Even as the engineering goods sector, which has the largest share in the country's export basket, registered an export growth of 22 per cent (dollar terms) in the April-July period of this year, a recent study has revealed that the volume of exports has gone down in majority of the products manufactured by the sector, leading to job losses.
The Ministry of Commerce and Industry will go ahead with the proposal for 2D barcoding and a unique 'randomly generated numeric code' on packets of medicine destined for export, a senior official said.
Gold, a safe-haven bet, is likely to continue its record-smashing journey in the New Year, rising to Rs 85,000 per 10 grams and even Rs 90,000 level in domestic markets if geopolitical tensions and global economic uncertainties continue.
Rupee depreciation pushes apparel exporters' margins by 5-7%.
Expressing serious concerns over the DTC Bill, SEZ entrepreneurs on Tuesday said the proposed tax provisions would hit employment and drive away investors from the special economic zones.
With exporters' claim for over five months still pending, liquidity has been wiped out and the process of finalising new contracts has been held up.
The developers, including Raheja Ltd, Ascendas, L&T and GMR, among others, are in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry's Export Promotion Council for export oriented units and special economic zones.
Last fiscal, diamonds worth about $900 billion were sold globally of which those worth about $20 billion came back to India for recycling.
India's guar gum exporters are facing discrimination in the Chinese market with the Dragon country allowing duty exemptions to the commodity coming from Pakistan.
"By January 2010 there could be massive job losses on unprecedented scale which could lead to social problems in apparel manufacturing clusters across the country," AEPC Chairman Rakesh Vaid said.
Gems and jewellery exports may have risen over 20 per cent so far this fiscal, but the rising rupee has cost 150,000 diamond workers their jobs in the last one year, the head of the Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council, Sanjay Kothari, said.
As Wal-Mart's disclosures on lobbying generated political heat in India, records with American House of Representatives show that around 27 Indian companies have spent money on lobbying in the US.
Vice President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat on Saturday asked the gem and jewellery exporters to create brand India image by improving product quality with the use of latest manufacturing technology.
The show will commence on July 31.
The draft direct tax code that will lead to overhaul of the Income Tax Act, has created uncertainty among the developers and units in the special economic zones over continuation of the tax sops.
Expectations of Healthcare sector from Union Budget 2013-14.
Industry associations and companies in the United States, including the US Chamber of Commerce, Coalition of Services Industries and the iconic bike company Harley Davidson have called on the Donald Trump dispensation to push India to reduce tariffs, non-tariffs, and regulatory barriers to boost American exports.
Barely a month after India began anti-dumping probe against Chinese silk imports, Indian traders are up in arms against Chinese firms, alleging that two Chinese government companies supplied damaged silk fabric to about a dozen Indian importers.
The industry has requested the Reserve Bank of India for restructuring of loans, the chairman said. According to estimates, the sector has a loan burden of about Rs 1 lakh crore (Rs 1 trillion).
Top government officials in New Delhi have started discussions with stakeholders ranging from shipping and container companies to export promotion councils to understand the impact of the Iran-Israel tensions and plan ahead. Inter-ministerial talks are also being lined up amid the crisis situation in West Asia, sources confirmed. While the crude flows are not directly under any threat, elevated oil prices remain a concern, according to officials.
Hit by the dollar-debasement, the Indian handmade carpet industry is all set to de-risk business by embarking on a new mission: That of looking beyond the US market and expanding its footprint in Europe.
Indian software industry is targeting the middle-east market as it seeks to raise the information technology exports from $8 billion last year to $50 billion in 2008.
'Obviously, MSP hike raises chances of a reduction in exports. Even without an MSP hike, India's exports of a number of agri-commodities, like sugar, were unviable in the overseas markets.'
The country's Rs 60,000-crore (Rs 600-billion) diamond industry is likely to lay off 200,000 workers this year and with it the dream of making India a processing hub, according to Sanjay Kothari, chairman, Gems & Jewellery Exports Promotion Council, if the government does not frame favourable policies.
Twelve of the 22 Indian diamond traders, detained in China on charges of smuggling, returned home early on Friday after they were let off following deportation orders by a Chinese court. "We are happy that 12 diamond traders held in China returned to India late last night. We are making all efforts to bring back the remaining traders," Gems & Jewellery Export Promotion Council Chairman Rajiv Jain said.
Exports of gold jewellery fell 23.13 per cent to $1153 million.
Gold jewellery exports may decline by about 50 per cent in this financial year from last year after government restrictions reduced the availability of raw material, Gitanjali Gems Chairman and Managing Director Mehul Choksi said.
E-commerce firms and sellers including Amazon and eBay have made recommendations to the government for a differentiated policy framework for e-commerce in the revised Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) which is expected to come into effect from April 1, 2021. This is because the existing policies on exports have catered largely to traditional, offline and business-to-business exports. Suggestions have been made to the government that through the FTP, it is important to create a conducive policy framework for e-commerce exports that lowers the entry barrier for small businesses to start exporting, according to the industry sources.
Global buyers are putting pressure on exporters to offer discounts between 10 per cent and 15 per cent.
Surat Diamond Association, the apex body of diamond industry in Ahmedabad, has said there should be a special force for the security of diamond industry in the wake of serial blasts in Mumbai.
India has offered African countries --Botswana, Angola, South Africa and Namibia, incentives to strengthen their jewellery industry in return for direct procurement of rough diamonds from these countries.
India can capture a major share of the $1.5-billion US import market for plastic products, according to a study.
Indian jewellers such as Gitanjali Gems, Malabar Gold and Kalyan Jewellers have opened stores abroad to limit the slump in sales.
The Electronics and Computer Software Export Promotion Council said on Monday that the offshore operations in computer software and services are on the rise and the share for 2002-03 is estimated at 60 per cent.
