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 GOVERNMENT UNDERTAKES MASSIVE PROGRAMME TO MODERNISE INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
INFRASTRUCTURE
NATIONAL SEMINAR ON IPRs BEGINS

 New Delhi: February 17, 2005

 The government has undertaken an ambitious programme to modernise the intellectual property Rights (IPRs) administrative infrastructure with a view to making the system efficient, IT-enabled and more user-friendly.    In the inaugural address read out on his behalf at the National Seminar on the Promotion, Protection and Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights being organised by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry (Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion) in association with the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO)/Geneva and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI), here today, Shri Kamal Nath, Union Minister of Commerce & Industry, said that   with the Indian economy having a huge technical and scientific manpower, what it now required was to effectively harness the potential of intellectual property to meet the emerging challenges and “this challenge is critical for making India a knowledge super power and creating wealth from intellectual property”.

 “The modernised patent law is expected to provide a secure and conducive environment to investments.  Combined with the market potential of India, a modern IP system will impact favourably on efforts to attract foreign direct investment (FDI), technology transfer, etc., thereby contributing to faster economic and technological development.   Other benefits of the product patent regime could be: Indian companies will push for more R&D as drivers of future growth and profitability; India could be new destination for contract manufacturing and contract research since India has cost/capabilities advantages, and has emerged a leading supplier of quality and cost effective drugs in the world”, he added.

 The two-day (17-18 February) programme is being attended by 100 participants representing senior officials concerned with policy making and implementation, enforcement agencies such as police, customs, music industry, publishing industry, attorneys, legal profession, etc. Eminent international and national speakers are making the presentations in order to share experiences and understand the implications of the emerging issues in the context of effective enforcement of intellectual property rights.   Amongst speakers today were: Mr. Wolfgang Starein, Director, Enforcement & Special Projects division, WIPO and Mr. Yuji Okuma, Director, Regional Policy Office, International Affairs Division, Japan Patent Office (JPO), Japan.

 The speakers emphasised the necessity of intellectual property protection, its effective use in enhancing enterprise growth and competitiveness in the context of developing countries and the need for an effective mechanism of enforcement of IPRs through competence building and modernisation in terms of approach and content so as to ensure promotion of creativity and innovation, thereby sustaining cultural, scientific, technological and industrial development.   

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INPUT-OUTPUT NORMS FOR 27 NEW EXPORT ITEMS NOTIFIED

 PRESS NOTE

         The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) has Public Notice No.53 dated 15/02/2005 notifying additional standard input-output norms for 27 new export items and amendments/ corrections/deletions in the standard input-output norms for 35 existing export items.   Out of the 27 new norms, 22 norms relate to the chemicals & allied products, 4 relate to the engineering products and 1 relate to the food products.  Fixation of standard input-output norms will facilitate issue of advance licences for above additional items to the exporters.

 Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), Ministry of Commerce & Industry, New Delhi, dated 16^th February, 2005

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ELANGOVAN SEEKS STATES’ SUPPORT FOR TAX EXEMPTION TO EOUs/SEZs

 New Delhi: February 16, 2005

 Shri EVKS Elangovan, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry, sought the total cooperation of the state governments to exempt indirect taxes levied on Export Oriented Units and Special Economic Zones (EOUs &SEZs). He said that the issue of exemption of state levies on EOUs has been under the active consideration of the ministry. The minister was addressing the interaction meeting with the representatives of various EOUs and SEZs in Chennai this morning. The overall exports from the country in the EOU/SEZ sector are set to touch a record US $ 75 billion this year. “EOU/SEZ units are contributing 15 per cent (in dollar terms) in the total exports from the country, and in our policy, they are the engines of growth” he said.

 The Minister said that EOU/SEZ units in Tamil Nadu have contributed Rs.5702 crore as exports last year generating an employment of 60,000 people. He said that his ministry is interacting with the Ministry of Finance regarding simplification of procedures for claiming tax exemptions for EOU/SEZ units. Shri Elangovan also hoped that the proposed SEZ legislation will provide a stable environment for the growth of SEZ units.

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COOPERATION WITH ITALY IN LEATHER AND DESIGN SECTORS
ITALIAN MINISTER CALLS ON ELANGOVAN

 New Delhi: February 16, 2005

Shri EVKS Elangovan, the Minister of State for Commerce and Industry, called for increased cooperation with Italy in the fields of leather, handicrafts and design sectors. He said this when Mr. Gianfranco Alois, Minister for Trade and Industry, in the Regional Government of Campania, (South-west Italy) called on him last evening. In the meeting the two sides discussed ways to expand bilateral cooperation in the fields of information technology, tourism, energy and small and medium sectors.

India is having a world class design institute at Ahmedabad. Italy being an acknowledged centre of excellence in design, Mr. Alois suggested collaboration with the Maples University of Italy to undertake Faculty Development Programmes. Shri Elangovan said that India is looking to Italy not only for enhanced exports, but also to promote partnership in manufacture, technology and marketing in the leather sector. “India’s low production cost, leather availability, and abundant skilled labour can be synergized with Italian brand image and design capabilities to become world leaders in leather goods” the Minister said. The Council of Leather Exports has already taken steps to establish a ‘leather desk’ attached to the Indian embassy in Rome to organize exclusive investment promotion programmes in a more focused manner.

India’s bilateral trade with Italy was US $ 2.77 billion in the year 2003-04 and Italy ranks 12^th in the list of countries from which FDI was approved in India since 1991.

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 KAMAL NATH TO INAUGURATE FICCI SEMINAR ON IPRs TOMORROW

 New Delhi, 16 February, 2005

 Shri Kamal Nath, Minister of Commerce and Industry, will inaugurate tomorrow a two-day National Seminar on The Promotion, Protection and Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) being organised here by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) in collaboration with the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) and the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

 The Seminar aims to provide information on the role of intellectual property as a tool for development and to impart appropriate knowledge and practical skills in the effective enforcement of IPRs.

 The topics to be covered in the Seminar will include protection of intellectual property, copyright and related rights; institutional framework for the protection of IPRs in India; effective use of IPRs in enhancing enterprise growth and competitiveness in the context of developing countries; and general aspects of intellectual property rights enforcement in India and the problems of counterfeiting and piracy in the national and the international perspective.

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ELANGOVAN CALLS FOR INCREASED TRADE WITH UZBEKISTAN
JVs MOOTED IN TEXTILES AND FOOD PROCESSING SECTOR

 New Delhi: February 15, 2005

 Shri EVKS Elangovan, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry called for increased trade between India and Uzbekistan especially in the areas of manufacturing, auto components, information technology and food processing sectors. The Minister said this when a trade delegation led by Ms. Abdullaeva, Deputy Chairperson of the Agency of Foreign Economic Relations of Uzbekistan called on him here this evening.

 Shri Elangovan emphasized the need for having joint ventures between the two countries in the fields of textiles, food processing and dairy products. “Uzbekistan is a producer of finest cotton and with India’s expertise in textile machinery, the two countries can reap immense benefits” the Minister said. He pointed out that India’s bilateral trade with Uzbekistan is about US $ 42.84 million, which is far less than the existing potential. India is a leading supplier of pharmaceuticals and medical equipments to Uzbekistan. To improve the cooperation in this sector, CHEMEXIL (Basic Chemicals, Pharmaceuticals and allied products Export Promotion Council) is organizing its first Indo- CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States)  Health summit at Hyderabad later this month to showcase India’s capabilities in Ayurvedic medicines, biotechnology and health services sector.   The Minister also called for addressing the Visa problems faced by business visitors to Uzbekistan in the interest of bilateral trade.

 Shri Elangovan had led a trade delegation to Uzbekistan, last month and had inaugurated the 5^th session of Indo- Uzbek Joint Commission meeting at Tashkent.  The Uzbek delegation will explore the possibilities of increasing bilateral economic cooperation and to discuss issues concerning lines of credit extended by India. They will also have meetings with the EXIM bank, MMTC STC and leading Export Promotion Councils.

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ELANGOVAN CALLS FOR PRODUCTIVITY WITH SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
NPC WORKSHOP INAUGURATED

 New Delhi: February 15, 2005

           Shri E.V.K.S. Elangovan, Minister of State for Commerce & Industry, said that productivity improvement is linked to social development and called upon the heads of National Productivity Organisations to include societal dimension into productivity growth.    He was inaugurating the 45^th Workshop of the National Productivity Organisations organized by the National Productivity Council (NPC) here today.  He said that social cultural environment of a society bears a strong relationship with technological advancement and Asian productivity level cannot be raised if women are neglected or discriminated against.   

           Shri Elangovan underlined the emergent need to equip ourselves to face natural disaster like Tsunami and said the Asian productivity movement has to gear up to restore normalcy in the affected areas.   “Close cooperation among the countries can lead to exchange of scientific data on natural calamities so that damages can be contained”, he added.

           The Minister emphasized the importance of organic farming and asked the Asian farmers to seize the opportunity in this regard by adopting scientific approach to the concept of organic farming.   In this connection, he said that Asia needs to grapple with the environmental threats that accompanied industrialisation.    Complimenting the delegates of the Asian Productivity Organisation for taking the region on the threshold of resurgence, he said that the time has come to scale further progress and prosperity through productivity.   

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 INDIA, ITALY TARGET EUROS 5 BILLION TRADE IN 2 YEARS
SCOPE FOR ITALIAN INVESTMENT IN INFRASTRUCTURE
KAMAL NATH ADDRESSES INDIA-ITALY BUSINESS FORUM

 New Delhi: 15 February, 2005

 India and Italy have set a bilateral trade target of 5 billion euros to be achieved within two years. This was indicated by Shri Kamal Nath, Minister of Commerce and Industry, at a meeting of the India-Italy Business Forum, which was attended by the President of Italy Mr. Carlo Azeglio Ciampi and the Italian Minister for Production Activities, Industry, Energy and Trade, Mr. Antonio Marzano, along with the large Italian business delegation accompanying the Italian President and participants from their Indian counterparts represented by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). While the volume of two-way trade between India and Italy with a total turnover of about 3 billion euros was growing at about 10%. Shri Kamal Nath said it was way below the potential and expressed confidence that with the enabling environment in India’s foreign trade sector, trade and industry on both sides would be able to achieve the target.

 Underlining the tremendous opportunities for investment in India, Shri Kamal Nath pointed to large gaps in the physical infrastructure and energy generation capacities and said the country was looking at investments to the tune of US $ 150 billion to fill these gaps over a short period of time. Italian investment could target these areas as also opportunities in other areas, he said.  He referred to the recent FDI policy initiatives, with many new sectors being opened up to foreign direct investment (FDI) and with FDI up to 100% permitted in most sectors. At his meeting with Mr. Marzano last evening, Shri Kamal Nath had also spoken about the potential of India becoming a gateway to the rest of Asia for goods and components manufactured by joint ventures in the country.

 The Minister called upon industries of the two countries to take active initiatives to promote cooperation in small and medium enterprises (SMEs), which could be great generators of employment as also avail of the synergies in many areas of bilateral commercial relations, particularly in the fields of textiles (including textile design), leather & leather footwear, and gems & jewellery.

 Shri Kamal Nath also sought Italy’s cooperation as an important member of the European Union (EU) in settling the issues of various non-tariff barriers being imposed on supposed grounds of health and sanitary and phyto-sanitary (SPS) standards that the Indian exporters had been facing for long in the EU.   

 On the multilateral trade front, “we need to work closely as friends and partners to move forward the ongoing trade negotiations in WTO and achieve the goal of ‘development for all’. The process of development demands policy flexibilities for the national governments.  While India has certainly moved considerably up the road of development, significant challenges remain”, the Minister said.

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FOOD PROCESSING PARK TO BECOME MAJOR AGRO-INDUSTRIAL BASE FOR INDO-ITALIAN JOINT
VENTURES
MOU SIGNED

New Delhi: February 15, 2005

           Following the visit of Italian Minister for Production Activities, Mr. Antonio Marzano to India in January this year, Italy is responding to India’s food processing necessities with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & industry (FICCI) and the Italian Consortium, Sistema Italia Export (CSIE) for the development of a world-class Agro-Industrial Park called “Sistema Italia FICCI Hyper Food City – India “.  The MoU to undertake the feasibility study to determine the Park’s location was signed by Dr Amit Mitra, Secretary General of FICCI, together with Dr Giuseppe Bartolucci, President of CSIE, in the presence of Mr. Arun Kumar, Joint Secretary, Ministry of food Processing Industries. Government of India and Mr Antonio Marzano. Once developed, this Park will become the focal point for the entry of the very best Italian food processing industries in joint venture with Indian partners.

 Planned and designed according to the latest and most advanced specifications, this Park will create a unique and competitive environment to process India’s high potential agricultural products targeting quality improvements , EU food and safety norms and higher value addition through technology and know-how transfers, better food-chain processes and linkages to effectively increase India’s productivity and quality in both the local and international markets.

 New Technologies and Innovative Services are planned to place India at the forefront of world food processing.

           The Sistema Italia Hyper Food City –India is set to become the food processing center par excellence, opening the way for a substantial increase in high quality product exports to the Asia, Middle-East and European markets. This concept Park in India will showcase possibly the most advanced and competitive food-processing Centre in Asia.

 The Sistema Italia FICCI Hyper Food City –India will have the following features:

  §        Park area: 1200 acres.

§        Investments of Euro 900 million.

§        Establishment of 50 joint-venture industries.

§        Total unified industrial support including:

-         Individual product refrigeration centers

-         EU certification, Quality control, chemical and veterinary laboratories.

-         Logistic and transport centers

-         Independent Energy, environmental, and general services.

-         Media and IT networks

-         Unified Administration, Commercial, and Marketing services.

-         In-house Banking and Insurance offices.

-         Triple security Zones for total health and safety control.

-         Mechanical and engineering service and maintenance services.

-         Cereal and Milk silos. 100.000 tons.

 Further in-house features will include:

           1 hospital and 3 first-aid clinics, educational and training facilities, Residential village, 2 hotels with conference and meeting centers, Restaurants and catering facilities, Permanent showrooms, Italian Food technology and cooking center, Parking for 8000 trucks and cars.

           An estimated 2 million tons of food will transit through the park each year for processing. Employment will be created for 12,000 specialised workers. Total number of professional visitors and international Buyers expected at around 700,000.

           The Park will cater to the agricultural production of an estimated 400,000 small farmers linked and networked into its logistical and out-reach services.

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RECORD INCREASE IN INDIA’S EXPORTS – JANUARY EXPORTS UP BY 33%
INDIA’S FOREIGN TRADE: APRIL-JANUARY 2004-05

 New Delhi: 14 February, 2005

           India’s exports during January 2005 are valued at US $ 6716.15 million ($ 6.7 billion) which is 33.17% higher than the level of US $ 5043.13 million ($ 5 billion) during January 2004.   This is substantially higher than the 3.99% export growth in January, 2004 over January, 2003.    In rupee terms, the exports were Rs.29386.16 crore, which is 28.19% higher than the value of exports during January 2004.   

           Exports during April-January 2004-05 are valued at US $ 60754.46 million, ($ 60.7 billion) which is 25.55% higher than the level of US $ 48389.85 million ($ 48.3 billion) during April-January 2003-04.   This is substantially higher than the 11.74% export growth in April-January 2003-04 over April-January 2002-03.  In rupee terms, the exports were Rs.274313.37 crore, during April-January 2004-05 which is 23.09% higher than the value of exports during April-January 2003-04.

          India’s imports during April-January 2004-05 are valued at US $ 83441.55 million representing an increase of 34.72% over the level of imports valued at US $ 61937.79 million in April-January 2003-04.

           Oil imports during April-January 2004-05 are valued at US $ 23461.21 million which is 40.14% higher than oil imports valued at US $ 16741.20 million in the corresponding period last year.    Non-oil imports during April-January 2004-05 are estimated at US $ 59980.34 million which is 32.71% higher than the level of such imports valued at US $ 45196.59 million in April-January 2003-04.

           Imports during January 2005 are valued at US $ 9584.53 million representing an increase of 40.40% over the level of imports valued at US $ 6826.40 million in January 2004.    In rupee terms, the imports increased by 35.15%.

           The trade deficit for April-January 2004-05 is estimated at US $ 22687.09 million, which is higher than the deficit at US $ 13547.94 million during April-January 2003-04.

           Tables giving details of exports, imports and trade balance, according to the provisional estimates of Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence & Statistics (DGCI&S) are attached.

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KAMAL NATH INVITES FDI FROM ITALY
ITALIAN MINISTER MEETS COMMERCE & INDUSTRY MINISTER

New Delhi: 14 February, 2005

Shri Kamal Nath, Union Minister of Commerce & Industry, today invited Italian enterprises to invest more in India, while pointing out that the actual inflow of foreign direct investment (FDI) from Italy at US $ 448 million is only 1.83% of the total FDI inflow into India from all countries.   The Minister had an exchange of views on bilateral and multilateral trade matters with Mr. Antonio Marzano, Italian Minister for Production Activities, when the latter along with a delegation called on him here this evening.   

Emphasising the untapped potential for further expanding and diversifying bilateral trade, both the Ministers expressed happiness over the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on fishery and aquaculture products between Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Government of India and the Italian Ministry of Health in the presence of the Prime Minister of India and the President of Italy earlier today.  They also recalled the meeting last month of the Indo-Italian bilateral Joint Commission for Economic Cooperation which was co-chaired by Shri Kamal Nath and Mr. Antonio Marzano and underlined the need to follow up on the Joint Commission deliberations which had identified areas of bilateral cooperation in several areas including trade, small & medium enterprises, agriculture, information technology & scientific research, tourism, energy, infrastructure, aviation & related technology and intellectual property rights in industry.

Shri Kamal Nath is scheduled to address the participants of “India & Italy Business Forum” being organised by Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI), jointly with Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Confindustria and ICE (Italian Institute of Foreign Trade) at Pragati Maidan tomorrow.   He will also deliver a keynote address at the design road show being organised by Embassy of Italy in cooperation with National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad, at India Habitat Centre on 16^th February, 2005.   

Mr. Antonio Marzano is accompanying the President of Italy on his state visit to India during February 13-17, 2005.   The President of Italy is also accompanied by a CEO’s delegation consisting of 31 members led by Mr. Luca di Montezemolo, President, Confindustria (Confederation of Italian industries) and a delegation from 113 Italian Small & Medium Enterprises (SMEs).

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INDIA'S EXPORTS CROSS $ 60 BILLION IN 10 MONTHS OF THIS FISCAL – TARGET WILL BE
EXCEEDED, SAYS KAMAL NATH

New Delhi, 12 February, 2005

India's merchandise exports have crossed the US $ 60 billion mark in the 10 months of the current financial year (2004-2005), having reached US $ 61 billion during April 2004 to January 2005, which is 26 % higher than in the corresponding period of the previous financial year, Shri Kamal Nath, Minister of Commerce and Industry, has said. Earlier, addressing the Parliamentary Consultative Committee of his Ministry here yesterday, the Minister had indicated that India's merchandise exports would exceed the target of 16 % growth set for the year to reach a level of around US $ 75 billion. ( 16 % growth corresponds to a level of $ 73.4 billion). With the high growth achieved despite strengthening of the rupee vis-à-vis the us dollar and the overall impact of  rise in fuel prices on competitiveness, the country was clearly "heading towards a doubling of its percentage share of world merchandise trade b and increasing its exports to US $ 150 billion by 2009", the Minister said. Exports in the month of January are estimated to be over US $ 7 billion.

Details of the provisional data on India's foreign trade for the period April 2004 to January 2005 from the Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics (DGCI&S) will be available on Monday the 14^th of February, 2005.

India's exports in 2003-2004 were estimated at US $ 63.4 billion. The top ten countries to which Indian goods were exported in 2003-2004 were USA, the United  Arab Emirates (UAE), China, Hong Kong, United Kingdom (UK), Germany, Singapore, Belgium, Japan and Italy.    

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New Delhi: February 11, 2005

The Second Round of negotiations led by the Commerce Secretaries of India and Sri Lanka -- Shri S.N. Menon, and Mr. S. Urithamulla respectively – on the Bilateral Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) was held here on 10-11^th February, 2005.

Both sides agreed to set up a Trade Negotiating Committee, its working groups & sub groups and set out a clear road map for negotiations to conclude the CEPA expeditiously. According to a Joint Press Statement issued here this evening, it was decided that the working groups should submit their report in four months i.e. by June, 2005 to enable CEPA to be concluded as early as possible. The negotiations would include widening and deepening free trade in goods under the existing India-Sri Lanka FTA (Free Trade Agreement) which is in operation since March 2000. On services, investment and economic cooperation, the working groups will identify the areas which would be of mutual benefit and recommend the modalities for substantial increase in bilateral trade and economic cooperation. In this regard, it was agreed that the report of the Joint Study Group submitted to the two Governments in October 2003 would be a useful reference document and provide practical inputs for negotiations.

It was also decided to explore the possibility of setting up of an Economic Cooperation Fund which would facilitate the flow of investments from India to Sri Lanka.

Discussions were held in an atmosphere of warm friendship and cordiality. Issues pertaining to the problems which have arisen in the process of implementation of the FTA in goods were also discussed. The issue of substantial underutilization of garment quota by Sri Lanka under existing arrangements was addressed by India to the satisfaction of Sri Lankan side.

It was agreed to hold the next round of negotiations in Colombo in the month of March 2005.

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New Delhi: February 11, 2005

Shri Kamal Nath, Union Minister of Commerce & Industry, has said that the proposed legislation on Special Economic Zones (SEZs) would give a big boost to the inflow of foreign direct investment (FDI) into the country and would generate more employment through increased economic activity. Presiding over the Meeting of the Parliamentary Consultative Committee of the Ministry of Commerce & Industry, here today, Shri Kamal Nath explained that since SEZs required world class infrastructure and the additional costs would be very high, infusion of investment on a massive scale including FDI was required to make the scheme a success. A single law was needed to give stability to the legal framework as also to consolidate all SEZ related rules and regulations in one place. "FDI can be attracted only if foreign investors see a law in place, indicating a stable statutory policy", Shri Kamal Nath said.

Members of the Committee cutting across party lines welcomed the proposed legislation and responded positively to Shri Kamal Nath’s appeal for support in order to expedite passage of the SEZ Bill in the Budget Session of Parliament. MPs present were: S/Shri Sambasiva R Rao, Abdul Rehman Antulay, S. Sathyanarana, Harin Pathak, P. Karunakaran, Shyam Chandra Gupt, Suresh Prabhu, Rajeev Shukla, N.R. Govindarajar and Sharadrao Anantrao Joshi. Shri E.V.K.S. Elangovan, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry and Shri Ashok Jha, Secretary, Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP) attended along with senior officials of the Ministry. During the discussions, Shri Kamal Nath also announced that the Foreign Trade Policy for the year 2005-06 (within the five-year framework) would be announced by the end of March 2005 and indicated that it would focus on areas of potential quantum growth.

"Domestic investment has to be supplemented by infusion of FDI and FII in substantial measure. It is crucial for us to be able to accelerate economic growth and to this end, substantial increase in foreign investment involving funding over a period of 15 to 25 years would be required, especially in infrastructure", Shri Kamal Nath said. Exports from SEZs world-wide (850 SEZs in 116 countries) amounted more than US $ 1 trillion, i.e. 15% of total world exports. Further, 40 million jobs were created world wide through SEZs, while "China and Dubai have been even more successful in targeting FDI mainly due to their SEZ policy", the Minister said. SEZs, he said, would be instrumental in increasing manufactured exports and the revival of the manufacturing sector, pointing out that within 20 years, Malaysia’s manufactured exports increased from 18% to 73%; Thailand’s from 24% to 74%; Mauritius from 26% to 66%; and China’s from 51% to 82%.

Shri Kamal Nath informed that at present there were over 700 units in operation in India’s existing SEZs providing direct employment to about one-lakh persons, of whom 40% were women. Indian entrepreneurs had invested about Rs.1500 crore in these units, and FDI had been Rs.500 crore (just 100 million dollars). Exports from SEZs last year were 3 billion dollars (about 5% of India’s total exports).

Responding to Shri Suresh Prabhu’s suggestion for services SEZ in view of the huge export potential in this sector, Shri Kamal Nath informed that services were already covered in the scheme, including medical services. Shri Prabhu along with Shri Antulay suggested SEZs for coastal areas and setting up of single product Zones, as well as focus on SEZs for agriculture. Shri Karunakaran while welcoming the proposed legislation wanted to build adequate safeguards to protect domestic industries, especially in the agriculture and allied sectors. Shri Antulay also suggested that steps be taken to invite loans from abroad on the same lines as inviting FDI. Shri Shyam Chandra Gupt stressed the need to ensure investor-security. Shri Rajeev Shukla felt that state governments must be more supportive towards SEZs. Shri Sharad Joshi wanted SEZs in areas of India’s comparative advantage, notably organic farming; aromatic and medicinal plants; manufacture of hybrid seeds and horticulture. Shri Kamal Nath agreed with Shri Joshi on the need to establish credible certifying agencies for organic farm products. Shri Joshi also suggested exclusive Zones for growing variety of onions popular in the West. Thus, the domestic market could be insulated from the international markets, and shortages could be averted even while earning foreign exchange.

Shri Kamal Nath in his reply said that already six States had their own SEZ legislations. He stressed that States should vie with one another by providing state of the art, facilitative environment for the creation of more SEZs, as also for attracting FDI into the Zones. He also clarified in response to a query from members that all supplies to SEZs would be treated as exports.

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COFFEE GROWERS MEET KAMAL NATH

New Delhi: February 11, 2005

Coffee growers from Karnataka met the Union Commerce and Industry Minister, Shri Kamal Nath, here yesterday and sought a special package for the coffee industry in the state. The delegation wanted a long-term solution as well as an immediate relief for the growers. The Minister assured the delegation that he would look into their problems and that the Ministry would formulate a package for coffee growers soon.

The country produces 3 lakh tonnes of coffee every year, of which 80 percent is exported and 20 percent is consumed domestically. Karnataka contributes nearly 70 percent of the country’s production. The delegation informed the Minister that banks are not extending easy credit to the growers and that over the years, the accumulated interest has also got capitalised adding to the interest burden of the growers. The price fluctuation in the international market has adversely affected the growers putting them in a difficult financial situation. Earlier the delegation had met the Congress president and UPA convenor, Ms. Sonia Gandhi to urge her to impress upon the Centre to waive interest on loans since 1999.

In view of the fall in coffee prices and the continuing drought in the last three years, the delegation also requested that fresh crop loans be extended at 6 percent interest rate.

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KAMAL NATH TO CHAIR PARLIAMENTARY CONSULTATIVE MEET ON PROPOSED SEZ LEGISLATION TOMORROW

New Delhi: February 10, 2005

Shri Kamal Nath, Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, will chair the Meeting of the Parliamentary Consultative Committee of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, to discuss the proposed Special Economic Zone (SEZ) legislation here tomorrow.

SEZs are intended to serve the following objectives: Generating additional economic activity; Promoting exports of goods and services; Attracting investment from domestic and foreign sources; and Developing world-class infrastructure facilities within the SEZs.

The significance of the role and effectiveness of the SEZs in promoting aggregate economic activity in the country can be gauged from the fact that, exports from SEZs worldwide during 2000 were US $ 850 billion, nearly 15 % of the total world export. According to the International Labour Organisation (ILO), such Zones have created 37 million jobs worldwide in the year 2000; and have been very successful in attracting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) (for instance, China and Dubai).

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New Delhi: February 9, 2005

Shri Kamal Nath, Union Minister of Commerce & Industry, today called for foreign direct investment (FDI) in the infrastructure sector, which constitutes the backbone of any growing economy. In particular, he invited investors to look at infrastructure areas like power, highways and roads, seaports, urban infrastructure and telecom, the latter being a leading area for partnerships with the US. Addressing the "Indo-US Summit: Partnership in Building India’s Infrastructure", organised by the Indo-American Chamber of Commerce here today, Shri Kamal Nath recalled the Prime Minister’s assessment that India would require an investment of at least 150 billion dollars over the next five to ten years to upgrade her infrastructure. "Energy, water supply, solid waste disposal, roads, airports and seaports are crying out for attention. Indian industry is growing at a blistering pace. But when we benchmark against fast growing economies in the world, the biggest factor holding our productive energies back is the poor quality of the infrastructure we have", he said, while emphasising that the government had now reoriented its role by focusing on an enabling regulatory and policy framework so as to encourage public-private partnerships, including FDI.

The Indo-American Chamber of Commerce has drafted a seven-point agenda to give a critical push to the infrastructure sectors such as ports, roads, airports and urban development in the country. The agenda is being discussed at the Indo-US Infrastructure Summit here on February 9 and 10.

Shri Kamal Nath said that besides the many distinct advantages that India offered, the investor would finally look at the return of investment while making his choice. He pointed out that "returns on investment in India is very good comparable with those prevailing in any other country. A recent survey of 500 foreign companies doing business in India has shown that as many as 77% of the foreign investors were making profits and another 9% were breaking even. (And the balance 14% are about to make profits!). According to study by the US Department of Commerce, profitability of US investments in India compares well with such investments elsewhere".

Recognising the growing role of trade and the need for creating trade-related infrastructure, Shri Kamal Nath said that the government had decided to promote setting up of Free Trade Warehousing Zones where FDI up to 100% would be allowed and which would get all the benefits available to the Special Economic Zones (SEZs). "Special Economic Zones would be at the centre of the strategy for export growth. We have crafted a very attractive set of incentives for developers setting up the Special Economic Zones, and also for the units to be located within such Zones. We hope to soon put in place a specific legislation on Special Economic Zones, which will consolidate and streamline all issues related to the SEZs", he said.

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Press Information Bureau
Government of India
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New Delhi: February 7, 2005

India and Finland propose to step up the level of bilateral trade which currently is far below potential, despite having increased to US $ 380 million during 2003-04, a growth of 41% over the previous year. This was indicated at a meeting between Shri Kamal Nath, Union Minister of Commerce & Industry, and Ms. Paula Lehtomaki, Minister for Foreign Trade and Development of Finland, when she called on him with her delegation here this morning. During the first six months of the current financial year 2004-05 bilateral trade has registered a growth of 45%. Finland is an important member of the European Union (EU) and is generally supportive of an open trade regime. Both the Ministers discussed bilateral as well as multilateral trade issues.

Shri Kamal Nath reiterated India’s commitment to the multilateral trade system and appreciated the role played by the European Union in arriving at a consensus that resulted in the Framework Agreement on 1^st August, 2004 in Geneva providing the guidelines and principles for further negotiations in the WTO. He sought the active support of the European Commission (EC) in developing modalities on the principles contained in the Framework Agreement, including reduction of all trade distorting domestic support and elimination of all forms of export subsidies in agriculture. He also said that in respect of non-agricultural market access (NAMA), the concept of less than full reciprocity would have to be built into the formula, while underlining that the market access that developed countries offered should exceed those that developing countries had to make.

The products which have potential to step up exports from India to Finland include granite, marble & tiles, fresh/processed fruits & vegetables, floriculture, marine products, automobiles, electronics & software, drugs & pharmaceuticals, cut & polished diamonds, gold jewellery, etc. The areas having potential for joint ventures between India and Finland include food processing, electronics & software, paper, mining & metallurgy, forestry, telecommunications, energy, oil exploration technology, dairy industries, elevators & escalators, shipping & ports management, packaging, coal/biomass gasification based power and mini-hydel plants, tourism etc.

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New Delhi: February 7, 2005

Social responsibility should never be divorced from corporate goals, Shri Kamal Nath, Union Minister of Commerce & Industry, said today while addressing the convocation of the Institute of Management Technology (IMT) in Ghaziabad (UP). He urged the graduates to seek personal success by all means, but in doing so to also strive to enrich society and to strengthen the country.

"Increasingly, today’s business environment is transiting into what is referred to as a ‘knowledge economy’. Convergence is the name of the game – management, business and technology, all converge into the knowledge paradigm. And it is this paradigm that now defines the entrepreneurial culture of the future. Our prime Minister, in his address to the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) at Kolkata last month, spoke at length on this concept of a knowledge economy. The knowledge economy is not one that is confined to IT or computers – it is a way of doing business that draws upon the great scientific advances the world has made. Even the smallest and simplest of business activities can benefit from, and be transformed by, the knowledge paradigm", Shri Kamal Nath said.

He said the mission of IMT was not to change people, but to help them discover their own innate strengths and build upon them.

Shri Azim Premji of WIPRO was Chief Guest at the Convocation. Shri Kamal Nath referred to Mr. Premji as a model for the students because he stood as an excellent example of a person who, in securing his own success, had actually secured the progress of the country and the advancement of society at large.

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New Delhi: February 7, 2005

Import of sensitive items in the first 8 months of the current financial year have declined, Shri Kamal Nath, Union Minister of Commerce & Industry, said here today while releasing the data for April-November 2004. The total import of sensitive items for the period April-November 2004 has been Rs.12,462 crore as compared to Rs.12,520 crore during the corresponding period of last year thereby showing a negative growth of 0.5%. The gross import of all commodity during same period of current year was Rs.2,92,566 crore as compared to Rs.2,20,924 crore during the same period of last year. Thus, import of sensitive items constitute only 5.7% and 4.3% of the gross imports during last year and current year respectively. The major item that has contributed significantly to the decline in imports is crude palm oil and its fractions, the Minister said.

Imports of edible oil, cotton & silk, spices and milk & milk products have shown a decline at broad group level during the period. Imports of fruits & vegetables, rubber, automobiles, marble & granite, tea & coffee, alcoholic beverages, small scale industries (SSI) and other products have shown increase during the period under reference.

In the edible oil section, the imports has decreased from Rs.8,385 crore last year to Rs.7,415 crore for the corresponding period of this year. A significant feature of edible oil import is that import of crude oil has gone down by 37%, and that of refined palm oil & palmolein gone up by 87%. The drastic downfall in edible oil import is mainly due to huge shortfall in import of crude palm oil, which has gone down by 51%.

Imports of sensitive items from Indonesia, Brazil, China P RP, Cote D’ Ivoire, Guinea Bissau, Tanzania Rep, Benin, Japan and Sri Lanka etc. have gone up while those from Argentina, Malaysia, USA, Thailand etc. have shown a decrease.

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New Delhi: February 4, 2005

Shri Kamal Nath, Union Minister for Commerce & Industry, has said that India is poised to double its share of foreign trade to reach 1.5% of world trade by 2009. Speaking at a meeting with the visiting Norwegian Minister for Trade and Industry, Mr. Borge Brende, here today, he said that India was committed to pursuing the economic reforms in an ‘inclusive manner’ so that the benefits percolated to all sections of the society. "The National Foreign Trade Policy of 2004-09 has taken an integrated approach to serve as a generator of economic growth and employment to help achieve our development objectives", the Minister said.

Norway has been a major investor in India especially in electrical equipments including software and electronics, metallurgy, transportation, telecommunication and industrial machinery. The bilateral trade with Norway had registered a growth rate of over 100% last year touching US $ 340 million. Indian exports to Norway in the last year amounted to about US $ 76 million and included commodities like RMG (ready-made garments) cotton including accessories, cotton yarn and fabrics, handicrafts, leather & leather goods and cashew.

"In respect of non-agricultural market access, India advocates a formula that focusses on addressing the issues of tariff peaks, high tariffs and tariff escalation of products of export interest to developing countries. This is the only way to get equitable result in the multilateral trade negotiations", the Minister said.

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New Delhi: February 4, 2005

Shri Kamal Nath, Union Minister of Commerce & Industry, has today said that India has been quite aggressive with her trading partners in the World Trade Organisation (WTO) talks to make the movement of professionals less cumbersome across borders, so as to ensure greater market access for India in the services sector. "Increase in the size of the firms with proper regulation to deliver quality service alone would not fetch market access in other countries. For this to happen, we believe that visa rules and procedures, grant of work permits, etc. should be facilitated without making them prisoners of labour market tests, economic needs tests and other related impediments of market access under Mode-4", he said while addressing the 55^th Annual Function of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, here today.

Shri Kamal Nath said that India had also been actively engaged in negotiations for Economic Cooperation Agreements with various countries and trading blocs, which would again create market access opportunities for Indian professionals. In each of these agreements, Shri Kamal Nath said necessary steps were being taken to work out Mutual Recognition Agreements (MRAs) with the professional associations of the concerned countries. "This will give you an opportunity to see that qualified professionals are able to deliver necessary services under Mode-4, as contract service suppliers or as independent professionals. The ICAI has a critical role to play in the negotiation of these MRAs on behalf of India, so as to enable us to promote movement of our qualified professionals to various countries", he said.

Shri Kamal Nath underlined that another area of opportunity for professionals like Chartered Accountants would be Mode-1 i.e., cross-border supply of services through electronic means, without actual physical movement of personnel. "Considerable amount of work is now undertaken through back office operations. This has provided employment to a large number of people in the country. It is estimated the Back Office Operations and other Business Process Outsourcing services in India, which amounted to 2 billion dollars in 2002, will rise eleven-fold to 22 billion dollars by 2008. Strict observation of conditions of contract by firms in India is necessary. You must remember that the quality of your service will in the international arena reflect on the reputation of the entire service sector of India", he stressed.

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KAMAL NATH LAUNCHES COMMONWEALTH’S INDIA TRADE AND INVESTMENT FORUM

New Delhi: February 02, 2005

The Commonwealth’s India Trade and Investment Forum was launched by the Commerce and Industry Minister, Shri Kamal Nath, at Marlboro House in London yesterday – a historic venue which is the international headquarters of the Commonwealth. Following this launch, the Commonwealth Business Council in collaboration with the Ministry of Commerce & Industry (Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion) and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) will organise a meeting of the India Trade and Investment Forum in New Delhi from 9^th to 11^th March, 2005. The launch was attended by over 100 top businessmen of the UK.

As part of this initiative, 5 Commonwealth countries have been identified as "Global Gateways to India" in terms of foreign direct investment (FDI), namely, the UK, Malaysia, Australia, Canada and South Africa.

The Forum is aimed specifically at encouraging investment in India from other Commonwealth countries. Different commonwealth countries are selected for investment focus from time to time and this year it is India. On the occasion, Shri Kamal Nath reiterated the vast investment opportunities in India both in the manufacturing and services sectors and invited collaborations with UK partners.

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New Delhi: February 1, 2005

Shri Kamal Nath, Union Minister of Commerce & Industry, has said that the Indian pharmaceutical companies are poised and fully equipped to take advantage of the US $ 50 billion worth of drugs going off patent in the next five years after introduction of the new patent regime. "We’ll grab a major share of this", he said in his address at an international conference organised by the Royal Institute of International Affairs at Chatham House, London, last evening. The theme of the Conference was the pharmaceutical industry in the 21^st century and whether India is challenging the conventional R&D business model.

Shri Kamal Nath told the large gathering that India presented an ideal confluence of five factors viz., (1) cost-effective manufacturing; (2) well-developed chemical industry infrastructure; (3) strong vertical integration (from bulk to formulations to packing); (4) abundant scientific talent & technical skills; and (5) unique synergy in fields of IT, biotech & medicine. "Time is, therefore, ripe for a quantum leap. Our objective is not only to manufacture drugs, but also to make India a hub for medical research and clinical data management", the Minister said.

The pharma industry in India is a $ 10 billion industry. India has 300 pharma companies of large and moderate size and another 10,000 small and tiny firms. But 70% of the production is by the top 100 larger companies. The industry manufactures about 400 bulk drugs and almost the entire range of formulations. About a third of India’s production – close to US $ 3.5 billion – is exported and exports are growing at 25% per annum. Half a billion dollars worth of exports are to the US alone, while Germany, Russia, the UK, Canada, Italy and Japan are among others. Large quantities of medicines are also exported from India to China, Brazil, Nigeria and Mexico, Shri Kamal Nath informed the large audience. But he also pointed out that: "While the statistics do reveal that India has a huge drug industry (8% of the world’s drugs are manufactured in India) – it also becomes apparent that the financial realisations are not commensurate with the size. This means that while we are getting paid for the actual stuff, there is no financial realisation for the ‘intellectual property’ value behind the formulations – and in the drug industry it is this intellectual property value that constitutes the huge margins".

"In the 21^st century, the pharmaceutical value chain would depend on the ability of pharmaceutical companies to make the technological shift necessary to maintain their competitive positions. India provides not just the possibility – but the unique & tangible opportunity for international pharma firms to make that desired ‘technological shift’ – in process, and (more literally) in location! The question before Pharma Company CEOs the world over today is not: ‘Should my company go to India?’ but ‘Can my company afford not to go to India’?", Shri Kamal Nath said.

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INDIA, SERBIA TO SIGN BILATERAL TRADE AGREEMENT SOON

New Delhi: February 1, 2005

India and Serbia and Montenegro are likely to sign an Agreement on Bilateral Trade very soon. This was indicated at a meeting between the visiting Serbian Minister of Economy and Privatisation, Mr. Predrag Bubalo and Shri E.V.K.S. Elangovan, Minister of State for Commerce & industry, here today. The Agreements on Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection, Civil Aviation; on Cultural Cooperation; and on Scientific & Technical Cooperation are already in place.

Both the Ministers expressed satisfaction over the growth in trade, but also noted that the current level of two-way trade was well below the potential. India exported goods worth US $ 16.78 million to Serbia and imported US $ 3.64 million, with the total trade accounting for just US $ 20.42 million, during the year 2003-04. Shri Elangovan said that the governments must provide a legal framework and an environment of certainty and clarity for business enterprises to identify opportunities and intensify their cooperation. Referring to the key bilateral agreements already in place, both the Ministers agreed on the need to work out many others and in particular, for innovative measures to boost trade.

The visit of the automobile delegation from Serbia and Montenegro to India in June 2004 has been very satisfactory. A return visit from the representatives of Mahindras has already taken taken place, while Ashok Leyland has also expressed interest in being a strategic partner.

The Indian Embassy in Belgrade is currently exploring the possibilities of having a "Made in India" Exhibition in Belgrade some time between October 2005 and April 2006, Shri Elangovan informed Mr. Predrag Bubalo.

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STC REGISTERS RECORD TURNOVER

New Delhi: February 01, 2005

The State Trading Corporation of India (STC) Ltd. has registered a record turnover of Rs.6900 crore during the nine-month period from April-December 2004.    This is about 30% higher than the corresponding period of the previous year.    The Corporation's profit before tax is Rs. 27 crore which is almost double of its full year target.    The record achievement is attributed to the number of new initiatives such as signing of MoUs with multinational companies for import of FMCG and IT products and diversification into imports and domestic sale of petro-chemicals.   STC suffered a dent in its exports due to non-availability of food grains through FCI.    However, the Corporation has been able to push its export of chemicals & drugs and teakwood.   The breakthrough in exporting tea was another highlight in this year's performance.   Bullion continued to constitute a major share in STC's import turnover of Rs. 6200 crore.    The Corporation had widened its import operations in hydro-carbons, minerals and metals.    Its foray into domestic sales of hydro-carbon, pulses, jute and chemicals fetched Rs. 346 crore during the period. STC has plans to diversify into the export of iron ore and import of non-ferrous metals such as zinc and copper to generate additional turnover and profitability. The Corporation hopes to end the year with a turnover of Rs.9000 crore.

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New Delhi: February 1, 2005

Shri Kamal Nath, Union Minister of Commerce & Industry, has said that India will host the meeting of the G-20 (a group of WTO member countries on agriculture) in New Delhi on 18^th March, 2005 following a consensus to this effect among members at the G-20 meeting held in Davos on Saturday, 29^th January, 2005. It has also been agreed that back to back with this, there will be a meeting of the G-33 (a group of WTO member countries who are pushing for special products, special safeguard mechanism and market access) in New Delhi on 19^th March, 2005, Shri Kamal Nath said. The Minister suggested that besides focussing on agriculture, the G-20 discussions could also cover other areas of interest such as NAMA and services. Several G-20 countries like Pakistan, Chile, South Africa and others strongly supported the proposal.

The Minister participated in the informal meeting (mini-ministerial) of Trade Ministers from 26 member countries of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) including Europe, North America and the G-20 developing countries in Davos on 29^th January, 2005. The Trade Ministers agreed on the need for taking urgent action for a successful conclusion of the negotiations on modalities for agriculture and non-agricultural market access (NAMA) by the next Ministerial Conference of the WTO scheduled in Hong Kong in December 2005. They also stressed that there should be overall balance in the different areas of negotiations such as agriculture, NAMA, services, rules and trade facilitation, so as to ensure equitable results for all, particularly developing countries.

Shri Kamal Nath sought greater market access for services and indicated that India would submit its revised offers by May 2005. During the discussions, he questioned the concept of advanced developing countries mooted by some members and said that introducing new concepts such as these which were not there in the Framework Agreement would delay the Hong Kong decision process. Shri Kamal Nath also made the point that the process of selection of the new Director General of WTO should not be allowed to impede the progress of negotiations.

The Trade Ministers set out a roadmap for talks from now till the Hong Kong Ministerial which would include frequent meetings at the Ministerial level with a view to bridging differences on issues like agriculture, NAMA and services. The Ministers agreed to meet again in another mini-ministerial in Kenya from 3^rd to 5^th March, 2005.

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