The government has granted Geographical Indications (GI) tag to various products, including Gamosa of Assam, Tandur Redgram of Telangana, and an apricot variety of Ladakh. The commerce and industry ministry said on Wednesday that the total number of GI has reached to 432. "Famous Gamosa of Assam, Tandur Redgram of Telangana, RaktseyKarpo Apricot of Ladakh, Alibag White Onion of Maharashtra have got their GI tags," it said.
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.
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.
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.
During April-September, the eight sectors grew by 4 per cent, against 5 per cent in the year-ago period.
External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid on Tuesday said his ministry is contemplating a plan to have people from industry on-board to facilitate on issues relating to economic diplomacy.
Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry President Zubair Ahmed Malik also said that the negative list should also be pruned to boost bilateral trade with India.
Making the announcement, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Tuesday that India will hold the G20 presidency from December 1, 2022, and will convene the G20 leaders' summit in 2023 for the first time.
Indian exporters are keeping their fingers crossed on account of rising Covid infections in China and other countries as it could again disrupt supply chains and affect demand for goods. Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) director general Ajay Sahai said that if the cases continue to increase in the coming days, it may have implications on imports. "We are keeping our fingers crossed," he said.
A top Republican lawmaker has welcomed India signing a trade deal with Australia, and urged the Biden administration to enter into a similar arrangement with New Delhi that can advance Washington's strong economic agenda in the strategically vital Indo-Pacific region. "I'm pleased to see #Australia & #India sign a strong trade deal," Senate Foreign Relations Committee Ranking Member Jim Risch said in a tweet. "The US needs to do the same and advance a strong economic agenda in the #IndoPacific. "The Biden Admin's failure to lead hurts US growth and our partnership in the region," Risch said in another tweet.
Beijing wants assurance that its investments won't come under scrutiny
The commerce ministry is proposing a host of direct and indirect incentives such as deferral of import duties and exemption from export taxes to revamp Special Economic Zones through a new legislation, an official said. In the Union Budget this year, the government proposed to replace the existing law governing Special Economic Zones (SEZs) with a new legislation to enable states to become partners in 'Development of Enterprise and Service Hubs' (DESH). The official said the commerce ministry has sought views of different ministries, including finance, on the new bill.
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.
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Commerce has observed that a massive shortfall in the budgetary allocation of over Rs 1,900 crore by the finance ministry to the industry department may have an adverse impact on the implementation of infrastructure (infra) projects in 2022-23 (FY23). While the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) had sought Rs 10,267 crore from the finance ministry for FY23, it received Rs 8,348-crore allocation. For the National Industrial Corridor Development & Implementation Trust (NICDIT), the finance ministry has allocated Rs 1,500 crore instead of Rs 2,400 crore demanded for the project.
The case has been registered against entities such as the Halal India Private Limited Chennai, Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind Halal Trust Delhi, Halal Council of India Mumbai, Jamiat Ulama Maharashtra and others for allegedly exploiting religious sentiments to boost sales by providing halal certificates to customers of a specific religion, the UP government said in a statement on Saturday.
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.
'We are engaging in substantial open market sales of both wheat and rice to control food inflation; special measures of market intervention in vegetables, pulses and oil seeds were also taken to cushion the impact.'
The Centre will invest around Rs 200 crore over five years for the exploration and development of these mines.
6 locations in New Delhi and 2 in Mumbai were raided.
In 2014, the e-commerce industry created about half a million jobs.
The stormy second part of Budget Session continues. Both houses of Parliament have been facing continuous protests by opposition parties over issues like fuel price hike.
As many as 15 companies, including Adani Copper Tubes, LG Electronics and Wipro Enterprises, with committed investment of Rs 1,368 crore, have been selected as beneficiaries under the PLI scheme for the white goods sector, the government said on Tuesday. In March, the commerce and industry ministry had reopened the application window for its Rs 6,238-crore PLI scheme for white goods -- air-conditioners (ACs) and LED lights-- with an aim to accommodate more players as several firms had expressed interest in the initiative. Last year, as many as 46 firms, including Daikin, Panasonic, Syska and Havells, with committed investment of Rs 5,264 crore were selected in the first round the scheme.
Wholesale price inflation remained in the negative territory for the fourth month in a row in July at (-)1.36 per cent, even though prices of food items, especially vegetables, skyrocketed. The inflation, however, has inched up from (-)4.12 per cent recorded in June fuelled by 62.12 per cent rise in vegetable prices. In July last year, wholesale price index (WPI) was 14.07 per cent.
The proposed amendments to the Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules, 2020, that are envisioned to protect consumer interests, may further compound the impact of multiplicity of regulations on the e-commerce sector, the Indo-American Chamber of Commerce (IACC) had told the ministry of consumer affairs. IACC, the apex bilateral chamber for Indo-US business, had told the government that the proposed amendments would increase compliance liabilities that risk severely impairing the growth of the sector.
The ban has been in force since last Friday.
We are looking at bringing quality control orders for mass production items such as smart meters and ceiling fans. This will benefit our own industry and consumers, a government official said.
However, production of coal, crude oil and natural gas declined in April this year.
Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani might have made news for purchasing the most expensive beach-side villa in Dubai recently, but he is not the only Indian eyeing the city for investment. Since Dubai allowed foreign investors full ownership in specific sectors in June 2021, a horde of Indian companies have moved or expanded into the desert city. The list even includes a kindergarten, an elementary and middle school, and a hotel that has sought 100 per cent ownership.
A panel of Union ministers held a fourth round of talks with farmer leaders in Chandigarh on Sunday over their demands, including a legal guarantee of MSP, as thousands of protesting farmers camped at the Punjab-Haryana border.
As sanctions-hit Russia increasingly relies on consumer products from India, outbound shipments to Russia have started picking up for the second consecutive month in October. This comes after it witnessed contraction for six consecutive months starting March, commerce and industry ministry data showed. During October, India exported goods worth $280 million, up 3.7 per cent as compared to a year ago. It was led by demand for items such as vegetables, tea, coffee, chemicals as well as iron and steel products.
The output of eight core sectors rose 4.4 per cent in September on account of healthy performance by segments like natural gas, refinery products and cement, official data showed on Friday. The eight infrastructure sectors of coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilisers, steel, cement and electricity had grown by 0.6 per cent in September 2020, as per the data released by the commerce and industry ministry.
Spurring the economy, currently in the throes of a slowdown, remains the prime focus for most ministries, but the government is also looking to make women's welfare and environmental protection key to policymaking in this term.
India's overall imports from Taiwan during April-February rose by 34 per cent to $7.5 billion.
In a statement, the state government alleged 'malicious attempts' to discourage the use of products lacking a halal certificate not only seek 'unfair financial benefits' but also form part of a 'pre-planned strategy to sow class hatred, create divisions in society, and weaken the country' by "anti-national elements".
Post elections, the company has been making frequent visits to various ministries, including the IT ministry, commerce ministry, as well as different agencies to get the hang of things in the administration.
Candidates will be short-listed for interview on the basis of the information provided by them in their online application, the statement said.
The wholesale price-based inflation declined to a 19-month low of 8.39 per cent in October, on easing prices of fuel and manufactured items. This is the first time in 19 months that WPI inflation print has come in single digit. Last was in March 2021 at 7.89 per cent. Since April 2021, WPI inflation remained in double digits for 18 months with September print at 10.79 per cent.
The Appointments Committee of Cabinet has named Ravneet Kaur, a Punjab cadre IAS officer of 1988 batch, as chairperson of the Competition Commission of India (CCI). Kaur will hold the post for five years or until attaining the age of 65. She is the second woman to serve in an 'economic regulator' role after Madhabi Puri Buch, who was appointed chairperson of the Securities and Exchange Board of India last year and the first woman to head the country's chief national competition regulator.
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.
.jpg)
Industry's demand for a reduction in the repo rate, currently 8 per cent, has gained momentum after wholesale and retail inflation eased in February.
