Industrial growth depends on a number of factors including structural, external, fiscal and industrial factors. The moderation in India’s industrial growth coincides with deceleration in growth of global output. The sudden outbreak of COVID-19 has severely impacted some of the major economies of the world. It has affected countries across the globe including some of the major players like USA, European Union, UK, and India. Both World Bank and IMF estimate contraction in global GDP for FY 2020-21 due to the spillover effects of the lockdown to curb the spread of COVID-19 pandemic. Various sectors were affected due to the nation-wide lockdown. However, after the lockdown was relaxed, improvement has been witnessed in several sectors of the economy. Government has implemented several measures to address the sluggish growth of industries, which, inter-alia, include:
(i) Relief measures have been taken for MSMEs such as collateral-free lending program with 100 percent credit guarantee, subordinate debt for stressed MSMEs with partial guarantee, partial credit guarantee scheme for public sector banks on borrowings of non-bank financial companies, housing finance companies (HFCs), and micro finance institutions, Fund of Funds for equity infusion in MSMEs, additional support to farmers via concessional credit, as well as a credit facility for street vendors (PM SVANidhi), amongst others.
(ii) Several Regulatory and compliance measures have been taken, viz. postponing tax-filing and other compliance deadlines, reduction in penalty interest rate for overdue GST filings, change in government procurement rules, faster clearing of MSME dues, IBC related relaxations for MSMEs, amongst others.
(iii) Structural reforms have been announced as part of the Aatmanirbhar Package which, inter alia, include deregulation of the agricultural sector, change in definition of MSMEs, new PSU policy, commercialization of coal mining, higher FDI limits in defence and space sector, development of Industrial Land/ Land Bank and Industrial Information System, revamp of Viability Gap Funding scheme for social infrastructure, new power tariff policy and incentivizing States to undertake sector reforms.
(iv) Government has launched National Infrastructure Pipeline, expanded Phased Manufacturing Programme, Production Linked Incentive Schemes and is creating Centralised Investment Clearance Cell for end to end support for investment. Empowered Group of Secretaries and Project Development Cells have been set up to facilitate domestic and foreign investment. Further, reduction in EPF contributions, employment provision for migrant workers; insurance coverage for workers in the healthcare sector; and wage increase for MGNREGA workers and support for building and construction workers, collateral free loans to self-help groups are some other relief measures.
(v) Common digital platform for Certificate of Origin has been launched to facilitate trade and increase Free Trade Agreement utilization by exporters. Government is promoting districts as export hubs by identifying products with export potential in the District, addressing bottlenecks for exporting these products and supporting local exporters/manufacturers to generate employment in the District.
This information was given by the Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Shri Piyush Goyal, in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha today.
Source: PIB
Government is implementing a Credit Linked Scheme called Amended Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme (ATUFS) for technology upgradation of the textiles industry including MSMEs to facilitate augmenting of investment, productivity, quality, employment, exports along with import substitution in the textile industry. The scheme envisages to promote ease of doing business in the country and achieve the vision of generating employment and promoting exports through “Make in India’’ with "Zero effect and Zero defect" in manufacturing. Every eligible individual entity is entitled for reimbursement of Capital Investment Subsidy (CIS) under this scheme, as per the following rates:
|
Sl. No. |
Segment |
Rate of Capital Investment Subsidy (CIS) |
|
1. |
Garmenting, Technical Textiles |
15% subject to an upper limit of Rs 30 crores |
|
2. |
Weaving for brand new Shuttle-less Looms (including weaving preparatory and knitting), Processing, Jute, Silk and Handloom. |
10% subject to an upper limit of Rs 20 crores |
|
3(a)
|
Composite unit /Multiple Segments - If the eligible capital investment in respect of Garmenting and Technical Textiles category is more than 50% of the eligible project cost. |
15% subject to an upper limit of Rs 30 crores |
|
3(b) |
Composite unit/ Multiple Segments - If the eligible capital investment in respect of Garmenting and Technical Textiles category is less than 50% of the eligible project cost. |
10% subject to an upper limit of Rs 20 crores |
To promote the handloom sector, including individual weaver and various Groups of weavers and to innovate new designs, product diversification with the help of designers, the Government of India is implementing Block Level Cluster component under National Handloom Development Programme (NHDP) and Comprehensive Handloom Cluster Development Scheme (CHCDS). Skill upgradation and distribution of upgraded looms and accessories is also provided under these Schemes. Presently there is no proposal to collaborate with the Ministry of Commerce & Industry to encourage handloom production under one district one product. India is the only country in the world where there is large number of handloom for production of handloom textiles/products and it has the capabilities also to further innovate in production technology on handlooms. However, to promote marketing and sales of handloom products in domestic as well as overseas markets, the Government of India facilitates and provide financial assistance for participation in overseas fairs and exhibitions and organising handloom expos across the country. Such trade events provide platform to the handloom agencies to sell their products directly to domestic as well as overseas customers by eliminating middlemen. To promote e-marketing of handloom products, a policy frame work has been designed and under which any willing e-commerce platform with good track record can participate in online marketing of handloom products. Accordingly, 23 e-commerce entities have been engaged for on-line marketing of handloom products. Virtual platform for organising exhibitions across the globe has been adopted recently where The Indian Textile Sourcing Fair was organised through this platform on 7th, 10th and 11th August 2020. The show has attracted considerable attention of the International Buyers. Beside above, to make the textile sector competitive by rebating all taxes/levies in international market, the Government has decided to continue the RoSCTL (Rebate of State and Central Taxes and Levies) scheme until such time the RoSCTL scheme is merged with Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products (RoDTEP) scheme. For this purpose, the Government has approved adhoc allocation of funds of Rs. 7398 crore for FY 2020-21 for issuance of duty credit scrips under RoSCTL scheme. Further, in order to boost exports in MMF sector, Government has removed anti-dumping duty on PTA (Purified Terephtallic Acid), a key raw material for the manufacture of MMF fibre and yarn. This information was given in a written reply by the Union Minister of Textiles, Smt. Smriti Zubin Irani in Rajya Sabha today.
Source: PIB
The Government of India has announced a special economic package viz. Aatma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan for boosting economy of the country and making India self-reliant. Relief and credit support measures have been announced for various sectors including MSMEs. The weavers & artisans/karigars can avail benefits of these relief and credit support measures to revive their businesses. Apart from the above special economic package, the Ministry of Textiles has also been taking following initiatives for the benefits of handloom weavers and artisans across the country: -
Taking a step towards realizing “Aatma Nirbhar Bharat”, Handloom Export Promotion Council has endeavored to virtually connect the Handloom Weavers and exporters from different corners of the country with the International Market. With more than 200 participants from different regions of the country showcasing their products with unique designs and skills, THE INDIAN TEXTILE SOURCING FAIR was organized on 7, 10 and 11th August 2020. The show has attracted considerable attention of the International Buyers.
Under the above schemes, financial assistance is provided for raw materials, purchase of looms and accessories, design innovation, product diversification, infrastructure development, skill upgradation, lighting units, marketing of handloom products and loan at concessional rates.
1. National Handloom Development Programme (NHDP)
Hathkargha Samvardhan Sahayata (HSS) was introduced on 1st December 2016 with an objective to provide looms/accessories to the weavers to enhance their earnings through improved productivity and quality of the handloom products. Under the scheme, 90% of the cost of loom/accessory is borne by the Government of India while remaining 10% is borne by the beneficiary. The Government of India’s share is released to the supplier through Weavers’ Service Centre.
Ministry of Textiles has signed Memorandums of Understanding with Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) and National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) to secure educational facilities for the weavers and their families. NIOS offers Secondary and Senior Secondary level education with specialized subjects on design, marketing, business development, etc. through distance learning mode for handloom weavers, whereas IGNOU offers continuing education programs through accessible and flexible learning opportunities relevant to the aspirations of handloom weavers and their children for career progression.The programme envisages reimbursement of 75% of the fee towards admission to NIOS/IGNOU courses in case of SC, ST, BPL, and Women learners belonging to handloom weavers’ families.
2. Comprehensive Handloom Cluster Development Scheme:
The Comprehensive Handloom Cluster Development Scheme (CHCDS) is targeted at development of Mega Handloom Clusters in clearly identifiable geographical locations covering at least 15000 handlooms with the Government of India (GoI) contribution upto Rs.40 crore per cluster over a period of 5 years. Components such as conducting diagnostic study, corpus for raw material, etc., are fully funded by the Government of India (GoI) whereas components like lighting units, technological up-gradation of looms and accessories are 90% funded by the GoI. Other components such as creation of infrastructure for design studio/ marketing complex/garmenting unit, marketing development, assistance for exports and publicity are 80% funded by the GoI. 08 Mega Handloom Clusters viz. Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh), Sivasagar (Assam), Virudhunagar(Tamil Nadu), Murshidabad (West Bengal), Prakasam & Guntur districts (Andhra Pradesh), Godda & neighbouring districts (Jharkhand), Bhagalpur (Bihar) and Trichy (Tamil Nadu) have been taken up for development.
3. Handloom Weavers’ Comprehensive Welfare Scheme
Weavers Comprehensive Welfare Scheme (HWCWS) is providing life, accidental and disability insurance coverage under the components Pradhan Mantri Jivan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY), Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY) and Converged Mahatma Gandhi Bunkar Bima Yojana (MGBBY).
4. Yarn Supply Scheme:
Yarn Supply Scheme is being implemented throughout the country to make available all types of yarn at Mill Gate Price. The scheme is being implemented through National Handloom Development Corporation. Under the Scheme freight is reimbursed and depot operating charges @2% is given to depot operating agencies. A component of 10% price subsidy also exists on hank yarn, which is applicable on cotton, domestic silk, wool and linen yarn with quantity caps. This information was given in a written reply by the Union Minister of Textiles, Smt. Smriti Zubin Irani in Rajya Sabha today.
Source: PIB
The government brought in the Banking Regulation (Amendment) Bill to safeguard the interest of depostitors, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Tuesday, as the Rajya Sabha passed the Bill. With the Covid-19 pandemic further straining the financial position of many urbancooperatives, the government brought in the Banking Regulation (Amendment) Bill to safeguard the interest of depostitors, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Tuesday, as the Rajya Sabha passed the Bill. The Banking Regulation (Amendment) Bill, 2020, was already approved by the Lok Sabha last week. It seeks to bring urban and multi-state co-operative banks under the central bank’s regulations to better protect the interests of depositors and avoid a PMC Bank-like crisis in future. The Bill also empowers the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to make a scheme for restructuring a stressed bank without imposing a moratorium on the withdrawal of deposits. It will also help the central bank better scrutinise the affairs of these co-operative banks. Once made into a law with the Presidential assent, it will replace an Ordinance, which was promulagated in June in the wake of the pandemic. The financial status of 277 urban cooperative banks (almost a fifth of the total) is weak and 105 cooperative banks are unable to meet the minimum regulatory capital requirement, according to Sitharaman. Similarly, 47 co-operative banks have net worth in negative. As many as 328 urban cooperative banks have gross non-performing asset of more than 15%, the minister had told the Lok Sabha last week. The Covid-19 pandemic has hit most of the co-operatives much harder than the commercial banks. There are 1,482 urban and 58 multi-state cooperative banks in the country with 8.60 crore depositors, having total savings of close to Rs 5 lakh crore. Last week, Sitharaman cited the case of the PMC Bank where depositors couldn’t withdraw their money beyond a limit for months, as the central bank had to impose a moratorium in September 2019 due to a non-performing asset crisis there. The minister has said the government had to promulgate an ordinance for a “timely intervention” because the financial health of many of the cooperative societies that were performing as banks was becoming “very delicate”. The crisis in the co-operative banking sector flared up last year, when PMC Bank was found to have given over Rs 6,700-crore loan to a single realty company HDIL through alleged fraudulent means. It also hid the stress from the RBI by creating separate books of accounts. The crisis hit millions of its depositors, mostly small ones. The proposed amendments, however, are not applicable to primary agricultural credit societies, cooperative land mortgage banks and any entities which did not use the terms ‘bank’, ‘banker’ or ‘banking’ in their name or in connection with their business.
Source: Financial Express
Government has banned certain apps in June 2020 and September 2020 on concerns of security and to ensure safety and sovereignty of the Indian cyberspace. Many apps are available on each of the popular playstore namely Google PlayStore and Apple Store including competing apps with similar functionalities. Government of India has also launched Digital India AatmaNirbhar Bharat Innovate Challenge to give a push to Indian App ecosystem through short listing of the top Indian Apps that have the potential to become global competitors in their respective categories. Due to the impact of COVID-19 pandemic there were several global and domestic supply side constraints and also a dip in global demand. India’s imports from China during April-July 2020 decreased to USD 16.60 billion from USD 23.45 billion in the corresponding period of the previous year i.e April-July 2019. The details of the imports of Top 50 commodities from China in April-July 2020 compared to April-July 2019 are given at Annexure. Some of the items exhibiting decline in imports include electronic components, telecom instruments, computer hardware, industrial machinery for dairy, electric machinery, residual chemical and allied products, consumer electronics, electronic instruments, fertilisers, products of iron & steel etc. To minimise the impact of such disruptions, Government has taken steps to expand domestic capacities and has implemented policies to promote domestic manufacturing through ease of doing business and Production Linked Incentives (PLIs) in select sectors including mobile phones & electronic components and medical devices & bulk drugs. Government has also sensitized stakeholders to source critical imports from diversified sources through the active support of our missions.
The full impact of these measures on the industry will be discernible as the global economy recovers, and revives from the recessionary affects of the pandemic.
|
Annexure |
|||
|
India’s top 50 Import of Principal Commodity Groups from China, during April- July, 2019 and April- July 2020 |
|||
|
|
|
|
|
|
RANK |
COMMODITY GROUPS |
2019-20 (APR-JUL) |
2020-21 (APR-JUL) |
|
IMPORT FROM CHINA |
IMPORT FROM CHINA |
||
|
VAL (MILL US $) |
VAL (MILL US $) |
||
|
1 |
ELECTRONICS COMPONENTS |
2029.44 |
1156.15 |
|
2 |
TELECOM INSTRUMENTS |
1850.1 |
1509.13 |
|
3 |
COMPUTER HARDWARE, PERIPHERALS |
1589.51 |
1395.34 |
|
4 |
INDL. MACHNRY FOR DAIRY ETC |
1423.96 |
931.77 |
|
5 |
ORGANIC CHEMICALS |
1248.71 |
1069.92 |
|
6 |
ELECTRIC MACHINERY AND EQUIPME |
916.61 |
497.5 |
|
7 |
RESIDUL CHEMICL AND ALLED PROD |
906.74 |
857.36 |
|
8 |
BULK DRUGS, DRUG INTERMEDIATES |
860.85 |
859.66 |
|
9 |
ELECTRONICS INSTRUMENTS |
801.71 |
706.72 |
|
10 |
CONSUMER ELECTRONICS |
680.02 |
473.76 |
|
11 |
FERTILEZERS MANUFACTURED |
581.24 |
361.2 |
|
12 |
AC, REFRIGERATION MACHNRY ETC |
589.52 |
379.4 |
|
13 |
PRODUCTS OF IRON AND STEEL |
600.9 |
385.43 |
|
14 |
PLASTIC RAW MATERIALS |
521.71 |
272.91 |
|
15 |
AUTO COMPONENTS/PARTS |
424.32 |
246.33 |
|
16 |
IRON AND STEEL |
438.68 |
309.22 |
|
17 |
MANMADE YARN,FABRICS,MADEUPS |
379.03 |
185.57 |
|
18 |
OTHER MISC. ENGINEERING ITEMS |
373 |
214.88 |
|
19 |
ALUMINIUM, PRODUCTS OF ALUMINM |
408.77 |
174.29 |
|
20 |
OTHER COMMODITIES |
339.45 |
203.27 |
|
21 |
ACCUMULATORS AND BATTERIES |
329.55 |
140.66 |
|
22 |
PLASTC SHT, FILM, PLTS ETC |
287.5 |
145.95 |
|
23 |
MACHINE TOOLS |
259.52 |
153.8 |
|
24 |
GLASS AND GLASSWARE |
266.51 |
129.06 |
|
25 |
AGRO CHEMICALS |
321.43 |
377.65 |
|
26 |
CRANES, LIFTS AND WINCHES |
200.29 |
189.18 |
|
27 |
INORGANIC CHEMICALS |
248.01 |
164.56 |
|
28 |
MEDICAL AND SCIENTIFIC INSTRUM |
200.53 |
205.64 |
|
29 |
OTH NON FEROUS METAL AND PRODC |
199.4 |
112.8 |
|
30 |
OTHER CONSTRUCTION MACHINERY |
196.83 |
149.79 |
|
31 |
MOULDED AND EXTRUDED GOODS |
191.43 |
108.82 |
|
32 |
OTHER PLASTIC ITEMS |
204.52 |
66.76 |
|
33 |
OTHER MISCELLAENIOUS CHEMICALS |
212.37 |
240.96 |
|
34 |
PAPER, PAPER BOARD AND PRODUCT |
208.02 |
101.74 |
|
35 |
OTH TXTL YRN, FBRIC MDUP ARTCL |
180.72 |
78.69 |
|
36 |
CERAMICS AND ALLIED PRODUCTS |
165.58 |
97.36 |
|
37 |
PROJECT GOODS |
153.3 |
107.1 |
|
38 |
HANDCRFS(EXCL.HANDMADE CRPTS) |
156.28 |
168.08 |
|
39 |
PAINT, VARNISH AND ALLID PRODC |
148.74 |
110.66 |
|
40 |
PETROLEUM PRODUCTS |
60.58 |
68.83 |
|
41 |
HND TOOL, CTTNG TOOL OF METALS |
113.69 |
79.47 |
|
42 |
ATM, INJCTNG MLDING MCHNRY ETC |
118.77 |
69.71 |
|
43 |
PLYWOOD AND ALLIED PRODUCTS |
90.05 |
39.03 |
|
44 |
IC ENGINES AND PARTS |
89.57 |
58.78 |
|
45 |
COTTON FABRICS, MADEUPS ETC. |
83.88 |
32.34 |
|
46 |
PUMPS OF ALL TYPES |
70.75 |
54.97 |
|
47 |
RAILWY TRNSPRT EQUIPMNTS, PRTS |
76.36 |
57.98 |
|
48 |
PRIME MICA AND MICA PRODUCTS |
66.08 |
37.97 |
|
49 |
FOOTWEAR OF RUBBER/CANVAS ETC. |
66.02 |
22.24 |
|
50 |
DYE INTERMEDIATES |
77.26 |
47.14 |
|
Total IMPORT of 50 Commodities |
22007.79 |
15607.52 |
|
|
TOTAL IMPORT |
23452.75 |
16600.74 |
|
This information was given by the Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Shri Piyush Goyal, in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha today.
Source : PIB
India is in the process of finalising the proposed free trade agreement with Mauritius which is aimed at further strengthening economic ties between the countries, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Wednesday. The proposed India-Mauritius Comprehensive Economic Cooperation and Partnership Agreement (CECPA) seeks to mutually benefit both the countries in the area of trade in goods and services, he was quoted as saying in a statement. "At present, we have a number of different comprehensive partnership arrangements with countries around the world and we are in the process of finalising a CECPA with Mauritius," Goyal said at the CII-EXIM Bank Digital Conclave on India Africa project partnership. He also said that recently India and the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) decided for early resumption of negotiations for a preferential trading agreement (PTA). The SACU consists of Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa, and Swaziland. A PTA is slightly different from a free trade agreement (FTA). In FTA, two sides reduce or eliminate duties on the maximum number of products they trade in, whereas in a PTA, the tariffs are eliminated or cut on certain number of items. The minister said that in the near future, India will be happy to work more closely with the African free trade zone. Further, he said India will continue to support Africa through lines of credit in priority sectors such as agriculture, irrigation, health, digital technology, power plants, transmission lines, and rail infrastructure. As of June 2020, India has committed USD 12.7 billion for 40 countries in Africa on highly favourable terms, he added. The bilateral trade, he said, grew from about USD 7 billion to nearly USD 67 billion in the last 20 years and "it has tremendous potential for further growth in the years to come". India is the fifth largest investor in African continent with a cumulative investment of over USD 54 billion in the last few years in areas like oil and gas, mining, banking, and textile. "There is a huge scope for manifold increase in Indian investments in the wake of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AFCTA)," he said, adding "we can mutually benefit through establishment of India-Africa value chains in many areas such as textiles, pharma, auto, agro processing and information and communication technology".
Source: Business Standard
With income-tax appeals going faceless from Friday, will all writs and appeals at the higher level such as the income-tax tribunal or high court have to be filed in Delhi? This is among taxpayers’ key concerns as all orders will be issued through the National e-Assessment Centre in Delhi. However, senior officials at the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) have clarified that the appeals at the tribunal or high court will be filed in the state where the assessee resides. Though all appeals till the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) level will go faceless, personal hearing...
Source : Business Standard
The ruling is in contrast to one from Gujarat High Court that had allowed claims of such refunds. Experts said the two rulings are bound to create confusion for taxpayers, especially e-commerce companies that were hopeful of getting refunds as per the Gujarat court order. The Madras High Court has ruled that refund of unutilised input tax credit would not be available to companies facing inverted duty structure under goods and service ta (GST) regime. The ruling is in contrast to one from Gujarat High Court that had allowed claims of such refunds. Experts said the two rulings are bound to create confusion for taxpayers, especially e-commerce companies that were hopeful of getting refunds as per the Gujarat court order. “Post VKC ruling by Gujarat HC, many e-commerce companies and other companies who have huge amounts of accumulated input service tax credit, were hopeful of getting the refunds. With this adverse order, they would now need to re-strategize,” said Harpreet Singh, partner for indirect taxes at KPMG India. The Gujarat High Court had allowed VKC Footsteps Pvt Ltd in July to claim unutilised input tax credit stating that credit was derived from inputs, irrespective of them being related to services or goods under the Central GST Act. The rm was facing higher tax rates on inputs of goods and services but a lower tax rate was being levied on output of the goods so manufactured. This was leading to inverted duty structure due to which input tax credit was getting accumulated but was unutilised by the company. However, the Madras High Court has ruled that input services do not form part of the calculations for computing input tax credit, dismissing a bunch of petitions seeking refunds of input tax credit. “It is not necessary to interpret Rule 89(5) and, in particular, the denition of net ITC (input tax credit) therein so as to include the words input services,” the Court said, adding that Section 54(3)(ii) curtails a refund claim to the unutilised credit that accumulates only on account of the rate of tax on input goods being higher than the rate of tax on output supplies. It has also noted that the Gujarat HIgh Court had ' failed to take into consideration the scope, function and impact of the proviso to Section 54(3)(ii).' Experts added that the issue will nd nal settlement through the Supreme Court, as assessees may want to rely on the Gujarat HC ruling but tax authorities would prefer to rely on the Madras HIgh Court ruling. “Diering judgements will lead to confusion and litigation, which can get settled at Supreme Court, till then taxpayers will have to deal with the rejection of refund for inward supplies of services on account of inverted duty structure leading to impact on cash ow,” said Nirmal Singh, Partner- Indirect Tax, Nangia Andersen LLP.
Source: Economic Times
The economy can be revived only by boosting consumer sentiments, which are weak and need measures like discount vouchers from the government to spur the pending, FICCI President and Apollo Hospitals Joint Managing Director Sangita Reddy said on Wednesday. The government needs to literally pump up the economy with some more spending at a time when around 20 million jobs have been lost and there is a fear of "uncertainty" amid the coronavirus pandemic, Reddy said. He was speaking at a panel discussion on 'Outmanoeuvring Uncertainty' at the Global Business Summit here. "What we need to do significantly is to ramp up demand stimulus. Factories are saying we have gone up to 60-70 per cent production, credit lines are better, little bit of export orders are coming back into play," she said. Reddy, however, added that the consumer sentiment is weak. "Without (strong) consumer sentiment, you will not have the economy coming back." The government needs to come out with more direct cash transfer as far as possible, especially with the festive season around the corner, she said. She said FICCI has given recommendation to the government to say why do not you give consumption vouchers. "So, if there is a significant discount, 30-50 per cent discount, which is backed by government spending, this would be one more methodology to ramp up the demand," Reddy said. Calling for no more sporadic lockdowns to curb the pandemic, she said the government also needs to ensure that while pushing for the normalcy, the lifting of lockdown is perfect and economy on all fronts, including aviation, come back. At the same time, the government should also continue with the macro-economic reforms, she said. Talking at the panel, Vedanta Group CEO Sunil Duggal said that as far as the revival of the economy is concerned, the government should not worry at this point of time about inflation. They should pump in more money into the economy, even if they have to borrow money for this purpose as some push has to come from somewhere to "click and kick". The whole cycle will become better when somebody will kick in, somebody will put in some stimulus, he said while putting emphasis on more spending towards infrastructure as it will create jobs as well. The government should also be brave about the reforms like labour reforms, as "there are end-number of pain areas the industry is facing today and I think the government is mindful about this", he said. Piyush Singh, senior MD and lead India market unit of Accenture, said although demand in the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector is more or less back on track, it may take 6-9 months for demand to fully recover. Tata Motors Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Guenter Butschek said the automobile industry volume in this financial year is likely to go back to the 2010-11 levels. He added that lowering of taxes would bring down the total cost of owning a vehicle.
Source : Business Standard
The Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) implements various schemes and programmes for promotion and development of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) throughout the country. These include the schemes/programmes such as Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP), Scheme of Fund for Regeneration of Traditional Industries (SFURTI), A Scheme for Promoting Innovation, Rural Industry and Entrepreneurship (ASPIRE), Entrepreneurship and Skill Development Programme (ESDP), Credit Guarantee Fund Scheme for Micro and Small Enterprises, Credit Linked Capital Subsidy - Technology Up-gradation Scheme (CLCSTUS), Micro & Small Enterprises - Cluster Development Programme (MSE-CDP), National Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe Hub (NSSH), etc. Under Atmanirbhar Bharat, Government recently announced a special economic and comprehensive package of Rs. 20 Lakh crore for all the sections of the society including Industries and MSMEs. Government has taken a number of initiatives to support the MSME sector in the country which include the following;
The Prime Minister has launched an online Portal “Champions” on 01.06.2020. The portal covers many aspects of e-governance including grievance redressal and handholding of MSMEs. Through the portal, 19,593 grievances have been redressed upto 17.09.2020. The Government has notified Public Procurement Policy for Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs) Order, 2012 under MSMED Act. Under this policy, 25% of annual procurement by Central Ministries /Departments/Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) has to be made from Micro & Small enterprises. This includes 4% from MSEs owned by SC/STs and 3% from MSEs owned by Women entrepreneurs. 358 items are reserved for exclusive procurement from MSEs. The Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development (MSMED) Act, 2006 contains specific provisions to deal with cases of delayed payments of the Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs). Under the provisions of the Act, Micro & Small Enterprises Facilitation Councils (MSEFC) have been set up in the States/UTs. These Councils can be approached by the MSEs for resolution of delayed payment cases by way of conciliation and/or arbitration. Ministry of MSME has launched SAMADHAAN portal to enable Micro & Small Enterprises (MSEs) to directly register their cases on the portal relating to delayed payments by Central Ministries / Departments/ CPSEs/ State Government & other buyers. Ministry of MSME implements a scheme namely “Building Awareness on Intellectual Property Rights (IPR)”, to encourage registration of IPR by MSMEs. Under the scheme, financial assistance is provided to MSMEs on grant of IPR. During the FY 2019-20, Rs. 9.41 crore was released under the scheme. This information was given by Shri Pratap Chandra Sarangi, Minister of State for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises in written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today.
Source : PIB
As a measure to help the MSMEs grow, the Government, vide notification no.S.O. 2119 (E) dated 26.06.2020, has notified composite criteria of classification of MSMEs based on investment in plant and machinery or equipment and turnover of the enterprise. The new criteria is effective from 1.7.2020. However, to provide hassle free transition from old system of Udyog Aadhaar Memorandum to Udyam Registration, 31.03.2021 has been fixed as deadline. The New criteria provides that the turnover with respect to exports will not be counted in the limits of turnover for any category of MSME units whether micro, small or medium. There is no difference between manufacturing and service sector enterprises. The actual figures for Turnover with different investment limits depend upon a variety of socio-economic factors such as demand from consumers, Inflation, availability of labour and raw materials, price fluctuations, etc., in different cases. There is no uniform investment / turnover ratio. The new composite criteria is expected to bring about many benefits. This will also help in attracting investments and creating more jobs in the MSME sector. Moreover, the Udyam registration portal developed by this Ministry has facilitated MSMEs by providing the MSMEs to link themselves with
Source: PIB
The Kolkata Port Trust (KoPT), rechristened as the Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port, is investing on digital technologies and has lined up at least Rs 40 crore for various projects to bolster ease of doing business, an official said on Wednesday. The port authorities are undertaking an ambitious project to develop an integrated e-marketplace to facilitate coastal shipping, he said. "This e-marketplace will be a single-window system for all coastal shipments. It will facilitate an integrated, transparent and hassle-free online system for the coastal shipping stakeholders," the port chairman Vinit Kumar said. An RFID-based port access control system (PACS) is already in place in both Kolkata Dock System and Haldia Dock Complex, for addressing traffic congestion at gates. "But, now it will go beyond tracking trucks. Now, every container can be located with the same technology in any yard by their owners," Kumar said. To eliminate the paper-based information exchange, the port authorities streamlined the process for adoption of electronic delivery order (eDOs) under the port access control system for import containers. Now, the Kolkata dock ranks second among the major ports of India in the issuance of eDOs, the Port Said in a statement. The SMP, Kolkata started a dedicated COVID-19 web portal for its users to provide latest updates related to its operations and initiatives. A separate web portal for employees and pensioners was also developed to facilitate the online information exchange.
Source: Business Standard
Coimbatore, Sep 23 (PTI) The textile industry has to manage the COVID-19 crisis on its own and face the challenge in value addition while the government would be a facilitator and support the industry, Textile Commissioner, Mumbai, Roop Rashi said on Wednesday Addressing the 14th CEO conference SIMS TEXPIN 2020 organised by the Southern India Mills Association (SIMA) virtually, Rashi said the textile markets are strong domestically but the problem the industry faces today due to COVID-19 would be shorter. Stating that the structural issues on raw material would be addressed soon, she said that it is for the industry to utilise the opportunities, diversify, innovate, scale-up and build global brands. The role played by the textiles during the pandemic is for the benefit of the medical fraternity and it is marvellous, said a SIMA press release quoting the official. The official assured to consider a lot of suggestions from the industry and said there were certain procedural wrangles in the implementation of Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme and the need to make it industry-friendly. Rashi asked the industry to grab the space left by China, even as smaller countries like Bangladesh and Vietnam overtake India in textiles and cloth exports despite the country having a large production capacity. Later, the 61st annual general meeting of SIMA re-elected Ashwin Chandran as its chairman, Ravi Sam as deputy chairman and S K Sundararaman as vice-chairman for 2020-21, the release said.
Source: Outlook
Production falls by 50%with reduced demand for cotton yarn With migrant workers returning to home towns, mills are facing shortage of workers It is expected to take another 6 months before any turnaround in the situation Guntur: Spinning mills in the state are facing shortage of workers as many migrant workers from Odisha had returned to their native places due to closure of mills during lockdown. According to Spinning Mills Association sources, every spinning mill would engage 1,000 3,000 workers in three shifts. At present, there are 72 spinning mills in the state, which engage more than 1lakh workers. The workers who went to their native places did not return. As a result, the mills are facing 30 percent labour shortage. Some mill managements are providing advance payment for the workers to come back. Shortage of workers, reduced demand for cotton yarn in domestic and international markets, fall of cotton yarn exports led to reduction in production. The mills earlier produced yarn worth Rs30 crore a day, now it has come down to Rs15 crore per day. There are no cotton yarn exports due to Covid-19. Earlier, most of the spinning mills worked three shifts, now only two shifts are going on. This reduced the revenues to the managements. Cloth mills, readymade garment units in Coimbatore and Gujarat have already reduced cotton yarn purchase due to less demand for cloth and readymade garments. There is a fall demand for textiles during the festivals and marriage season due to reduced income during pandemic. The revenues of the mills went down due to cut in production. As a result, owners are not in a position to pay loan installments in time resulting rise in NPAs from 25 percent to 80percent. Speaking to The Hans India, Andhra Pradesh Spinning Mills Association vice-president G V Krishna Reddy said, "Earlier, we had exported 90 percent of cotton yarn to China. Due to outbreak of coronavirus and border disputes, China stopped cotton yarn imports from India. This is one of the reasons for lack of demand for cotton yarn. If the demand for cloth and readymade clothes increase, then demand for cotton yarn will too increase in the days to come. I hope it will take another six-months for the demand to rise for cotton yarn."
Source: Han India
From the response to the pandemic to increased statism, as Ruchir Sharma argues, India is relatively badly placed It is no surprise India doesn’t find a place among the big winners in the post-pandemic era as listed by Morgan Stanley Investment Management’s chief global strategist Ruchir Sharma. Even without the pandemic, India was crawling, having posted a depressing 3.2% year-on-year (y-o-y) growth in the March quarter which dragged down the FY20 number to an embarrassing 4.2%. India comes in at a middling 13 out of 25 largest emerging countries on Sharma’s post-pandemic screen and ranks among the top ten in just one of the four key categories. That is despite having the advantage of a large domestic consumer catchment which makes it less vulnerable in a de-globalising world. The other plus—India hasn’t lost too much share in global trade—is a small one. The fact is India isn’t on its way to becoming a Vietnam, which probably stands to gain the most from the China-plus-one strategy that many nations are considering. Also, unlike in the post-World War II period when nations exported their way to success, in an era of deglobalisation, that is not possible either. All of which means growth rates of 7% and 8% are going to be very hard to come by. Indeed, in this new environment, Sharma believes that post-March 2022—which is the earliest we can hope to be back at pre-Covid levels— it would be difficult for India to clock in more than 5% on a sustainable basis. In his matrix, India scores poorly on three key parameters, ranking, for instance, 13th on government competence thanks to the rising corona curve—64 deaths and more than 4,030 cases per million. It does worse on the government-debt and deficits metric, slipping to the bottom half of the EM class, at number 19. As Sharma points out, India went into the pandemic with a high fiscal deficit and public debt and, consequently, expectations of any big stimulus—that could boost growth—need to be tempered. Again, India does only slightly better at digital sophistication—which includes investment in R&D—coming in at number 16. It is no secret that, at barely 0.5% of GDP, our R&D spends are much lower than those in other EMs where it is 2.5-3%. That then makes it hard to boost productivity. Already, several years of stagnating investments—primarily in the private sector—and, more recently, decelerating consumption are killing growth; GFCF contracted in the last three-quarters of FY20 and was a negative 47% y-o-y in Q1FY21. Most promoter groups today don’t have the financial muscle to make large investments, with their wealth getting diluted. Sharma is concerned that India today has fewer large companies for foreign investors to invest in as. Also, it is unfortunate that most of the wealth created in the startups sector, with its 30-odd unicorns, belongs overseas. Even more worrying, he says, is the regulatory overkill and the cynicism where the political and social narrative is vilifying the business class. It can’t be a good sign if entrepreneurs want to take capital out of the country. The government would do well to heed these concerns and to ensure a level-playing field across sectors; it also needs to make sure regulation is fair and that companies are not harassed by tax authorities. Sharma also points out a policy of statism and socialism is taking away resources from infrastructure build-outs. That is not the route to success which other East Asian nations took.
Source: Financial Express
India offers Africa an honest partnership and its cooperation is aimed at empowering the countries rather than extracting from local communities, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Tuesday. Though he did not mention China in his remarks during an online conclave on IndiaAfrica partnership, the reference appeared to be directed at the communist nation. The external affairs ministers said India can promise to be Africa's "most steadfast" partner, and identified maritime security as the new frontier in cooperation between the two sides. India has been traditionally a close partner of the African continent. However, China has been ramping up its economic influence over the resource-rich continent over the last few years. "India offers Africa an honest partnership, and room to maximise its space under the sun and multiply its options. Africa is of course not without options, and by no stretch does India claim to be the only one. "However, what we can promise is to be Africa's most steadfast partner. Do remember that despite the pandemic and through the lockdown, we kept our critical supply lines open to Africa," he said. He asserted that India continued to bring to Africa the best of its developmental experiences at home and that its partnership sought to empower rather than extract from local communities. Highlighting India''s partnership with Africa, the external affairs minister said New Delhi has executed 194 developmental projects in 37 African countries and was currently working to complete 77 additional projects in 29 countries, with a total outlay of USD 11.6 billion. The projects ranged from infrastructure to information and communication technology, from power generation and distribution to water and irrigation, from railways to roads, agriculture to sugar plants, he added. Jaishankar also outlined how Indian investment has created jobs and opportunities in African countries in energy, mining, banking, textiles and other sectors. He also mentioned about India's investment of about USD 7 billion in a gas field in Mozambique as well as energy investments in South Sudan, north and west Africa. "India is Africa's third-largest export destination. With a cumulative investment of USD 54 billion, it is also one of the biggest investors in the continent," Jashankar said. "Indian capital has created jobs and opportunities in various African countries in energy, mining, banking, textiles and other sectors. A more seamless continental market only promises more for Indian business," he added. The external affairs minister also said any broader global rebalancing is incomplete without the genuine re-emergence of Africa, expressing India''s strong commitment to supporting the continent in its development journey. He said India welcomes the evolution and rise of the continent as a key factor in the contemporary world. He said India''s relationship with Africa is based on four key pillars -- development partnership, trade, people-to-people contact and cooperation in defence and security sector. Jaishankar said India is also looking at the continent for cooperation in the energy sector. "For India, Africa''s rise as one of the global system''s poles is not just desirable but it is absolutely necessary. In fact, it is fundamental to our foreign policy thinking," he said. "Since 2015, 34 high-level visits at the level of the President, Vice President and the Prime Minister have taken place to Africa. This is unprecedented for such a span," he said. He said India now has residential missions in 38 African countries and more missions are being set up. Jaishankar also talked about the impact of the coronavirus pandemic and said its consequences will be far-reaching and will define the world order as decolonisation did in 1950s and 1960s. "The pandemic is the most debilitating global event of the past 80 years. We are at a point in history that is comparable to the aftermath of the Second World War," he said. The pandemic has infected more than 31 million people and killed nearly 9,60,000 around the world. "The challenge to the global economy, to the reliability of supply chains and the achievement of the sustainable development goals should not be discounted. We are certainly looking at greater unpredictability as we do at greater multipolarity," Jaishankar said.
Source: One India
Jaipur: State industries minister Parsadi Lal Meena inaugurated the five-day virtual International Textile and Apparel Fair, ‘Vastra 2020’, organised by RIICO and FIICI-Rajasthan. Over 249 buyers from 62 countries from Africa, Europe, America and other regions have registered for the expo while over 276 Indian buying houses and agents have registered. Over 80 exhibitors are participating from garments, home furnishings, home textiles and fabric sectors. “In the present situation when travel and social interaction is limited, the virtual edition of Vastra will provide an apt platform to the textile and apparel industry to connect with the buyers across the globe to grow their business progressively,” Meena said.
Principal secretary to the chief minister and chairman, RIICO, Kuldeep Ranka, who was also part of the inauguration, said, “Today, when we are facing a global pandemic, the economy has been gravely impacted, particularly the exports. In tandem with efforts made by the central and state governments for growth, RIICO has also announced relief packages for entrepreneurs as well as many financial and non-financial incentives.” Delivering the opening address, chairman, FICCI Rajasthan State Council, Ashok Kajaria said that presently when business sentiments are down all across the globe and physical events have been put on hold, virtual expos have opened up new avenues for generating new business. ‘Vastra 2020: Virtual Edition’ will help in re-energizing and rebooting the textiles and apparel business all across the globe. The main aim of the mega-event is to bring back the synergies and synchronise all the stakeholders on one platform for business generation. After the Covid-pandemic, orders of many exporters have been cancelled or postponed. Even as the lockdown opened, the buyers have been asking steep discounts of up to 40%. “People wanted to sell the stock at whatever price they were offered. They wanted liquidity to start a fresh cycle of demand and production. Coming to the expo, this is a very productive exercise because we are getting reconnected to our buyers again. This will surely help a lot of businesses in the state,” said a member of Garment Exporters Association of Rajasthan (GEAR), which is supporting the event.
Source: Times of India
To strengthen The Philippines’ trade with the European Free Trade Association (EFTA)— Switzerland in particular—the Philippine department of industry-export marketing bureau (DTI-EMB) and the Swiss Import Promotion Programme (SIPPO) are conducting a market study on three key export products of the Philippines: natural fibre and textiles; processed food and natural ingredients. Non-governmental organisation Swisscontact, as SIPPO’s implementing body, DTI-EMB and the embassy of Switzerland in The Philippines signed an agreement to implement the project that is expected to be completed in December 2020. SIPPO is an initiative of the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) that aims at integrating developing and transition countries into world trade. The market study aims at learning EFTA markets’ trade regulation, market access requirements and market demand. It will also determine the unique selling position of Philippine products in their market and acquire information on potential importers, according to a press release from DTI. “The results of this study will guide our exporters, especially the MSMEs in the sectors of processed food, natural ingredients, and natural fibers, on how to effectively promote their products in these markets thus enabling them to maximize the benefits of our bilateral free trade agreement with EFTA,” said DTI-EMB director Senen Perlada. Since June 1, 2018, the EFTA-Philippines Free Trade Agreement has been offering preferential treatment for trade in goods and services. EFTA comprises Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland and was established during the Stockholm Convention in 1960. In 2019, Philippine exports to EFTA were valued at $433.81 million while imports were valued at $384.19 million. Total Philippine trade with EFTA was valued at $817.99 million while the balance of trade was valued at $49.62 million. Switzerland was the largest export market of the Philippines among the EFTA nations valued at $417 million, while imports were valued at $351.79 million. Total Philippine trade with Switzerland was valued at $817.99 million.
Source: Fibre2Fashion
The government has called a meeting of the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet to approve the removal of additional custom and regulatory duties on a number of textile items and consider waiving guarantee fee on about $5.7 billion Chinese loans for nuclear power plants. To be presided over by Finance Adviser Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, the meeting is also expected to shift immunisation programme from development budget to revenue budget and approve disbursement of salaries to the employees of Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM) for current fiscal year. The six-point agenda of the meeting also includes two technical supplementary grants of Rs102 million and Rs85m to Islamabad High Court and National Heritage & Culture Division, respectively. An official said the removal of additional customs duties (ACD) and regulatory duties (RD) on selected items of textile sector were part of efforts to make Pakistani products competitive in the world under the National Tariff Policy 2019-24. He said the powers for removal of customs duties belong to parliament and hence could only be taken up through the finance bill but it had been decided at the level of Tariff Policy Board that any proposal about change in ACD or RD would be processed at any time through the ECC. He said Pakistan’s tariff structure was still highest in the neighbourhood which was not only making it difficult to match regional competitors in the global market but also hampering sales in the domestic as there were a number of textile-related raw items which were imported involving ACDs and RDs. The official continued these duties were being removed in many cases and reduced for other items, with the existing rates of 10 per cent, 20pc and 30pc would be brought down to 5pc, 10pc, and 15pc, respectively. The Ministry of Commerce had been advocating that ACDs and RDs on those fibres or yarn which are not locally made should be reduced, for example on flax fibre, nylon yarn and jute etc. Another official said the ECC would take up a request of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) for waiver of about Rs15-20 billion loan guarantee fee on about $5.7bn Chinese loans for two Karachi-based nuclear power plants (K-2 and K-3) of about 1,100MW each. The two projects are almost complete now and set to be part of the national grid shortly. The two plants were approved by the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) in July 2013 at an estimated cost of Rs958bn for which Economic Affairs Division (EAD) had signed with China Exim Bank three loan agreements of about $6.5bn. An $810 million loan was taken by EAD as a federal loan while remaining two loans of about $5.668bn were given to PAEC in 2015 as a direct borrower with Government of Pakistan guarantee. This chunk of the loan attracted EAD’s loan guarantee fee at the rate of 0.5pc per annum. The PAEC had been advocating that Chinese bank had transferred the loan to it on the request of the centre and the guarantee fee was not part of the PC-1 approved by Ecnec and its lateral application would jack up the per unit cost of electricity. Hence, the fee should be either waived as part of government efforts to reduce power costs.
Source: The Dawn
Following wider corporate commitments made by Lenzing Group in 2019 to drive sustainability and combat climate change, Tencel, Lenzing's flagship brand for textiles, has introduced its very first carbon-zero Tencel branded lyocell and modal fibres to the market. Available from September, this fibre will help reduce the production emissions. Following the strict guidelines of The CarbonNeutral Protocol, the leading global framework for carbon neutrality, carbon-zero Tencel branded fibres are certified CarbonNeutral products for the textile industry. This means that the emissions associated with the fibres production, manufacturing and distribution have been calculated and offset. Under the guidance of the Tencel “true carbon zero” campaign, the Tencel brand is contributing to Lenzing’s commitment to the Science Based Targets (SBT) initiative and its continuous support of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals to limit global warming. To date, the Lenzing Group is the first wood-based fibre manufacturer with approved Science Based Targets in the industry. Lenzing’s goal is to reduce its specific greenhouse gas emissions by 50 per cent by 2030. In addition to offering new sustainable options to the textile and fashion industry, the new carbon neutral fibres show a clear commitment to Lenzing’s earlier announcement of investing more than €100 million in reducing carbon emissions in its operational boundaries and supply chain. Biodegradable and derived from botanic origin, fabrics produced using carbon-zero Tencel fibres will have a third party verified label, offering a new level of sustainable transparency to Lenzing’s customers, brands and consumers. In addition to having a higher environmental value, the fibres will also feature the functional benefits of standard Tencel branded fibres including gentleness on the skin, long-lasting softness, silky smoothness, enhanced breathability and colour retention. With the priority of achieving continuous reduction of carbon emissions through more efficient production methods across the entire supply chain, using renewable energy sources and embracing new technologies, Lenzing is also working with the leading experts on carbon neutrality and climate finance, Natural Capital Partners, to achieve CarbonNeutral product certification for Tencel Lyocell and Modal fibres. Natural Capital Partners requires an independent third-party assessment of the products’ carbon footprint and works with the highest quality carbon finance projects which produce verifiable, additional and permanent emission reductions that meet International Carbon Reduction and Offset Alliance (ICROA) approved standards. Furthermore, carbon-zero Tencel fibres are produced using renewable energy, whilst also monitoring and engaging with suppliers. “By achieving CarbonNeutral product certification for two Tencel fibres, Lenzing has taken an important step in its long-term journey to reduce its company and product emissions. Not only that, but due to the position of Lenzing in the supply chain of many fashion retailers, this certification sends a message of commitment to climate action for the textile industry. We are delighted to be working with Lenzing and look forward to supporting the company to achieve its future climate commitments,” Tom Popple, senior manager, climate change and sustainability at Natural Capital Partners, said in a press release. Until carbon emission levels can be completely eradicated, the Tencel brand will take actions to offset emissions by supporting verified global carbon reduction projects in areas that are linked to the textile industry, such as India, Bangladesh or Thailand. “We as a company and brand have taken steps to reduce our footprint, but not all emissions are avoidable. This motivates us to act on a global level and we found possibilities to help and support the avoidance of CO2 emissions around the world. The concept of carbon compensation through offsetting helps to contribute to carbon reduction through verified climate finance projects,” Florian Heubrandner, vice president of global business management textiles at Lenzing, said. “In the midst of such a climate crisis, Lenzing believes that every company must take action against global warming within its sphere of influence. We are extremely excited to embark on this new initiative featuring CarbonNeutral product offerings under the Tencel brand. This is a new step forward for Lenzing’s overall corporate goal, enabling us to assist supply chain partners and motivate textile brands in reassessing carbon emissions in their production lines. Looking forward, we will continue to diversify our product portfolio following stringent internal guidelines that help to avoid greenwashing and involves consumers in the carbon neutral discussion,” Heubrandner said.
Source: Fibre2Fashion
