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Press releases Dec,2006
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 Press Releases
Dec,
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Press Information Bureau
Government of
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Date Tittle
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30th
Dec.2006 |
JODHPUR IS
TOWN OF EXPORT EXCELLENCE
FOR HANDICRAFTS & GUAR GUM: JAIRAM RAMESH
GOVERNMENT LOOKING TO DOUBLE GUAR GUM EXPORTS IN 5 YEARS
New Delhi:
December 30,
2006
Shri Jairam Ramesh,
Minister of State of Commerce who was on a visit to Jodhpur today said
that “Jodhpur has emerged as India’s second largest exporter of
handicrafts”. Elaborating, he said that Jodhpur follows Moradabad and it
has around 400 units employing around a lakh people and exporting close
to Rs 700 crores. The exports are mainly of woodcrafts.
Shri Ramesh visited the
Common Facility Centre set up by the Export Council for Handicrafts (EPCH)
with assistance from the Union Ministry of Commerce in Jodhpur. He
emphasized the importance of the Common Facility Centre to provide
design assistance to small and medium entrepreneurs.
He promised all support to the EPCH to further develop wooden, wrought
iron and sea-shell handicrafts from
Jodhpur. The Minister
announced that Jodhpur has been declared, along with eleven other places
in the country, as a “town of export excellence” for handicrafts which
entitles entrepreneurs in the city to special facilities for
infrastructure and export marketing.
Other such towns include Ludhiana (woolen knitwear), Panipat (woolen
blanket), Dewas (pharmaceuticals), Kollam (cashew), Alapuzzha (coir),
Madurai (handlooms) and Tiruppur (hosiery).
Shri Ramesh also
interacted with the guar gum manufacturing industry to identify measures
to boost exports of guar gum. Shri Ramesh highlighted the fact that
India accounts for over 80% of the total guar produced in the world and
70% of this is cultivated in Rajasthan alone.
Jodhpur is the country’s
leading centre of the guar gum manufacturing industry.
Guar is a drought-resistant crop from which guar gum is extracted for
use as thickener, emulsifier and stabilizer in the food, pharmaceutical,
textile, paper, oil drilling and other industries.
Shri Ramesh said that in
2005/06, India exported over Rs 1000 crores of guar gum, half of which
was to the USA alone. The Union Commerce Ministry is now working towards
doubling these exports in the next five years,
mainly through the involvement of women’s self-help groups (SHGs) in
guar cultivation. This would greatly enhance incomes for farmers as
well. About 9 lakh families in Rajasthan and other states like Haryana,
Gujarat and Punjab depend on guar cultivation. Guar is also an important
source of nutrition to animals and is being consumed as a vegetable and
cattle feed. While complimenting the industry, he stressed the need to
promote value-added exports since presently, guar powder alone accounts
for 60% of the exports. The benefits of value-addition should flow
directly to farmers and not be cornered by industrialists, Shri Ramesh
added.
The Indian Guar Gum
Manufacturers Association represented to the Minister of State for
Commerce their demand to ban guar seed and guar gum from forward
trading.
The Association feels that forward trading has created serious problems
for exporters and had benefited only speculators.
They said that in the absence of the ban, international
buyers are now increasingly diverting their orders to
Pakistan. Shri Ramesh
assured the Association that he had already taken up the matter with the
Forward Markets Commission.
The whole idea of forward trading, he said, was to benefit farmers and
not traders and speculators.
****
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27th
Dec.2006 |
2006
– THE YEAR OF RECORD EXPORTS
LANDMARK FIGURE OF US $ 100 BILLION CROSSED – HIGH GROWTH TO PROPEL
EXPORTS TO $ 125 BILLION THIS FISCAL, SAYS KAMAL NATH
INDIA VOICES DEVELOPMENT CONCERNS AT WTO – STANDS FIRM ON FARM ISSUES
YEAR END REVIEW OF 2006 – DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
New Delhi:
December 27, 2006
The year
2006 witnessed unprecedented growth in India’s merchandise exports which
crossed the landmark figure of US $ 100 billion and reached US $ 103
billion during the year, recording a growth rate of 24%.
At 24 per cent growth in 2005-06 and 27 per cent growth in 2004-05,
exports are currently growing three times
faster than GDP growth. Exports as a share of GDP is more than 13%
currently compared with a share of only 6% in 1990-91.
The high
rate of growth during 2006 will ensure that the export target of US $
125 billion for this fiscal (2006-07)
will be reached, Shri Kamal Nath, Union Minister of Commerce and
Industry, has said, while indicating that exports during
April-November 2006 have already reached US $ 80 billion, with a record
growth rate of about 39%.
India has
also improved its rank in the world market as an exporter.
Employment generation in the export sector
is being accorded the highest priority and accordingly, Annual
Supplement of the Foreign Trade Policy announced by Shri Kamal Nath in
April 2006 sought to achieve the objective of employment generation by
identifying special focus areas in labour intensive sectors which would
generate additional employment opportunities.
Major initiatives taken in 2006 for the
promotion of labour intensive exports were as follows:
(a)
TWIN SCHEMES OF FOCUS PRODUCT AND FOCUS MARKET
introduced to give additional impetus to penetration of strategic
markets in labour intensive sectors such as fish and leather products,
stationery items, fireworks, sports goods and toys, and handloom &
handicraft items. The Focus Product and Focus Market Scheme, allows
duty credit facility at 2.5% of the FOB value of exports of specific
products and notified countries.
(b)
VISHESH
KRISHI UPAJ YOJANA EXPANDED TO INCLUDE VILLAGE AND COTTAGE INDUSTRIES
– renamed s the Vishi Krishi Upaj Aur Gram Udyog Yojana – to incentivise
export of village and cottage industry products by awarding a duty-free
scrip at the rate of 5% of FOB value of exports under the expanded
scheme.
(c)
MASSIVE THRUST ON MAKING INDIA GEMS & JEWELLERY AND
AUTOMOTIVE HUB
by facilitating easier product movement across the borders and allowing
import of precious metal scrap for refining.
According to a study by RIS (Research &
Information Systems for Developing Countries) commissioned by
Ministry of Commerce & Industry in 2006, the export sector generated
incremental direct employment of 14.85 lakh (i.e., 1.4 million) over the
previous year, bringing the total employment generated by the export
sector to 90.06 lakh (i.e. 9 billion). India has set itself a target
of exports of US $ 150 billion by 2008-09 and achievement of this
export target is likely to generate 136 lakh (i.e., 13.6 million) new
jobs in the economy.
In pursuance of the Special Economic Zones Act
2005, SEZ Rules were notified in February 2006 in order to fulfil the
objectives of the scheme viz., generation of additional economic
activity; development of infrastructure facilities; creation of
employment opportunities; promotion of investment from domestic and
foreign sources; and promotion of exports of goods and services.
237 SEZs have been formally approved and 51 SEZs were notified during
2006.
The SEZ
scheme has generated tremendous response amongst the investors, both in
India and abroad. Among the SEZ success stories of 2006 are: Nokia
SEZ in Tamil Nadu which commenced commercial production with an
investment of US$ 100 Million, providing direct employment to 2,800
persons and indirect employment to around 10,000 persons; Apache SEZ
(Adidas Group) in Andhra Pradesh which commenced construction
activities with an investment US $ 50 million, providing employment to
25,000 persons; Flextronics SEZ in Tamil Nadu; Quark City SEZ
in Chandigarh, expected to have FDI of around US $ 0.5 billion,
providing employment to 35,000 persons; and Motorola and Foxconn
setting up electronic hardware manufacturing units in the SIPCOT SEZ
with an investment of over US $ 200 Million.
Continuing its proactive role as a major player in the Doha Round of
negotiations in the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Shri Kamal Nath
stood firm on India’s position especially in agriculture and
participated in the WTO meetings in Geneva in 2006, which saw the
suspension of the negotiations. India effectively articulated concerns
of the developing countries at these meetings. As Shri Kamal Nath said:
“Our farm activists and organizations initially opposed our
participation in WTO talks. That is because they thought India might
accept the demands of developed countries. But I did not accept those
demands. Their fears and concerns – that farm produce from developed
countries would enter India, and Indian farmers would be ruined – were
genuine. But we did not accept those demands of developed countries.
India not only stood firm, but also led the entire developing world”.
On the bilateral front, at the 7th
India-European Union
Summit held
in Helsinki in October 2006, India and the EU agreed to launch
negotiations for a broad-based Bilateral Trade and Investment Agreement.
During the year, initiatives were also taken in the area of Regional
Trade Agreements (RTAs) which included implementation of agreement
on South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA) with effect from July 1, 2006;
implementation of an expanded list of preferential goods under the
Bangkok Agreement with effect from September 1, 2006; initiation of the
process of working out a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA)
with Korea etc
The trade between
India and
China through Nathu La Pass in Sikkim resumed
in July 2006 with import of 15 items allowed from China and export of 29
items from India. Since the opening of the trade route good worth
Rs.8.86 lakh have been exported and goods worth Rs.10.61 lakhs
were imported through Nathu La route from July-September 2006.
**********
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26th
Dec.2006 |
2006 – YEAR OF RECORD FDI
INFLOWS: KAMAL NATH
MANUFACTURING SECTOR GROWTH RATE OVERTAKES SERVICES GROWTH TO EMERGE AS
MAJOR CONTRIBUTOR TO GDP
INDIA COMPLETES SUCCESSFUL TRANSITION TO PRODUCT PATENT
REGIME
TASK FORCE ON DEVELOPMENT OF DELHI-MUMBAI INDUSTRIAL
CORRIDOR BEING CONSTITUTED
YEAR END REVIEW OF DEPARTMENT OF INDUSTRIAL POLICY &
PROMOTION
New Delhi:
December 26, 2006
2006 has been a year of
record foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows with FDI equity inflows
alone during 2006-07 expected to cross US $ 11 billion, more than double
the equity inflows of US $ 5.5 billion last year, Shri Kamal Nath, Union
Minister of Commerce and Industry, has said while giving a overview of
the performance of the Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP)
during the year ending 2006. “Once the reinvested earnings of
foreign companies already present in India is also taken into account in
FDI inflows, which is the world-wide practice, the total FDI inflows in
2006-07 could be as high as US $ 14 billion, compared to US $ 7.7
billion last year”, he said.
While industrial production
has grown by over 10% during April-October 2006, a major highlight of
this industrial growth has been the high level of growth recorded by the
manufacturing sector. “Between April and October 2006, the growth rate
of manufacturing was 11.2% over the corresponding period of the
previous year and there are indications that this rate will be
maintained and probably bettered and the targeted rate of growth of 12%
in manufacturing of the Eleventh Plan is likely to be achieved in the
Tenth Plan terminal year itself. The contribution of manufactured
products to exports is growing with a share of about 84% in total
merchandise exports during the year 2005-06. These have recorded a
growth rate of 22.6% in 2003-04, 29.7% in 2004-05 and 23.4% in 2005-06”,
the Minister said.
Continuous liberalization
in FDI policy and simplification of procedures are contributing
immensely to attracting increased FDI into
India. The fact that the government is
now annually conducting a review of the FDI Policy & Procedures has
given an added confidence to the foreign investors that their concerns
are addressed on a continuous basis.
Also, India is now the flavour of the year for most foreign investors
given the various policy and promotional measures being undertaken by
the Prime Minister himself, both at home and in his tours abroad.
“There have been huge
investments coming in the software industry, financial services and
manufacturing. The manufacturing investments are the ‘first mile
investments’ in as far as these are likely to be followed up by further
investments to complete the projects and also for their further
expansions”, Shri Kamal Nath said.
Along the Delhi-Mumbai
Freight Corridor, a 1450 km long industrial corridor to attract
further investments including from
Japan is proposed to be set up along
with all the essential physical infrastructure needed for industrial and
export growth, i.e., roads,
connectivity to ports, development and expansion of ports, power
projects and industrial estates / SEZs, etc. The development of this
Corridor would also make the process of industrial growth more
regionally balanced as the corridor would pass through 5 states namely,
Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan,
Gujarat and Maharashtra. A Task Force
of all the concerned Ministries and States is being constituted to work
out its details and the Prime Minister has been requested by the
Commerce and Industry Minister to convene a meeting to give broad
directions to the Task Force on development of this important project.
India has successfully completed
transition to a modern intellectual property regime during 2006.
With the amendment of the Indian Patent Act 1970 last year, product
patents were introduced for pharmaceuticals and agro-chemicals, and
subsequent to this, filing and grant of patents has shot up in the last
2 years. Over 25,000 patent applications were filed and 1,80,000
trade marks were registered in the last one year. The transition to a
new IPR legal regime has been accompanied by a near completion of a
Rs.154 crore modernization programme of
India’s Patent and Trade Marks Offices.
All the four new networked Intellectual Property Offices in the four
metros were commissioned during the year and a major exercise for
capacity building of the examiners and other staff is under way.
Finally,
India took the lead in the protection of
traditional knowledge and prevention of bio-piracy. At meetings of the
World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), India has initiated a
proposal to make disclosure of the origin of genetic resources
mandatory. At the World Trade Organisation (WTO) also, India has moved
an amendment to the TRIPs agreement so as to make such disclosures
mandatory in order to prevent bio-piracy and preserve traditional
knowledge. The project on
preparation of a digital library on traditional knowledge (TKDL)
concerning medicinal plants and herbal-based cures covering the Indian
systems of medicine is nearing completion and negotiations with other
Patent Offices on sharing this database of over 1.5 lakh formulations
have been initiated.
*********
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26th
Dec.2006 |
KAMAL NATH GIVES AWAY FIEO EXPORT AWARDS
GREATER FOCUS ON AGRICULTURAL EXPORTS NEEDED: KAMAL NATH
New Delhi:
December 26, 2006
The Union Minister of
Commerce and Industry, Shri Kamal Nath gave away the
Federation of Indian
Export Organisations (FIEO) Export Awards, Niryat Shree and Niryat
Bandhu for the years 2003-04 and 2004-05
in a ceremony organized here today. The Minister congratulated the
exporters for exceeding the target set for exports and assured the
exporters of Government’s continued support to achieve higher targets in
future. Shri Nath also urged the exporters to look at the potential of
agriculture and agricultural products for export purposes. “The
agriculture sector has to be sustainable in
India. With 650 million people engaged
in agriculture contributing just 23 per cent of GDP, there is a need to
focus on identifying areas for increasing the agricultural exports so
that agriculture also engages in the global economy”, he said. The
Minister called upon FIEO to undertake a study on how to boost
agricultural exports in the next five years.
Niryat Shree were
awarded to exporters for achieving outstanding export performance while
Niryat Bandhu were awarded to export promotion agencies for providing
valuable support to the exporting community. On behalf of the
Federation, the Minister also conferred Life Time Achievement Awards on
a renowned bureaucrat Mr. PMA Hakeem and a noted industrialist Mr. R. L
Toshniwal. A Special Award was given to ECGC for its admirable support
to exporters of the country. Shri G.K.Pillai, Commerce Secretary, Shri
O.P.Garg President, FIEO, Shri B.S.Meena, DGFT, and Shri Ajay Sahay ,
DG, FIEO, were also present on the occasion.
Earlier, Shri Kamal Nath inaugurated
FIEO's newly constructed building "Niryat
Bhawan" and requested FIEO to consider opening similar offices in other
Metropolitan cities across the country to further serve the cause of
Indian exporters.
***
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21st
Dec.2006 |
KAMAL NATH CONVENES FIRST
EVER PRE-BUDGET JOINT INTERACTION OF EXPORTERS
WITH FINANCE MINISTER
EXPORTERS URGE CONTINUANCE OF DEPB, TEXTILE UPGRADATION FUND SCHEME
STELLAR EXPORT PERFORMANCE KEY FACTOR IN INDIA’S ECONOMIC GROWTH
WIDENING TRADE GAP NO CAUSE FOR WORRY, SAYS CHIDAMBARAM
LOOK AHEAD AND STRATEGISE, ELSE WILL BE OVERTAKEN BY NEW COMPETITORS,
KAMAL NATH TELLS EXPORTERS
New Delhi, dated 21st December,
2006
The first ever pre-Budget and
pre-Foreign Trade Policy joint interactive meeting of exporters convened
by the Shri Kamal Nath, Commerce and Industry Minister, with Shri
P.Chidambaram, Union Finance Minister, was held here this morning with
the exporters urging the government to ensure continuance of the Duty
Entitlement Passbook Scheme (DEPB) and the Textile Upgradation Fund
Scheme (TUFS), besides removal or rationalisation of levies that erode
the global competitiveness of Indian exports. The
interactive session was attended by Commerce Secretary Shri G.K.Pillai,
Secretary (Industrial Policy and Promotion) Dr. Ajay Dua, and Revenue
Secretary Shri K.M.Chandrashekhar, along with the Director General of
Foreign Trade (DGFT) Shri B.S.Meena and chairpersons of all Export
Promotion Councils, as well as the Federation of Indian Export
Organisations (FIEO) and Commodity Board including Tea Board and Coir
Board.
Both the ministers complimented
exporters for their stellar performance which, Shri Chidambaram said,
was a major factor in India’s economic growth story. “ I recognise the
validity and merit of the exporters’ suggestions. These will be examined
and appropriate decisions will be taken”, Shri Chidambaram said, adding
that his responsibility as Finance Minister was to balance the interests
of exporters, the industry and of revenue. Shri Kamal Nath also
underlined the need to balance exporters’
requirements with the interests of the domestic industry to facilitate
the growth of both the sectors.
Stating that employment generation and
competitiveness were the two principal challenges of the export sector
and terming today’s interaction as very fruitful, Shri Kamal Nath urged
the exporting community to “ look ahead and strategise to avoid being
overtaken by emerging new competitors in the global market place”.
He suggested all EPCs should undertake in-depth studies on their
prospective competitors as part of a long-term strategy to stay ahead in
the race for a larger share of world trade.
In
response to a query from the press on the widening trade deficit after
the meeting, Shri Chidambaram said : “ Trade deficit is not a cause for
worry. I can live with the current account deficit. I want the importers
to import what they want and our exporters to export as much as they
can”.
During the interaction, a number of
suggestions were put forward by the exporters.
FIEO and several EPCs sought removal
of the central sales tax from 4 % to zero as it made exports less
competitive; zero duty on imports for export production under the Export
Promotion Capital Goods Scheme (EPCG) to provide a level playing field
and promote expansion and modernisation; widening of the Focus Market
and Focus Market Scheme to include CIS countries and more products; and
a firm date for EDI (electronic data interchange) connectivity by
Customs as it would greatly reduce transaction cost of exporters.
Engineering Export Promotion Council
(EEPC) wanted exemption from service tax and the Fringe
Benefit Tax, which put a heavy burden on exporters for activities which
were essential for export promotion. Export Promotion Council for EOUs
and SEZs (EPCES) urged removal of the sunset clause under Section 10 b
which provides income tax exemption on EOU exports only till 2009 and
requested expediting issue of guidelines by Revenue so that SEZ Rules
could be implemented by their field formations.
The Seafood Exporters Association
wanted relaxation and extension of export obligation under the EPCG
Scheme for fishing and marine industry affected by natural calamities
such as Tsunami, besides factoring in of fuel costs in DEPB as with
other export promotion schemes. Direct import of bullion in a phased
manner was proposed by the Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council
as the present system of allowing imports only by nominated agencies for
supply to exporters added to transaction costs and procedural hassles.
Council for Leather Exports urged exemption from excise and additional
customs duty on machinery, spare parts etc used in leather and leather
products, including footwear, while the Sports Goods and Plastics EPC
suggested reduction in duty on inputs. Tea Board raised the issue of
reduction of duties on tea bagging and packaging machines and the
Shellac EPC suggested issue of ITC HS Code for 500 medicinal plants as
also to allow export of minor forest produce from SEZs.
From the textile EPCs viz, Apparel
Export Promotion Council (AEPC), TEXPROCIL, Synthetic and Rayon Export
Promotion Council (TEXPROCIL)etc, the main demands included extension of
the TUF Scheme for another 5 years till 31/3/2012 which is needed to
upgrade and expand technology of the Indian textile industry to face the
severe competition in the post-quota regime; reduction in duties to
facilitate growth of the indigenous textile machinery industry; and
reduced duty on man-made fibres. Handicrafts EPC wanted infrastructure
status for the India Expo Mart and setting up of a Rs 1000 crore corpus
to ensure a 3-fold increase in 5 years.
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21st
Dec.2006 |
FACT SHEET
New
Delhi:
December 21,
2006
Following are some of the gains
that will result from the Special Economic Zones :
-
Investment of the order of US $ 700 million expected by December 2006 in
development of SEZs and units;
- Projected
investment by Dec.’07 Rs. 100,000 Crores including Rs. 25000 crores FDI;
- Projected
employment by Dec.’07, 5,00,000 persons;
- SEZs
expected to have strong backward and forward linkages with industries in
the domestic tariff area ;
-
Establishment of SEZs leading to fast growth of labour
intensive manufacturing and services in the country.
***
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21st
Dec.2006 |
FACT SHEET
New Delhi:
December 21, 2006
Some of the SEZs with basic
information regarding investment, location, employment etc. are listed
below.
NOKIA SEZ, Sriperumbudur
US$ 100
mn. already invested
3700
direct employment;10000 indirect employment
Expected
employment 20000 by December 2007
Producing 2.5 m handsets per month
Flextronics SEZ, Sriperumbudur
US$ 100
mn. Invested
Production to commence in Jan’07
1000
persons employed already
SIPCOT –
Motorola – Foxconn-Dell SEZ,Sriperumbudur
Investment
of US$ 200 mn.
Direct
Employment for 15000 persons
Hub for
high tech. manufacturing
Apache
SEZ, Tada, A.P.
Investment
of US$ 50 mn.
Employment
for 25000 persons by June 2007
500 persons
being trained already
Divvy’s Laboratories, Andhra Pradesh
Commenced
operations in September 2006
Expected
employment 8000 by April 2007
Rajiv
Gandhi Technology Park, Chandigarh
Infosys Technologies has started setting up activities
500 persons recruited and under training
Expected employment by June2007 is 5000
Brandix
Apparel SEZ, Vishakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh
Textiles SEZ
Investments of US $100m
Expected employment 60000 by March 2009
Quarkcity
SEZ, Mohali, Punjab
Expected
FDI of US$ 0.5 bn.
Employment
for 35000 persons
Hyderabad
Gems, Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh
Gems &
Jewellery SEZ
Investments
of US $100m
Expected
employment 30000 by March 2009
training
1000 girls already
ETL
Infrastructure, Chennai
IT/ITES SEZ
First Gold rated Green building; 30% energy saving
4000 persons already working
***
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19th
Dec.2006 |
CRITICISM OF SEZs COMPLETELY MISPLACED, SAYS KAMAL NATH --
SEZs
AN ENGINE OF GROWTH
INDIA NEEDS SEZs, MPs AGREE
PARLIAMENTARY CONSULTATIVE COMMITTEE OF COMMERCE AND
INDUSTRY MEETS
New Delhi:
December 19, 2006
Shri Kamal Nath, Union Minister of Commerce &
Industry, has said that criticism of the Special Economic Zones (SEZs) is
entirely misplaced and that the propaganda against it is not based on
facts. Presiding over the Parliamentary Consultative
Committee attached to his Ministry here last night, Shri Kamal Nath
underlined that SEZs were in fact an engine of growth which would lead to
creation of employment on a large scale through the generation of
additional economic activity, development of infrastructure, promotion of
investment (both domestic and foreign) and exports of goods and services
from India.
Members who participated -- S/Shri Suresh
Prabhu, Shantharam Naik, P. Karunakaran, Sambasiva R. Rao, Sudhangshu
Seal, J.M. Aaron Rashid, K.C. Palanisamy and Ramsingh Kaswan – were
unanimously of the view that India does need SEZs, while suggesting that
in the process of implementation concerns relating to land, labour laws
etc. be suitably addressed and generation of employment and FDI in SEZs be
ensured. Shri Kamal Nath assured the members that safeguards had
already been built into the SEZ Act and the Rules to fully take care of
such concerns. For instance, a 24-point checklist giving financial
details of the applicant, vacancy and contiguity status of land, state
government recommendations, projected investments including FDI & source
of FDI, employment, export data etc. is prescribed along with application
for the Board of Approvals.
The Minister explained that the SEZ Policy as
embodied in the SEZ Act 2005 supported by the SEZ Rules 2006 were meant
mainly to provide a “One Stop Shop” doing away with multiplicity of
controls and clearances, along with fiscal concessions and simplified
procedures.
Shri Jairam Ramesh, Minister of State for
Commerce; Shri Ashwani Kumar, Minister of State for Industry; Dr. Ajay Dua,
Secretary, Department of Industry Policy & Promotion, Ministry of Commerce
& Industry; and Shri G.K. Pillai, Commerce Secretary, attended the
meeting.
The initial response to the SEZ policy has been
tremendous, with the state governments showing a lot of enthusiasm for the
scheme. Over 650 proposals received from 21 states and 3 union territories
till now involve investors from both India and abroad. Of these, 237
approvals have been granted spread over 17 states and 2 union territories
and 51 SEZs have been notified. A large number of these SEZs are for
textiles and apparels, leather footwear, auto components, engineering and
other sector specific SEZs, which would involve labour intensive
manufacturing.
The employment projected
in these 51 notified SEZs would be over 5,00,000, Shri Kamal Nath said.
Responding to queries on the land issue, Shri
Kamal Nath made it clear that the central government had not acquired
any land for SEZs. “It is the state governments which acquire land for
various purposes viz., roads, hospitals, industrial areas, ports etc. and
have their own relief and rehabilitation policy”, he said, adding that he
had on his part also written to Chief Ministers that while acquiring land
for SEZs priority should be given to waste and barren lands. In this
context, the Minister deplored the tendency to link all land issues with
SEZs. (For instance, Singur had nothing to do with SEZ, being a
standalone industrial project of the state government). Further, “it is
not possible to simply shift existing industrial activity from outside
SEZs to the SEZs. Any investment in SEZs has to be new investment with
new machinery and other new facilities”, he stressed.
On the issue of revenue loss, Shri Kamal Nath
explained that for infrastructure developers tax benefits already existed
even outside the SEZs. Moreover, “unless suitable tax concessions
are given, no developer will come forward to invest over Rs.2500 crore in
multi-product SEZs without any assured time frame for returns. In case
of SEZ units, the corporate tax concessions are available only on export
income. For sale in Domestic Tariff Area (DTA), 100% duty and taxes
as per import tariff have to be paid by the SEZ unit. There are no
exemptions for such DTA sales under the SEZ regime”, he said.
Underlining the need to look at SEZs from the
correct perspective, Shri Kamal Nath mentioned that SEZs under the new Act
and the Rules were only 8 months old and, therefore, should be given a
fair trial, especially in view of the enthusiasm that the scheme had
generated amongst the states.
In response to a member’s query whether FDI was
allowed in SEZs for the manufacture of cigarettes, Shri Kamal Nath stated
that 100% FDI was allowed for manufacturing provided the manufacture was
for exports. This would also benefit the tobacco farmers in the country,
he added.
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18th
Dec.2006 |
GLOBALISATION MUST DELIVER ON
ITS PROMISES
TO THE POOR, SAYS KAMAL NATH
New Delhi:
December 18, 2006
Globalisation must deliver on its promises to
the poor and the disadvantaged people, most of whom live in the developing
world, Shri Kamal Nath, Minister of Commerce & Industry, said in his
address at the National Seminar on “Making globalisation Work: An India
Perspective” with Prof. Joseph E. Stiglitz, organised by the
Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) here this
morning.
“In order not to discredit itself, globalisation would
have to squarely address sustainable development and poverty reduction”,
he said.
Pointing out that international trade rules are underpinned by an
insufficient appreciation of the adverse impact of rapid liberalisation,
Shri Kamal Nath emphasised that without
substantial investment in the capacity to supply and a guaranteed safety
net against falling prices and import surges, sudden liberalisation would
expose the poor to unbearable risk. “For
India, these aspects lie at the core of the Doha Development Round,
coupled with the need to usher in fair trade by achieving substantial and
effective reductions in trade-distorting agricultural support and
protection provided by the developed countries.
It remains India’s firm hope that the Doha Round will
deliver on its development promises and dispel to a degree the discontent
that prevails against globalization”, he said.
**********
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16th
Dec.2006 |
TRIPURA IS INDIA’S NEXT
FRONTIER
IN RUBBER INDUSTRY : JAIRAM RAMESH
New Delhi, December 16, 2006
The Minister of State for Commerce Shri
Jairam Ramesh, completed his two-day visit to Tripura earlier today.
During the visit, Shri Ramesh met with the Chief Minister Shri Manik
Sarkar, several state ministers and trade & industry associations. He
visited the Bodhjungnagar industrial complex which has received over
Rs.500 crores of private investment in the past decade, the Agartala Land
Customs Station and Bamboo production units. He reviewed export
potential and capability in the state in different areas like
horticulture, bamboo, rubber, tea and spices.
The Minister complimented the
state government for the support it has been providing to expand rubber
cultivation and stated “Tripura is India’s next frontier in the rubber
industry”. Tripura is now India’s second largest producer of natural
rubber after Kerala. The Rubber Board has identified 100,000 hectares as
the potential area under rubber in Tripura, of which roughly 31% has come
under cultivation. Shri Ramesh pointed out that Assam is the other
northeastern state where there is great potential for rubber cultivation,
but here of the 200,000 hectare identified as rubberworthy, just about
14,000 hectare (or 7%) has been brought under rubber cultivation. Shri
Ramesh said that only by increasing production in Tripura and Assam, apart
from increasing productivity in Kerala, will the country’s growing demand
for natural rubber be met without resorting to imports. He assured the
full support of the Rubber Board to Tripura and Assam and said that he has
already instructed the Kottayam-based Rubber Board to be more proactively
Northeast-centric in its programmes. Shri Ramesh also visited India’s
largest rubber thread export unit in Agartala set up by the Dharampal
Satyapal Group.
On other commodities, Shri Ramesh
said that Tripura has about 6700 hectare under tea producing about 5
million kg as compared to 450 million kg in Assam. The central
government will spend about Rs 43 crore as part of the Special Purpose Tea
Fund for rejuvenating the tea gardens in Tripura that are more than 40
years old. The Jampui Hills of North Tripura offer potential for
growing coffee for which the Coffee Board will work with the state
government.
The Minister brought to the
attention of the State government two major projects being implemented in
Tripura with funding from the Union Ministry of Commerce—a Rs 7 crore
Rubber Park at Bodhjungnagar and Rs 7.5 crore for the development of
trade infrastructure at Raghna Bazar. He emphasized the need for speedy
implementation of the two projects on the part of both the central and
state government agencies involved.
Shri Ramesh announced that the
Government of India has just sanctioned Rs 60 crore for infrastructure
development at the Agartala Land Customs Station on the India-Bangladesh
border. Fish, chillies, potato seeds, cement, animal feed, soyabean
and mustard oil and raw hides are the main items of bilateral trade
through Akhaura. The project to be completed in the next 18 months is
being executed by RITES and will result in the establishment of a
completely integrated checkpost for border trade at Agartala. He also
assured support for development of infrastructure at Srimantapur Land
Customs Station.
Shri Ramesh emphasized the
need to expand bamboo-based economic activities significantly in the state.
In this connection, he mentioned that the Mumbai-based IL&FS has done a
detailed project report for implementing a bamboo mission in Tripura over
the next three years at an estimated cost of Rs 48 crore, for which the
Government of India would take the initiative to tie-up the funding from
different sources. The mission covers bamboo use in sticks, mats,
furniture, handicrafts, power generation and as bamboo shoots. At present
just 2-3% of the total extracted bamboo is used for value-addition and the
mission will significantly enhance this proportion. The bamboo industry
market in Tripura is at present Rs 70 crore per year and with the
implementation of the mission, it would grow to around Rs 400 crore in the
next five years creating another 7000 jobs as well in the state.
He requested the state
government to pursue the implementation of the pineapple AEZ with greater
vigour. The total projected investment for this AEZ covering 935
hectares of areas of Kumarghat, Manu, Melaghar, Kakraban and Matabari is
Rs 16 crore, out of which the Centre has approved Rs 7 crore. The
Agricultural and Processed Foods Export Development Authority (APEDA) has
already built a walk-in cold storage facility at Agartala airport which
need to be utilized more fully. The Ministry of Commerce has also
substantially liberalized the airfreight subsidy scheme for export of
horticultural products from the northeast with 90% subsidy to Kolkata
airport and 50% subsidy to Delhi and Mumbai airports. Shri Ramesh said
the central government has allocated Rs.14 crores in 2006-07 to Tripura
for development of horticulture with emphasis on banana, pineapple, aonla,
mango, lichis, potato, ginger, organic black pepper and cashew nuts.
The Chief Minister, Shri Manik
Sarkar impressed on the Minister of State for Commerce the need for the
Central government to have a long-term policy for the utilization of
natural gas resource of Tripura. He pointed out that substantial gas
reserves have been located in the state and the success rate for
exploration in Tripura is much higher than in other parts of the country.
He wanted the GAIL gas pipelines from Myanmar to go through the NE
States. The Tripura CM also called for immediate upgradation of NH-44,
the lifeline of Tripura’s economy and its linking with the East-West
corridor. Shri Sarkar also said that the erstwhile road, rail and
waterways links between Tripura and Bangladesh which were extensive and
conveniently located in the pre-Partition period could be restored with
minimum efforts. Shri Ramesh agreed with the Chief Minister’s views and
promised to convey them to the concerned ministries of the central
government.
Shri Ramesh assured the state
government that he would take up the various proposals made by the Tripura
government for expanding trade cooperation between Tripura and Bangladesh.
These include access to Chittagong, Sherpur and Ashuganj ports, the
Agartala-Akhaura rail link and critical bridges. Bangladesh has
substantial trade surplus with Tripura unlike with the rest of India. He
promised the Union Commerce Ministry’s support for a Tripura Bangladesh
Trade Fair to be held in Agartala in March 2007.
Responding to Shri Manik Sarkar’s
plea, Shri Ramesh said he was hopeful that the Prime Minister would soon
announce his decision on the extension of fiscal incentives as part of the
North East Industrial policy. These incentives expire on March 31, 2007.
But Shri Ramesh was hopeful that the Prime Minister, who is very sensitive
to the needs and concerns of North East, would look upon the extension of
the incentives very favourably.
***
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15th
Dec.2006 |
KAMAL NATH INVITES JAPANESE INVESTMENT IN INFRASTRUCTURE,
MANUFACTURING AND SERVICES
New Delhi:
December 15, 2006
Agrahayana 24, 1928
Shri Kamal Nath Union Minister of Commerce
and Industry has urged the Japanese investors to participate in India’s
growth story and highlighted the opportunities India presents in
infrastructure, manufacturing and the services sector. While delivering a
key-note address at a Seminar on ‘Investing in India’ at Japan Chamber of
Commerce and Industry in Tokyo today, he stated that ‘India has enjoyed a
special place in Japan’s global scheme of things. With time the economic
ties between the two nations have only grown stronger and deeper’.
The Minister pointed out that investment
opportunities worth US$ 500 billion were estimated in 25 major economic
activities. He also highlighted the policy reforms undertaken by India
including simplification of investment procedures, promotion of FDI,
liberalization of exchange control etc. ‘We are targeting growth rates of
ten per cent in the next five year plan. Our investment and policy regime
are being continuously aligned to achieve these GDP growth rates’ the
Minister said. India’s demographic profile with a large young
population and the vast consumer base also makes India a favourable
investment destination.
Japanese investment in India has been US$ 2.15
billion (1991-2006, up to July 2006) which is about 6.1 per cent of total
FDI inflows into India. FIIs from Japan made a net investment of US$ 2.26
billion during the last financial year and was the top country for FII
investment. Bilateral trade between the two countries was US$ 6.8 billion
in 2005.
***
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14th
Dec.2006 |
INDIA AND JAPAN TO PLAY
A VITAL ROLE IN SHAPING THE FUTURE OF ASIA: KAMAL NATH
New Delhi:
December 14, 2006
Shri Kamal Nath, Union Minister of Commerce & Industry, while addressing
the India Evening event in Tokyo today said that India and Japan will
together play a pivotal role in shaping the future of Asia. The
Minister remarked that both countries shared a common vision for the world
and can be partners in the growth of each other’s economy. He highlighted
the strength of Indo-Japanese economic relations and stated “the young and
resurgent India has a lot to offer to Japan”.
Shri Kamal Nath urged the Japanese investors to benefit from
India’s skilled manpower, low-cost and a healthy market growth, which
would give Japanese investors a competitive edge in the world market.
On the other hand, Japan offers to the Indian investors innovative
technologies, world-class communication amenities, highly reliable
logistic infrastructure and other investor-friendly facilities. “Over 70
Indian IT companies have already established their offices in Japan.
And I see that number growing in the India-Japan friendship year”, the
Minister said.
A number of steps have been taken by the two governments to
improve bilateral trade and economic relations. Trade between the two
countries has increased consistently. During 2005-06 exports from India
to Japan were US $ 2459 million and imports from Japan were US $ 3552
million and the corresponding figure for 2004-05 were – exports from India
to Japan – US $ 2128 million and imports from Japan US $ 3235 million.
**************
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14th
Dec.2006 |
FACT SHEET
New Delhi:
December 14, 2006
The facilities available to exporters are based on the basic principle
that taxes and duties should not be exported. Different export promotion
schemes such as Export Oriented Unit (EOU) Scheme. Export Promotion
Capital Goods Scheme (EPCG), Advance Licence Scheme, Duty Entitlement Pass
Book (DEPB) Scheme, Drawback Scheme and similar other schemes accordingly
provide for concessional duty or exemption of duty on capital goods and/or
exemption or refund or rebate of duties on raw materials and consumers.
All imports required for authorised operations
of a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) Unit are exempt from duties. The
exporting industrial units outside SEZ are also eligible for similar
exemption on raw materials and capital goods if they operate under EOU
Scheme and on raw materials if under Advance Licence Scheme. The only
additional facility on imports for SEZ unit is exemption for the material
required for constructing the unit premises.
***********
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14th
Dec.2006 |
FACT
SHEET
New
Delhi:
December 14, 2006
The government has been following the policy of
liberalisation of trade since 1991. Globalisation is an international
phenomenon and essentially contributes to coherence and consistency among
trade and economic policies for maximising the contribution of such
policies for development of the country.
The industry sector of the Indian economy has
shown a consistently increasing growth rate over a period of last five
years.
Subsequent to removal of quantitative
restrictions (QRs) on imports, the government has put in place a
suitable mechanism for monitoring the import of sensitive items.
Protection to domestic producers including farmers is provided by
resorting to various WTO compatible measures which include calibrations of
applied tariff within bound levels and safeguard action under specified
circumstances. Further, the government has also implemented a number of
development programmes to increase the competitiveness of the Indian
Industry including the farmers and labourers. Some of these
programmes include introduction of improved availability of inputs
including water, credit and fertilisers, price support through the minimum
support price Scheme, Market Intervention Scheme, National Rural
employment Guarantee programme etc.
***********
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14th
Dec.2006 |
New
Delhi: December 14, 2006
The
concerns of the domestic industry have been addressed by the government
through certain steps. Some of the steps taken to protect the interest
of domestic industry and improve the health of vegetable oil industry
include:
i)
Import of oilseeds except copra has been allowed on Open General Licence (OGL).
ii)
Import duty on certain vegetable oils of edible grade intended for
manufacture of refined oil/vanaspati is levied at a concessional rate.
iii)
Import duty on certain crude vegetable oils of edible grade has been kept
low as compared to refined oils to facilitate raw material
availability. With effect from 11/8/2006, the Customs Duty on Crude
Palm Oil has been reduced from 80% to 70% whereas customs duty on Refined
Palm Oil/Refined bleached deodorized (RBD) Palmolein has been reduced from
90% to 80%.
iv)
In
order to encourage production of solvent extracted oils in the country and
to promote export of extractions, excise duty on food grade hexane has
been reduced from 32% to 16%.
v)
Excise duty on refined edible oils/vanaspati/interesterified fat etc. has
been withdrawn.
vi)
Import duty on vanaspati, bakery, shortening, interesterified fat,
margarine has been raised from 30% to 80%.
vii)
Duty free import of vanaspati including bakery, shortening and margarine
from Sri Lanka under India-Sri Lanka Free trade Agreement (ISFTA) has also
been restricted to 2.5 lakh metric tonnes per year.
viii)
In
order to harmonise the interests of farmers, processors and consumers, the
import duty structure on edible oils is reviewed form time to time.
ix)
Tariff value is fixed from time to time for palm oil and its products and
soyabean oil.
x)
Edible oils including vanaspati have been kept in the Negative List of
India under the Agreement on South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA) which has
become operational from 1/7/2006. It has also been decided that these
items would be kept in the negative list of prospective free trade
agreements or similar agreements.
Under the India-Nepal Treaty of Trade, duty free facility for import of
vanaspati from Nepal into India is restricted to one lakh metric tonnes
per year and this import is done through the State Trading Corporation of
India (STC) and distributed all over India to minimise its impact of palm
oil from Nepal.
It
has been reported that out of 264 units of vegetable oil (vanaspati) in
the country, at present 148 units are either closed/non-functional.
However, the reasons underlying the closure of vanaspati units inter-alia
include creation of production capacity not commensurate with availability
of raw materials, obsolete technology, poor economies of scale etc. It
cannot, therefore, be concluded that the reason for closure is solely due
to import of duty free vanaspati from Nepal.
*********
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13th
Dec.2006 |
New
Delhi: December 13, 2006
Shri Kamal Nath, Union Commerce &
Industry Minister, had wide-ranging discussions with Mr. Akira Amari, the
Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, Government of Japan, in
Tokyo
today, when a major understanding was reached for developing an industrial
corridor along the Delhi-Mumbai multi-modal freight corridor.
The industrial corridor will have several supporting
infrastructure projects such as power facilities,
rail connectivity to ports en-route and would also cover development of
ports on the west coast of India. Along this corridor several industrial
estates and clusters with high quality infrastructure are proposed to be
developed to attract more investments, including from Japan.
A Task Force under Vice-Minister METI and Secretary
Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP), Government of
India, will develop this concept and the components of the
project further.
The discussions were aimed at significantly increasing the
trade & investment flows between the two countries and covered the
on-going multilateral trade talks at the World Trade Organisation (WTO).
The two Ministers signed an MOU upgrading the existing
Japan-India Policy Dialogue (JIPD) to the level of ministers from the
existing official level. This was a re-affirmation of the growing economic
engagement between the two countries. The first meeting of the JIPD to
be co-chaired by Mr. Kamal Nath and Mr. Akira Amari will be held soon in
New Delhi.
Shri Kamal Nath and Mr. Akira Amari also agreed that the
first meeting of the negotiating group on signing an Economic Partnership
Agreement (EPA) between the two countries should be held very soon and
that it should cover besides trade in goods and services, issues
concerning investment promotion and intellectual property rights.
*********
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13th
Dec.2006 |
JAIRAM HOSTS DISCUSSIONS ON THE PROPOSED E-AUCTION
OF TEA
New
Delhi: December 13, 2006
Continuing the tradition of evening-discussions with the MPs on matters of
critical importance Shri Jairam Ramesh, Minister of State for Commerce
hosted a discussion last evening, on the proposed E-auction of Tea in
India with the MPs of the tea growing areas in India.
The Additional Secretary and Director (Plantations) in the Dept of
Commerce and Chairman, Tea Board participated.
The discussions started with a presentation by the Shri Basudeb Banerjee,
Chairman, Tea Board on the different primary marketing channels for tea in
India and the role of public tea auctions in the primary marketing of tea.
Referring to the present electronic auction, which is currently being
conducted at 5 of the 6 Auction centres in the country, the Chairman
analyzed the issues raised by Buyers, Brokers and Producers on its
functioning. He wrapped up his presentation with the key learning’s and
placed before the MPs the contours of the proposed electronic auction
system and sought their feedback.
The Minister explained
that the proposed e-auction system would expand the universe of buyers as
it removes the physical constraint that exists now and thereby breaking
the power of the monopoly buyers. It is envisaged that the proposed
e-auction system would take away the distortions in the market and lead to
better price discovery.
The
MPs welcomed the proposed e-auction system but expressed the concern of
the loss of employment that exists in the present auction centers.
The Chairman, Tea Board clarified that the proposed
system would provide far more employment through the creation of
ware-housing hubs that would now come up in more locations to cater to the
proposed system. Shri Jairam Ramesh assured the MPs that this issue would
be flagged for further deliberations.
The meeting ended with the Minister announcing the conduct of
the India International Tea Festival in November 2007 in Guwahati and
sought the support of the MPs to make it a grand success.
CLICK HERE FOR POWERPOINT PRESENTATION BY CHAIRMAN, TEA BOARD
***
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12th
Dec.2006 |
Index of Six Infrastructure Industries (Base:
1993-94=100) October 2006
PRESS NOTE
The Index of Six core-infrastructure industries having a
combined weight of 26.7 per cent in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP)
with base 1993-94 stood at 226.0 (provisional) in October 2006 and
registered a growth of 9.0% (provisional) compared to a growth of 7.4 % in
October 2005. During April-October 2006-07, six core-infrastructure
industries registered a growth of 7.5%(provisional) as against 5.2% during
the corresponding period of the previous year.
Crude Petroleum
Crude petroleum production (weight of 4.17% in the IIP)
registered a growth of 9.3% (provisional) in October 2006 compared to a
negative growth rate of 7.0% in October 2005. The Crude petroleum
production registered a growth of 4.9% (provisional) during April-October
2006-07 compared to (-) 5.3% during the same period of 2005-06.
Petroleum Refinery Products
Petroleum refinery production (weight of 2.00% in the IIP)
registered a growth of 18.0% (provisional) in October 2006 compared to a
negative growth of 2.4% in October 2005. The Petroleum refinery production
registered a growth of 13.1% (provisional) during April-October 2006-07
compared to (-) 0.9% during the same period of 2005-06.
Coal
Coal production (weight of 3.22% in the IIP) registered a
growth of 2.1% (provisional) in October 2006 compared to a growth rate
6.1% in October 2005. Coal production grew by 4.7% (provisional) during
April-October 2006-07 compared to an increase of 6.0% during the same
period of 2005-06.
Electricity
Electricity generation (weight of 10.17% in the IIP)
registered a growth of 9.7% (provisional) in October 2006 compared to a
growth rate 7.7% in October 2005. Electricity generation grew by 7.1%
(provisional) during April-October 2006-07 compared to an increase of 5.2%
during the same period of 2005-06.
Cement
Cement production (weight of 1.99% in the IIP) registered a
growth of 9.1% (provisional) in October 2006 compared to 8.6% in October
2005. Cement Production grew by 9.9% (provisional) during April-October
2006-07 compared to an increase of 11.0% during the same period of
2005-06. .
Finished (carbon) steel
Finished (carbon) Steel production (weight of 5.13% in the
IIP) registered a growth of 7.6% (provisional) in October 2006 compared to
16.1% (estimated) in October 2005. Finished (carbon) Steel production grew
by 7.3% (provisional) during April-October 2006-07 compared to an increase
of 9.2% during the same period of 2005-06.
N.B:
Data are provisional. Revision has been made based on revised data
obtained.
|
PERFORMANCE OF SIX INFRASTRUCTURE INDUSTRIES
October 2006
(Weight in IIP: 26.68 %) |
|
Base Year: 1993-94 |
|
Sector-wise Growth Rate (%) in Production |
|
Sector |
Weight
(%) |
Oct 05 |
Oct 06 |
Apr-Oct
2005-06 |
Apr-Oct
2006-07 |
|
Crude
Petroleum |
4.17 |
-7.0 |
9.3 |
-5.3 |
4.9 |
|
Petroleum Refinery Products |
2.00 |
-2.4 |
18.0 |
-0.9 |
13.1 |
|
Coal |
3.22 |
6.1 |
2.1 |
6.0 |
4.7 |
|
Electricity |
10.17 |
7.7 |
9.7 |
5.2 |
7.1 |
|
Cement |
1.99 |
8.6 |
9.1 |
11.0 |
9.9 |
|
Finished steel (carbon) |
5.13 |
16.1 |
7.6 |
9.2 |
7.3 |
|
Overall |
26.68 |
7.4 |
9.0 |
5.2 |
7.5 |
|
Source
of data: Concerned Ministries/Departments/Organization(s)
|
|
|
|
Month |
INDEX |
Growth Rates (%) |
|
|
2004-05 |
2005-06 |
2006-07 |
2005-06 |
2006-07 |
|
April |
186.2 |
195.8 |
208.1 |
5.2 |
6.3 |
|
May |
188.5 |
200.9 |
213.6 |
6.6 |
6.3 |
|
June |
183.5 |
196.7 |
210.3 |
7.2 |
6.9 |
|
July |
192.4 |
193.3 |
212.4 |
0.5 |
9.9 |
|
August |
185.8 |
198.4 |
208.2 |
6.8 |
4.9 |
|
September |
188.2 |
192.9 |
211.5 |
2.5 |
9.6 |
|
October |
193.1 |
207.3 |
226.0 |
7.4 |
9.0 |
|
November |
191.4 |
202.0 |
|
5.5 |
|
|
December |
199.8 |
214.3 |
|
7.3 |
|
|
January |
202.9 |
219.7 |
|
8.3 |
|
|
February |
188.1 |
205.6 |
|
9.3 |
|
|
March |
216.0 |
231.0 |
|
6.9 |
|
|
Apr
-Oct |
188.2 |
197.9 |
212.8 |
5.2 |
7.5 |
N.B:
Indices and Growth rates are provisional |
CRUDE PETROLEUM
PRODUCTION
|
|
Weight: 4.17% |
|
Month
|
Production (in Thousand tonnes) |
Growth Rates (%) |
|
2004-05 |
2005-06 |
2006-07 |
2005-06 |
2006-07 |
|
April |
2814 |
2802 |
2752 |
-0.4 |
-1.8 |
|
May |
2886 |
2830 |
2857 |
-1.9 |
1.0 |
|
June |
2783 |
2792 |
2826 |
0.3 |
1.2 |
|
July |
2864 |
2751 |
2863 |
-3.9 |
4.1 |
|
August |
2874 |
2411 |
2702 |
-16.1 |
12.1 |
|
September |
2777 |
2572 |
2813 |
-7.4 |
9.4 |
|
October |
2881 |
2679 |
2928 |
-7.0 |
9.3 |
|
November |
2801 |
2562 |
|
-8.5 |
|
|
December |
2876 |
2642 |
|
-8.1 |
|
|
January |
2913 |
2774 |
|
-4.8 |
|
|
February |
2596 |
2542 |
|
-2.1 |
|
|
March |
2917 |
2845 |
|
-2.5 |
|
|
Cumulative
Total (Apr-Oct) |
19879 |
18829 |
19747 |
-5.3 |
4.9 |
|
Note:
1. Cumulative total may not tally with monthly total;
2. Production data and Growth rates are provisional.
Source: Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas
|
OUTPUT OF PETROLEUM
REFINERY PRODUCTS
|
|
Weight: 2.00% |
|
Month
|
Output (in Thousand Tonnes)
|
Growth Rates (%) |
|
2004-05 |
2005-06 |
2006-07 |
2005-06 |
2006-07 |
|
April |
9694 |
8947 |
10118 |
-7.7 |
13.1 |
|
May |
10234 |
9624 |
10784 |
-6.0 |
12.1 |
|
June |
10002 |
9896 |
10940 |
-1.1 |
10.5 |
|
July |
9745 |
10096 |
11370 |
3.6 |
12.6 |
|
August |
9797 |
10042 |
11257 |
2.5 |
12.1 |
|
September |
9317 |
9776 |
11083 |
4.9 |
13.4 |
|
October |
9958 |
9719 |
11469 |
-2.4 |
18.0 |
|
November |
9708 |
9853 |
|
1.5 |
|
|
December |
9846 |
10754 |
|
9.2 |
|
|
January |
10295 |
10857 |
|
5.5 |
|
|
February |
9484 |
10098 |
|
6.5 |
|
|
March |
10136 |
11089 |
|
9.4 |
|
|
Cumulative
Total (Apr-Oct) |
68747 |
68099 |
77021 |
-0.9 |
13.1 |
|
Note:
1. Cumulative total may not tally with monthly total
2. Output and Growth rates are provisional.
3.
The figure are estimated on the basis of data on refinery
production (in terms of crude throughput)
Source:
Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
COAL PRODUCTION
|
|
Weight: 3.22% |
|
Month
|
Production (in Million tones) |
Growth Rates (%) |
|
2004-05 |
2005-06 |
2006-07 |
2005-06 |
2006-07 |
|
April |
28.20 |
30.50 |
31.54 |
8.2 |
3.4 |
|
May |
27.58 |
30.67 |
33.15 |
11.2 |
8.1 |
|
June |
27.60 |
28.54 |
31.95 |
3.4 |
11.9 |
|
July |
28.60 |
28.14 |
31.12 |
-1.6 |
10.6 |
|
August |
26.25 |
29.03 |
29.09 |
10.6 |
0.2 |
|
September |
28.20 |
29.42 |
29.23 |
4.3 |
-0.6 |
|
October |
31.07 |
32.96 |
33.65 |
6.1 |
2.1 |
|
November |
32.46 |
34.78 |
|
7.1 |
|
|
December |
35.98 |
38.37 |
|
6.6 |
|
|
January |
35.40 |
39.10 |
|
10.5 |
|
|
February |
34.53 |
37.75 |
|
9.3 |
|
|
March |
40.81 |
43.77 |
|
7.2 |
|
|
Cumulative
Total (Apr-Oct) |
197.50 |
209.30 |
219.23 |
6.0 |
4.7 |
|
Note :
1. Cumulative total may not tally with monthly total
2. Production data and Growth rates are provisional.
Source :
Department of Coal |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
ELECTRICITY
GENERATION
|
|
WEIGHT: 10.17% |
|
Month
|
Generation (in Gwh) |
Growth Rates (%) |
|
2004-05 |
2005-06 |
2006-07 |
2005-06 |
2006-07 |
|
April |
48930.0 |
50413.2 |
53387.7 |
3.0 |
5.9 |
|
May |
47981.0 |
52943.4 |
55630.8 |
10.3 |
5.1 |
|
June |
46570.0 |
50948.9 |
53450.6 |
9.4 |
4.9 |
|
July |
50283.0 |
49781.1 |
54224.2 |
-1.0 |
8.9 |
|
August |
48325.0 |
52145.2 |
54295.8 |
7.9 |
4.1 |
|
September |
49059.0 |
48694.5 |
54289.3 |
-0.7 |
11.5 |
|
October |
48484.0 |
52217.7 |
57292.5 |
7.7 |
9.7 |
|
November |
47792.0 |
49405.3 |
|
3.4 |
|
|
December |
50543.0 |
52257.1 |
|
3.4 |
|
|
January |
50525.8 |
53759.6 |
|
6.4 |
|
|
February |
46015.8 |
50225.4 |
|
9.1 |
|
|
March |
52923.5 |
54719.8 |
|
3.4 |
|
|
Cumulative
Total (Apr-Oct) |
339632.0 |
357144.0 |
382578.0 |
5.2 |
7.1 |
|
Note :
1. Cumulative total may not tally with monthly total;
2. Generation and Growth rates are provisional.
3. Electricity generation data includes also imports from
Bhutan
Source:
Ministry of Power |
CEMENT PRODUCTION
|
|
Weight: 1.99% |
|
Month
|
Production (Thousand Tonnes) |
Growth Rates (%) |
|
2004-05 |
2005-06 |
2006-07 |
2005-06 |
2006-07 |
|
April |
11140 |
12240 |
13665 |
9.9 |
11.6 |
|
May |
10950 |
12630 |
13426 |
15.3 |
6.3 |
|
June |
10300 |
12010 |
13356 |
16.6 |
11.2 |
|
July |
10768 |
11160 |
12645 |
3.6 |
13.3 |
|
August |
9355 |
11160 |
11409 |
19.3 |
2.2 |
|
September |
10340 |
10845 |
12570 |
4.9 |
15.9 |
|
October |
11253 |
12218 |
13330 |
8.6 |
9.1 |
|
November |
10764 |
11599 |
|
7.8 |
|
|
December |
11433 |
12968 |
|
13.4 |
|
|
January |
11760 |
13571 |
|
15.4 |
|
|
February |
10971 |
12757 |
|
16.3 |
|
|
March |
12525 |
14648 |
|
17.0 |
|
|
Cumulative
Total (Apr-Oct) |
74106 |
82263 |
90401 |
11.0 |
9.9 |
|
|
FINISHED (CARBON)
STEEL PRODUCTION
|
|
Weight: 5.13% |
|
Month
|
Production (in Thousand Tonnes) |
Growth Rates (%) |
|
2004-05 |
2005-06 |
2006-07 |
2005-06 |
2006-07 |
|
April |
3022 |
3414 |
3643 |
13.0 |
6.7 |
|
May |
3210 |
3370 |
3632 |
5.0 |
7.8 |
|
June |
3155 |
3414 |
3662 |
8.2 |
7.3 |
|
July |
3300 |
3398 |
3771 |
3.0 |
11.0 |
|
August |
3278 |
3639 |
3777 |
11.0 |
3.8 |
|
September |
3294 |
3574 |
3840 |
8.5 |
7.4 |
|
October |
3337 |
3874 |
4170 |
16.1 |
7.6 |
|
November |
3350 |
3847 |
|
14.8 |
|
|
December |
3395 |
3961 |
|
16.7 |
|
|
January |
3514 |
4017 |
|
14.3 |
|
|
February |
3316 |
3728 |
|
12.4 |
|
|
March |
3884 |
4308 |
|
10.9 |
|
|
Cumulative
Total (Apr-Oct) |
22596 |
24683 |
26495 |
9.2 |
7.3 |
|
Note :
1. Cumulative total May not tally with monthly total;
2.
Production Data and Growth rates are provisional.
Source:
Ministry of Steel |
Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion, Ministry of
Commerce & Industry
New Delhi,
December 12, 2006
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12th
Dec.2006 |
NATHU LA
TRADE PICKS UP: JAIRAM RAMESH
New Delhi:
December 12, 2006
Agrahayana 21,
1928
There were some difficulties in export and import through
Nathula Pass during the period from 6.7.2006 to 27.7.2006. Export and
import was not allowed without valid Import-Export Code in Terms of Para
2.2 of Foreign Trade Policy read with Para 2.8 of Handbook of Procedures.
Vide Public Notice No.36 (RE-2006)/2004-2009 dated 27.7.2006, issued by
DGFT, it has been notified that Import-Export Code shall not be required
for import and export upto CIF value of Rs.25,000.
Since opening of the Nathula Route, goods worth Rs.8.86
lakhs have been exported and goods worth Rs.10.61 lakhs have been imported
through this route from July to September 2006.
The main Indian exports to China include Iron Ore, raw
cotton organic chemicals, diamonds, heavy machinery, plastic copper and
animal feed. Major product categories of Chinese exports to India
including electrical machinery, organic chemicals, iron and Steel products
and silk.
With a view to examine the potential complementaries
between the two countries in expanded trade and economic cooperation and
to draw up a programme for the development of India-China trade and
economic cooperation, a Joint Study Group (JSG) was set up after the visit
of the Prime Minister to China in June 2003. In pursuance to the
recommendations of the JSG a Joint Task Force has been set up to examine
the feasibility of and the benefits that may derive from the possible
China-India Regional Trading Arrangement (RTA) and also give
recommendations regarding its content. Two meetings of the Joint Task
Force have already taken place. The representatives of industry have been
included in the Joint Task Force to ensure the interest of the business
community.
This was stated by the Minister of State for Commerce &
Industry, Shri Jairam Ramesh, in a written reply in the Lok Sabha today.
*****
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12th
Dec.2006 |
INDO-RUSSIAN TRADE UP BY 39%
New Delhi: December 12, 2006
Agrahayana 21, 1928
The India-Russia bilateral trade has increased by 39.3% from US$ 1.95
billion in 2004-05 to US$ 2.72 billion in 2005-06. However, with a view
to further increasing the two countries’ bilateral trade turnover to USD
10 billion by 2010, a Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation between
the Minister of Commerce and Industry and the Minister of Economic
Development and Trade of the Russian Federation has been signed on 6th
February 2006 to set up Joint Study Group (JSG) between India and Russia
to prepare a program on significant increase of mutual trade turnover
between India and Russia with an overall objective of diversifying and
strengthening the bilaterial relations in a wide range of areas,
particularly with regard to trade in goods and services, investment and
economic cooperation as well as feasibility to conclude the Comprehensive
Economic Cooperation Agreement between the Government of the Republic of
India and the Government of the Russian Federation.
This was stated by the
Minister of State for Commerce & Industry, Shri Jairam Ramesh, in a
written reply in the Lok Sabha today.
*****
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12th
Dec.2006 |
EXPORT TO
PAKISTAN
New Delhi:
December 12, 2006
Agrahayana 21, 1928
The Ministry of Commerce, Government of Pakistan, vide
their Order dated 3rd November 2006 increased the items in their list of
importable items from India, called Positive List, from 773 to 1075. The
details of these items are available in the Website
www.commerce.nic.in under the
heading “Trade Agreements/Transit Arrangements – India-Pakistan Trading
Arrangement”.
Export of the items included in the Positive List to
Pakistan would be regulated under India’s current Export Policy which
takes care of the domestic needs. No adverse impact on the availability
of the commodities for domestic use on account of export to Pakistan is
anticipated.
This was stated by the Minister of State for Commerce &
Industry, Shri Jairam Ramesh, in a written reply in the Lok Sabha
today.
*****
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12th
Dec.2006 |
EXPORT PROMOTION SCHEMES
New Delhi: December 12, 2006
Agrahayana 21, 1928
Various schemes (other than SEZ) through which incentive/concessions are
extended for export promotion include Duty Neutralization Schemes such as
Advance Authorisation, Duty Free Import Authorisation, EOU/EHTP/STP
Scheme, DEPB and Drawback Scheme. That apart duty concession is allowed
through EPCG Scheme. Other reward schemes in place include Served from
India, Vishesh Krishi and Gram Udyog Yojana, Focus Market Scheme, Focus
Product Scheme and Target Plus Scheme (Since withdrawn). The details of
the schemes are given in the book titled “Foreign Trade Policy, 2004-09”,
a statutory publication available in the Parliament library.
Through the schemes revenue is foregone in the form of duty
concession/neutralization/duty scrips allowed and the question of revenue
earning through the same does not arise.
During 2003-04, 496 cases of misuse involving an amount of Rs.81,882.05
lakh have been reported and show-cause notices have been issued.
Similarly, during 2004-05 & 2005-06, show-cause notices have been issued
in 606 cases and 209 cases involving an amount of Rs.1,81,352.65 lakhs and
Rs.94,720.77 lakhs respectively.
There are in-built safeguards in the schemes, which include actual user
condition in case of Advance Authorisation & EPCG Scheme and value caps
fixed in respect of DEPB & Drawback Scheme. That apart regular monitoring
and putting erring exporters in the Denied Entity List and initiating
action under Foreign Trade (Development & Regulation) Act, 1992 is
resorted to.
This was stated by the Minister of State for Commerce & Industry, Shri
Jairam Ramesh, in a written reply in the Lok Sabha today.
*****
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12th
Dec.2006 |
INDIA JUSTIFIES CONTINUATION OF GSP BENEFITS
New
Delhi: December 12, 2006
Agrahayana 21, 1928
The US has invited written comments from the 13 beneficiary countries
including India as to whether to limit, suspend or withdraw the trade
benefits to these countries under its annual review of Gneralized System
of Preferences Programme (GSP) scheme.
Out of US $ 18.8 billion of US’s imports from India, US $ 4.17 billion
were duty free under the US-GSP programme in 2005.
The countries
which have annual GSP utilization of over US $ 100 million and are a upper
middle income economy as per World Bank or which accounted for more than
0.25% of world’s goods exports in 2005 have been taken up for the current
review.
The Government of India has submitted a detailed petition justifying the
continuation of GSP benefit to India. This issue has also been taken up in
the bilateral meetings held from time to time.
This was stated by the Minister of State for Commerce & Industry, Shri
Jairam Ramesh, in a written reply in the Lok Sabha today.
*****
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12th
Dec.2006 |
INDIA THE MOST FAVOURED OFF-SHORING DESTINATION: ASHWANI
KUMAR
New Delhi:
December 12, 2006
The Annual Survey 2005 Report of A.T. Kearney
has, inter-alia, rated India as the most favoured off-shoring
destination.
Government has put in place a liberal policy for
foreign direct investment (FDI), according to which FDI upto 100% is
permitted in most sectors and activities under the automatic route. The
extant policy also allows FDI upto 100% in infrastructure sectors, such as
roads & highways; ports & harbours; shipping; power
generation/transmission/ distribution (except atomic power) and
development of airports. The FDI Confidence Index 2005 by A.T. Kearney
has rated India as the second most attractive investment destination.
Government has permitted FDI upto 100%, under the
automatic route in construction development projects and in other
infrastructure sector. Major initiatives taken for development of
physical infrastructure include greater public investment, encouraging
private investment and facilitating public private partnership.
This was stated by Dr. Ashwani Kumar, Minister of
State for Industry, in a written reply in the Lok Sabha today.
************
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12th
Dec.2006 |
FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT IN RETAIL
New Delhi:
December 12, 2006
Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is prohibited in
retail trade except in single brand retailing. Government, vide Press
Note 3 (2006 series) dated 10/2/2006 has, allowed FDI upto 51%, with prior
government approval, in the retail trade of ‘single brand’ products
subject to the conditions contained in it.
FDI police, including the sectoral equity caps
and associated procedures, is revised on a continuous basis.
FDI is a means to supplement and complement
domestic investment for achieving a higher level of economic development,
providing opportunities for technological upgradation, access to global
managerial skills and practices, optimal utilisation of human and natural
resources, making Indian industry internationally competitive, opening up
export markets, providing backward and forward linkages and access to
international quality goods and services.
This was stated by Dr. Ashwani Kumar, Minister of
State for Industry, in a written reply in the Lok Sabha today.
************
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11th
Dec.2006 |
ASHWANI KUMAR CALLS FOR STRONGER
INDO-MOROCCO ECONOMIC TIES AT THE RABAT
INVESTMENT CONFERENCE MOROCCO KEEN ON INDIAN
INVESTMENT IN POWER, AGRICULTURE
TOURISM
New Delhi: December 11,
2006
Dr. Ashwani Kumar, Minister
of State (Industry), accompanied by Indian business delegation represented
by ASSOCHAM, visited Morocco on 7-8 December 2006.
For the Investment Conference held in Rabat on 7 and 8 December, 2006,
India was selected as the ‘Country of Honour’, and justifiably a huge
contingent of leading Indian companies participated in the Conference.
Following the inaugural
speech of King Mohammed VI, Dr. Kumar delivered key-note address on the
theme: ‘Education, Training and Employment - The challenges of
Investment’. Prime Minister Driss Jettou and several of his cabinet
colleagues, foreign investors, economists and business leaders were
present at the Conference. In his address, the Minister dwelt on India’s
success story of economic growth, highlighting key sectors which propelled
the engine of Indian economy.
“India is keen to share its experience with Morocco with meaningful
economic and commercial engagement”, he emphasised. The business
delegation accompanying him would explore opportunities in Morocco for
joint ventures in promising sectors.
Dr. Kumar called on Prime
Minister Driss Jettou on 8 December 2006. With warmth and expression of
goodwill, PM Jettou said that Morocco is highly impressed with economic
development in India in recent years. He referred to the recent visit of
Chinese President Hu Jintao to India and said that Morocco is impressed
with mutually cooperative approach between the two emerging Asian
economies.
Dr. Kumar highlighted
India’s growing knowledge-based economy and steady growth of industrial
production with special focus on manufacturing.
Both leaders agreed to
cooperate on promising sectors of economy in Morocco.
Prime Minister Driss Jettou particularly
focussed on automobiles, agriculture, power and tourism as promising
sectors for Indian companies to set up partnership arrangement.
He also reiterated that Moroccan economy is getting diversified, providing
opportunities for overseas investment. He wanted India to seize the great
opportunities that exist in Morocco. “There is a place for you in Morocco,
and it is now”, he emphasised. He encouraged the Indian business
delegation to visit Morocco to interact with Moroccan companies in power
sector and agricultural machinery. He also wanted ASSOCHAM to hold
Indian exhibition in Morocco to promote Indian products.
Dr. Kumar’s visit added
another milestone to the growing bilateral relationship between India and
Morocco. Great potential exists in Morocco for Indian
companies to invest to tap Moroccan as well as regional markets.
***
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10th
Dec.2006 |
NEW
INITIATIVES FOR ‘AAM AADMI’ EXPORTS
DEEMED EPC STATUS TO BE GRANTED TO KVIC
New Delhi:
Sunday,
December 10, 2006
On the
initiative of the Minister of State for Commerce Shri Jairam Ramesh, it
has now been decided to grant KVIC the status of a “deemed” EPC. KVIC
will now be extended assistance on the pattern available to an umbrella
EPC like the Federation of Indian Export Organisation (FIEO). KVIC’s
proposals for participation in international fairs, organizing buyer
seller meets, etc would be approved, as per MDA/MAI guidelines.
The Khadi and
Village Industries Commission (KVIC) operates through 30 Khadi & Village
Boards and over 5000 institutions in different states. The production of
the sector in Khadi ( hand-woven textiles ) was Rs.462 crore and
production of Village Industries was Rs.10,460 crore in 2004-05. During
2004-05, about 76 lakh persons were employed in Khadi & Village
Industries. KVIC products include khadi, herbal products, handmade paper,
agarbatti, handicrafts, processed foods etc and these products are
registered with different export promotion councils. During 2004-05, KVIC
exported goods worth Rs. 39 crore. Exports are projected to grow to
around Rs. 300 crore in the next five years.
The Ministry
of Commerce has also been promoting the involvement of the Export
Promotion Councils under the Department of Commerce in the special
projects under Swarnajayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY) of Department of
Rural Development. Six EPCs having the potential to create employment for
women and the weaker sections of the society have been identified. These
are – Council for Leather Exports(CLE), Shellac and Forest Products
Export Promotion Council(SHEFEXIL), Pharmaceutical Export Promotion
Council (PHARMEXIL), Cashew Export Promotion Council(CEPC), Export
Promotion Council for Handicrafts( EPCH) and Apparel Export Promotion
Council ( AEPC). The Department of Rural Development has now cleared 4
projects submitted by SHEFEXIL with 100% Central Assistance.
The 4 special projects are:-
a)
Proposal for
Guar cultivation in Haryana, Rajasthan, and Gujarat. The project aims at
increasing 50% guar seed production and guar gum export in 5 years,
providing income of Rs. 15,000 per beneficiary per year. The total cost
of the project is Rs. 14.50 crore.
Guar is a drought-tolerant
warm weather, deep-rooted, annual legume crop. It grows best in sandy
soils and needs moderate, intermittent rainfall with lots of sunshine. It
grows well in soils of low fertility in the arid and semi-arid areas of
the tropics and sub-tropics where rainfall is summer-dominant. India
accounts for 80% of the total Guar produced in the world and 70% is
cultivated in Rajasthan. Apart from Rajasthan, it is being grown mainly
in Gujarat, Haryana and Punjab. India’s export of Guar gum for 2005-06
was Rs.1050 crore and the target for 2006-07 is Rs.1275 crore.
b)
Proposal for
increasing lac cultivation in West Bengal, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh and
Chattisgarh. The project aims at increasing lac production and shellac
export by 2011, providing income of Rs.15,000 per beneficiary per year.
The total cost of the project is Rs.15.00 crore.
c)
Proposal for
lac cultivation in Patalkot and Chhindwara areas of Madhya Pradesh. The
project aims at increasing the lac production by 4.75 lakh kgs in India by
2011, providing income of Rs.14,500 per beneficiary per year. The total
cost of the project is Rs.3.84 crore.
Lac is the resinous
secretion of a kind of almost microscopic tiny inset popularly known as
Laccifer lacca. Lac is in fact the parent of modern plastics. Over 90%
of Indian lac comes from the States of Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh,
Chattisgarh, West Bengal, Maharashtra
and Orissa. India’s export of lac for 2005-06 was Rs.159 crore and the
target for 2006-07 is Rs.165 crore.
d)
Proposal for
cheronjee cultivation in Amarwara region of Chhindwara district of Madhya
Pradesh. The project aims at increasing cheronjee production by 1000 MT
in India by 2011, providing income of Rs.11,000 per beneficiary per year.
The total cost of the project is Rs.10.65 lakhs.
The fruits of Buchanania
lanzan are known as Achar whereas the seeds are known as cheronjee and
regarded as substitute for almonds. The cheronjee fruits are considered
as one of the delicious wild fruits. It is frequently found in dry mixed
deciduous forests of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh , Orissa,
Maharashtra, West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh.
The proposed
initiatives of SHEFEXIL will have a high social impact. The cumulative
impact will be 53,000 beneficiaries, i.e. 5300 self help groups (SHGs)
across 8 states of India. The other identified five EPCs are in the
process of finalizing their project reports.
****
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10th
Dec.2006 |
New Delhi:
December 10, 2006
India and UAE have decided to set up a India-UAE Trade
Policy Forum for the facilitation of trade between the two countries. The
decision was taken at a meeting that Shri Kamal Nath, Minister of Commerce
& Industry, had during his recent visit to Dubai on 7th
December, 2006 with Sheikh Lubna Al Qassimi, Minister of Economy, UAE, on
the sideline of the First India-Arab World Business Summit.
Both the Ministers agreed on the urgent need for such a consultative
mechanism in order to work together on a continuing basis for expanding
and deepening bilateral trade.
From the Indian side, the Forum will be co-chaired by the Commerce
Secretary
along with the Director General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) and the concerned
Joint Secretary of the Department of Commerce.
Shri Kamal Nath further announced that the first meeting of
the Forum should take place within the next two months in
New
Delhi.
The
United Arab
Emirates (UAE) is India’s top trading partner in the whole of West Asia
and North Africa region, representing nearly 75% of India’s exports to the
Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries.
The
volume of bilateral trade has been increasing over the years. During
2005-06, the non-oil trade volume stood at US $ 12904.90 million as
against US $ 11988.98 million during the previous year 2004-05. Though
trade volume is on the increase, it does not reflect the full potential,
which exists and can be further exploited to mutual advantage.
The setting up of the Forum is a significant step
forward in tapping the full potential that exists for greater trade and
investment between
India and the
UAE. Emphasising the potential for closer investment ties between the
two countries, Shri Kamal Nath said:
“The vast Indian market provides the bedrock for
large-scale manufacturing activities and trade in consumer and industrial
goods. The UAE investors would find attractive industrial partners in
India to set up mutually advantageous industry complexes in
the Gulf and India to serve all market, notably the Middle East, African,
Latin Americans and the Central Asian markets”.
**********
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7th
Dec.2006 |
New Delhi:
December 07, 2006
Agrahayana 16, 1928
A delegation
of Kashmir Chamber of Commerce & Industry in their recent meeting with
Shri Jairam Ramesh, Minister of State for Commerce in New Delhi, had
requested for increasing the drawback rates for carpets and shawls and for
inclusion of paper machie in the list of items eligible for drawback rate.
Subsequently, the matter was taken up with Department of Revenue, which
after considering the issues has recommended a drawback rate of 5% in
respect of decorative handicraft articles made out of paper machie.
The Kashmir Chamber of
Commerce & Industry had also requested for grant of financial assistance
under MAI/MDA for participating in the Trade Fair at Dubai to be held from
13th December 2006 to 9th February 2007. The matter
was taken up for action, and all formalities/requirements were completed.
The Department of Commerce has also sanctioned an amount of Rs.50 lakhs as
MAI assistance to the Chamber for this purpose.
The Minister of State for
Commerce also assured the Kashmir Chamber of Commerce & Industry of
Central Government support to establish an international
exhibition-cum-convention centre in Srinagar. The Centre’s contribution
is to be Rs.15 crores while the balance Rs.10 crores is expected to come
from the State government. He also assured the Kashmir Chamber assistance
to set up an Inland Container Depot ( ICD ) at Rangreth, Srinagar.
*****
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7th
Dec.2006 |
DR. ASHWANI KUMAR CALLS FOR GREATER INDO-FRENCH COOPERATION
IN TECHNOLOGY, PHARMA & BIO-TECHNOLOGY
New Delhi:
December 07, 2006
Agrahayana 16, 1928
Dr. Ashwani Kumar, Minister of State for Industry, Government of India,
has called for greater Indo-French cooperation in several areas
including technology, pharmaceutical and biotechnology. During his
meeting with Mr. Francois Loos, Minister of Industry, Government of France
in Paris yesterday, Dr. Kumar reiterated India’s commitment to further
strengthen Indo-French bilateral relations. He said that there was
great scope for cooperation between India and France, especially in
Competitive Clusters in advanced and newer technologies and sought the
support of France in these specific sectors. The meeting was in
keeping with the regular high-level and Ministerial interactions, which
have been taking place between the two countries to strengthen the
multi-faceted relations between India and France.
Dr. Ashwani Kumar also mentioned that India attaches great
importance to the Strategic Partnership between the two countries. The
Minister conveyed India’s appreciation for the support given by France
with regard to civilian nuclear cooperation in order to meet India’s
growing energy requirements. He also acknowledged the support given by
France for facilitating India as a participant Member State of ITER.
The two Ministers also reiterated their
commitment to strengthen cooperation in regard to various aspects of
Intellectual Property Rights, and highlighted the fact that
India has a TRIPS compliant regime. Mr. Francois Loos referred to the
effective enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights in India and the
potential for manufacture of innovative products, especially in the
pharmaceuticals sector.
Mr. Francois Loos conveyed that he looked forward to his visit to India
to participate in The Partnership Summit 2007 – Emergent India: New Roles
and Responsibilities being held in Bangalore, India from January 17-19,
2007. Dr. Ashwani Kumar also said that the forthcoming visit to India by
Mr. Francois Loos to India would provide another forum for exchange of
views between India and France on potential areas of
bilateral/multilateral cooperation.
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7th
Dec.2006 |
KAMAL NATH INVITES ARABS TO INVEST IN INFRASTRUCTURE – SAYS
STRONG
INDO-ARAB PARTNERSHIP CENTRAL TO INDIA’S LONG TERM ENERGY SECURITY
New Delhi:
December 07, 2006
Underlining the great opportunities for Indian
and Arab businesses to forge two-way ties, Shri Kamal Nath, Union Minister
of Commerce & Industry, has called upon Arab companies to look at
investment opportunities in India, especially in the infrastructure
sector. “Our
requirement of foreign investment in power, telecom, roads, ports, housing
and other areas are now in excess of $150 billion. I am sure this would
attract the attention of infrastructure and financing companies in the
Arab world. In the wake of the current oil boom, the Arab world,
particularly the oil-producing countries
have run up substantial surplus investible resources. In the past, you
were inclined to direct your investments to the western world. But, I
believe in the changed scenario,
India offers a much more
stable, friendly and rewarding investment environment”,
he said while addressing the first
India-Arab World CEO Summit in Dubai today.
“If
we were to focus on specific areas,
India is well placed to
provide refining services to the Gulf countries; facilities located in
India would be able to enhance your capacities.
A strong Indo-Arab partnership is also central to
India’s long-term energy
security.
To promote Indo-Arab investment ties, we are willing to sign bilateral
investment protection agreements, such as, the ones signed with Oman
(1997), Qatar (1999), Kuwait (November 2001), Yemen (October 2002),
Bahrain (January 2004) and Saudi Arabia (January 24, 2006)”, he
said.
Flagging the potential areas of Indo-Arab
cooperation, Shri Kamal Nath mentioned information technology and
IT-enabled services, transportation, construction & development projects
(where 100% FDI is allowed) besides opportunities for Indian and Arab
companies to engage in high level research in the areas of IT, biotech,
nano-technology etc. “Our IT and telecom firm have aided
governments to set up e-governance systems. Perhaps, these could be
efficiently replicated in the Arab countries too”, Shri Kamal Nath
added.
He also drew the attention of Arab enterprises
to
India’s emergence as a global
hub of manufacturing activities
covering steel, petrochemicals, auto and auto components, paints,
textiles, industrial fabrics, leather and leather goods, pharmaceuticals,
etc. and the comparative advantages that India holds in these sectors by
virtue of its high quality and low cost production systems.
Referring to Indo-Arab trade, he said these
were poised to diversify to grow in the coming years. “India’s
exports to the Arab world, which stood at $14 billion in 2004-05, went up
by 17.23% to $17 billion in 2005-06. Oil is indeed the key import item.
Excluding oil, India’s imports from the Arab world, which stood at $9
billion in 2005-05, went up by 13.9% to $11 billion in 2005-06”, he
said.
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6th
Dec.2006 |
VISA ISSUE OF INDIAN
DIAMOND TRADERS IN ISRAEL TO BE RESOLVED
BY NEXT MONTH: ISRAELI MINISTER ASSURES KAMAL NATH
New Delhi:
December 06, 2006
The longstanding issue
of long term visa for Indian diamond traders or diamond business persons
of Indian origin in
Israel will be resolved soon – in fact, as early as next
month.
This assurance was given by Mr. Eli Yishai, Deputy Prime Minister and
Minister of Industry, Trade and Labour of Israel to Shri Kamal Nath, Union
Minister of Commerce & Industry, at a bilateral meeting between the two
Ministers held here last night. Mr. Yishai was responding to Shri
Kamal Nath who raised this matter and requested that it be resolved
expeditiously. Mr. Yishai indicated that the matter had been taken up
with the Israeli Interior Ministry and they had responded very favourably.
Bilateral trade between India and Israel amounted
to US $ 2.2 billion in 2005-06 and diamonds figure prominently in the
two-way trade.. According to data from the Embassy of India, Tel Aviv,
there was an increase of 36.93% in diamonds traded between the two
countries in October from $ 118.6 million in October 2005 to $ 162.4
million in October 2006. Exports of diamonds (cut and polished)
from India to Israel increased by 48.43% from $ 76.4 million in
October 2005 to $ 113.4 million in October 2006 and exports of
diamonds from Israel to India increased by 16.11% from $
42.2 million in October 2005 to $ 49.0 million in October 2006.
Mr. Yishai is on an
official visit to
India from December 2-8, 2006 accompanied a comprehensive
multi sectoral business delegation.
The two Ministers reviewed the progress in
implementation of the recommendations of the Joint Study Group (JSG) set
up by the two countries in December 2004. They welcomed the
establishment of an Indian bank in Israel, the finalisation of an
agreement on standardization, and initiation of discussion on the
Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) and agreed to deepen the economic
engagement between the two countries.
They welcomed the continuing growth in the
overall trade and significant increase in interest shown by both Israeli
and Indian companies reciprocally in trade,
investment and other opportunities in each other’s country.
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6th
Dec.2006 |
JAIRAM RAMESH
TO INAUGURATE ASIAN PACKAGING CONFERENCE IN MUMBAI ON
DECEMBER 12
New Delhi:
December 06, 2006
Shri Jairam Ramesh, Minister of State for
Commerce, will inaugurate the two-day International Packaging Conference –
Asian Packaging Conference on Packaging for Tomorrow – at Mumbai on
December 12, 2006.
The two-day (12-13 December) Conference is being organised by the Indian
Institute of Packaging and is supported by the Asian Packaging
Federation.
The main objectives of this Conference are to
highlight important issues of packaging related to the global market for
the promotion of business development and to disseminate the latest trends
and technologies of packaging materials, conversion systems and package
evaluation.
About 400 delegates from India comprising of
packaging raw material manufacturers, converters, machinery suppliers,
service providers, user industries and about 50 overseas delegates from
Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Egypt, Pakistan, South Africa and Singapore will be
participating into this Conference. In addition, the representatives of
14 member countries of Asian Packaging Federation will also participate in
the Conference.
Mr. Keith Pearson, President, World Packaging
Organisation will deliver the keynote address and Mr. Albert Lim,
President, Asian Packaging Federation will also address during the
inaugural session.
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6th
Dec.2006 |
KAMAL NATH
TO ATTEND FIRST INDIA-ARAB WORLD BUSINESS SUMMIT IN DUBAI TOMORROW
New Delhi:
December 06, 2006
Shri Kamal Nath, Minister
of Commerce & Industry, will participate in the first India-Arab World
Business Summit 2006 in Dubai tomorrow.
The Summit, to be attended by a large number of CEOs, will offer an
important platform for interaction with high level representatives of
leading companies from Arab companies and facilitate future business
partnerships between India and the Arab world. It will also provide
first hand insights into business strengths and the economic landscape of
the Arab world as well as the opportunities and challenges for cooperation
in the region.
The one-day summit is
being organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII),
supported by the Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP),
Ministry of Commerce and Industry and the India Brand Equity
Foundation (IBEF) in partnership with Moutamarat, which is an organisation
supported by the Government of Dubai.
During his visit, Shri
Kamal Nath will have meetings with Sheikh
Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the
UAE and Ruler of Dubai; Mr. Mohammed Al Gergawi, Minister of State for
Cabinet Affairs and Executive Chairman of Dubai Holding, UAE; and Sheikh
Lubna Al Qassimi, Minister of Economy, UAE.
India’s
ties with the region date back many centuries when trade and travel
flourished between India and the Arab world. The geographical and cultural
proximities have also played a important role in the ties that have
existed in the distant past. The depth of the economic relationship is
reflected by the presence of 3.5 million Indians in the Arab world (mainly
Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar and Kuwait) and their annual remittances to the
country came up to a staggering $ 6 billion a year. This has had a
impact on the Indian consumer demand for goods and services.
With an
estimated demand of at least $150 billion to develop infrastructure,
India is looking for large
investments from the Gulf. The FDI from the region is growing slowly but
much lower as compared to the potential investments. The total FDI from
the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries has been around US $ 2
billion in 2006.
The Gulf
countries are strenghtening their relationships with the Asian countries.
The high demand for oil and the
search for alternative energy sources have led the Arab companies to
invest in new markets and new sectors. The Summit offers an
opportunity to engage
in dialogue and leverage this platform to explore potential business
partnerships and raise the levels of awareness about business
opportunities on both sides.
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6th
Dec.2006 |
KASHMIR CHAMBER OF
COMMERCE TO PARTICIPATE IN DUBAI FAIR
New Delhi:
December 06, 2006
The Kashmir Chamber of Commerce & Industry is participating
in the Trade Fair in Dubai scheduled from 13th December 2006 to 9th
February 2007 through Indian pavilion. The Indian pavilion has earmarked
necessary space to accommodate 20 stalls for the Kashmir Chamber of
Commerce and Industry, with an estimated expenditure of Rs.142.72 lakhs.
The event would facilitate accessing the international market for
Kashmir handicrafts and tourism, besides helping in export promotion. In
view of the importance of Kashmir handicrafts and tourism, Government of
India would provide eligible assistance as per the Market Access
Initiative (MAI) Scheme of Department of Commerce to the Industries and
Commerce department, Jammu / Srinagar.
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5th
Dec.2006 |
FREE TRADE PACT WITH
EUROPEAN UNION
New Delhi: December 5, 2006
At the 7th
India-EU Summit held on 13th October, 2006 in Helsinki, co-chaired by the
Prime Minister from the Indian side, it was decided that both sides move
towards negotiations for a broad-based bilateral Trade and Investment
Agreement.
The future
broad based trade and investment agreement is expected to cover Trade in
Goods, Trade in Services, Investment, Trade Facilitation, Technical
Barriers to Trade and Sanitary and Phyto-sanitary Measures, Intellectual
Property rights and dispute Settlement.
This was
stated by Shri Jairam Ramesh, Minister of State for Commerce, in a written
reply in the Lok Sabha today.
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5th
Dec.2006 |
REGULATORY AUTHORITY FOR SEZs
New Delhi:
December 5, 2006
The
SEZ Act 2005 provides for setting up of SEZ Authority for management of
the Special Economic Zones (SEZs) set up by the Central Government.
There is no proposal to set up any separate Regulatory Authority.
Suggestions have been received for suitable relief and rehabilitation
package, including giving stakes, to the displaced persons whose land has
been acquired for setting up of SEZs. Land being a State subject, the
compensation payable for the acquired land and rehabilitation of the
affected people are decided by the State Governments as per their
respective policies.
Land being a State Subject, State Governments have been advised that in
case of land acquisition for SEZs, first priority should be acquisition of
waste and barren land and if necessary, single crop land could be
acquired. If perforce a portion of double crop agricultural land has to
be acquired to meet the minimum area requirements, especially for multi
product SEZs, the same should not exceed 10% of the total land required
for the SEZs.
This was stated by Shri Jairam Ramesh, Minister of State for Commerce, in
a written reply in the Lok Sabha today.
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5th
Dec.2006 |
INDIA, ISRAEL FOR CLOSER COOPERATION IN TRADE AND
INVESTMENT – ISRAELI
DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER DISCUSSES BILATERAL TIES WITH KAMAL NATH
New
Delhi:
December 05, 2006
India and Israel will further expand bilateral trade and
investment relations building on the respective strengths of the two
economies. This was highlighted during
discussions here this evening between Shri Kamal Nath, Minister of
Commerce & Industry and Mr. Eli Yishai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister
of Industry, Trade and Labour of the Government of
Israel, who was
accompanied by a large Israeli business delegation.
Shri Kamal Nath described Mr. Yishai’s visit as an important milestone in
the development of bilateral relations between the two countries and said
this was in continuation of the process started by the Israeli Prime
Minister Mr. Ehud Olmert’s visit to India in December 2004 when it was
agreed to establish a Joint Study Group to make recommendations on
mechanisms and targets for expanding trade and economic cooperation.
Several steps have since been implemented
including the opening up of an Indian bank in Israel, finalisation of an
Agreement on Standardisation and initiation of discussions between the two
sides for a Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA), based on the
recommendations of the Joint Study Group.
A Cooperation Agreement between India and Israel in the
field of Standards, Technical Regulations and Sanitary Measures is also
under consideration, under which both sides could cooperate in this field
through harmonisation of national standards with international standards
requirements, facilitation for establishing scientific and technical
collaboration and elimination of technical barriers to trade.
While expressing satisfaction at the increasing business to
business contacts as well as private sector cooperation reflected in the
presence of several large Israeli companies in India, both Ministers
expressed the hope that bilateral trade and investment would move
substantially upwards from the current levels in the coming years.
Shri Kamal Nath also raised the issue of long-term visas for diamond
traders of Indian origin in Israel and sought Mr. Yishai’s help in
resolving it.
Trade between India and Israel stood at US $ 2.2 billion in
2005-06, of which India’s exports to Israel were valued at US $ 1.2
billion and India’s imports from Israel at US $ 1 billion. During
2004-05, India’s exports to Israel crossed US $ 1 billion,
registering a growth of nearly 39%.
Top 5 items of exports from India to Israel are:
Gems &
Jewellery, drugs, pharmaceuticals & fine chemicals, cotton yarn, fabrics,
made-ups etc., plastic & linoleum products,
inorganic/organic/agro-chemicals etc. Top 5 items
of imports by
India from Israel include:
Pearls, precious /
semi-precious stones; electronic goods, fertilisers manufactured,
professional instruments etc., except electronic and organic chemicals.
There is considerable scope in sectors other than diamonds and cotton,
especially organic chemicals, plastics and rubber, electrical component,
software, pharmaceuticals and medical disposable metals and machinery etc.
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5th
Dec.2006 |
Dr. ASHWANI KUMAR TO REPRESENT PM AT INTERNATIONAL
INVESTMENT CONFERENCE
IN MOROCCO
New Delhi:
December 05, 2006
Dr. Ashwani Kumar, Minister of State for Industry, will
represent Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh at the 4th Edition of Annual
International Conference on "Fundamentals of Investment: Education,
Training and Employment, scheduled to be held on 7th December,
2006 at Rabat in Morocco for which India has been selected as the 'Country
of Honour'.
Dr. Ashwani Kumar who is leaving for Morocco tomorrow will
carry a message from Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh for Mr. Driss
Jettou, Prime Minister of the
Kingdom of Morocco. In
message to his Moroccan counterpart Dr. Manmohan Singh has said that the
Conference which will be a stimulating event drawing on the unique
strengths of Morocco.
Dr. Kumar will lead an
Indian delegation of business leaders
and will address the Plenary Session of the Conference on 7th December
immediately following the address of King Mohamed VI. In Rabat, Dr. Kumar
is scheduled to call on PM Mr. Driss Jattou, Foreign Minister of Morocco
Mr. Mohamed Benaissa and Mr. Rachid Talbi El Alami, Minister Delegate to
the PM of Morocco.
India and Morocco have
cordial relations and with Morocco's geographical location as a gateway to
Europe in the North and Sub-Saharan Africa in the South, it is
strategically located for a closer economic engagement with India. It is
the largest exporter of phosphates to India. India's exports to Morocco in
2005 were of the value of US $ 159.58 million and imports into India from
Morocco were of the value of US $ 459.48 million. Total Bilateral Trade
between the two countries which stood US $ 619.06 million in 2005 is
targeted to be raised to US $ 1 billion in the near future. There is
immense scope for cooperation between the two countries in tourism,
pharmaceuticals, chemicals, textiles and agricultural machinery.
The visit of
Dr. Ashwani Kumar to Morocco and the selection of India as a 'Country of
Honour' would further strengthen the excellent relations between the two
countries.
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5th
Dec.2006 |
COMPETITIVENESS OF INDUSTRIAL CLUSTERS DISCUSSED – BERNARD
MONTFERRAND
CALLS ON Dr. ASHWANI KUMAR
New Delhi:
December 05, 2006
Mr. Bernard de Montferrand, Ambassador-at-large for the French Government,
called on Dr. Ashwani Kumar, Minister of State for Industry yesterday to
discuss various possibilities of economic cooperation between India and
France. In particular, he discussed with Dr. Kumar possibilities of
strengthening the competitiveness of industrial clusters in both countries
in the fields of biotechnology, textiles and energy-environment.
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2nd
Dec.2006 |
INDIA’S CONCERNS MUST BE FULLY ADDRESSED IN
DOHA ROUND TALKS – KAMAL NATH ADDRESSES INTER-PARLIAMENTARY UNION
CONFERENCE
New Delhi:
December 02, 2006
Shri
Kamal Nath, Minister of Commerce and Industry, has reiterated that India’s
concerns must be adequately addressed as and when the Doha Round of
multilateral trade negotiations are resumed. Addressing the
Inter-Parliamentary Union Conference on “What Future for the Doha Round?
The Benefits of Success, the Costs of Failure” in Geneva on Friday, 1st
December, 2006,
the Minister while emphasising India’s commitment to a rule-based to
multilateral trading system, stressed that it was vitally important that
the resumption of negotiations should be based on a shared understanding
of clear principles that should guide the negotiations.
The following 3 principles need to be the bedrock of the negotiations from
now onwards, he said – One, that the core of the Doha Round is its
development content and, therefore, the deliberations should be faithful
to the mandate as further elaborated by the July Framework and the Hong
Kong Declaration; Two, a balanced outcome requires an effort on all fronts
and, therefore,
disciplines
in domestic support, clarification and improvement of disciplines in Rules
to prevent their abuse, the market access concerns of developing countries
in Services, Implementation issues are some such matters which need to be
resolved with equal priority, besides the special concerns of the poorest
members including the LDCs; and Three, building confidence in the give and
take process of the negotiations.
Explaining
India’s
perspectives on these negotiations, Shri Kamal Nath said: “The central
policy concern for India is its development process which seeks to improve
the livelihood and create jobs for the poorest sections of Indian
society. At the same time, we are conscious of the fact that sustainable
growth that addresses the development objectives can only take place if we
are globally competitive. It is this understanding that permeates our
consistent and continuous efforts to integrate the Indian economy with the
global economy. Our programme of autonomous liberalization across all
sectors has been tailored to this objective. However, integration with
the global economy is not an end in itself. It is essential that this
process contribute to our development efforts by creating jobs and
reducing poverty. Nowhere, is this challenge more daunting than in Indian
agriculture, which employs around two-thirds of our people while
contributing just one-fifth of our GDP. Similarly, in manufacturing,
while we are committed to broad-based liberalization, this sector must be
enabled to create jobs for our unemployed. India cannot just be a large
market for the manufacturing energies of other countries. We believe we
have comparative advantage in several manufacturing sectors and this must
be allowed to come into play. The same holds true for Services. It is
important for us to ensure that our comparative advantage finds full
expression in global markets”.
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1st Dec.2006 |
EFFECTIVE STRATEGIES TO COUNTER COUNTERFEITING AND PIRACY
BEING DEVISED: Dr. ASHWANI KUMAR
10% REDUCTION IN PIRACY IN INDIA COULD CREATE 115000 NEW IT JOBS
FICCI-ICC SEMINAR HELD
New Delhi:
December 1, 2006
Effective strategies are being devised to counter the menace of
counterfeiting and piracy, Dr. Ashwani Kumar, Minister of State for
Industry, said here today while inaugurating a Seminar on “Fighting
Counterfeiting and Piracy”, organised by the Federation of Indian Chamber
of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) and the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC).
The TRIPs Agreement has mandated the protection of IPRs as an enforceable
obligation on part of all the member States of WTO. “India has also
ensured the establishment of an intellectual property enforcement regime
in consonance with its international obligations. While provisions exist
in law, we are equally conscious of the need to improve its effective
implementation in both letter and spirit”, the Minister said.
Dr.
Kumar said that fighting counterfeiting and piracy was particularly
important because it entailed huge losses to owners of intellectual
property with adverse impact on national economies and global trade.
Quoting a recent study by the International Data Corporation, he said
that a mere 10 per cent reduction in piracy in India could translate into
115,000 new IT jobs, pump in $ 5 billion as additional revenue and $ 386
million as additional tax revenue for the economy.
Outlining the series of steps taken to address the issue in India, Dr.
Kumar said: “In India, enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights is
regulated through different agencies including the Customs, Police and
Judiciary. The Copyright Enforcement Advisory Council headed by the
Education Secretary has as its members, police chiefs of 21 States,
besides other stakeholders. This is a national level body, recently
reconstituted with a view to evolve effective strategies for enforcement
of Intellectual Property Rights. Several State Governments have also
created special IPR cells as well as appointed nodal officers. Efforts by
the Government have also been complemented by strong initiatives from the
private sector. A noteworthy campaign has been launched by NASSCOM
against software piracy. Innovative measures like the setting up of
toll-free lines to speed up the process of detection have also been
launched”, he said.
Mr.
Jean-Rene Fourtou, Chairman, ICC & Chairman of the Supervisory Board,
Vivendi also addressed the Seminar, which discussed intellectual property
protection in India, with particular emphasis on actions the government
and business can take in the fight against counterfeiting and piracy.
Other eminent speakers were: Mr. N. N. Prasad, Joint Secretary, Department
of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP); Mr. Simon Ashenden, Cisco Brand
Protection Manager, Asia Pacific & Japan and Mr. Ashok Gupta, Vice
President, Hindustan Lever Limited.
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1st Dec.2006 |
INDIA, EFTA MOVE TOWARDS TRADE AND INVESTMENT AGREEMENT
KAMAL NATH ANNOUNCES SETTING UP OF JOINT STUDY GROUP
New Delhi:
December 1, 2006
India and the European
Free Trade Association – EFTA (comprising the Member States Switzerland,
Norway, Liechtenstein and Iceland) today established a Joint Study Group
to explore the possibility of entering into a broad-based trade and
investment agreement.
The agreement
to set up the Joint Study Group (JSG) was signed today at a meeting of the
EFTA Council in Geneva in the presence of Shri Kamal Nath, Commerce and
Industry Minister, Mrs. Doris Leuthard, Federal Counsellor, Federal
Department of Economic Affairs, Switzerland. Chairperson of the EFTA
Council and Ministers from all other Member States were also present.
Announcing the
setting up of the JSG, Shri Kamal Nath said: “we share a warm and
friendly relationship with EFTA States. There cannot be any better way
to further strengthen these relationships than by talking about enhancing
trade and investment flows. We are looking forward to a deeper economic
engagement with EFTA”.
The reasons
for exploring a deeper engagement with EFTA are manifold: The
primary reason is the strong complementarities between economies on
both sides. Harnessing these complementarities will result in
widening and deepening our trade basket. The strong technology
orientation of EFTA States can be gainfully coupled with the huge skilled
human skilled resources base of
India to yield rich dividends on both
sides. India’s
strength in the services sector and the large service consuming economies
of EFTA States present an ideal situation for enhancing trade flows in
services sector.
India is emerging as a major manufacturing base for the world economy.
The investment potential of EFTA States can be married with
India’s manufacturing
capabilities to create greater economic growth on both sides,
Shri Kamal Nath explained.
The EFTA was
founded in 1960 as a means of achieving growth and prosperity amongst its
Member States as well as promoting closer economic cooperation between
Western European Countries.
This study
would examine all aspects of the existing bilateral economic relationship
between
India and the EFTA and recommend measures
to deepen economic engagement through an expansion of two-way trade and
investment flows. It is envisaged that the bilateral trade and
investment agreement will cover trade in goods and services, investment,
trade facilitation, technical standards and SPS, intellectual property
rights and dispute settlement.
The JSG would
be co-chaired by, Additional Secretary,
Europe Division in the Department of
Commerce – Shri Rahul Khullar – from the Indian side, and his counterpart
official to be designated by the EFTA.
The JSG will meet alternatively in New Delhi and Geneva and has been asked
to give its report within one year. The first meeting of the JSG is
scheduled to be held in February 2007.
Background on India’s
trade with EFTA
Bilateral
trade between
India and EFTA in 2005-06
was US $ 7475.36 billion (i.e. US $ 7.4 billion), comprising exports of US
$ 623.11 million and imports of US $ 6852.25 million. The growth in
bilateral trade was 9.3% in 2005-06 over 2004-05, but while India’s
exports to EFTA shrank by over 3%, imports from EFTA grew by 11%.
Among the 4
EFTA member countries,
India’s largest trading
partner is Switzerland followed by Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein.
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