Feb 2004 Press Release

India and Netherlands have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for promotion of investment between the two countries. Shri Arun Jaitley, Union Minister of Commerce & Industry, signed the MOU, here today evening, on behalf of Government of India whereas Mr. Laurens-Jan-Bringkhorst, Minister of Economic Affairs, for the Government of Netherlands. A Joint Investment Promotion Committee has been set up to promote investment cooperation, identify promising sectors and assist the private sector. Under the MOU, a ‘Programme for Cooperation with Emerging Markets’ would also be introduced in India, which would support setting up joint innovative pilot projects to generate substantial local employment, transferring knowledge, making extensive use of local SMEs in the supply chain and contribute to poverty alleviation.

During the meeting, both the Ministers discussed matters of negotiations in the WTO and emphasised the need to take forward the negotiations. Shri Jaitley told the Netherlands Minister that Indian economy had changed substantially during last few years and said that India would like to move forward in the various areas of WTO negotiations like services and manufacturing. "We don’t want to see the year 2004 gone as non-year in WTO negotiations", Shri Jaitley said. The economically developed nations have to take initiative in this regard, he added. Both the Ministers stressed the fact that there seem to be far greater understanding between India and the EU.

The two Ministers acknowledged that the signing of MOU would provide fillip to the investment in both the countries. About 4 pilot projects with an average project size of Euro 1 million per investment, contributing 50% of the project cost would be taken up. Netherlands is an important trading partner of India in the EU. During the first seven months 2003-04, the bilateral trade has shown a significant growth of about 26%. The Netherlands is ranked 7^th in the list of countries from which FDI has been approved in India. Total FDI approved from Netherlands during 1991-2003 is US $ 2.43 billion, out of which the inflow is US $ 1.37 billion.

India and Philippines have agreed to cooperate in the sectors of information technology, railways, small & medium enterprises and pharmaceutical sectors. This was indicated in the Agreed Minutes of the 8^th Session of the Joint Working Group (JWG), here today, which was signed by Shri S. N. Menon, Special Secretary, Ministry of Commerce & Industry, who led the Indian delegation and Dr. Thomas G. Aquino, Under Secretary, Department of Trade & Industry, who led the Philippines delegation. Both the sides agreed to enhance the bilateral trade and economic relations from the current levels, which have registered a three-fold growth from US $ 156 million in 1998-99 to US $ 596 million in 2002-03.

The Philippines side sought assistance of India in identifying Indian software assessors who are willing to provide assessment work opportunities as professional exposure to five Filipino assessor-aspirants, in the light of the great need to add assessors in the country. Both sides shared serious concerns with regard to the developments on the legislations in the US Congress and some US states against global outsourcing. They further agreed to consider possible joint actions on these US legislations. The two sides expressed satisfaction over conclusion of an agreement between IRCON, an Indian public sector undertaking and the Philippine National Railway for conducting the feasibility study in Mindanao, which could lead to a bigger construction contract in future.

The Indian side agreed, in principle, for cooperation in the field of coir and coir processing. It was noted that visits could be undertaken for an exploratory study to work out a detailed proposal. The Indian side also raised the issue of delay in accreditation of pharmaceutical product with the Philippine Bureau of Food & Drugs (BFAD) and requested for a fast-track accreditation of those pharmaceutical products which have already been approved by the EU and USFDA.

The two sides exchanged views on WTO matters and resolved to strengthen their cooperation in negotiations on agriculture and other issues. Both the countries also agreed for the promotion of bilateral trade and investments in the areas of export of meat, renewable energy sources, agriculture, science & technology, gems & jewellery and civil aviation.

The State Trading Corporation of India Ltd. (STC) today paid interim dividend of 20% on its capital to the Government of India for the year 2003-04 at a brief function held here. The cheque of Rs. 5.46 crore was handed over by the Corporation’s Chairman & Managing Director, Dr. Arvind Pandalai, to the Union Minister of Commerce & Industry, Shri Arun Jaitley.

The total turnover of the Corporation during the ten month period of the current financial year i.e. April ’03 – January ’04 reached an all time high level of Rs. 6150 crore. This could be made possible as a result of continued thrust on identified items of exports and imports and a number of new initiatives undertaken during the year.

During the 10 - month period, the export turnover of the Corporation rose to Rs. 860 crore as compared to Rs. 478 crore during the corresponding period last year. The Corporation has exported foodgrains worth Rs. 790 crore till January 2004. The Corporation was also successful in signing a contract of export of GI sheets worth Rs. 61 crore to Sri Lanka. The export turnover during the full year 2003-04 is estimated at Rs. 1000 crore.

The import sales during the current year so far have amounted to Rs. 5180 crore. The Corporation has expanded its edible oil import operations on commercial account and has effected sales worth Rs. 421 crore upto January ’04. In addition, Corporation is also undertaking import of Vanaspati from Nepal. Imports of fertilisers on commercial account, which the Corporation has undertaken for the first time, accounted for a turnover of over Rs. 160 crore. As new initiative, the Corporation diversified its operations by undertaking import, Bitumen, Low Ash Metallurgical Coke, Lead Concentrate/Lead Ore, Heavy Metal Scrap, Aluminum ingots, HR Coils, HR Steel Billets.

The Corporation has been able to stage a turnaround during April ’03 - January ’04 by reporting a net profit (after tax) of over Rs. 14 crore after incurring losses during the last two years.

Mr. Rubens Ricupero, Secretary General of UNCTAD, has said that outsourcing has opened up new trade avenues for developing countries. In a statement at the 8^th Session of the Commission on Trade in Goods & Services and Commodities held in Geneva last week, he said that offshoring was a legitimate part of global trade liberalisation and this enabled developing countries to leverage their comparative advantage – abundant, competitive labour and lower cost environment. "Despite some attempts at provoking government measures in some instances, I do not think that this process is amenable to government control and will be driven by market forces. In any case, these services are already covered in GATS under Mode 1 and are also related to Mode 3 & 4 as it is to investment. In order to ensure predictability, developing countries should as part of GATS negotiations, actively seek binding multilateral commitments in this mode so that they can pre-empt or render invalid any protectionist action", Mr. Ricupero added. He also quoted the British Trade Secretary Patricia Hewitt on the (myth behind offshoring fears in the UK – its biggest beneficiary), who had said: "We cannot argue liberalisation abroad and practice protectionism at home. However, strong the short-term costs appear to be, the long-term costs are greater – for consumers and for jobs" and for the economy.

The global outsourcing spend is estimated to be $320 billion last year, $585 billion in 2005, and $827 billion in 2008. Of this, offshoring is a rapidly growing segment and despite much excitement about its significance to North-South trade, the share even of frontline countries like India (3 per cent of global IT spent) in this business is small and fears of a big wave of offshoring to poor countries swallowing up rich country high skill jobs appear misplaced. On the other hand, this does constitute a dynamic new area and a big window of opportunity to assure instant and durable development gains to developing countries through international trade, win converts to globalisation, create tangible and additional stakes for poor countries in the trading system. Moreover, it is encouraging to note that outsourcing export opportunities for developing countries are much broader than generally presented, with a wide range of developing countries significantly increasing their presence in global outsourcing markets, Mr. Ricupero said.

Describing offshoring as one of the frontier issues of international trade, Mr. Ricupero referred to the current debate on outsourcing of services (ITES, BPOs and e-commerce services) by developed country enterprises to developing countries. "There is a heated debate on how this fits into free trade theory and accepted trade liberalisation paradigm, whether it is or not leading to a job exodus from developed to developing countries, what is the cost benefit to both, should there be protectionist government intervention and will it work and finally how can this be dealt with in the WTO and other trade negotiations. We in UNCTAD have been monitoring this phenomenon and have noted its evolution from a largely intra OECD one, to include a new North to South dimension", Mr. Ricupero said.

The total of 300 sensitive tariff lines for the period April-November 2003 has been Rs 12,022 crore as compared to Rs 8,707 crore during the corresponding period of last year thereby showing a growth of 38%. The gross import of all commodity during same period of current year was Rs 2,20,582 crore as compared to Rs 1,90,327 crore during the same period of last year. Thus import of 300 sensitive items constitute only 4.6% and 5.5% of the gross imports during last year and current year respectively. The major item that has contributed significantly to the growth is crude palm oil and its fractions.

Import of spices and tea & coffee have shown a decline at broad group level during the period. Import of edible oil, cotton & silk, fruits & vegetables, automobiles, rubber, milk & milk products and SSI and other products have shown increase during the period under reference.

In the edible oil section, the import has increased from Rs 5,315 crores last year to Rs 7,934 crores for the corresponding period of this year. However, significant feature of edible oil import is that although import of crude oil have gone up by 35%, that of refined palm oil & palmolein have increased by 139% but percentage share of crude to the total edible oil remains as high as 79% indicating a better utilisation of the processing capacity in the country. Imports of soya bean crude oil, kernail / Babasu crude oil and sunflower crude oil have also gone up marginally.

Imports of sensitive items from Indonesia, Malaysia, Argentina, USA, Egypt, Thailand, Mali, Greece, Guinea Bisu, Brazil, Korea RP, China & Afganistan etc. have gone up while those from Sri Lanka, Switzerland & Australia etc. have shown some decrease.

IMPORT OF SENSITIVE ITEMS-PROVISIONAL ESTIMATES
								(Value in Rs Crore)
Sr. No.	Commodity Group	No. of Tariff	Weights w.r.t. total sensitive items		Value of Import (Rs Crore)		Difference (Rs Crore)	%age growth
		Lines	Upto Nov 2002	Upto Nov 2003	Upto Nov 2002	Upto Nov 2003	(Col. 7 - Col. 6)
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9
1	Milk & Milk Products	16	0.37%	0.35%	32.35	41.58	9.23	28.5%
	( Major factor of downfall is Butter Oil and its Contribution is)				28.44	23.20	-5.24	-18.4%
	( and its %age share to this group)				87.9%	55.8%
	( Significant growth was observed in skimmed milk and its contribution is				0.12	11.12	11.00	very high
	( and its %age share to this group)				0.4%	26.8%
2	Fruits & Vegetables	43	12.65%	10.53%	1101.80	1265.82	164.02	14.9%
	(Significant growth in Cashew nuts in shell, almonds, Pistachios, Raisins, apple fresh contribution is)				1011.37	1223.45	212.08	21.0%
	( and their %age share to this group)				91.8%	96.7%
3	Poultry	10	0.00%	0.00%	0.03	0.04	0.01
4	Tea & Coffee	31	0.88%	0.42%	76.93	50.04	-26.89	-35.0%
5	Spices	34	3.27%	1.54%	284.51	184.56	-99.95	-35.1%
	(Significant shortfall in Black pepper, Cassia, Cloves, cardamoms, and their contribution is)				235.97	109.53	-126.45	-53.6%
	( and their %age share to this group)				82.9%	59.3%
	(Significant growth in Pepper long, cloves stems and their contribution is)				16.23	51.98	35.75	220.2%
	( and their %age share to this group)				5.7%	28.2%
6	Food Grains	11	0.01%	0.01%	1.19	0.77	-0.41	Less weigtage
7	Edible Oils	22	61.04%	66.00%	5314.94	7934.46	2619.52	49.3%
	(a) Crude				4601.45	6229.29	1627.83	35.4%
	( Ratio of crude to total Edible )				86.6%	78.5%
	(b) Refined				713.48	1705.17	991.68	139.0%
	( Ratio of Refined to total edible import)				13.4%	21.5%
8	Alcoholic Beverages	11	0.20%	0.24%	17.00	28.82	11.82	69.5%
9	Rubber	11	0.55%	1.25%	47.65	149.88	102.23	214.5%
	(Natural rubber smoked sheets, technically specified natural rubber, natural rubber non latex contribution is)				35.98	141.27	105.29	292.7%
	( and their %age share to this group)				75.5%	94.3%
10	Cotton & Silk	20	16.14%	15.15%	1405.61	1821.33	415.72	29.6%
	Significant growth in : Mulberry dupion silk and its other yarn, Yarn of mulberry silk waste, cotton (Foreign and Bengal Deshi) and their contribution is)				978.42	1469.26	490.84	50.2%
	( and their %age share to this group)				69.6%	80.7%
	Significant Shortfall in :raw silk (Mulberry and others), NOIL silk yarn and their contribution is)				422.97	346.68	-76.29	-18.0%
	( and their %age share to this group)				30.1%	19.0%
11	Marble & Granite	9	0.46%	0.42%	39.70	50.77	11.07	27.9%
12	Automobiles	33	2.65%	2.38%	230.68	286.17	55.49	24.1%
13	Product of SSI	37	1.61%	1.56%	140.40	187.57	47.17	33.6%
	(Umbrella, locks, toys, writing instruments, tiles, glassware, etc.)
	(Major increase are in :Glassware of lead crystal and other drinking glasses etc., combination & pad locks and other locks, Ball point & other in pen, toy weapons, all types of tiles and their contribution is)				83.64	141.79	58.15	69.5%
	( and their %age share to this group)				59.6%	75.6%
14	Others (Wheat floor, sugar, cigarette & salt)	12	0.16%	0.17%	14.13	19.99	5.86	41.5%
	Total of Sensitive items		100.0%	100.0%	8706.92	12021.79	3314.88	38.1%
	%age share of Import of sensitive items to Total Import (All Commodities)				4.6%	5.5%

	Total of All commodities ( including sensitive items) as per quick estimate				190327.2	220582.3	30255.1	15.9%

Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), Ministry of Commerce & Industry, New Delhi, dated February 19, 2004

India and Singapore have decided to enhance the bilateral trade and economic relations from the current levels (US $ 2.86 billion in 2002-03). This was indicated at a meeting between Shri Arun Jaitley, Union Minister of Commerce & Industry and Law & Justice and Mr. George Yong-Boon Yeo, Minister of Trade & Industry, Singapore, here today. Both the Ministers discussed the current state of negotiations in the World Trade Organisation (WTO). They also emphasised the need to find a way out and move forward the negotiations on various WTO issues. Shri Jaitley gave a brief overview of the current economic developments in the country and said that the ongoing National Highways Project would lead to a boom in the tourism sector. The Singapore Minister acknowledged the fact that the tourism sector held many prospects for both the countries and appreciated the changes happening in India in the infrastructure sector.

Singapore is an important trading partner for India in the ASEAN region. Amongst the ASEAN countries, Singapore ranked first (2001-02) in terms of India's total trade with ASEAN countries and also in terms of Indian exports. During the year 2002-03 the bilateral trade grew by over 25% over the previous year. India's exports at US $ 1.42 billion during this period grew by 9.92% while imports at US $ 1.43 billion recorded decline of 10.51%.

In an another meeting, Dr. Edmund Stoiber, Minister of Bavaria, Germany, called on Shri Jaitley and discussed the issues of bilateral trade and economic relations. Dr. Stoiber informed that for the first time in three years, the economy of his country was doing well with a growth rate of about 2% during this year. He highlighted information technology and textiles as the focus areas for enhancing the bilateral trade relations. Shri Jaitley said that the key focus of the country in next 10 years would be three-fold viz., improving infrastructure; making India a manufacturing hub; and improving quality of life in the villages. Germany is the third largest trading partner of India in Europe. During 2002-03, the total bilateral trade registered a growth of 18.20% at US $ 4.51 billion of which Indian exports to Germany were US $ 2.10 billion and imports from Germany were US $ 2.40 billion.

China has granted concessions on 217 tariff lines (at 8-digit ITS HS level) to India under the Bangkok Agreement while India has extended the concessions on 106 items corresponding to 188 tariff lines at 6-digit HS, which it had already granted to other member countries (Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Republic of Korea). Besides, India’s exports are also eligible for concessions on the items on which China has already exchanged concessions bilaterally with Bangladesh, Republic of Korea and Sri Lanka. In effect, the total number of items eligible for tariff concessions for export to China will be more than 700 items. The concessions would be available subject to fulfillment of Rules of Origin prescribed thereupon. The preferential tariff rates for trade between India and China under the Bangkok Agreement are effective from 1^st January, 2004.

To be eligible for preferential duty access to China under the Bangkok Agreement, the goods shall comply with the Rules of Origin of the Government of China under the Bangkok Agreement and shall be accompanied by a Certificate of Origin to this effect issued by an authorised agency listed in Appendix 35-A of the EXIM Policy Handbook of Procedures of 2002-07. Imports from China on the items would be available subject to fulfillment of the Rules of Origin as notified by the Customs Notification No. 430-Cus. dated 1.11.1976 as amended from time to time. China will be maintaining average margin of preference which it offered on the basis of 2003 MFN rates for 217 tariff lines at 13.5% of the prevalent MFN tariffs every year.

The Bangkok Agreement is an initiative under the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) for trade expansion through exchange of tariff concessions among developing country members of the ESCAP region. The Agreement was signed on 31^st July, 1975 and remained operational among four countries, namely, Bangladesh, India, Republic of Korea and Sri Lanka until April, 2000. The developing country members and associate members of ESCAP are eligible to accede to the Agreement.

China’s accession to the Bangkok Agreement was approved by the consensus by the member countries in April, 2000. China completed the formalities related to its accession to the Bangkok Agreement in April, 2001. China concluded its bilateral negotiations for exchange of tariff concessions with Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Republic of Korea in 2002. India concluded its bilateral negotiations for exchange of tariff concessions with China in 2003. China has issued Customs notification No. 75 on 23^rd December, 2003 and India’s Customs Notification No. 179/2003 was issued on 31^st December, 2003.

India along with Bhutan, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Nepal have signed the Framework Agreement on the BIMST-EC Free Trade Area (FTA) on 8^th February, 2004 at Phuket in Thailand. The objectives of this Agreement are to strengthen and enhance economic, trade and investment cooperation among the member countries and progressively liberalise and promote trade in goods and services, create a transparent, liberal and facilitative investment regime. Shri Arun Jaitley, Union Minister of Commerce & Industry, signed the Agreement on behalf of the Government of India at Phuket. The Agreement will come into force on 30 June, 2004, by which time the member countries undertake to complete their internal procedures required for this purpose.

The member countries have agreed to negotiate expeditiously in order to establish a BIMST-EC FTA to strengthen and enhance economic cooperation through the progressive elimination of tariffs and non-tariff barriers in substantially all trade in goods; progressive liberalisation of trade in services with substantial sectoral coverage and establishing an open and competitive investment regime that facilitates and promote investments within the BIMST-EC FTA.

As per the Agreement, in Trade in Goods, the products except those included in the negative list will be subject to tariff reduction or elimination on the following two tracks:

The member countries have agreed to strengthen cooperation in the already identified sectors of technology, transportation and communication, energy tourism and fisheries. The member countries have further agreed to enhance trade facilitation in areas, including but not limited to, the following:

The member countries have agreed to implement capacity building programmes and technical assistance, particularly for the least developed countries of the BIMST-EC, in order to adjust their economic structure and expand their trade and investment with other member countries.

The negotiations for tariff reduction/elimination and other matters as set out in this Agreement will commence in July 2004 and be concluded by December 2005. For trade in services and investments, the negotiations on respective agreements will commence in 2005 and be concluded by 2007. The member countries will establish appropriate formal dispute settlement procedures and mechanism for the purpose of this agreement by December 2005.

A BIMST-EC Trade Negotiating Committee (BIMST-EC TNC) will be established to carry out the programme of negotiations as set out in this agreement. The BIMST-EC TNC will regularly report to the BIMST-EC Trade/Economic Ministers through their Senior Trade & Economic Officials Meeting on the progress and outcome of its negotiations.

There is no move in the United Kingdom (UK) to curb outsourcing to India. This was indicated by Mr. Jack Straw, Secretary of State in the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (UK), at his meeting with Shri Arun Jaitley, Union Minister of Commerce & Industry and Law & Justice, here this evening. Shri Jaitley on his part mentioned that even at his meeting yesterday with the Aspen Group from the United States, he had pointed out that moves in this regard in the US were of a protectionist nature and went against the spirit of free trade.

On multilateral trade issues, Shri Jaitley briefed Mr. Straw about India’s perspective on the ongoing trade negotiations and appreciated UK’s support to India’s position on key WTO issues. He pointed out that over the last couple of years, India had been proactive in multilateral trade negotiations. On agriculture, he said India along with other G-20 countries had shared concerns over the issues of subsidies (export subsidies as well as domestic support) and market access. "On market access, we have the greatest sensitivities because almost 650 million people in the country are dependent on it. One tariff line could affect a few million people. For India, therefore, it is not only subsidies, it is market access. We cannot open our doors straightaway (in agriculture), even as in services and in manufacturing, we are opening our doors…. If our defensive interest is accommodated, we want the negotiations to go on….. We are participating actively in the multilateral forum. However, in agriculture our flexibilities are limited", Shri Jaitley said.

Mr. Straw spoke of the possibilities for enhanced bilateral trade and economic cooperation between India and the UK. In this context, he raised several bilateral issues such as the perceived high level of tariffs on beverages and spirits and some issues pertaining to air services. He also urged greater opening up of legal services as it could be mutually beneficial for both the countries.

The UK is the second largest trading partner of India and the largest in the European Union (EU). Mr. Straw observed that in the EU, the UK had been consistently supportive of India’s position on multilateral and other trade issues, a point that Shri Jaitley acknowledged and appreciated. Indo-UK bilateral trade exceeded US $ 5 billion in 2002-03. The trend for the year 2003-04 (upto September 2003) shows an upward swing of more than 5% over the same period last year.

Shri Arun Jaitley, Union Minister of Commerce & Industry and Law & Justice, is leaving tonight for Thailand at the head of the Indian delegation to the 5^th BIMST-EC Trade/Economic Ministers’ Meeting being held at Phuket on 7^th February, 2004. The Ministerial Meeting, which is an annual event, is being held to discuss various issues on cooperation relating to trade and investment among BIMST-EC countries. Shri Dipak Chatterjee, Commerce Secretary, is accompanying the Minister. The last meeting of the BIMST-EC Trade/Economic Ministers was held on 7^th March, 2003 in Colombo (Sri Lanka).

The 4th Senior Trade & Economic Officials Meeting (STEOM) was held in January, 2004 in Bangkok. During the meeting, an important recommendation was made – to be considered by the Ministers in their ensuing meeting – to set up a Task Force to review the sectors and sub-sectors of economic cooperation under BIMST-EC. The sectors and sub-sectors identified for cooperation among BIMST-EC countries have their genesis in the UN-ESCAP Report of 1997. The trade and investment patterns of BIMST-EC countries have changed since then and therefore, there is need to review the sectors and sub-sectors.

Trade & Investment is one of the identified sectors for economic cooperation in BIMST-EC. Under the trade and investment sector, the following sub-sectors have been identified for cooperation, the Chair country for each has been mentioned in brackets: -

India is the Chair country for the sub-sectors of "Coconut & Spices" and "Drugs & Pharmaceuticals".

Exports of basic chemicals, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and related items have crossed the US $ 5 billion mark, by touching a figure of US $ 5360 million ($ 5.36 billion) during 2003-04. Exports in 2001-02 and 2002-03 were of the order of US $ 4.4 billion and $ 4.5 billion respectively. This was indicated by Shri S. K. Jindal, Regional Chairman, Basic Chemicals, Pharmaceuticals & Cosmetics Export Promotion Council (CHEMEXCIL), in New Delhi. He also indicated that exports in this sector will cross the target of $ 5.5 billion during 2004-05

Shri Satish Wagh, Chairman, CHEMEXIL, said his Council’s vision presented to the Ministry of Commerce has projected an ambitious export target of Rs. 61,000 crore. By 2006-07 for all the items of export of CHEMEXCIL, drugs & pharmaceuticals will alone account for Rs. 24,000 crore, Shri Wagh informed.

The pharmaceutical industry in India is estimated at around US $ 4.75 billion. This industry is divided into formulation sales 57%, bulk drugs sale 15% and exports 28%. It ranks amongst the most developed in the third world countries in terms of quality, technology and range of products. It ranks 4^th in volume and 14^th in value terms.

The factors that contribute to advantage India are mainly strong intellectual capital base of technical manpower having entrepreneurial skills, large patient base to conduct international clinical trials, USFDA/WHO compliant manufacturing facilities, strong base in bulk drug manufacture, fall back situation with reference to R&D as 10% of researchers and 15% of USA scientist in the field of biotechnology and pharmaceuticals are of Indian origin.

Shri Jindal, said that the new Budget has been very enlightening and has paved the way for long-term benefits. He said that the Council will put in its best endeavours to enhance the growth of its products and has recorded a 19.6% growth which no other product has achieved. He also praised the efforts of the Ministry of Commerce & Industry to organise a day-long workshop on guidelines of MAI (Market Access Initiative) and MDA (Market Development Assistance) with all the Export Promotion Councils and give so much facilities.

Shri S. D. Kapoor, Chairman and Managing Director of MMTC Ltd. presented the interim dividend cheque of Rs. 12.41 crore to Shri Arun Jaitley, Union Minister of Commerce & Industry and Law & Justice, here today. MMTC has declared 25% interim dividend for the year 2003-04, the highest ever-interim dividend ever declared by it. The interim dividend was declared by the Board of Directors in its meeting held on 15^th January 2004.

MMTC earned a net profit of Rs. 32.13 crore in the first nine months of the current fiscal year, which is 78% higher than the net profits earned during the corresponding year last year. During the same period, earning per share has gone up by 78%, productivity is up by 22% and expenditure is down by 11%. The company has recorded a total turnover of Rs. 6621 crore during April 2003-January 2004, thus exceeding the proportionate budgeted targets. With this, the company has already exceeded the total turnover of last year registering 25% growth over the same period last year. This include exports valued at Rs. 1490 crore, imports at Rs. 4688 crore and the domestic business of Rs. 443 crore. In import and domestic business, the company has already exceeded respective annual targets for the year 2003-04. The company is also confident of exceeding the annual target of Rs. 7500 crore set for the year 2003-04.

The Government has approved "in principle" to provide support to Government of Andhra Pradesh for establishing a Leather complex in Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh. The proposal, cleared by Shri Arun Jaitley, Union Minister of Commerce & Industry and Law & Justice, is a part of the Integrated Leather Development Programme (ILDP) undertaken by the Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion, Ministry of Commerce and Industry for the Tenth plan period. The complex is aimed at attracting large domestic and foreign investment in the tanning sector. The complex would be equipped with all modern infrastructure facilities like power, effluent treatment, testing facilities and design studio etc.

Leather sector in India has huge potential in terms of export growth and employment generation. In spite of having 10% raw material base for leather, India’s share in global leather trade is less than 3%. The sector not only provides direct employment to about 2.5 million people particularly from the weaker sections but also employs a large female workforce. The scheme of ILDP under the Tenth Plan has various components like technology up-gradation and modernisation of units, infrastructure facilitation and capacity building for the sector.

Countries	For developing countries parties	For LDC parties
India, Sri Lanka and Thailand	1^st July, 2006 to 30^th June, 2009	1^st July, 2006 to 30^th June, 2007
Bhutan, Myanmar and Nepal	1^st July, 2006 to 30^th June, 2011	1^st July, 2006 to 30^th June, 2009

Countries	For developing countries parties	For LDC parties
India, Sri Lanka and Thailand	1^st July, 2007 to 30^th June, 2012	1^st July, 2007 to 30^th June, 2010
Bhutan, Myanmar and Nepal	1^st July, 2007 to 30^th June, 2017	1^st July, 2007 to 30^th June, 2015