Natural gas and fertiliser output recorded a negative growth of 1.7 per cent and 1 per cent, according to the data of the Commerce and Industry Ministry.
In a major liberalisation, the government on Thursday allowed manufacturing of several hundreds of equipment and products in the defence sector without licence.
During April-May, growth in the eight core industries slowed to 3.3 per cent as against 4.9 per cent in the year-ago period.
In a move that is being seen as a snub to Walmart, Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma on Thursday cancelled a meeting with US retail giant's Asia head Scott Price.
The retail inflation rate breached the 6 per cent upper tolerance limit of the RBI for the first time in seven months in January, while the wholesale price index stayed in double-digits for the 10th month in a row, showed two sets of data released by the government on Monday. Retail inflation, the key input for the RBI while reviewing the repo rate every two months, soared during the month mainly because of a spike in certain food items. The previous high for retail inflation was 6.26 per cent in June 2021.
After rallying 543 points in the morning session and touching the 40,000-mark, the BSE Sensex surrendered all gains to close at 38,628.29, showing a loss of 839.02 points or 2.13 per cent. Similarly, the NSE Nifty tanked 260.10 points or 2.23 per cent to end at 11,387.50.
Cash-strapped telco Vodafone Idea's proposal for investment of up to Rs 15,000 crore through foreign direct investment (FDI) has been approved by the Union government, according to officials. A top-level group, comprising representatives from the ministries of home affairs, external affairs, finance and commerce and industry, took the decision. The nod, which is an enabling provision, would help the financially-stressed company raise funds to pay up some of its dues linked to adjusted gross revenue (AGR), reduce debts and use the money for operational expenses.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday hard sold his government's reforms spanning from manufacturing to taxation to labour, saying they have changed the world perception about the country from 'why India' to 'why not India' and went on to quote record foreign investment during the pandemic as a testimony to that. Speaking at industry association Assocham's Foundation Week event, Modi also said agriculture reforms brought by his government six months back have started benefiting farmers. The reforms in the last six years have influenced in changing the sentiment of the industry from 'why India' to 'why not India' in investing.
Sellers, especially the smaller ones, are planning to go to court as well as move CCI as they fear that Walmart could bring multiple private labels in India and flood the e-commerce platform with its own products.
The industry department had planned to get 10,000 price quotations from producers in order to have a new-look WPI, which incorporates a better snapshot of the economy. Out of this, 8,000 products are manufactured items. However, it now emerges that the DIPP may get price quotations from only 6,400 industrial units and factories.
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.
The meeting, which would have representation from the ministries of finance, external affairs and micro and small and medium enterprises, would suggest steps to prepare the way for the annual supplement to the Foreign Trade Policy (2009-2014), expected to be unveiled in April.
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.
Dharmendra Pradhan, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Nirmala Sitharaman and Piyush Goyal have been elevated to Cabinet ministers.
Commerce Minister Arun Jaitley will visit the United States from June 8 to June 13 in order to promote Indo-US trade and economic relations.
The government's announcement to fund fashion initiatives is likely to provide a fillip to this largely unorganised sector.
The Commerce Ministry is set to unveil the annual review of the Foreign Trade Policy on April 11. It would not be exports alone which would be the focus, but steps to ease imports are also likely to give a boost to supply of essential commodities.The government is facing political pressure from many quarters, including the Left parties, to check the rising prices within a couple of weeks.
Earlier govt said it won't allow it to sell items such as textile products and office supplies.
In a bid to curb harassment of taxpayers, Sitharaman said, a faceless e-assessment scheme was launched in October to eliminate interface between an assessing officer and a taxpayer.
Two years ago, India was touted as a rare bright spot in a gloomy global economy with GDP growth outpacing a slowing China.
The commerce ministry is currently firming up the annual supplement to the FTP, which is likely to be unveiled in April. Referring to the export performance during 2007-08, Commerce Minister Kamal Nath said, actual export was likely to remain short of the target of $160 billion. The exports during the year were likely to reach a level of $152-155 billion, he added.
IIP is expected to post a subdued volume growth in February 2017
Commerce ministry monitoring remedial measures to promote exports in key markets.
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.
With a comprehensive SEZ Act in place, the Union Commerce and Industry minister Kamal Nath said his ministry would go ahead with the plans to develop SEZs across the country, despite oppositions from the finance ministry.
In 2011-12, the bilateral trade between the two countries stood at $75.45 billion.
SEZ in Mundra, Gujarat denotified for three violations.
'As much as $4 billion in India's start-up companies has come from Chinese funds.' 'Government policy must not remain indifferent to the problems India's start-up ventures are likely to face after the change in FDI rules,' says A K Bhattacharya.
IT sector has lots of hope from the Union Budget 2014-15.
Giving major relief to budding entrepreneurs, the government on Thursday allowed startups to avail tax concession only if total investment including funding from angel investors does not exceed Rs 10 crore.
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.
Since no communication has been received from the Goan govt. on the cancellation of SEZs, the issue remains unresolved.
"We have close to about 175 press notes circulating... the Industry Ministry has taken a decision to put all of these together in a booklet so that the FDI rules become much simpler for a foreign investor."
The Election Commission (EC) has raised certain questions on the government's proposal to allow foreign direct investment (FDI) in the construction and maintenance segments of the railways.
The officials also said that the ministry of commerce and industry had recommended the Maharashtra government to take back the land acquisition notification that it had issued. The zone has been given in-principle approval by the BoA, as RIL is yet to acquire the requisite land.
The total coffee production in India was about 3.3 lakh tonnes in 2014-15.
Around 55 per cent of land in the 36 operational special economic zones (SEZs) in Tamil Nadu is lying vacant owing to various reasons, including the recent economic slowdown.
Talks are also on with YES Bank for three other zones, in which the ministry hopes to attract private investment.
Foreign direct investment inflows into India rose an annual 12.9 percent in July to $1.66 billion.
