While the import of gold fell by about 11 per cent to $2.58 billion in February as against $2.89 billion in the corresponding month last fiscal, inward shipments of petroleum products were down by nearly 8 per cent to $9.37 billion.
The Board of approval in the commerce ministry took these decisions along with approving two fresh proposals of Shyam Steel Industries and Limitless Properties in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu, respectively. The BoA also ratified extension of time to 23 developers, including Satyam Computer Services, for implementing tax-free enclaves in the wake of economic slowdown.
This comes in the backdrop of declining demand from traditional export markets like the US and Europe due to the ongoing global economic crisis. The increase in allocation to MDA and MAI would be mainly towards developing nations like Brazil and South Africa.
With the abolition of the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB), Amazon's proposal will now be vetted by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) under the commerce ministry.
Mobiles phones without International Mobile Equipment Identity number are considered a grave security threat and concerns had been raised over their usage after terrorist attacks like the one in Mumbai in November last year. Despite the security threat, no government agency has till now approached the commerce ministry for a ban on import of such phones from China, a top source said on Thursday.
Ashok Gehlot can never be a challenger to the first son of the Congress party. The Scindias and Pilots will be Rahul's rivals should the party's fortunes revive, says Dr Sudhir Bisht.
The new Special Economic Zones, including the Reliance Industries' Jamnagar refinery, would help increase India's SEZ exports by 40 per cent this fiscal, righting partially the dismal picture of the country's total exports, according to government estimates.
While the directorate general of foreign trade has completed consultations with the industry and exporters, it will start interacting with the different ministries like agriculture, finance, micro, small and medium Enterprises, steel and environment. Revenue department in the finance ministry holds the key for extending benefits to exporters who are facing the brunt of recession in several major economies.
While no reason has been given for postponement of the BoA meeting, commerce secretary Rahul Khullar is indisposed, an official said.
Commerce ministry had recently brought out a discussion paper that called for allowing 100 per cent FDI in the defence sector.
The biggest gainers in the Sensex pack in Friday's session were Yes Bank, Bharti Airtel, Tata Motors, Vedanta, SBI and Axis Bank, spurting up to 3.05 per cent. The losers included HCL Tech, TCS, Infosys, Hero MotoCorp, IndusInd Bank and Sun Pharma, falling up to 1.55 per cent.
The applications for seeking withdrawal of approvals and extension of validity of clearances will be considered by the board of approvals in the commerce ministry in its meeting on October 5. Those seeking extension of time include Mumbai SEZ, promoted by Reliance Industries' Chairman Mukesh Ambani and his close aide Anand Jain, Gitanjali Gems, Jubliant Infrastructure and L&T Hitech City, an official said.
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.
The contraction in imports helped narrow trade deficit to $7.67 billion in August 2016
Demand for special economic zones (SEZs) appears to be reviving even as realty developers are shying away from developing these tax-free enclaves due to liquidity crunch, according to experts who are tracking SEZs.
A high-level inter-ministerial task force wants the business of narcotics to be simplified, something which, it said, would be an opportunity for the over $17-billion Indian pharmaceutical industry.
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.
Batting for the worried SEZ developers who fear withdrawal of incentives in the new direct tax code, Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma on Friday said his ministry would ensure that the sops continue.
Financial details of the project, awarded by the department of industrial policy and promotion, were not disclosed. The eBiz Project announced on Tuesday is among the 27 central, state and integrated mission mode projects under the National e-Governance Plan of the Department of Information Technology. Under it, Infosys will also do training, workshops, promotion and awareness campaigns.
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.
Batting for exporters hit hard by global downturn, Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma on Monday met Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and made out a strong case for fiscal relief for the export sector in the Budget next month.
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.
However, the ministry of law opined that though there is no specific provision in the SEZ Act and Rules, the power to notify includes power to de-notify also, sources said. Industry experts said that the SEZs which are finding it difficult to continue should be allowed to quit.
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.
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.
Inflation for the month of August stood at 8.51 per cent, according to the new Wholesale Price Inflation (WPI) series.
According to initial estimates available with the commerce ministry, these sectors, which constitute a third of India's export basket, have posted a dip of 18-54 per cent in December 2008. Exporters claim they do not have orders beyond January 2009, adding that the situation could lead to 10 million job losses if things did not improve.
The commerce ministry has consented to 10 per cent disinvestment in MMTC that can fetch the government Rs 17,000 crore (Rs 170 billion)at present valuation.
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.
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.
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.
Quick estimates available with the commerce ministry show that exports dipped 12 per cent in November, almost the same as October.
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.
In the previous fiscal, exports from the SEZs was Rs 99,689 crore (Rs 996.89 billion). Exports from Reliance Industries' Jamnagar refinery is likely to contribute substantially to the total shipments this fiscal, another official said.
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.
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.
India's exports have declined for the seventh consecutive month in April.
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