Telecom firms earning foreign exchange on incoming overseas calls, Internet services and rentals from cable networks are not entitled to duty sops under an export promotion scheme, says the government.
Falling private sector investment and farm distress are problems that call for immediate attention, says T N C Rajagopalan.
Exports growth was lower in April compared to the robust growth of 54 per cent in March.
The items prohibited for import into India from the neighbouring country would include chocolate and chocolate products, candies, confectioneries and food preparations with milk as an ingredient.
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.
Breaking its silence on reports that Chinese telecom equipment makers are being banned in India on security reasons, Beijing on Monday urged New Delhi to remove restrictions and said such curbs amount to discrimination.
China which recently emerged as the world's second largest economy has now become the fifth biggest global investor even as Foreign Direct Investment into the country is set to cross $100 billion this year.
The new Consolidated Foreign Direct Investment Policy, effective from April 1, limits FDI in defence units to 26 per cent. But the Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion of the commerce ministry is in favour of raising this limit.
The value of India's foodgrain imports increased by over 28 times to Rs 17.66 crore (Rs 176.6 million) in April, vis-a-vis the corresponding period a year ago, as per the latest data from the commerce ministry.
The Directorate General of Foreign Trade said in a directive that telecom operators will have to refund the duty sops availed under the commerce ministry's export promotion scheme for services -- Served From India Scheme.
Exports rise 36.4 per cent year-on-year, the highest in the past 33-months, to $22.5 billion in December 2010
The only category of pharmaceuticals that showed a negative growth in exports this time was herbal products, exports of which stood at $299 million as compared to $ 312 million in the previous year.
Negotiators from the two sides will meet in July either at Brussels or Geneva, additional secretary in the commerce ministry D K Mittal told PTI.
The USTR has placed India on its "priority watch" list for two years in a row, saying the country's patent laws unfairly favour local drug makers.
India's exports dipped after a gap of four months in March but finished 2017-18 with a healthy rise of 9.78 per cent to $302.84 billion.
Imports during the period grew by 6.8 per cent to $27.68 billion, leaving a trade deficit of $9.72 billion, according to a Commerce Ministry data released in New Delhi on Wednesday.
The economy clocked a robust 7.9 per cent growth in the second quarter, catapulted by a stimulus packages-powered strong industrial growth. And, manufacturing grew by 9.2 per cent against 5.1 per cent in the year-ago quarter.
Imports rose by 1.44 per cent to $43.44 billion in March 2019.
Reversing a concession given by the commerce ministry to the embattled exporters in the midst of recession in the West last year, the Central Board of Excise and Customs has directed chief commissioners of customs and excise to recover the drawbacks from exporters who have not realised their proceeds.
"The 46th meeting of the BoA on SEZs to consider proposals for setting up of SEZs and other miscellaneous requests is scheduled to be held on May 31," it said.
It is also stipulated that these units cannot under any circumstances source items locally for export purpose.
India on Tuesday banned exports and imports of all items from North Korea that can be used in nuclear or ballistic missile plans. The Commerce Ministry imposed a blanket ban on "all items, materials, equipment, goods and technologies which could contribute to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's nuclear-related, ballistic missile-related and other weapons of mass destruction-related programmes".
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.
The commerce ministry wants the stimulus packages for exporters to continue for some more time till the sector recovers completely.
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.
Earlier, this relaxation was given to only 'de-capacitated' employees or those who are travelling.
India largely exports pharmaceutical products, minerals, plastics, cotton, garments, iron and steel.
Exports grew by 22.5 per cent to $16.64 billion in August compared to the same period last fiscal, a senior Commerce Ministry official said on Wednesday.
The simultaneous decline of several trade-related indicators should put policy makers on guard for a sharper slowdown.
Mahindra Satyam has approached the Commerce Ministry for more time to develop the three IT Special Economic Zones in Andhra Pradesh as it has decided to go slow on its expansion plans due to the slowdown.
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.
The Commerce Ministry wants the Reserve Bank to reduce interest rate for dollar credit in its forthcoming monetary policy to help sustain the fledgling recovery in the exports sector.
The government has sought to put an end to the ambiguities in the implementation of Press Notes 2 and 4, which significantly relaxed foreign direct investment (FDI) guidelines, with the Commerce Ministry requesting the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to make changes in the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) to operationalise the guidelines. The direction from the government follows a number of references and queries from investors.
Senior officials from different ministries, including finance, home affairs and defence, would be attending the meeting. The last BOA held on August 11 had allowed Maytas Ventures, promoted by the disgraced former Satyam chairman B Ramalinga Raju's son, to surrender its biotech SEZ and approved three new proposals, including that of Brooke Bond Real Estates IT/ITES tax-free enclave in Karnataka.
The policy aims at developing export potential, improving export performance, boosting foreign trade and earning valuable foreign exchange.
The study has been conducted by Ernst & Young on behalf of EEPC-India, the apex body of engineering goods exporters.
So far, two rounds of negotiations have already taken place in this regard. India signed a Free Trade Agreement with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in August, which will come into effect from January 1, and is committed to begin breaking duty barriers on goods.
Rentals for commercial complexes fell sharply and the land, developers felt, could be employed for other purposes.
'It won't be easy to undo the damage that has been done to the economy by the lockdown and the solution will not come from two minute presentations,' observes Aakar Patel.
The Department of Pharmaceuticals has submitted a freight subsidy scheme for exporters to the Commerce Ministry so that they could take alternate routes and avoid transit through Europe, which is a shorter route with better connectivity.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances