From the rollback of customs duty on key electronic components to fast tracking delivery of goods imported from China, players are looking for incentives on several counts.
The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved revision in guidelines for providing direct to home (DTH) services in the country under which licenses would be issued for 20 years, Union minister Prakash Javadekar said. The Union Cabinet has also approved 100 per cent FDI in the DTH broadcasting services sector, Javadekar said, adding that while the commerce ministry had spoken of 100 per cent FDI in the DTH sector, the guidelines of the information and broadcasting ministry needed to be changed.
Reflecting lack of enthusiasm about the SEZs, 20 more promoters have sought additional time from the government for implementing their projects, taking the number of developers seeking extension to over 200.
The government has imposed a penalty on e-commerce major Amazon for not displaying mandatory information, including the country of origin, of products sold on its platform, according to an official order. Last month, the consumer affairs ministry had issued notices to e-commerce majors Flipkart and Amazon for not displaying such information. The ministry has imposed a fine of Rs 25,000 on Bengaluru-based Amazon Seller Services as well as each of its directors as per the provisions of the Legal Metrology Act, 2009 and the Legal Metrology (Package Commodities) Rules, 2011.
The central government is expected to complete the auction of the 5.9-million tonne (mt) lithium reserves discovered in the Reasi district of the northern Union Territory (UT) of Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) by the end of this calendar year, Union Mines Secretary Vivek Bharadwaj said on the sidelines of the launch of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Ficci) report on 'New-Age Energy Minerals' on Tuesday. "Auction will be over by the end of this year," said Bharadwaj, adding, "We have already recommended a transaction advisor to the J&K government for the auction of lithium reserves." However, the exact timeline for an auction will be decided by J&K authorities, Union mines minister Pralhad Joshi said in Parliament last month.
HCL Tech was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rising around 3 per cent, followed by Tech Mahindra, Tata Steel, Wipro, NTPC and Titan. Nifty advanced 187.05 points to 16,801.25.
Although India's exports have started growing again after several months of decline, commerce ministry sources told Business Standard that the extension is being considered to sustain growth and stabilise it at 15 to 20 per cent.
'It is unclear whether clothing or home items qualify as essential items. A lot of professionals are working from home, and they need electronics for their productivity. Does this qualify as essential?'
With rising incomes, education, and health awareness in India, especially in the big cities, droves of people are saying no to sugar.
In its recommendations to the finance ministry, the commerce ministry has made a strong case for helping exports, particularly in the labour-intensive sectors like leather, textile and handicrafts.
Sheikh Hasina was on Thursday sworn in as the prime minister of Bangladesh for the fifth term, days after her Awami League won an overwhelming majority in the general elections boycotted by the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and its allies.
Samridhi Bhardwaj analyses the dynamics of duty-free liquor allowance in India.
Government should make it clear as to whether the Duty Entitlement Passbook scheme will continue beyond June.
DIPP's proposal is believed to have the support of the ministry of consumer affairs, food and public distribution and was originally mooted by the Forward Markets Commission.
The court said Shroff is a celebrity and this status inherently grants him certain rights over his personality and associated attributes.
A decision to tap the 30 countries for exporting wheat was taken at a meeting of the commerce ministry on Thursday.
Commerce Ministry has sought clarification from Finance Ministry over calculation of profits from SEZ units.
Eyeing $9 billion business opportunity in booming e-commerce business, India Post, which has the biggest network and serves the last mile, is boosting its infrastructure for real-time tracking of parcels through satellites using a new technology.
The ban has been in force since last Friday.
The finance ministry had strongly opposed the hike announced by the commerce ministry.
The Centre is unlikely to offer new direct tax incentives for units operating in special economic zones (SEZs) and may instead allow the grandfathering of previous exemptions that such units were entitled to, according to proposed amendments to the SEZ Act, 2005, people aware of the matter said. The amendments, proposed by the commerce department, will soon be considered by the Cabinet for approval. This represents a departure from the department's earlier plan to introduce these changes through the Development Enterprises and Services Hubs (DESH) Bill, 2023, which faced strong criticism from the ministry of finance.
The growth in world trade is expected to slow down to one per cent in 2023, due to global uncertainties, according to a WTO forecast. The World Trade Organization (WTO) has also projected a growth of 3.5 per cent in global trade this year, as against the April estimate of 3 per cent. World trade is expected to lose momentum in the second half of 2022 and remain subdued in 2023, as multiple shocks weigh on the global economy, the multi-lateral body has said in a statement.
Growth of eight key infrastructure sectors rose to 8 per cent in July 2023 compared to 4.8 per cent in the same month last year on expansion in production of coal, crude oil, and natural gas, according to the official data released on Thursday. Production of steel, cement and electricity also grew in July, the data showed.
The wholesale price index (WPI)-based inflation eased in January to 0.27 per cent, mainly due to moderation in prices of food items. WPI inflation was at 0.73 per cent in December 2023. The WPI inflation was in the negative zone from April to October and had turned positive in November at 0.39 per cent.
It is being suggested that apps, such as WhatsApp and Telegram, should share their APIs with each other to ensure there is interoperability, just as it exists across email services.
Just days before the G-20 summit in London, the commerce ministry has recommended anti-dumping duty on cold-rolled stainless steel originating in eight countries, including China.
The wholesale price index-based inflation remained in the negative territory for the seventh straight month in October at (-) 0.52 per cent, on easing prices of food items. The WPI-based inflation rate has been in the negative zone since April and was at (-) 0.26 per cent in September, 2023. In October last year, WPI was at 8.67 per cent.
In a major development, India and the US have agreed to end six trade disputes at the WTO through mutually agreed solutions, while New Delhi will remove retaliatory customs duties on certain American products such as almonds, walnuts, and apples.
The production growth of eight key infrastructure sectors slowed to a six-month low of 7.8 per cent in November due to a decline in the output of crude oil and cement sectors. The growth rate in the production of coal, fertiliser, steel, and electricity also decreased during November this year. According to the data released by the government on Friday, the growth during the month under review, however, is higher than the 5.7 per cent recorded a year ago.
India is one of biggest producers and exporters of agri commodities.
As Chandigarh braces for a fierce contest between Congress candidate Manish Tewari and the BJP's Sanjay Tandon, its industry leaders harbour a fervent wish: Replicate the success of the National Capital Region model in this Union Territory.
The commerce ministry has written to its finance counterpart suggesting that domestic banks should share 50 per cent of losses arising out of derivative contracts that exporters have taken to protect against currency fluctuations.
The commerce ministry must talk to the Reserve Bank of India and see how India's view can be represented and exporters' interests best protected.
Raheja's IT SEZ planned at Verna industrial estate had faced stern opposition from the locals and the state government even after it was notified by the Union commerce ministry's board of approval. The state government has written to the Union commerce ministry seeking to denotify Raheja's SEZ along with two others.
But commerce ministry works on rules for exemption to contractors.
Explore, engage, participate and excel in as many co-curricular activities and hackathons as possible to improve your self-confidence, communication skills and overall personality, advises rediffGURU Chocko Valliappa.
Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday assumed charge as the Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister for the second consecutive term and is slated to soon present the final Budget for FY '25 that is going to set the tone for the Modi 3.0 government's priorities and direction for Viksit Bharat. Upon her reaching the North Block office, Sitharaman was greeted by Finance Secretary T V Somanathan and other top officials. Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary was also present. Chaudhary assumed charge on Tuesday evening.
External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who heads an Empowered Group of Ministers on Special Economic Zones, is likely to consult Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to resolve the dispute between finance and commerce ministries over tax exemption for export profits from the zones.
"We are confident that the status quo will be there...the issue has been taken up at the highest level," additional secretary in the Commerce Ministry D K Mittal said.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances