capital goods to supply infrastructure projects, grew 12pc during the year, according to the Asian Development Bank (ADB). Based on estimates provided by the Asia Development Bank, the current account deficit will widen further to 5.4pc of GDP in 2018-19.
Source: Myanmar Times
Trained workers can help improve the productivity of ready-made garment (RMG) factories in Bangladesh by 5 per cent, according to a recent report by the International Finance Corporation (IFC). It also says that trained female operators in the garment factories have been promoted to become supervisors as they became more efficient after getting trained. IFC had carried out a training for 144 female sewing operators and mid-level managers in 28 garment factories in Bangladesh in collaboration with the Innovations for Poverty Action and Better Work Bangladesh back in 2016-17. About 92 of the 144 trainees were offered promotions and salary increments in a few weeks after completing the 2-month training. Close to 60 per cent of them have taken up the offers, states the ‘Cutting through the Cloth Ceiling’ report by IFC. A Work-Progression and Productivity Toolkit (WPT) was also provided to each of the female trainee and the training included five days of training in classroom to develop technical skills required for production line supervision. It also included a 4-day soft skills training on communications, leadership and on how to be an effective supervisor along with an on-the-job training of 8 weeks. The training led to an increase in the number of female supervisors in the participating factory. It went up to 11.86 per cent from 5.22 per cent before the training, according to the study. Training increases efficiency and is beneficial for female supervisors as well as the factories, said Wendy Werner, country manager, IFC Bangladesh. Over 2,000 people from the participating factories were interviewed for the survey. The study was led by Anaise Williams and Christopher Woodruff from the University of Oxford. (KD)
Source: Fibre2Fashion
Washington – The International Cotton Advisory Council (ICAC) reported that demand for cotton is on track to outpace supply for the 2018/19 cycle. The 2017/18 season was the third consecutive for growth in world cotton demand, with production at an estimated 26.6 tons and world mill use projected at 25.5 million tons. For the current season, decreasing stocks in China are being offset elsewhere. China’s cotton stocks are projected down to 9 million tons, while cotton production outside of China is projected at up to 10.3 million tons – marking the fourth consecutive season-to-season increase. But there is a caveat. “Along with weather issues in the Xinjiang region, which represents 75% of China’s cotton area, and potential drought conditions in West Texas affecting 25% of the US crop, there may be concern of quality supply gaps which may affect next season’s supply,” the ICAC cautioned. World cotton consumption is projected to increase to 26.7 million tons in 2018/19, while world cotton production is estimated at 25.7 million tons, the organization noted in its June report. Key takeaways:
Source: Home Textiles Today
Garment exports to the US grew 2.90 percent year-on-year to $1.87 billion in the first four months of the year as Bangladeshi manufacturers benefit from the Trump administration's abandonment of the Trans-Pacific Partnership. The TPP was a sweeping trade pact between the US and 11 other countries -- Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Canada, Mexico, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Brunei, Chile and Peru -- representing about 40 percent of the world economy. Before the US formally pulled out from the TPP in January last year, many American retailers were placing billions of dollars worth of work orders in Vietnam -- a major competitor of Bangladesh in global apparel trade -- hoping to enjoy zero-duty benefit under the mega trade deal. Now, American retailers are slowly coming back to Bangladesh, said Siddiqur Rahman, president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA). “I hope Bangladesh will continue to receive those work orders.” In the January-April period of 2018, Bangladesh was the sixth largest garment exporter to the US, according to data from the US Office of Textiles and Apparel. The US is the single largest export destination for Bangladeshi exports, with 90 percent being garment items. Another reason for the retailers' fresh patronage of Bangladesh's garment factories is the near-completion of remediation works by the Accord and Alliance, the foreign inspection agencies formed in the aftermath of the Rana Plaza collapse in 2013 to tangibly enhance workplace safety in the country's apparel factories. “So, our image has brightened up a lot,” Rahman said, adding that the depreciation of taka against the greenback was another factor going in favour of the garment exporters. The garment makers now get Tk 84 for every US dollar, which was Tk 80 even a year earlier. The rising export of value-added garment items was also another reason for the higher receipts in the first four months of 2018. Last but not the least, American retail sales has started picking up from December last year, which also fuelled the increased work orders, Rahman added. The failure of the other emerging garment-exporting nations like Cambodia and Ethiopia -- apart from Vietnam -- to successfully cater to the American retailers has sent the work orders flowing into Bangladesh again, said Kutubuddin Ahmed, chairman of Envoy Group, which exports nearly $150 million worth of garment items to the US in a year. This time, the local garment makers have been enjoying the benefit of shorter lead time as the sector's backward linkage integration has adequately been established, he said. “This factor has also been helping Bangladesh to achieve higher exports, a benefit that the other emerging countries do not have.” As a result, the 15.62 percent duty that apparel exports from Bangladesh are subjected to upon entry to the US is not working against Bangladesh's favour, he said. As of April, China sent $10.92 billion worth of garment items to the US, which is the highest. It was followed by India ($2.67 billion), Vietnam ($3.99 billion) and Pakistan ($928 million).
Source: The daily Star
Pakistan’s trade deficit swelled to $33.89 billion during eleven months (July 2017 to May 2018) of the ongoing fiscal year (FY2017-18), putting pressure on the country’s foreign exchange reserves, which are already under pressure. The country’s trade deficit went up by 13.4 percent in one year. The trade deficit was recorded at $29.9 billion during the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year (FY2016-17), according to Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS). Pakistan’s exports increased to $21.3 billion during July-May period of FY2017-18 as against $18.5 billion of the corresponding period of the previous year, showing growth of 15.28 percent. Similarly, Pakistan’s imports also increased by 14.12 percent during the period under review. The country imported goods worth $55.2 billion during July-May period of FY2017-18 as compared to $48.3 billion of the same period of last year. The exports increased due to the government’s incentives package and rupee depreciation against the US dollar. The government had recently extended the export package worth Rs195 billion for next three years i.e. up to 30th June 2021 to further increase the country’s exports. The package aims at improving the competitiveness of the textile and non-textile export sectors to continue the export growth in the coming financial years. In order to improve competitiveness and incentivize investment in export-oriented production, the Drawback of Local Taxes and Levies (DLTL) has been extended, on the same terms and conditions, for the commercial and manufacturer exporters. The zero rating of textile machinery imports and withdrawal of duty on manmade fibre other than polyester has been continued. Besides, in order to encourage more non-traditional sectors, electric fans, electrical appliances, electricity equipment and cables, transport equipment including motor bikes, sports bags, leather products e.g. leather wallets, auto-parts, stationery, furniture, fresh fruits & vegetables, meat & meat preparations including poultry, juices & syrups have also been included in the package. The federal government has extended the duration of Rs 3 per unit subsidy under Industrial Support Package (ISP) for another three months. According to the latest data of Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, Pakistan’s exports enhanced by 32.35 percent to $2.14 billion in May 2018 from $1.62 billion of May 2016. Meanwhile, the imports recorded a growth of 14.77 percent and reached $5.81 billion in May 2018 from $5.1 billion in the same period of the last year. Therefore, the trade deficit was recorded at $3.67 billion in May 2018 as against $3.45 billion of May 2017, showing an increase of 6.5 percent.
Source: The Nation
Several Vietnamese garment companies this year have maintained high growth in traditional markets, such as the United States, South Korea, the European Union (EU) nations and member states of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), according to the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association (VITAS). VITAS vice president and general secretary Truong Van Cam said a series of recently-signed free trade agreements (FTAs) is expected to boost the sector. As global demand for textiles and apparels grows only by 1-2 per cent annually, players face fierce competition, he said. Most FTAs have rules on product origin for fibre and fabrics while Vietnam imports up to 80 percent of materials, a Vietnamese news agency reported quoting Van Cam. While the EU offers zero per cent tax on apparel from Cambodia and Myanmar and the United States waives tax for several Cambodian goods, Vietnamese apparels are still subject to 17.7 per cent and 9.6 per cent tax when being exported to the United States and the EU respectively. VITAS called on the Vietnamese government to devise planning and grant licences to major garment industrial areas to attract investment in weaving and dyeing. (DS)
Source:Fibre2Fashion
