Breaking its silence on reports that Chinese telecom equipment makers are being banned in India on security reasons, Beijing on Monday urged New Delhi to remove restrictions and said such curbs amount to discrimination.
Imports grew at a faster rate of 20.25 per cent to $40.1 billion.
There was a wide fluctuation in the growth rate for exports when the basis of comparison was changed from provisional-to-provisional to provisional-to-provisionally revised or final.
A combination of externalities such as global trade wars and slowing growth, continuing glitches in accessing offsets under the GST regime, which has created a liquidity crunch for smaller exporters, and the growing competitiveness of smaller countries are causing the slowdown.
For the purpose the ministry will rope in the private sector companies to give a boost to Indian tea abroad.
The government on Monday extended till July 21 the deadline for public comments on proposed amendments to the Consumer Protection (e-commerce) Rules, 2020. Earlier, the last date for public comments on the draft e-commerce rules was July 6. "It has now been decided to extend the timeline for receipt of comments/ suggestions on the draft e-commerce rules. "Views/ comments/ suggestions on the proposed amendments may be sent by July 21, 2021," a government notice said.
Amid domestic traders continuously complaining alleged violations of FDI norms by foreign online players, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Friday said the ministry will "very shortly" come out with certain clarifications on the e-commerce sector. Goyal said the ministry is not changing any policy on e-commerce for foreign direct investment as the policy is crystal clear. "We will also come out with the e-commerce policy and whatever clarifications... Certain instances have come to our notice where the policy is not being followed in letter and spirit, we will obviously be clarifying that very shortly," he told reporters in New Delhi.
Scores of leading SEZ promoters, including Infosys Technologies, CMC Ltd, Hindalco Industries, NIIT Technologies, HCL Technologies, Orient Craft Infrastructure, L&T Phoenix Infoparks and K Raheja Corp, have sought more time from the Board of Approval, which is meeting in New Delhi on June 2.
From toys, footwear and furniture to insulated flasks, smart meters, and air coolers - the Central government over the last decade has mandated higher standards for production and imports of such items. Sample this: Till 2014, there were 14 Quality Control Orders (QCOs) covering 106 products. By the latest count, there are 156 QCOs on 672 products.
Is Guar the next commodity that is likely to be banned by the Forward Markets Commission?
According to industry experts, there are more than 10,000 drug manufacturers in the country and most of them are small-sector units operating in the generic segment. With a large number of drugs going off-patent in developed markets like the US and Europe, Indian companies are expected to garner a lion's share in the segment.
'Das is friendly, but he finally does what he does. The quality of engagement is very good.'
The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion in the commerce ministry has asked state governments and central ministries to re-examine and streamline existing procedures, so as to provide a hassle-free environment for business.
China which recently emerged as the world's second largest economy has now become the fifth biggest global investor even as Foreign Direct Investment into the country is set to cross $100 billion this year.
The California walnuts shipped from the US to India have seen a sharp uptick with imports more than doubling from September to November against the same period last year. This comes after New Delhi removed its retaliatory customs tariffs on the key dry fruit. Two days ahead of US President Joe Biden's visit to New Delhi to attend the G20 Summit on September 9-10, India dropped additional customs duties on about half a dozen US goods that were imposed in 2019 in response to America raising tariffs on certain steel and aluminum products coming from India.
However, the countries did not take up the issue of proposed withdrawal of export incentives by the US to Indian exporters under Generalized System of Preference.
India will unveil its much-awaited new Foreign Trade Policy 2023-28 on Friday, with a view to boost exports amid slowing global trade. Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal will announce the foreign trade policy, according to the ministry. The current foreign trade policy (2015-20) is in force till March 31, 2022.
India's exports are growing at 20 per cent an year and will cross the target of $92 billion set for 2005-06, according to the annual report of the commerce ministry released on Thursday.
India needs a National Trade Policy Council, chaired by a minister who reports directly to the PM, says Jayanta Roy, former economic advisor to the Union commerce ministry.
The economy clocked a robust 7.9 per cent growth in the second quarter, catapulted by a stimulus packages-powered strong industrial growth. And, manufacturing grew by 9.2 per cent against 5.1 per cent in the year-ago quarter.
Tata Group is set to become India's first homegrown iPhone maker after Taiwan's Wistron Group agreed to sell a plant in Bengaluru to India's largest conglomerate. Wistron's board approved the sale of Wistron InfoComm Manufacturing (India) Private Ltd to Tata Electronics for $125 million, the Taiwanese electronics manufacturer said in a statement on Friday. The unit operates an iPhone assembly plant near Bengaluru.
The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), the nodal department that handles intellectual property rights (IPR) related matters under the commerce ministry, is launching an ambitious Rs 300-crore (Rs 3 billion) project to sensitise all stakeholders, including law enforcement agencies, scientists, companies, ministries and the general public on IPR issues.
The Directorate General of Foreign Trade said in a directive that telecom operators will have to refund the duty sops availed under the commerce ministry's export promotion scheme for services -- Served From India Scheme.
India on Tuesday banned exports and imports of all items from North Korea that can be used in nuclear or ballistic missile plans. The Commerce Ministry imposed a blanket ban on "all items, materials, equipment, goods and technologies which could contribute to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's nuclear-related, ballistic missile-related and other weapons of mass destruction-related programmes".
Negotiators from the two sides will meet in July either at Brussels or Geneva, additional secretary in the commerce ministry D K Mittal told PTI.
Imports too jumped by 51.5 per cent to $40.4 billion in July against $26.6 billion in the same period last year, leaving a trade deficit of $11 billion, the Commerce Ministry said on Thursday.
Even as the freeze on all decisions and notifications for fresh special economic zones continues, the government on Friday gave its nod for authorised operations in 30 notified SEZs, while granting co-developer status to five zones.
The government has sought to put an end to the ambiguities in the implementation of Press Notes 2 and 4, which significantly relaxed foreign direct investment (FDI) guidelines, with the Commerce Ministry requesting the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to make changes in the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) to operationalise the guidelines. The direction from the government follows a number of references and queries from investors.
India is likely to appeal against the ruling of a World Trade Organisation compliance panel, which concluded that the European Union had complied with an earlier WTO ruling regarding its anti-dumping measures against Indian imports of cotton bed line
The policy aims at developing export potential, improving export performance, boosting foreign trade and earning valuable foreign exchange.
With the abolition of the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB), Amazon's proposal will now be vetted by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) under the commerce ministry.
Merchandise exports aggregated to $19.94 billion in June, 2010.
Kumar, a 1992-batch Indian Administrative Service officer of Tamil Nadu cadre, is currently an additional secretary in the ministry of electronics and Information Technology.
The Centre will invest around Rs 200 crore over five years for the exploration and development of these mines.
