Both manufacturers have sought funds in excess of Rs 150 crore under the department of biotechnology's Mission Covid Suraksha scheme. Announced last November, the scheme has an outlay of Rs 900 crore to help develop Covid vaccines, from the clinical development stage to setting up production sites.
Should we not be creating roles in India for the talented, asks Ajit Balakrishnan.
Why should India buy olives from Europe when it could do so from the world's largest producers?
'Sullivan and Jaishankar welcomed the cooperation in recent weeks that resulted in deliveries of over USD 500 million in COVID-19 relief supplies from the US federal and state governments, US companies and private citizens across America for the people of India'
Pulse oximeters, hand sanitisers, temperature check equipment and ambulances too will attract lower 5 per cent tax.
The earliest ones included whistles shaped like birds, toy monkeys that could slide down a string and small carts made from materials found in nature such as sticks, clay and rocks. While there might be no disputing India's rich toy-making tradition, the industry is languishing for lack of investment and technology, and also owing to competition from cheap imports. And though it has been listed among 24 key sectors under the government's Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan, the question remains: will this push help place it in the global game? Currently, 80-odd per cent of the toys sold in India are imported - nearly 60 per cent of them from China.
Round-tipping creates the opportunity for exporters to source funds at a much cheaper cost, which they divert to some other business.
India needs to make use of this opportunity to significantly enhance its exports especially in information and communications technology and the automotive sector.
The US is the largest consumer of gems and jewellery in the world contributing nearly 40 per cent of global production. If India can tap the opportunity, its overall exports to the US could jump by 10 per cent to $ 11 billion this year.
Companies such as Tata Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra, TVS Motor Company, Hero Motocorp, Bajaj Auto and Maruti Suzuki, for whom Sri Lanka is a key export destination, are experiencing a significant slowdown in demand following the import duty hikes, which have made their vehicles very expensive in the island nation.
India, which has been at the forefront of the years-long efforts to reform the UNSC, began its two-year tenure at the Council on Friday last.
With audits and greater emphasis on anti-evasion measures, more tax demands will lead to more litigation. So, it is a bit early to start celebrating. GST is still work in progress.
The GST rate on mobile phones will be hiked to 18 per cent while that on maintenance repair overhaul (MRO) services for aircraft will be lowered to 5 per cent with effect from April 1, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Saturday. The GST rate on handmade and machine-made matchsticks has been rationalised to 12 per cent from 5 per cent and 18 per cent respectively.
The trade to-and-from India so far is not affected. But if the situation continues to remain the same for the next two to three months, it could definitely hurt India trade, including essential cargo.
Consumption of gold is the highest among middle-income households - those with annual income between Rs 2 lakh and Rs 10 lakh - who account for an average of 56 per cent of gold sales over the last five years, according to a nationwide survey conducted by India Gold Policy Centre (IGPC) at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A). "Per capita consumption is highest among the rich, but total volume still rests with the middle-income group. "With increasing income, there is an increasing propensity to consume gold, although the share of gold in the portfolio does not increase with the same proportion of income," the survey report says.
Official sources say that the finance ministry is aware of the possible spike in smuggling activity and has already asked intelligence agencies to tighten their vigilance and come down on the unofficial entry of gold into India.
Since he lives locally, Harish Patel is one of the luckier migrant workers in Surat - in that his employer was able to squeeze in a single shift for him at the weaving unit in Kamrej in Gujarat - unlike others who went home for Holi and other festivals just as the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic was waxing and ended up stranded in local lockdowns.
The country's textile industry is concentrated in a few pockets of Gujarat and Maharashtra in the west and Tamil Nadu and Karnataka in the south.
India on Tuesday temporarily licensed the export of paracetamol and anti-malarial drug Hydroxychloroquine in appropriate quantities to some countries, which have been particularly badly affected by the coronavirus pandemic.
The ministry also decided to dispense with the requirement of the Integrity Pact Bank Guarantee to reduce the financial burden on the Indian defence industry, a move aimed at promoting domestic manufacturing.
The report by the High Level Advisory Group said India stands to benefit even more when the US and China are locked in a global trade war.
The industry body has issued two advisories in an attempt to restore jewellers credibility in the wake of the Rs 12,000-crore PNB-Nirav Modi scam, and recent defaults by two domestic jewellers - Goodwin and Rasiklal.
Opposing a dialogue with Pakistan till it stops 'exporting' terror into Jammu and Kashmir, a Bharatiya Janata Party delegation led by Jammu and Kashmir president Ravinder Raina at an all-party meet in New Delhi on Thursday said those seeking engagement with the neighbouring country should meet the victims of violence to understand their pain.
Particularly hit has been the apparel sector, where the time taken by the industry to adjust to the Goods and Services Tax regime, downward revision of export incentives, and a credit squeeze faced by small and medium scale enterprises, has pushed production downwards.
In another round of economic booster, Sitharaman announced steps to help homebuyers and push exports.
Blocked working capital worth Rs 1,500 crore, in the almost-defunct job work diamond polishing units, is expected to be released even as diamantaires will issue fresh orders to such units following the GST relief.
The ministry of civil aviation has eased the rules regarding drone operations in the country by reducing the number of forms that need to be filled to operate them from 25 to 5 and the decreasing the types of fees charged from the operator from 72 to 4.
The Xi Jinping regime might try to quell internal distress by directing nationalism and militarism against India, warn Ajay Shah and Gautam Bambawale.
Indian exporters are said to be exporting gold jewellery with minimum value addition to get a higher gold import quota for domestic market after imports linked to exports under the 80:20 rule.
The decline in gold imports has helped in narrowing the country's trade deficit to $106.84 billion during the eight-month period under review as against $133.74 billion in the year-ago months.
US Ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley said these are by far the strongest measures ever imposed on North Korea.
Researchers at Northwell Health in New York are testing the effects on Famotidine (used in high intravenous doses) on Covid-19 patients as a potential treatment. After the hospital announced its clinical trials, it led to a drug shortage in the US. Back home, however, there has not been any surge in the demand for Famotidine yet.
Soon after Unlock 1, the industry - which is estimated to polish nine of 10 rough diamonds in the world - resumed operations, but a surge in cases at diamond polishing cluster, especially in Katargam and Varachha, forced units to go into a voluntary lockdown, which continued until recently.
China's deteriorating economy is a serious concern. Xi Jinping and China's new premier will have a difficult task ahead of them after the 20th party congress, notes Jayadeva Ranade, the retired senior RA&W officer and China expert.
Cadila, Biocon developing rapid antibody testing kits; Eris, Mylan, Gland importing. There are two kinds of testing for the novel coronavirus - the real-time polymerase chain reaction test kit that uses throat or nasal swabs and provides results in a few hours, and the other is antibody-based rapid testing kit that use blood samples and provides results in a few minutes.
Russia and China have a broad consensus today on almost all core issues related to global strategic stability, which is unprecedented in modern history, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Huawei willing to place its software code with government.
Closure of tanneries pulls down domestic finished leather exports and local price of raw-skin.
The Surat diamond industry is likely to face a loss of around Rs 8,000 crores in next two months as Hong Kong, which is a major export destination, has declared a state of emergency due to the coronavirus outbreak in China, say experts. Hong Kong is a major business hub for the Surat diamond industry, but schools and colleges have been closed there till the first week of March and even businesses are seeing a dip in view of the outbreak of the novel coronavirus.
Centre has already started work on developing a mechanism to ensure states producing any item in excess is able to transport it to other states where there is demand
