Trade deficit marginally widened to $9.85 billion as against $9.72 billion in February 2019.
All the three tax-free enclaves were given formal approval, which would have lapsed by end of this month. While the ministry granted extension of time 'on file', the decision has to be ratified by the inter-ministerial Board of Approval which is meeting here on June 17.
Imports of sensitive items, including pulses and edible oils, went up by 42.2 per cent to Rs 40,281 crore (Rs 402.81 billion) in the April-August period this year.
The Board of approval had given more time for Raheja's to develop their project in the state. The project is one amongst the three SEZs recommended to be denotified by the state government. Goa's Rajya Sabha member Shantaram Naik said he would meet new Union Commerce ministry Anand Sharma and brief him on the issue.
Talks on an India-European Union Free Trade Agreement started in 2007. Six rounds of negotiations have been held but the two sides have not been able to arrive at a consensus on the level of trade to be covered under the FTA that will eventually eliminate duties on goods traded.
The government on Tuesday cleared nine fresh proposals for setting up special economic zones, most of which are related to IT and ITES, followed by the bio-technology sector.
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.
Developers will now be able to get their land classified as an SEZ at the initial stage of approval by submitting legal documents that prove land ownership. With exports falling sharply in the last six months, faster development of SEZs is seen as one way of increasing overseas sales of Indian goods and services, an official said.
A feasibility study on the proposed Free Trade Agreement, officially known as the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement, has long been finalised but cannot be acted upon in the absence of Russia joining the WTO.
Reeling under a cash crunch, the country's largest real estate player, DLF, has approached the government on surrendering its (DLF's) five of the nine IT-ITeS notified special economic zones (SEZ).
India's exports contracted by 13.7 per cent in February for the fifth consecutive month this fiscal, while imports too dipped by 18.2 per cent, continuing the trend that began in January when both exports and imports entered the negative territory, according to initial estimates available with the commerce ministry. Exports and imports in February are estimated at $13.04 billion and $17.02 billion, respectively.
The Directorate General of Foreign trade on Friday issued an order banning toy imports from China, which is India's biggest trade partner, for six months. The notification, however, gave no reason for the ban.
The buoyancy in exports, which are expected to grow 23 per cent to around $155 billion in 2007-08, does not convey the real picture.Commerce ministry data show that the sectors with higher import content like petroleum products, gems and jewellery, engineering goods, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, and agriculture have provided the momentum for growth in exports, which have been hit by the appreciation of the rupee and infrastructure bottlenecks.
On other counts, however, RBI has not found merit in the commerce ministry's argument to keep loans for SEZ development outside the ambit of commercial real estate exposure. It has reiterated that bank exposure for purchase of land for an SEZ and its development, will be classified as commercial real estate, while infrastructure development will not be treated in the same manner.
The Commerce and Industry Ministry will soon seek Cabinet nod to give out inflation data every month instead of the present practice of weekly release.
The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion in the Commerce Ministry proposes to scale back the Foreign Direct Investment ceiling for the tobacco industry from 100 to 74 per cent and insert a caveat that cigarettes manufactured in the new ventures or in upgraded facilities must be mainly for consumption outside India.Sources said the department, which is responsible for the policy on FDI, is finalising a cabinet note aimed at comprehensive review of the tobacco policy.
Mumbai-based infrastructure conglomerate Essar group has withdrawn its plans to build a 1,125 hectare Special Economic Zone in Jamnagar because of the adverse economic environment, a commerce ministry official said. The proposal was to set up a 16-20-million-metric-tonne-a-year petrochemical refinery at an investment of Rs 15,000 crore, one of the largest SEZ proposals, according to information available on the company's website.
Commerce ministry had recently brought out a discussion paper that called for allowing 100 per cent FDI in the defence sector.
Kerala-based Kinfra Film & Video Park has received the commerce ministry's approval to set up an International Animation School that is to be built on a private-public-partnership basis.
Sectors like IT and energy have the potential to raise the value of India's exports to $1 trillion, or 5 per cent of the global trade, by 2020, but the government needs to devise a concerted strategy, FIEO said.
Total foreign direct investment (FDI) inflow to India declined to $74.01 billion in the calendar year 2021, which is 15 per cent lower from $87.55 billion recorded in the previous year, the ministry of commerce & industry said on Wednesday. The FDI inflow includes equity inflow, equity capital of unincorporated bodies, re-invested earnings and other capital. "FDI is largely a matter of commercial business decisions and FDI inflow depends on a host of factors such as availability of natural resource, market size, infrastructure, political and general investment climate as well as macro-economic stability and investment decision of foreign investors.
Goa has scrapped 12 SEZs, including the seven, which were approved by the state government. But the government is struggling over denotification of three industrial enclaves, which has now rushed to the High Court against government's intention to scrap them.
India-ASEAN Summit, scheduled for December 17 in Thailand, has been postponed as crisis-ridden South-East Asian country is unable to host the meet.
Adani, Reliance Industries, DLF, Omaxe and Singapore-based Ascendas Group had plans to set up mega multi-product SEZs, with some of them having infrastructure like ports and air-cargo complexes.
India's climate change goals are turning combustible. On the one hand, a protracted dispute between the government and manufacturers over subsidies threatens to slow the pace of electric vehicle (EV) sales. On the other hand, repeated assertions by different arms of the government over banning sales of new fossil fuel-fired vehicles have queered the pitch for energy investments. Before we address the issue of the recommended diesel vehicle ban in the recent report on energy transition, issued months before the next round of global climate talks begin in Dubai in November, let's look at what's at stake.
Unaffected by controversies, global financial market heavyweight Soros group, has approached the Indian government, expressing interest to invest in special economic zones in India.
The decision regarding this was taken by the Board of Approval in its meeting on September 18.
Exports from special economic zones (SEZs) are likely to touch Rs 2 lakh crore in 2009-10, a 100 per cent jump from the year-ago period, with Reliance Industries' Jamnagar special economic zone expected to contribute the most to the kitty.
The EU also feels that Tamil Nadu has adopted a restrictive practice for imported liquor. Significantly, a similar complaint by the trade bloc at the WTO led to the elimination of additional Customs duty on imported liquor in 2007.
The commerce ministry has projected Rs 21,631.94 crore (Rs 216.31 billion) worth of exports from the 63 special economic zones, which have been notified since February 2006. Till date, Rs 13,435 crore (Rs 134.35 billion) has been invested in them.
The government is considering de-canalising import of petrol and diesel from the next fiscal, a move long awaited by global oil majors like Royal Dutch Shell to begin petro retailing in the country.
As part of efforts to give a greater fillip to trade, the commerce ministry is working aggressively on finalising trade pacts with countries in the South East Asian region and some Latin American countries.
India's exports have declined for the seventh consecutive month in April.
Under the 11th Five-Year Plan (2007-12), Rs 550 crore (Rs 5.5 billion) was provided for promoting exports through Market Access Initiative scheme.
The project, the agreement for which was signed way back in 2009, had been gaining strategic relevance over the years as India-China ties took a hit.
The exercise is aimed at finalising India's position for a free trade agreement with BIMSTEC nations.
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