Imports too declined by 8.83 per cent to $38.61 billion, bringing down the trade deficit to $11.25 billion during the month under review.
Recently, the finance ministry waived off basic customs duty and health cess on imported oxygen and related equipment for three years.
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Wednesday allowed cinema halls and theatres to operate with more people while swimming pools have been permitted for use by all in fresh COVID-19 reopening guidelines.
A loss of revenue from liquor sales will have to be compensated through increased landing and parking charges on airlines, which, in turn, will pass on the cost to flyers.
The Commerce Ministry, according to an official, has proposed interest subsidy for different sectors like engineering which are reeling under the impact of global economic slowdown.
India Inc on Thursday pitched for continuation of reforms while ensuring tax and policy stability in the forthcoming Budget to prop up the economy hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. In the virtual pre-Budget consultation held with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, industry chambers said that government measures will help firmly entrench the nascent signs of recovery being currently seen in private investment. Capital expenditure by the government through enhanced infrastructure spending should in the meantime continue to support growth, CII president TV Narendran said.
With the fall of Congress, Chidambaram's political graph too started moving southwards.
The government has been gearing up to place tighter restrictions on the import of 371 items - ranging from toys and plastic goods to sports items, and furniture worth $127 billion.
According to industry sources, domestic toy manufacturers are seeing a sharp rise in sales during the current financial year. On January 1, 2021, India had banned the sale of toys that are not certified by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS). This meant that all factories churning out toys to be sold in India had to be certified by the bureau along with mandatory product testing, including for units abroad.
Gadkari said that the MSME sector contributes significantly in pushing the country's economic growth and creating employment.
At 64, the woman who will be India's 15th president, taking over from Ram Nath Kovind, will also be the youngest and India's first President to be born after Independence.
Representatives from four states including Maharashtra and Karnataka will also be members of the panel.
'The world over, everybody is asking for the same medicines, same APIs, same KSMs.' 'However, there is just one supplier -- China -- for the entire world.'
Going ahead with its festive sales as per schedule, companies such as Flipkart, Jabong, and Myntra are having week-long Valentines' Day sales, offering discounts of as much as 80 per cent. Amazon India is also offering discounts of almost 40 per cent.
Internet services remained disrupted for the fifth day at the site on Delhi's outskirts where protesters are occupying a stretch of the Delhi-Meerut highway since November, even as a Ghaziabad Police officer told PTI that online connectivity has been restored but there could be glitches.
The output of eight core sectors declined by 4.6 per cent in February, the steepest contraction in the last six months which experts said could drag the overall industrial production in the month into the negative territory. All the key segments, including coal, crude oil, natural gas, and refinery products, witnessed a decline in production, according to the official data released on Wednesday. The growth rate of the eight infrastructure sectors -- coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilisers, steel, cement and electricity -- stood at 6.4 per cent in February 2020. Last time in August 2020, the sectors had recorded a negative growth of 6.9 per cent.
For manufactured products, the wholesale inflation was at (-)0.84 per cent in October 2019.
Soccer was one example of a sector in the economy that could reopen relatively quickly, and that the government is in talks with clubs and the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) about the timing.
The chances of the posts opening remain slim, with security agencies recently identifying 10 suspects who smuggled in weapons, narcotics and fake currency.
In a communication to chief secretaries and director generals of police of all states, the ministry asked them to take action to allay apprehensions and maintain peace and tranquillity, and inform people about the availability of food, medicine and other essential commodities.
The wholesale price-based inflation in February rose to 13.11 per cent on hardening of prices of crude oil and non-food items, even though food articles softened. After two months of mild easing, WPI inflation accelerated in February and remained in double digits for the 11th consecutive month, beginning April 2021. WPI inflation last month was 12.96 per cent, while in February last year, it was 4.83 per cent. The rise in crude oil and natural gas prices after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, beginning February 24, has put pressure on the wholesale price index, even though food articles saw softening across categories of vegetables to pulses to protein-rich items.
As Amazon India, Flipkart are forced to shut down 60 categories and push out 45 mn products, a new lobby group comprising sellers is in the making to take up e-com concerns.
Imports too tumbled by 58.65 per cent to $17.12 billion in April from $41.4 billion in the same month last year, according to the data by the commerce and industry ministry.
The wholesale price-based inflation shot up to an all-time high of 10.49 per cent in April, on rising prices of crude oil and manufactured items. Also, a low base of April last year contributed to the spike in inflation in April 2021. The WPI inflation was 7.39 per cent in March 2021, and (-) 1.57 per cent in April 2020. This is the fourth straight month of uptick seen in the wholesale price index (WPI)-based inflation.
However, that could only be for sectors where 100 per cent FDI is allowed under the automatic route and pose no risk to national security.
A closer look at the data reveals that a lot of the items are not part of this calculation. The notable ones include buffalo meat, marine exports, raw cotton, and plantation crops such as tea, coffee, rubber, etc.
Reacting to India's ban on the Chinese apps at a foreign ministry briefing, spokesman Zhao Lijian said, "The Indian government has the responsibility to uphold the legitimate and legal rights of the international investors including the Chinese ones."
"I don't want Z category security. I want to be an A-category citizen, at par with you all. Why was UAPA not invoked against those who fired at me? ...I want to live, to speak. My life will be safe when the poor are safe. I will not get scared of those who shot at my car," he said in Parliament.
The govt could allow start-ups and e-commerce cos to appropriate initial brand building expenses over several years for accounting benefits
Giving a relief to exporters community, the government on Thursday said it will release Rs 56,027 crore to exporters against pending tax refunds under different incentive schemes for outbound shipments. The amount will be disbursed to more than 45,000 exporters. Briefing the media about the decision, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said that the Rs 56,027 crore, which is being released under various export promotion schemes, is over and above duty remission of Rs 12,454 crore for the Remission of Duties and Taxes on Export Products (RoDTEP) Scheme and Rs 6,946 crore for Rebate of State and Central Levies and Taxes (RoSCTL) Scheme already announced.
The report suggests that one of the major impacts of COVID-19 on the media and entertainment industry is the instability caused and the downfall in the advertising revenues across all media segments
'The Arunachal border is not demarcated in that way, so there can be differing perceptions (between two sides)'
State and UT governments have been given the flexibility to take a decision on re-opening of schools and coaching institutions after October 15 in a graded manner.
Devas Multimedia has seized $87,457.47 cash that ISRO's commercial arm Antrix Corporation held in the US as it looked to enforce a $1.2 billion compensation it had won over a cancelled satellite deal, its lawyer said on Wednesday. Devas Multimedia America Inc had sought seizure of $145,000 but the actual recovery was $87,457.47 (a little less than Rs 70 lakh). This came after it secured a favourable order from the Eastern District Court of Virginia, Matthew D McGrill said.
India's exports jumped 45.76 per cent to $33.28 billion in August on account of healthy growth in segments like engineering, petroleum products, gems and jewellery and chemicals, even as the trade deficit widened to a four-month high of $13.81 billion.
RBI in its policy review last month kept interest rates unchanged and said it sees an upside risk to inflation.
This is not her first stint in North Block or in leading a major economic ministry. She started Prime Minister Narendra Modi's first term as minister of state for finance, was made the commerce minister, and then became the defence minister.
The reshuffle had politics at its heart, so the biggest complement of new ministers, both Cabinet rank and below, came from UP, which will see assembly elections in a few months.
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 output of eight core sectors grew 8.9 per cent in June, mainly due to a low base effect and uptick in production of natural gas, steel, coal and electricity, official data showed on Friday. The eight infrastructure sectors of coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilisers, steel, cement and electricity had contracted by 12.4 per cent in June 2020 due to the lockdown restrictions imposed to control the spread of coronavirus infections. In May this year, these key sectors had recorded a growth of 16.3 per cent, while it was 60.9 per cent in April.
