From toys, footwear and furniture to insulated flasks, smart meters, and air coolers - the Central government over the last decade has mandated higher standards for production and imports of such items. Sample this: Till 2014, there were 14 Quality Control Orders (QCOs) covering 106 products. By the latest count, there are 156 QCOs on 672 products.
"I sometimes think of leaving it, but the chief minister's post doesn't leave me," Ashok Gehlot famously said earlier this year, in part as a signal to the Congress top brass not to pick someone else for the job if the party wins the assembly polls.
If the concerns over risking political capital are overcome, the long-term gains for the Indian economy will be immense, asserts A K Bhattacharya.
India and Australia would now implement the free trade agreement on a mutually agreed date as the Australian Parliament on Tuesday approved the pact between the two countries. "BREAKING: Our Free Trade Agreement with India has passed through parliament," Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said in a tweet. The India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (AI-ECTA) needed ratification by the Australian parliament before its implementation.
The move is aimed at dealing with any possible emergency situation on account of a spurt in coronavirus cases.
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.
Exports declined for the fourth-consecutive month by 10.3 per cent year-on-year to $34.98 billion in May, while the trade deficit widened to a five-month high of $22.12 billion. According to the data released by the commerce ministry on Thursday, key export sectors recording negative growth include petroleum products, gems and jewellery, engineering goods, ready-made garments of all textiles and chemicals. Imports also declined 6.6 per cent, six-month in a row, to $57.1 billion against $61.13 billion in the same month last year, the data showed.
The textile ministry had organised a show at Elephanta Caves in Mumbai to promote the artisans and revive arts and culture.
In addition, 22,533 'Make in India' ventilators have been delivered to various states, Union territories and central institutions, the ministry said, adding that the Centre is also ensuring the installation and commissioning of the machines.
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.
A combination of externalities such as global trade wars and slowing growth, continuing glitches in accessing offsets under the GST regime, which has created a liquidity crunch for smaller exporters, and the growing competitiveness of smaller countries are causing the slowdown.
Five days after the induction of 18 ministers into his cabinet, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Sunday allocated portfolios, keeping Urban Development and 11 other ministries with himself, while giving the crucial Home Department to Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis.
Being made a member of the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs makes her an important player in BJP politics, observes Rashme Sehgal.
The state governments and UT administrations should strictly enforce the test-track-treat protocol in all parts of the country, ensure observance of COVID-19-appropriate behaviour by everyone and, scale up the vaccination drive to cover all the target groups, the guidelines said.
Fifteen Cabinet ministers and 28 Ministers of State were sworn-in by President Ram Nath Kovind at a ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Wednesday evening.
Economy to grow by 7.2-7.5 per cent in second half of current fiscal, says FM.
Union Budget has given mixed bag of response for the recommendations of Textile Industry. Some of the provisions in the budget that could have a direct and indirect bearing on the Textile and Clothing Industry are as follows.
Kanhaiya, who is out on bail in a sedition case, has been leading a movement demanding justice for Rohith Vemula, a Hyderabad university scholar who was found hanging in his room earlier this year after he along with five others were suspended.
Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina arrived in New Delhi on Monday on a four-day visit to hold talks with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi following which the two sides are likely to ink pacts in key areas, including defence, trade and river water sharing.
The overall Air Quality Index (AQI) of Delhi stood at 398 at 11 am, worsening from 357 at 4 pm on Friday. It was 354 on Thursday, 271 on Wednesday, 302 on Tuesday and 312 on Monday (Diwali).
Irani said: "Everyone should work within the ambit of law. If somebody flouts laws unconstitutionally they will not get support from the BJP."
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 historical focus on its continental borders has overshadowed its maritime ambitions, but that is changing quickly, notes Ajai Shukla.
The cash-starved Indian textile industry is of the view that the Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme, or Tufs, flagship scheme of the textiles ministry, has lost its shine, as economic slowdown has put modernisation and expansion plans of companies on hold. The industry says there are more basic problems that the government needs to address.
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.
The Textile Ministry on Tuesday said it was awaiting clearance from the Maharashtra government for the International Convention Centre to come up at Mumbai with an approximate investment of Rs 700 crore (Rs 7 billion).
Strengthening the portfolios of the home minister and the finance minister is a message that should not be missed, points out A K Bhattacharya.
According to sources close to the development, the ministry feels that the National Textile Corporation (NTC), which has put the land on sale, will get better prices than the bid put in by Lodha Developers. The company, which had initially placed a bid of Rs 657.90 crore (Rs 6.57 billion), later hiked it to Rs 710 crore (Rs 7.1 billion), following a request from NTC.
The latest consignment from China consisted of about 1,70,000 PPE kits, including donations for the use of healthcare professionals involved in the treatment of COVID-19 patients. Sources said these PPE kits were sent to the Defence Research and Development Establishment (DRDE), Gwalior, for quality testing.
In two other changes, young MP Milind Deora, MoS in telecommunication and information technology ministry, got additional the portfolio of Shipping in the same rank and Panabaka Laxmi, who was made MoS in textile ministry on Sunday, was reallocated petroleum and gas department.
The finance ministry has set up two committees of state finance ministers which would rework rate slabs, review GST exempt items and identify potential evasion sources. Four years after the roll out of the national Goods and Services Tax (GST), which replaced the complex indirect tax structure, the centre and states have started work on moving towards a "simpler rate structure in GST" by reviewing the current rate slabs, including special rates and merger of rate slabs. The Group of Ministers (GoM) on rate rationalisation would also review items under inverted duty structure to help minimise refund payout, and review the supply of goods and services exempt under GST with an objective to expand the tax base and eliminate breaking of input tax credit (ITC) chain.
Her successor in the HRD Ministry Prakash Javadekar elevated as a member of the Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs.
The textile ministry, in its Budget wish list, has recommended additional tax benefits and increased interest subsidy for exporters.
Sources said the designers present in the meeting will submit their individual proposals shortly to the MSME ministry entailing suggestions to set up design centres.
Minister of State for Railways, Kotla Jaya Surya Prakash Reddy, on Friday resigned from his post in protest against the Union Cabinet's decision to go ahead with the proposed bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh.
In its recommendations to the finance ministry, the commerce ministry has made a strong case for helping exports, particularly in the labour-intensive sectors like leather, textile and handicrafts.
The appointments committee of the Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi cleared Bhalla's appointment as OSD in the ministry with immediate effect.
Apart from Smriti, Ravi Shankar Prasad and Ananth Kumar took over as law and parliamentary affairs ministers respectively.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday fowarded to President Pratibha Patil the resignation letters of the following ministers in the Union council of ministers with the recommendation that they may be accepted.
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