Shri Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) has called upon the Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) to take measures for increasing exports 2 times. He also emphasized on technology upgradation and research to improve quality and remain cost competitive in the global market. He was speaking while inaugurating the Virtual Workshop- A Joint initiatives of Apparel Expert Promotion Council and MSME Ministry through Video Conference, Shri Gadkari said Government is providing support through package announced recently for liquidity, stress management in the MSME sector. Shri Gadkari also touched upon the need for lab testing camp of the products and design from the part of global standards and called for having a centre for design. He further stressed upon the need to explore use of new source materials like bamboo in the textile industry. Referring to the enormous employability and important role of MSMEs in the economy, especially in rural, tribal and backward areas, Shri Gadkari asked apparel/textile industries to set-up clusters in these areas and contribute to their development and employment generation which is a big priority. The Minister appreciated the role played by AEPC for its good work and the quality of exports which he said may be further improved. The Workshop had participants from the MSME and apparel industry who joined online.
Source: PIB
According to a report by IANS, in the absence of any further funds allocation by the Finance Ministry, the online module for the Merchandise Export from India Scheme (MEIS) for exporters has been blocked from last week by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT). The blocking of MEIS, due to lack of allocations beyond the sanctioned Rs 9,000 crore, will be a blow to exports and exporters, already reeling under the disruption in global trade due to Covid-19 and the weak economic sentiment. Commenting on the development, Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) President S K Saraf said the government's intervention has been sought to resolve the issue as MEIS benefits are already factored by exporters in the prices and help in easing the liquidity of exporters which is severely impacted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Under the MEIS, the government provides duty benefits depending on product and country. Rewards under the scheme are payable as a percentage of realised free-on-board value and MEIS duty credit scrip can be transferred or used for payment of a number of duties including the basic customs duty. The commerce department has requested its revenue counterpart to reconsider its decision, and a communication has also been sent by Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on July 21.
Source: Economic Times
All income tax cases picked up for scrutiny, except those relating to search and seizure as well as international tax charges, will be assessed under faceless assessment beginning Thursday, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) said. The CBDT, which administers personal and corporate income tax, directed that “all assessment orders shall hereafter be passed by National e-assessment Centre through the Faceless Assessment Scheme, 2019”, except those related to central charges and international tax cases. The CBDT said this is being done to ensure that all the assessment orders are passed through Faceless Assessment Scheme, 2019. Nangia & Co LLP Partner Shailesh Kumar said the administrative order issued by the CBDT is part of implementation of taxpayers’ charter unveiled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday. “This order provides that the tax department will now onwards conduct only faceless assessments, except cases pertaining to central charges (essentially dealing with search and seizure cases) and international tax cases. This will substantially reduce interaction between taxpayers and tax authorities in assessment proceedings,” Kumar said. He said this will also help in speedy completion of assessment proceedings by tax authorities, as they will solely rely on written submissions filed by taxpayers instead of personal meetings/ discussions, which are sometimes more time consuming. Cases involving search and investigation (i.e. central charges) and international tax issues have been kept out of faceless assessment scheme, merely because of sheer complexity of issues generally involved in these cases, for which face to face interaction may still be required, Kumar added. “While, in principle, this is a welcome step taken by the government, still on implementation side, it will be important how tax officers handling faceless assessments understand cases based on written submissions only and a lot will also depend on quality of written submissions filed by taxpayers,” he said. In absence of clear and to the point submissions, it may result in unwarranted additions/ adjustments and future tax litigation, Kumar said. “So, both tax authorities and taxpayers need to be extra careful.” Under faceless scrutiny assessment, a central computer picks up tax returns for scrutiny based on risk parameters and mismatch and then allots them randomly to a team of officers. This allocation is reviewed by officers at another randomly selected location and only if concurred, a notice is sent by the centralised computer system. All such notices need to be responded electronically without the requirement of visiting a tax office or meeting any official. Since its launch on October 7, 2019, and the subsequent implementation, till July 2020 a total of 58,319 cases were assigned for first phase of faceless assessment, based on computer algorithms. Out of these, around 8,000 cases have been disposed of till July, with assessment orders issued without any additions and 291 cases wherein additions are proposed to be made have been submitted to the risk management unit. AKM Global tax Partner Amit Maheshwari said “in continuation on the push towards e-assessment, henceforth all assessments (barring a few cases) would be passed by National e-Assessment Centre. Also, it has been clearly mentioned that an assessment which is not in conformity with this would be deemed to have never been passed”. To facilitate better taxpayer services, the CBDT has reduced the percentage of I-T returns picked up for scrutiny. Income tax returns picked up for scrutiny have reduced to 0.25 per cent of the total ITRs filed in the assessment year (AY) 2018-19, from 0.55 per cent in AY 2017-18. The number was 0.71 per cent in AY 2015-16 and 0.40 per cent in AY 2016-17. Currently, most of the functions of the Income Tax Department starting from the filing of return, processing of returns, issuance of refunds and assessment are performed in the electronic mode without any human interface. Taking forward faceless assessment process, the CBDT will launch “faceless appeal” beginning September 25.
Source: Financial Express
India must aim to achieve 5 per cent share in world merchandise exports and 7 per cent in services exports by 2025, according to report titled ‘Re-orienting India’s Export Endeavour in the Covid-19 World’ released recently by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), which has outlined ten areas where action is required to boost exports. “The pandemic situation has impacted world trade negatively. However, it also provides a big opportunity for India to better engage with the world and boost its export performance. This is an opportune time for India to strengthen its domestic manufacturing through a strong partnership between the Government and Industry”, said CII director general Chandrajit Banerjee. “A key point in India’s export strategy must be to strengthen its participation in global value chains (GVC),” he added.One, an open and facilitative import environment is required to attract global companies and ensure competitive access to intermediate goods. In general, higher duties on finished goods and lower duties on intermediates should be applied. Two, the foreign trade policy should be brought out at the earliest to establish a stable and predictable export policy regime. Three, export finance must be expanded. The Interest Equalisation Scheme should be extended for another two years for all exporters, including the sector not representing micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), according to the CII report, which called for fast-tracking goods and services tax (GST) refunds that hold up working capital. Cesses should also be removed, it said. The capacities of the Export Import Bank and the Export Credit Guarantee Corporation need to be strengthened to raise resources and lower risks. Four, trade facilitation can be strengthened through digital tools for faster movement of goods at the border. It recommended reducing physical examination of goods, widening the Authorised Economy Operator programme, and ensuring Direct Port Delivery system. Five, the Trade Infrastructure for Export Scheme (TIES) must be extended and included under the National Infrastructure Pipeline. In the medium term, it is essential to draw up a comprehensive strategy for hinterland connectivity, CII said. Six, ease of doing business reforms need to be carried out by the state governments for enhancing competitiveness with monitoring at the chief secretary level. Time-bound approvals and effective on-ground implementation of single window system across all states are required. Further, allowing industries to directly purchase land from farmers, rationalisation of stamp duty, increasing threshold limits of certain labour laws and setting up of a single labour authority in the state for all inspections are recommended. States should also strategise for exports based on their strengths and develop export clusters. Seven, adequate funding for meeting quality standards and providing certification facilities is necessary to strengthen enterprise competitiveness, the report said. Eight, on the external front, India needs to leverage existing free trade agreements (FTAs) for exports and sign fresh FTAs with large market nations. India must also diversify its export basket to include more goods that are traded globally, such as electronics and machinery. Nine, for strengthening India’s participation in GVCs, the CII paper suggested openness to FDI for technology transfer. It also stresses on liberalization of the services sectors as services are embedded in manufactured goods. Gaps in standards and technical regulations must be bridged with more awareness and better facilities for exporters. Ten, marketing promotion in top markets is essential. CII suggests promoting ‘Brand India’ and setting up a dedicated marketing agency for key markets as well as expanding the Market Access Initiative and Market Development Schemes. The CII report includes specific measures for nine manufacturing sectors like automotives, chemicals, electronics, steel and textiles. India’s goods exports declined to $313 billion in 2019-20. Its share in global merchandise exports is 1.67 per cent, with a low share in top globally traded items. In services, it enjoys 3.54 per cent share.
Source: Fibre2fashion
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday launched a fully digitised system for the government’s unobtrusive interface with income taxpayers of all variety and buttressed it with a tax charter that spells out the rights and responsibilities of both the taxpayer and the taxman. He also hinted at a plan to have ‘fundamental reforms’ in the country’s tax structure. Launching a platform for “Transparent Taxation — Honouring the Honest” through video conferencing, he said ‘faceless asssessment’ and the charter had came into immediate effect, while the facility of faceless appeal would be available from September 25. Referring to Vivaad Se Vishwas sche-me for settling legacy disputes in direct taxes, Modi said nearly 3 lakh cases had been settled un-der the scheme that was launch-ed in the budget this year. Tax experts estimate the scheme, extended up to December 31 with full benefits including inte-rest and penalty waiver, could potentially help the governme-nt mop up close to Rs 1 lakh crore. About Rs 4.8 lakh direct tax disputes are pending in various legal forums, locking up over Rs 9 lakh crore in revenue. Of course, it is likely that the cases involving hefty tax claims would get settled via the judicial route, comprising tribunals, high courts and the apex court. Lamenting that the taxpayer base of the country’s very low relative to its population (1.5 crore actual taxpayers against population of 130 crore), the prime minister said, “The country’s tax structure needs fundamental reforms, as the current one, with its genesis during pre-independence colonial period, (has shortcomings). Even the several changes made during the post-Independent times did not alter its foundational character”. In recent years, the number of income-tax e-returns has seen a stellar rise across all categories of taxpayers (individuals, firms and companies), but the taxpayer base (including return filers, others who pay taxes, and whose income is below Rs 5 lakh threshold for zero tax) has grown at a much slower pace. This shows that a very large section of the assesees is finding ways, legitimately or otherwise, to claim nil tax liability. The rate of expansion of the taxpayer base has been less than creditable, especially given the fact that actual taxpayers in India is still a tiny fraction of the population as the prime minister mentioned, and very low in this relative term, compared to any developed/emerging market economies. For instance, in the 15 years to assessment year 2018-19, the number of individuals filing tax returns grew nearly 60%, but the number of people who paid taxes rose just by a fifth during the period. Clearly, bringing people under the tax net is one thing, and getting them pay their taxes, by making available fewer avenues for evasion or even for legitimate ‘tax avoidance’ is another. The recent year’s high growth in number of e-returns — which the government attributes to demonetisation and concerted efforts to promote compliance — has been primarily due to more among the existing assessees filing returns, rather than an increase in the number of new people/entities being added to the taxpayer base. Modi said the tax system used to put taxpayers in the dock where income-tax notices became a tool of harassment leading to discouragement of honest traders and businesses. “So far the system was that the tax department of the city in which the taxpayers are based would handle their returns. Notices, search, survey and assessment are done by I-T officials posted in that city. With the help of technology, the scrutiny cases will now be allotted in a random manner to any city and its tax department,” Modi said. For example, he added, a Mumbai-based taxpayer’s return could go to, say, Chennai, Raipur or Ahmedabad. Further, the assessment order passed by the team would be reviewed by another team in another city. While the extant system of manual assessment depends on one official’s decision, this would done by a team of three officials in the faceless assessment system. “The composition of a faceless assessment teams would also be randomised by the computer. This system would ensure that there won’t be any need for taxpayers and tax officials to get familiar with each other; the opportunity to influence and pressurise would also be zero,” Modi said. Further, he said that the department would also save on unnecessary litigation, and secondly it would also prevent undue focus on matters of transfers and postings. Similarly, appeal would also be faceless, Modi said. The taxpayers’ charter reiterates largely implied responsibilities of the I-T department towards the taxpayers including treating assessees with ‘courtesy, consideration and respect.’ It also says the department would behave with integrity and honesty, and treat taxpayers as honest unless there is reason to believe otherwise. “The department would have to trust the taxpayer and without any basis will not be suspicious of taxpayers. If there is some suspicion, taxpayers have the right to appeal and review,” Modi said on the taxpayers’ charter. The taxpayers can approach zonal heads to ensure compliance of the charter. Modi said that trust had been building between taxpayers and the department, as apparent from the cases scrutinised by the I-T department, which went from 0.94% of all returns filed in 2012-13 to 0.26% in 2018-19. In FY2018-19, over 6.3 crore taxpayers filed income-tax return but nearly three-fourth of these had declared annual income below Rs 5 lakh and paid no taxes. So only about 1.5 crore return-filers paid taxes.
Source: Financial Express
Travel restrictions and border closures imposed by countries as part of the initial policy response to contain the spread of coronavirus have directly affected trade in goods and services, according to an information note of the WTO. These restrictions and closures have disrupted freight transport, business travel and the supply of services that rely on the presence of individuals abroad, it said. It added that travel restrictions are likely to account for a substantial increase in trade costs for as long as they remain in place. The note has examined the pandemic's impact on key components of trade costs, particularly those related to travel and transport, trade policy, uncertainty, and identifies areas where higher costs may persist even after the pandemic is contained. ALSO READ: Health, privacy, Covid-19 driving paradigm shift in consumer behaviour: EY "Travel restrictions and border closures have been an important part of the initial policy response to the Covid-19 pandemic, and these measures have directly affected trade in goods and services," the note said. It added that while sea and land transports have not faced comparable shocks, maritime transport has seen a decrease in numbers of sailings, while international land transport has been affected by border closures, sanitary measures and detours. The World Trade Organization (WTO) is a Geneva-based multilateral body that deals with issues pertaining to global exports and imports. It has 164 members. India has been a member since 1995.
Source: Business Standard
The government modified some aspects of the e-assessment scheme introduced last year after Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled the Taxpayers' Charter. The nomenclature of the scheme has now been changed to "Faceless Assessment Scheme" from the existing "E-assessment Scheme". The most important aspect of the new procedure is the coverage of "best judgment assessment" in case of a non-co-operative assessee. Earlier, it could only be done by the jurisdictional assessing officer. Jurisdictional officers may sometimes be familiar with taxpayers and contact and convince them to co-operate with the assessment proceedings, especially in cases where taxpayers would miss the notices inadvertently. Now, even in these cases, assessment can be done on instructions of the national e-assessment centre (NeAC). "Thus, taxpayers would need to be extra careful to comply with the notices issues by the NeAC as missing of notices may result in issuance of adverse best-judgement orders, without the tax officer contacting, convincing them to complete the proceedings," said Shailesh Kumar, partner at Nangia & Co LLP.
Source: Business Standard
New Delhi: Call it irony, but tension between Africa and China has been raising despite the latters increased investments in the continent and loan waivers. The dragons investment in the continent surged from an estimated $75 million in 2003 to $5.4 billion in 2018. In September 2018, Chinese President Xi Jinping had announced another round of investment of $60 billion in the continent, which is rich in natural resources, including critical minerals. However, the growing economic dominance of the dragon in the region has not gone down well with most Africans, leading to a more intense anti-China sentiment. The locals have raised concerns over rising discrimination by the Chinese, abuse of labour laws and their regular interference in the internal political and economic matters. Notably, Xi also announced writing off interest-free loans extended to African countries and that were to mature in 2020. While the African governments showed their appreciation for Beijing, the move has made the locals even more wary. In June, three Chinese nationals, a textile warehouse owner and her two employees, were murdered in Zambia’s capital city of Lusaka — is testimony to the rising anti-China feelings. In the same month, two Zimbabwean workers were shot by their Chinese boss. However, the incident has been described by the Chinese embassy as an isolate case. The embassy also favoured a fair trial.China has been focusing on mining activities, which account for about 30 per cent of Beijing’s total foreign direct investment (FDI) in the continent. Big-ticket investments have also come from China under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). “China has been putting in money in Africa but there have been undercurrents and most Africans are unhappy and suspicious of the Chinese,” a foreign policy analyst said. India-Africa Today (IAT), a forum focusing on India-Africa relations, noted that despite huge investments by China, Africans mostly see them as exploitative and untrustworthy. The common people in Africa have not gained much through China’s investments and infrastructure projects, India-Africa Today added. “Africans have a natural inclination and attachment towards India and Indians, given the colonial past and consequent cultural linkages between India and Africa. Though Indian diaspora is present in more than 40 African countries, India-Africa relations have remained slow-paced and sluggish for several decades,” Rao Narender Yadav, IAT founder said. By investing heavily in large-scale infrastructure projects, China has managed to create huge diplomatic and political influence in several parts of Africa, Yadav pointed out. “In contrast, India’s engagement remains slow-paced and confined to business interests only with no or little interference in Africa’s internal issues,” he added
Source: Kashmir Monitor
ISF's suggestions, which will soon be submitted to the nance ministry for consideration, comes at a time when the government is working on ways to bring these workers underthe social security net. ISF has already submitted its recommendations to NITI Aayog and the labour ministry for consideration. The Indian Staffing Federations has suggested the government allow income ta rebates to individuals and enterprises who declare the domestic workers and other unorganised workers they hire as this would help in quick formalisation of 39 crore unorganised workforce in the country. ISF's suggestions, which will soon be submitted to the nance ministry for consideration, comes at a time when the government is working on ways to bring these workers under the social security net. ISF has already submitted its recommendations to NITI Aayog and the labour ministry for consideration. “Bringing jobs to relocated labourers or workers into a parallel industry can be incentivized by giving a tax break for creating opportunities for migrant workers,” it said. ISF has suggested the government provide the remitter the benets of ICT against GST for all enterprises and corporates including the MSME sector, provide tax rebate of the said GST contribution and social security contribution from income tax returns of the individuals thereby driving the focus towards formalization. Further, the staing federation has suggested the government urgently implement the four labour codes and do not allow states to take the lead in labour reforms. Besides, it has urged the government to frame labour-centric policies with focus on enhanced wages in-hand and lowering the threshold for coverage so that more and more people come under the formal net. “Instead of doing things in isolation, let us have a long term vision to bring the 39 crore unorgansied workers into the formal workforce over the next 10 years,”Lohit Bhatia, president of the Indian Stating Federation said. According to Bhatia, the stating companies can co-contribute to skilling and can become mobilisers in rural India to help millions of workers get jobs in their districts or nearby areas. ISF is of the view that the loss of employment leading to reverse migration of 12.20 crore daily wage workers, loss of jobs for ve crore domestic workers, lack of social security for two crore gig workers and fear of job losses for 12.20 crore MSME workers is putting a lot of the financial pressure on government and industry. ISF has one million workers in its fold.
Source: Economic Times
The Rajasthan government is planning to join hands with the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) for cultivating a vibrant and synergised micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) ecosystem in the state. SIDBI would set up a project management unit (PMU) to assist certain cluster-based sectors like textiles in Bhilwara and handicraft in Jodhpur. At a recent meeting with state government officials, SIDBI representatives highlighted various clusters where they would like to work and how they would reach out to small entrepreneurs, using their expertise for providing consultation, appropriate solutions and guidance for availing benefits under current schemes. “With the active participation of the consultants provided by SIDBI, the cluster level challenges of MSMEs would be easier to address and MSMEs will also be able to avail benefits under relevant schemes,” Archana Singh, state industries commissioner was quoted as saying by a news agency. The partnering agency of SIDBI will identify the Institutional, factor and demand constraints for MSMEs in the state, she said. The SIDBI team will create a strategy of cluster-based value chain for resource optimisation, setting up of a resource centre for cluster-level consultation and a help desk as well as empowerment of the concerned industry associations.
Source: Fibre2Fashion
New Delhi, Aug 13 (PTI) Aditya Birla Group firm Grasim Industries Ltd on Thursday reported 66.61 per cent decline in consolidated net profit at Rs 620.74 crore for the first quarter ended June 2020, impacted by disruption in economic activities due to COVID-19 pandemic-induced lockdown. The company had posted a net profit of Rs 1,859.61 crore during April-June quarter of the previous fiscal, Grasim Industries said in a regulatory filing. Its revenue from operations declined 32.24 per cent during the quarter under review to Rs 13,621.10 crore as against Rs 20,103.04 crore in the corresponding period of previous fiscal. "The results should be seen in the light of the unprecedented disruption in economic activities due to the COVID-19 induced lockdown in all the major markets during the quarter and the resultant demand & supply chain disruptions," Grasim Industries said in a statement. Total expenses stood at Rs 12,860.78 crore in the quarter under review as against Rs 17,478.16 crore in the year-ago quarter. Revenue from viscose - pulp, viscose staple fibre and filament yarn segment declined 77.75 per cent to Rs 558.12 crore in Q1 of FY2020-21 as against Rs 2,509.11 crore a year ago. According to the company, the domestic textile industry was severely impacted by the extension of lockdown in key manufacturing hubs and reduced labour availability. "The operational and financial performance of the viscose business was subdued for the months of April and May 2020 due to lockdown, but witnessed a steady improvement in the month of June 2020 and thereafter, with a rise in the capacity utilisation across the plants to 79 per cent currently," it said. Revenue from cement business UltraTech was down 33.15 per cent to Rs 7,633.75 crore as against Rs 11,419.74 crore in the corresponding quarter of previous fiscal. "General disruption as a result of the lockdown impacted the business performance," Grasim said, adding that some encouraging trends were seen during the latter part of May 2020 after steps to open up the economy were taken by the government. Revenue from chemicals segment fell 53.16 per cent to Rs 704.20 crore from Rs 1,503.49 crore in the first quarter of 2019-20. "In the chemical business, the chlorine derivatives products demand remained strong driven by demand from disinfectant and hygiene products," the company said. During the quarter, caustic soda production staged a strong recovery in volumes as capacity utilisation improved to 70 per cent in the month of June after a low of 23 per cent utilisation witnessed in April. Revenue from financial services segment, Aditya Birla Capital, was up 10.79 per cent to Rs 4,016.74 crore as against Rs 3,625.23 crore a year ago. "The NBFC and housing finance lending book stood at Rs 58,073 cr in Q1/FY21. The core operating profit in NBFC and housing finance was maintained despite slow recovery under lockdown. "The business continues to have strong focus on quality of book and has reduced ticket sizes across the board," the company said. On outlook, Grasim Industries said with easing of lockdown conditions and gradual resumption of economic activities, demand for the company's products is expected to rise in the coming quarters "The company with its inherent financial strength, operational excellence, and diverse product portfolio - cement, financial services, viscose and chemicals - is well poised to withstand temporary disruptions and sustain leadership across its businesses," it said.
Source: Outlook India
The moratorium period of six months on servicing of loans, enabled by RBI has greatly helped the company in managing the liquidity situation. Morarjee Textiles informed the exchanges on Tuesday that the company’s capital and sanctioned financial facilities remain intact. However, the profitability of the company has been adversely affected due to continued fixed costs and loan servicing costs with very low levels of sales. The long term impact on profitability will depend on the nature and time taken for recovery of business. The company is facing liquidity concerns owing to delay in receivable collections. It has been focusing on collections of the receivables to meet the operating payments. The company has implemented very strict cost control measures to conserve liquidity. The moratorium period of six months on servicing of loans, enabled by RBI has greatly helped the company in managing the liquidity situation. The existing financing arrangements may need to be reworked based on evolving business situation to support liquidity needs. The company sees no immediate impairment on any of its assets due to Covid-19. The Internal financial reporting and control have been maintained during the Covid-19 period. With the emerging concept of work from home, various Information Technology and Cyber Security measures have been taken for data protection. After easing down of lockdown the company has not faced any major supply chain problem. Outbound supply chain continues to be marginally affected due to many localised lockdowns in many parts of the country. The movement of goods was impacted during lockdown period creating disruptions on the supply side. In addition, many of the manufacturing units from whom the company sources its raw material were closed. While there may be some difficulties in sourcing the raw materials in a timely manner, the company has been carrying Inventory of rawmaterials just before announcement of lockdown that will take care for couple of months. Due to Covid-19 the overall demand for fabric and apparel has decreased substantially due to slow down of retail activities and cut back by end consumers in discretionary spending. The demand is expected to revive towards end of FY21. There have been delays in meeting payments to suppliers, service providers of the company. Many of the customers have kept contracts on hold or cancelled orders due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Due to lockdown the company’s overall operations, including manufacturing operations were shut down from March 22 till May 15, 2020 to comply with Government guidelines. At present, the company is operating at single shift basis. The office operations have been started as per Government guidelines. In Lockdown 3, the manufacturing was started in Nagpur plant with limited manpower from May 16, 2020. Other than manufacturing at Nagpur Plant, all other operations of the company continued in limited way through remote mode (work from home) using various digital mediums and ERP during the lockdown period. Morarjee Textiles Ltd is currently trading at Rs11.20 down by Rs0 or 0% from its previous closing of Rs11.20 on the BSE.
Source: India Infoline
The European Union reimposed customs duties on many of Cambodia’s exports on Wednesday (12 August), suspending its trade arrangement over concerns about human rights. Trade commissioner Phil Hogan stressed that while Brussels stands by Cambodia in battling the coronavirus, “Our continued support does not diminish the urgent need for Cambodia to respect human rights and labour rights.” “We have provided Cambodia with trade opportunities that let the country develop an export-oriented industry and gave jobs to thousands of Cambodians,” he said. Now, Cambodia has lost its access to the EU’s “Everything But Arms” trade arrangement for least developed countries, which will hit typical exports such as garments, footwear and travel goods. These products represent around 20% of Cambodia’s exports to the EU and will now be subject to the general tariffs applied under World Trade Organisation rules. Hogan said he would restore tariff-free access if the EU sees “substantial improvement” in Cambodia’s human rights record. Cambodia’s textile sector employs 700,000 people. Total trade between the two partners was €5.6 billion last year.
Source: Daily Mirror
· Says firms apprehensive about relying on a single destination for supplies
· Notes impact of COVID-19 moderate on firm due to its new product portfolio
The ongoing conflict between the USA and China could be in favour for nations such as Sri Lanka since global apparel companies are looking to expand their sourcing options, South Asia’s largest textile group and knit fabric provider, Teejay Group said. The textile group, which is also Sri Lanka’s only multinational mill, said that the trade war between the two giants has pushed the global apparel industry to actively look at alternate manufacturing centres, an opportunity economies in the South Asian region could capitalise on. “The US-China trade tensions could have positive ramifications for garment centres such as Sri Lanka and others within the South Asian region. Moreover, due to the COVID-19 outbreak, companies are apprehensive about relying on a single destination for their supply chain, thus are moving away from China and looking at the South Asian region,” said Teejay Lanka Chairman Wing Tak Bill Lam in the company’s latest annual report. Pointing out that supply chain strategising to maintain the total supply chain within a country and mitigating its reliance on a single destination may become a reality in the future, with consolidation within industries also being part of the COVID-19 impact, he said that Teejay is ideally poised to leverage on opportunities arising since it has facilities in India as well. Lam stressed that the company continues to adjust itself in the ‘new normal’, so that it functions in full capacity and remains cognisant of seizing opportunities as the firm emerges in the new dynamics. “The group remains optimistic about the future while aiming to ‘shockproof’ the business by preparing a contingency plan. Its new business development efforts and switch-over to manufacturing PPE-related products reflect its ability to evolve fast,” he added. Acknowledging that the apparel industry as a whole will be affected by the impacts arising from the global pandemic, Lam expressed confidence that the impact of the ongoing global crisis will be moderate on the company. Reason being, the group will continue to manufacture masks as long as COVID-19 exists and developed already is a collection of post-COVID fabrics, which focuses on defensive fabrics such as antiviral/antimicrobial defences, textiles with carbon compounds, in addition to the sustainable fabric collection.
Source: Daily Mirror
The measures include re-integrating into the labour market those who have lost their jobs or who have experienced a reduction in working hours, ensuring youth access to unemployment insurance benets, and measures to boost their mental health - from psychosocial support to sports activities, ILO said in its report. The International Labour Organisation has called for urgent, large-scale and targeted policy responses from governments across the globe to protect a whole generation of young people from having their employment prospects permanently scarred by the crisis as it fears the pandemic would have a devastating eect on the education and training of young people and their work. The measures include re-integrating into the labour market those who have lost their jobs or who have experienced a reduction in working hours, ensuring youth access to unemployment insurance benets, and measures to boost their mental health - from psychosocial support to sports activities, it said in its report. “The pandemic is inicting multiple shocks on young people. It is not only destroying their jobs and employment prospects, but also disrupting their education and training and having a serious impact on their mental well-being,” Guy Ryder, director-general, ILO said. As per the report, this has had an impact on their mental well-being. The survey found that 50% of young people are possibly subject to anxiety or depression, while a further 17% are probably aected by it. The report further said that 38% of young people are uncertain of their future career prospects, with the crisis expected to create more obstacles in the labour market and to lengthen the transition from school to work. Some have already felt a direct impact, with one in six youth having to stop work since the onset of the pandemic. Many younger workers are more likely to be employed in highly aected occupations, such as support, services and salesrelated work, making them more vulnerable to the economic consequences of the pandemic. Forty-two per cent of those who have continued to work have seen their incomes reduced, it added.
Source: Economic Times
Taipei, Aug. 13 (CNA) Taiwan's exports to six countries in South Asia in the first seven months of 2020 saw their biggest ever year-on-year fall, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) reported on Thursday. Due to lockdown restrictions and border control measures imposed by governments across the globe amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Taiwan's outbound shipments to India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bhutan plunged 35.7 percent from the same period last year to US$2.122 billion. The figures fell to roughly the same as the US$2.143 billion posted in 2004, when data was first recorded, MOF data showed. From 2004-2010, Taiwan's exports to the six South Asian countries, mainly rubber, chemicals, basic metals and conventional products, rose from around US$2.1 billion per year to US$5 billion per year, peaking at US$6.37 billion in 2011 as a result of economic expansion in some of those countries, the same tallies indicated. Taiwan's exports to the six countries fell 10 percent to US$5.46 billion in 2019, following a string of annual increases, due to lower demand for plastic products from South Asian countries. India, the largest market in the region, imported US$1.255 billion worth of Taiwanese products from January to July, a 36.9 percent decrease year-on-year, chiefly caused by a drop in exports of rubber, chemical, textile, machinery and mineral goods to the country. Bangladesh, the second largest export market for Taiwan in the region, bought US$460 million worth of Taiwanese products during the same period, a 33.3 percent fall from the previous year. Pakistan saw the largest contraction of 41.9 percent in imports from Taiwan, which reached US$243 million in the seven-month period, while Sri Lanka imported US$158 million of Taiwanese products, a 19.7 percent decline, MOF statistics showed. Meanwhile, Taiwan's exports to Nepal and Bhutan totaled less than US$6 million during the same period, the MOF said.
Source: Focus Taiwan
