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Press releases May, 2007
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 Press Releases
May,
2007 |
Press Information Bureau
Government of
India
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Date
Release
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31st May 2007 |
BOA GRANTS FORMAL APPROVAL TO 23
AND IN PRINCIPLE APPROVAL TO 6 SEZs
New Delhi: May 31, 2007
The Board of Approval
(BOA) of the Special Economic
Zones (SEZs) met here today to
consider proposals for setting up of Special Economic Zones and also
approve other miscellaneous requests pertaining to notified SEZs. In this
meeting, 40 new applications were considered. Out of this, 22 Formal
approvals and 6 In principle approvals were granted. One proposal for
conversion of In principle approval to formal approval was also granted.
Prominent among the Formal
approvals are: IT/ITES SEZ by ETA Technopark Pvt. Ltd in Tamil Nadu, IT/ITES
SEZ by GENPACT INDIA in Andhra Pradesh; Multiproduct SEZ by Gopalpur SEZ
Limited in Orissa; IT/ITES SEZ by Shivajimarg Properties Limited in Delhi;
Biotech SEZ by Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation, Vadodara,
Gujarat; Gems and Jewellery SEZ by Shirpur Gold Refinery Limited at Dhulia,
Maharashtra and Three SEZs for Textiles, Leather and Engineering Goods by
Uttar Pradesh State Industrial Development Corporation (UPSIDC), at Kanpur,
Uttar Pradesh.
Prominent In principle
approvals granted are : Multi product SEZ by SRM Infrastructure Private
Limited in Alwar, Rajasthan; Multi services SEZ by Society for Innovative
Education and Development at Alwar, Rajasthan and a Carpet and Handicraft
SEZ by UPSIDC in Bhadohi, Uttar Pradesh .
The list of the SEZs is as follows:
Formal Approvals
Granted
|
No. |
Developer
|
Location |
Product |
Area (hectares) |
Approval status |
|
1.
|
Karle Infrastructure Projects
|
Nagavara Village Bangalore
North Taluk |
IT/ITES/ BPO |
10 |
Formal |
|
2.
|
DLF Akruti Infopark (Pune)
Ltd. |
Pune (Maharashtra)
|
IT/ITES |
24 |
Formal |
|
3.
|
Salarpuria Properties Pvt.
Ltd. |
Sonenahalli Village, K.R.
Purama Hobli, Bangalore East Taluk |
IT/ITES |
14.54 |
Formal |
|
4.
|
ETA Technopark Pvt. Ltd. |
Old Mahabalipuram Road,
Chennai |
IT/ITES |
10.37 |
Formal |
|
5.
|
GENPACT INDIA |
Ranga Reddy, Hyderabad, Andhra
Pradesh |
IT/ITES |
20.23 |
Formal |
|
6.
|
Navayuga Legala Estates
Private Limited |
Serilingampally mandal, Ranga
Reddy District, Andhra Pradesh |
IT/ITES |
10.218 |
Formal |
|
7.
|
Bombay Industrial Corporation |
Mahul, Mumbai |
IT/ITES |
12 |
Formal |
|
8.
|
Gopalpur Special Economic Zone
Limited |
Gopalpur, District- Ganjam,
Orissa |
Multi-product |
1173 |
Formal |
|
9.
|
Siddhivinayak Knowledge City
Developers Private Limited |
Village Bhosari (Bhojapur),
Taluka Haveli, District Pune |
Electronic Hardware and
Software including Information Technology Enabled Services |
12.14 |
Formal |
|
10.
|
Chennai Business Park Private
Limited |
Kanchipuram District, Tamil
Nadu |
IT/ITES/BPO and Electronics
Industries |
11.78 |
Formal |
|
11.
|
Writers and Publishers Limited
|
Chindwara, Madhya Pradesh |
IT/ITES |
18.9 |
Formal |
|
12.
|
Shivajimarg Properties Limited |
15, Shivaji Marg, New Delhi |
IT/ITES |
10.06 |
Formal |
|
13.
|
Dosti Enterprises |
Thane, Maharashtra |
IT |
45 |
Formal |
|
14.
|
Bilcare Limited |
Maujhe Pimpri Budruk, Taluka
Khed, Rajgurunagar, District Pune, Maharashtra |
IT/ITES for healthcare and
life sciences |
10 |
Formal |
|
15.
|
Shivganga Real Estate Holders
Private Limited |
Sargasan (Sarkhej -
Gandhinagar Highway), Taluka Gandhinagar, District Gandhinagar,
Gujarat |
IT/ITES |
52.606 |
Formal |
|
16.
|
City Gold Realty Private
Limited |
Sanathal (Sarkhej - Bavla
Highway), Taluka Sanand, District Ahmedabad, Gujarat |
IT/ITES |
10.724 |
Formal |
|
17.
|
Adani Townships & Real Estate
Company Private Limited |
Dantali Village on SG Highway,
Ahmedabad, Gujarat |
IT/ITES |
20 |
Formal |
|
18.
|
Gujarat Industrial Development
Corporation |
Biotech Park, Savli GIDC
Estate, Village Manjusar, District Vadodara, Gujarat |
Biotech |
14.73 |
Forma |
|
19.
|
Shirpur Gold Refinery Limited |
Shirpur, District Dhulia,
Maharashtra |
Gems and Jewellery |
12.98 |
Formal |
|
20.
|
Uttar Pradesh State Indistrial
Development Corporation (UPSIDC) |
Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh |
Textile |
103.72 |
Formal |
|
21.
|
Uttar Pradesh State Indistrial
Development Corporation (UPSIDC) |
Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh |
Leather |
103.85 |
Formal |
|
22.
|
Uttar Pradesh State Indistrial
Development Corporation (UPSIDC) |
Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh |
Engineering goods |
102.75 |
Formal |
|
23.
|
Gurgaon Infospace Limited
|
Gugaon, Haryana |
IT/ITES |
11.58 |
Formal (In principle to Formal) |
In principle approvals granted
|
1.
|
Gremach Infrastructure
Equipments and Projects Limited. |
Gandhinglaj, Distt. Kolhapur,
Maharashtra |
Metal |
100 |
In principle |
|
2.
|
Austral Coke and Projects
Limited |
Nardana, Maharashtra |
Textile |
100 |
In principle |
|
3.
|
SRM Infrastructure Private
Limited |
Alwar, Rajasthan |
Multi-product |
1000 |
In principle |
|
4.
|
Skil Infrastructure Limited |
Manali, District Kullu,
Himachal Pradesh |
Tourism Based |
120 |
In principle |
|
5.
|
Societyfor Innovative
Education and Development ('EMPI' Vittal Centre INNOPOLIS) |
Neemrana, District Alwar,
Rajasthan |
Multi Services |
323.89 |
In principle |
|
6.
|
Uttar Pradesh State Indistrial
Development Corporation (UPSIDC) |
Bhadohi, Uttar Pradesh
|
Carpet and Handicraft |
103.96 |
In Principle |
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30th May 2007 |
Big
Thrust to India-Gulf Economic Relations – Agriculture and Food
Processing identified as new Sector for Trade and Investment
India-GCC FTA to be Expedited
Holding company to be set up to promote India-Gulf SME Cooperation
3rd India-GCC Business Conference Concludes with adoption of
Mumbai Declaration
New Delhi:
May 30, 2007
India’s relations with the
Gulf countries received a big boost with the 3rd India-GCC
Business Conference (Industrial Forum) adopting the Mumbai Declaration to
enhance economic engagement between the two sides in number of new areas
and with both sides agreeing to expedite conclusion of the proposed Free
Trade Agreement (FTA) between India and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)
countries.
A major outcome has been
the decision to facilitate and expedite projects in the field of
agriculture and food processing which has been identified as a new sector
with significant opportunities for trade and investment. GCC States would
receive and facilitate the visits of Indian agro processing companies
particularly of the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export
Development Authority (APEDA) of India and India will reciprocate.
It has also been decided
that in order to promote joint venture projects of Small and Medium
Enterprises (SMEs) in both India and GCC countries, a holding company
would be set up with private and public sector participation in India and
GCC States.
Further, the four specific
areas in which both sides will explore and enhance economic cooperation
are: (1) Real Estate Development; (2) Energy (Oil, Gas and Power); (3)
Petrochemicals; and (4) Infrastructure Sectors particularly ports,
airports, railways, road transport and highways. Both sides will actively
upgrade the investment climate and trade of goods and services in
accordance with the relevant legislations of the countries concerned.
Earlier, in his
valedictory address, Shri Kamal Nath, Commerce and Industry Minister,
pointed out that while “both sides have recognized that oil has and will
continue to be the mainstay of India-GCC economic cooperation, there has
been an increased recognition of the fact that while India needs to secure
its energy needs through increased Gulf cooperation, both sides cannot
afford to overlook the opportunities emerging in other sectors. India’s
global comparative advantages place her on a higher keel as an attractive
investment destination and hence a natural partner for GCC countries. FDI
equity flows in India have grown three-fold from US$ 5.5 billion in
2005-06 to US$ 16 billion in 2006-07. Buoyed by this growth, this year we
have set ourselves a target of US$ 30 billion in FDI”. Countries from the
GCC could look at India to invest their surplus petrodollars (thanks to
the spiraling oil prices) in India and explore avenues for investments in
this low-cost, labour-rich manufacturing and industrial processing base,
he added.
The 3rd India-GCC Business
Conference (Industrial Forum) hosted by the Government of India was held
in Mumbai, India on 29-30 May 2007 with the theme of “India-GCC Investment
Opportunities” and concluded here this morning with the adoption of Mumbai
Declaration. The Conference chaired by Shri Kamal Nath was attended by
the GCC Ministers – Dr Hashim Abdullah Yamani, Minister of Commerce and
Industry, Saudi Arabia and Mr. Maqbool bin Ali bin Sultan, Minister of
Commerce and Industry, Oman and official representatives of other GCC
States, besides senior Government officials headed by Dr Ajay Dua,
Secretary (Industrial Policy and Promotion), Ministry of Commerce &
Industry and representatives of trade and industry including CII, FICCI,
the Gulf organization for Industrial Consulting and the Federation of GCC
Chambers.
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30th May 2007 |
KAMAL NATH TO PRESENT EEPC EXPORT AWARDS AND RELEASE REPORT
ON ENGINEERING
PROCESS OUTSOURCING ON JUNE 1
New Delhi:
May 30, 2007
Shri Kamal Nath, Union
Minister of Commerce and Industry, will present awards to exporters of
engineering goods for their outstanding performance at the All India
Awards Function of the Engineering Export Promotion Council (EEPC) here on
1st June, 2007.
On this occasion, the Minister
is also scheduled to release the Report on Engineering Process Outsourcing
(EPO), prepared by the EEPC in association with M/s. Fergusson & Company.
Engineering exports from India
are estimated to have touched US $ 26 billion mark in 2006-07 making the
engineering sector one of the major contributors to India’s rapidly
growing exports.
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29th May 2007 |
FDI Policy Review to be finalized by June-July – Dr Ajay
Dua’s Presentation on Investment Scenario in India at India-GCC Industrial
Forum
New Delhi:
May 29, 2007
A review of
India’s Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) policy is currently under way and
the results of this review will be announced by June-July 2007. This was
stated by Dr Ajay Dua, Secretary, Department of Industrial Policy and
Promotion (DIPP), Ministry of Commerce and Industry, in a presentation on
“Investment Scenario in India” at the Plenary Session on “GCC-India
Investment Opportunities” at the 3rd meeting of the India-GCC
Industrial Forum in Mumbai today. The results of the review would be in
the direction of liberalization, as was the case with similar policy
reviews in the past, he indicated.
In a detailed
presentation, Dr Dua outlined the growing attraction of India as an
investment destination and identified the following as the six sectors
with potential – automobiles and auto ancillaries; information technology
(IT) and IT – enabled services; pharmaceuticals; biotechnology; food
processing; and telecommunications. He mentioned in this context that FDI
had started coming into the telecon sector in India in a big way now. In
all these sectors, the basis for optimism about future growth stemmed from
India’s cost competitiveness, supplied side strengths including a large
intellectual capital base and the expanding domestic market, he said.
He emphasized
that India had deliberately followed a process of calibrated
liberalization of its FDI regime – from the pre-1991 policy when FDI was
allowed selectively upto 40% and thereafter, in 1991 upto 51% under the
automatic route for 35 priority sectors to the year 1997 when it was
decided first to allow upto 74/51/50% in 111 sectors under the automatic
route and 100% in some sectors. In 2000, upto 100% was allowed under the
automatic route in all sectors except a negative list, while more sectors
have been opened, equity caps raised and conditions relaxed in the
post-2000 phase, he said, underlining that there were no restrictions on
FDI in the manufacturing sector where upto 100% FDI had been allowed.
According to
RBI data, FDI equity inflows into India upto January 2007 amounted to US$
16.4 billion. With the addition of reinvested earnings, the total FDI
inflows were US$ 19 billion in 2006-07.
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29th May 2007 |
India
Negotiating FTA with Gulf Countries – Kamal Nath outlines Trade and
Investment Opportunities at 3rd India-GCC Industrial Forum
New Delhi: May 29, 2007
India is in
the process of negotiating a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the Gulf
countries and the talks in this regard are likely to be concluded very
soon. This was indicated by Shri Kamal Nath, Minister of Commerce and
Industry, in his keynote address at the Inaugural Session of the 3rd
meeting of the India-GCC Industrial Forum, in Mumbai today. Stating that
India is privileged to host this year’s Forum, the Minister expressed the
hope that the deliberations would further enhance the expanding economic
relations between India and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries.
“In the last five years, India’s total trade with the GCC countries has
risen more than four-fold – from US$ 5.55 billion in 2000-01 to US$ 23.42
billion in 2005-06. The period witnessed buoyancy in both exports and
imports. Signing of the Framework Agreement on Economic Cooperation
between India and GCC countries in 2004, was another milestone in the
Indo-GCC economic relations”, he added.
Dr Al Yamani,
Minister of Commerce and Industry, Saudi Arabia and Mr Maqbool bin Ali bin
Sultan, Minister of Commerce and Industry, Oman, were present on the
occasion along with members of the GCC delegations, including the GCC
Chambers and leading representatives of Indian Industry headed by the
Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the Federation of Indian
Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).
Underlining
the importance of the Gulf countries to India, Shri Kamal Nath observed
that the Gulf region was on par in terms of demand creation when compare
to even the US. “It is already a target market for more than
three-quarters of India’s main export products including fresh fruits and
vegetables”, he said.
The Minister
outlined a whole of range of opportunities in
India
for investors from the Gulf, specially the huge opportunities in
infrastructure. “There are obvious synergies between India and the Gulf.
The GCC countries continue to be a major supplier of oil to India, meeting
almost two-thirds of our oil requirements. India is looking at providing
refining services to the Gulf. I invite oil companies from the Gulf to
set up their facilities in India as it will not only add a new dimension
to our India-GCC trade but also help in enhancing capacities. At the same
time, we should also look at partnering in areas that go beyond just oil.
Infrastructure is one area where India offers immense opportunities for
investment. We have estimated the requirement of infrastructure sector to
be about US$ 320 billion in the next five years. India plans to add
100,000 MWs of power in the next ten years. There is potential for
investment in LNG terminals as India is a gas deficient country. Air
passenger traffic has grown in excess of 30 per cent in the last three
years. I expect investors from this region to actively participate in the
ongoing airport modernization programs across the country”, he said
Exciting
opportunities also exist in India on farm and food processing sector, as
value addition in this area is only 16%, despite the fact that India is
among the world’s largest producer of milk, vegetables and fruits, he said
adding that India’s investment requirement in this would be around 15
billion. Gems and jewellery, healthcare and biotechnology were the other
areas flagged by Mr Kamal Nath for Gulf investors. “I invite investors
from the GCC countries to make the most of the opportunities that India
provides by entering into joint ventures, collaborations and partnerships
in different sectors. There is political will on both sides to take the
India-GCC trade to the next higher level of engagement and now the onus is
on the trade and investment community to translate this will into a
reality that augurs well for both sides”, he stressed.
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29th May 2007 |
New
Delhi: May 29, 2007
The total import of sensitive items for the
period April 06-March 07 has been Rs.18555 crores as compared to Rs.16789
crores during the corresponding period last year thereby showing an
increase of 10.5%. The gross import of all commodity during same period of
current year was Rs.820568 crores as compared to Rs.635013 crores during
the same period of last year. Thus import of sensitive items constitute
2.6% and 2.3% of the gross imports during last year and current year
respectively.
Imports of cotton & silk, spices and tea & coffee have shown a decline at
broad group level during the period. Imports of items viz. edible oil,
fruits & vegetables (including nuts), food grains, products of SSI,
rubber, automobiles, marble & Granite, Alcoholic beverages and milk & milk
products have shown increase during the period under reference.
In
the edible oil segment, the import has increased from Rs.8954 crores last
year to Rs.9351 crores for the corresponding period of this year. A
significant feature of edible oil import is that import of crude oil has
gone up by 9.7% and that of refined oil have gone down by 34.7%. The
growth in edible oil import is mainly due to significant increase in
import of Crude Palm Oil and its fractions which has gone up by 39%.
Imports of sensitive items from Indonesia, China P RP, United States of
America, Malaysia, Russia, Cote D’ Ivory, Australia, Thailand, Germany,
Sri Lanka DSR, Japan, Ukraine, Benin etc. have gone up while those from
Brazil, Guinea Bissau, Tanzania REP, Egypt A RP, Argentina etc. have shown
a decrease.
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28th May 2007 |
New Delhi:
May 28, 2007
The first meeting of India-UAE Trade Policy
Forum was held here today, preceded by a one-to-one meeting between Shri
Kamal Nath, Union Minister of Commerce & Industry and Shaikha Lubna Al
Qasimi, Minister of Economy of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Both the
Ministers underlined the strong partnership that India and UAE enjoy in
the field of trade and commerce, while noting that the partnership was
still way below the potential. Both the Ministers expressed the hope
that the Ministerial level Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)-India
Industrial Conference beginning in Mumbai tomorrow would promote a greater
thrust to India’s economic cooperation with the Gulf region as a whole.
The two Ministers discussed a range of issues
with a view to increasing the level of trade between the two countries.
Shri Kamal Nath took up with the UAE Minister issues relating to opening
of branches of Indian banks in UAE, including the State Bank of India (SBI),
lifting of the ban on import of poultry products and removal of trade
barriers such as registration guidelines, restrictive work permits, visa
regime etc. relating to import of pharmaceutical and chemicals and allied
products. The UAE in turn referred to anti-dumping measures on UAE
products and companies and matters relating to the successful
establishment and implementation of Orissa Alumina Joint Project.
Trade between
India and UAE stood at US $ 12.9
billion in 2005-06.
Of this, India’s exports to the UAE were valued at US $ 8.59 billion and
imports from the UAE at US $ 4.31 billion.
UAE is India’s top trading partner in the
entire WANA region, as the UAE alone represents 75% of
India’s export to GCC countries. Indian exports to the UAE account for 6% of
India’s global exports.
Dubai is a major trade centre of
re-exports and a gateway for the whole of Arab world. Revival of oil
prices since late 1999 has strengthened the trading position of GCC
countries in general and UAE in particular.
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25th May 2007 |
New
Delhi: May 25, 2007
In the 15
months since the Special Economic Zones (SEZ) Act and Rules were notified
on 10th February 2006, investments of the order of $ 8 billion
have already been made and another $25 billion investment is underway.
This was indicated in the reply on behalf of India by Shri G.K. Pillai,
Commerce Secretary,
at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Trade Policy Review Meeting for
India in Geneva today. “As far as SEZs are concerned, I think the WTO
Secretariat was a little premature in expressing doubt about their
effectiveness in boosting both investment and employment… So far, over
31000 people have got direct employment and this is expected to rise to
100,000 by the end of this calendar year and to 4 million by the end of
2010. The large number of textile, gems and leather SEZs being
established would provide employment for a less skilled labour force”,
he said, allaying WTO doubts expressed in the WTO Secretariat report on
this score.
Underlining
macro-economic sustainability, the reply states that the recent rise in
inflation is due to (i) the global acceleration in inflation and the rise
in world commodity prices, including food and energy; (ii) the slower rise
in Indian interest rates that lagged the rise in world rates. The fiscal
situation, which earlier used to raise some disquiet among the
international financial community, is now firmly under control. Since the
passing of the Fiscal Reform and Budget Management Act, in July 2004, the
fiscal deficit has declined steadily to reach 6.3% of GDP in 2006-07(BE).
Thus, one of the major factors that could lead to higher long-term
inflation is now in abatement as a result of extensive fiscal reforms.
“India’s
trade basket is diversifying rapidly. Moreover, the direction of India’s
trade, both exports and imports is increasing with developing countries in
Asia, East Asia, Africa and Latin America. India also proposes to
introduce, in a phased manner, the Duty Free Quota Free Scheme for LDCs
this year”, he said.
Referring to concern
expressed by several delegations that in addition to tariffs, India
imposes several other taxes on imports, Shri Pillai clarified the position
as follows: “In the first place, India levies basic customs duties
on imports. In addition, imported articles are liable to an additional
duty which is equal to the excise duty leviable on a like article produced
or manufactured in India.
This provides a level
playing field to domestic production vis-à-vis imports.
That apart, a special additional duty of customs @ 4% has been imposed on
imported articles to counterbalance the sales tax, State value added tax,
local tax or any other charges leviable on a like article on its sale,
purchase or transportations in India.
Once again, only to
provide a level playing field”.
Emphasising
the importance of agriculture as the backbone of India’s rural livelihood
system and responding to concerns raised about farmer’s suicides, he
informed that: “A special programme is being implemented for 31
districts where a number of such cases have occurred. As 60% of the
agricultural land is rainfed and does not have irrigation, it is necessary
to focus on improving the productivity of such rain-fed agriculture. A
National Rainfed Area Authority has been set up recently which will
provide necessary expert advice and guidelines and also facilitates
convergence of several scheme to address the problems of rainfed
agriculture. A National Commission on Farmers has been set up to
address various aspects of farmers’ income, welfare and productive
activities”.
Expressing
satisfaction at the positive recognition by several delegations of the
steps taken by India to strengthen its intellectual property (IP) regime,
the reply says that India is now compliant with the WTO’s agreement on
TRIPS and the Doha Declaration on TRIPS and Public Health. Section 3(d) of
this Act aims at striking a vital balance between Intellectual Property
Protection and Public Health concerns. This section was incorporated in
the Patents Act with the deliberate intention to allow access to
medicines, while rewarding real innovations. A dilution of this provision
could have far reaching consequences on the access to essential medicines
by millions of people in the developing world. India has also taken a
number of measures in recent years to strengthen the intellectual property
(IP) enforcement and to prevent bio-piracy, it said.
India has always been a
strong votary of the rules-based multilateral trading system. Developing
countries find the multilateral forum the best insurance against
arbitrariness in trade practices. Moreover, this is the only way that we
ultimately realize the goal of fair trade. India is, therefore, strongly
committed to ensuring a successful conclusion to the Doha Round. This is
a Development Round. Naturally, most is at stake for the developing
countries. Make no mistake; we need this Round to deliver for us. It has
to be a Development Round where greater benefits flow to developing
countries and not developed countries, the Commerce Secretary said.
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24th May 2007 |
INDIA ONE OF THE BULWARKS FOR FUTURE OF ASIA – KAMAL NATH
ADDRESSES NIKKEI “FUTURE
OF ASIA CONFERENCE 2007”
New Delhi:
May 24, 2007
The
unbeatable combination of an ancient civilization embracing economic
globalisation in a context that is open and democratic makes India one of
the bulwarks for the Future of Asia, Shri Kamal Nath, Union Minister of
Commerce & Industry, said while addressing the Nikkei “Future of
Asia Conference 2007” in Tokyo today, adding that,
“in
fact, at this conference discussing the Future of Asia, I can very
confidently say that the future is Asia”.
Emphasising the importance of inclusive growth, Shri Kamal Nath
said: “A few years ago
we sensed the dangers that rapid growth without
“inclusive” development can pose to the social polity. We found that our
growth process was not creating as many jobs as we needed and the
industrial and services sector growth was very urban centric. For the last
three years we have, therefore, been moulding policies which, while
ensuring that growth continues unhindered and faster, make the benefits
more evenly spread, and reach the common man – what we in India call the
‘aam aadmi’.”
He
said the attraction of India lay in three distinct aspects: First, India's
current and potential economic growth making it very attractive to the
world at large. Second, India's politico-legal complexion based on sound
and time-tested tenets fully acceptable to the civil society around the
world. And third, the inherent stability of India’s democratic
institutions, its multi-culturalism and its hugely successful diaspora.
Referring to the Doha
round Shri Kamal Nath said: “The
virtual suspension of the Doha Round negotiations last July has brought
into focus not only the substantive issues which are the subject of
discord, but also the institutionalised power asymmetries which continue
to pervade the WTO. While its professed objective is greater openness in
all aspects of trade, in practice this objective is observed in a highly
selective manner that reflects the predilections and concerns of developed
countries. Let me
give just a few examples of this selective openness: National borders
should matter less and less for merchandise trade and capital flows. But
we are told – don’t talk about technology flows and labour flows.
Subsidies are bad for industrial sectors, but on agricultural subsidies,
the only thing we hear is that we’ll get back to you. Tariffs should be
transparent and ad valorem in the industrial sector. In
agriculture, now, that’s something else! The private interests of IPR
holders are sacred; issues of public interest regarding intellectual
property are of a second order.
Talk of a Development Round remains
largely rhetorical. Issues of serious concern like cotton, ushering in
fair and undistorted agricultural world trade, Duty Free Quota Free
Treatment for LDC’s, Implementation Issues, etc. remain unresolved. The
fundamental principle of special & differential treatment for developing
countries to address their concerns of policy space in the major areas of
negotiations remains deadlocked. There is as yet, no recognition by some
developed countries that the basic premise of a Development Round is
primacy for the development needs of developing countries, and not market
access for developed countries. The unity amongst the developing countries
has been our strength; it has withstood all pressures to undermine the
development promise of the Doha Round. In our work ahead, I intend to
continue working with my colleagues
in order to create that balance of give-and-take across the Doha Work
programme as a whole that will make winners of each of us”.
**********
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23rd May 2007 |
KAZAKHSTAN SEEKS INDIA’S COOPERATION IN TEXTILES,
HIGH-TECHNOLOGY AND FINANCIAL SERVICES
ASHWANI KUMAR MEETS KAZAK FOREIGN MINISTER
New Delhi:
May 23, 2007
Kazakhstan has sought
India’s assistance in setting up of industrial clusters in textiles and
cooperation in areas of hi-technology and financial services.
This was stated by Mr. Marat Tazhin, Foreign Minister of Kazakhstan in a
meeting with Shri Ashwani Kumar, Minister of State for Industry at Atmaty
yesterday. Shri Ashwani Kumar assured Mr Tazhin of India’s willingness to
collaborate with Kazakhstan to share its experiences in building strong
and vibrant industrial clusters.
The Minister
further highlighted India’s need for energy security in view of India’s
dependence on oil and gas imports. “Participation
of Indian oil and natural gas companies in
Kazakhstan would be a
win-win situation for both Kazakhstan and India”, Shri Kumar said.
He complimented
the Government of Kazakhstan for strong economic growth in the recent
years and hoped that Kazakhstan would play a significant role in bringing
peace, stability and prosperity to Central Asia.
Shri Kumar also met Ms.
Zhanar Aitzhanova, Deputy Minister of Industry & Trade and Chief
Negotiator on WTO Issues. Ms. Aitzhanova made a brief mention of the
current status of negotiations with India for WTO accession. Recalling the
support pledged by Mr. Kamal Nath, Commerce and Industry Minister, for
Kazakhstan’s WTO accession, she urged Shri Kumar
to expedite
India’s signing of the Protocol in this regard. “India
fully supports Kazakhstan’s accession to the WTO. I hope that not only
would outstanding issues be resolved but the bilateral relations also be
further strengthened during the forthcoming bilateral meeting between
India and Kazakhstan”, Shri Kumar said.
***
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23rd May 2007 |
CONTINUED POLICY REFORMS SINE QUA NON FOR SUSTAINED ECONOMIC GROWTH IN
INDIA
GLOBAL TRADE WILL BE AT RISK UNLESS DEVELOPMENT DIMENSION OF DOHA ROUND IS
MET
INDIA’S STATEMENT AT WTO TRADE POLICY REVIEW
New Delhi:
May 23, 2007
Continued policy reforms and institutional development are a sine qua non
for sustained economic growth in India. In his opening statement on
behalf of India, at the World Trade Organisation (WTO)’s Trade Policy
Review for India, to be held in Genera from 23-25 May, 2007, Shri G.K.
Pillai, Commerce Secretary, said: “We are of the view that
continued and sustained growth of the Indian economy is not only good for
India but also for the rest of the world. We also believe that in a more
integrated global economy, it is necessary that other less developed
countries also grow significantly so that they are able to get the
benefits of globalization. The Government of India is acutely aware that
there is no inevitability of high growth and that sustained rapid growth
cannot be taken for granted. For sustained economic growth, there is
need for continual reform as well as a matrix of institutions and public
policies tailored to the new needs of the economy. As brought out in the
trade policy report, a slew of policy reforms have indeed been implemented
over the last decade. There have been changes of Government over the
last fifteen years, however, the momentum of economic reforms has not
abated. In a vibrant and complex democracy such
as India, the reform process can and will have some fits and starts but
the overall direction of the Indian economic reforms has always been
positive”.
Referring to non-tariff barriers to imports from developing countries,
the statement said that non-tariff barriers in the form of restrictive
regulations were impediments that significantly affected not only exports
but also the capacity to trade and as a result, even after more than two
decades of rapid trade growth, the pattern of trade remained highly
skewed in favour of the developed world. “High-income
countries representing 15% of the world’s population still account for
two-thirds of world exports. The share of world exports of Sub-Saharan
Africa, with 689 million people, is less than one-half of that of Belgium,
with 10 million people”, the statement added.
“We have a historic opportunity to partially correct this imbalance in the
current Doha Development Round. India is extremely concerned at the
slow pace of negotiations. While the suspended talks have resumed, the
political will on the part of developed countries is still not evident.
Unless the development dimension of the Doha Round is met and the
developing countries prosper, global trade will always be at risk. The
rapid economic growth of developing countries is a must for a truly global
trade order to flourish. India stands committed to meet its
obligations under the mandate of the July Framework and the Hong Kong
Ministerial Declaration. Developed countries must recognize that our
destinies are intertwined”, the statement said.
Following is the full text of the opening statement made by Shri G.K.
Pillai in Geneva today on behalf of India:
“DG,
WTO. Mr. Pascal Lamy, Ambassador Vesa Tapani Himanen, Chair of the WTO
Trade Policy Review Body, Ambassador Eckart Guth, Discussant,
distinguished colleagues from Member Countries of the WTO, ladies and
gentlemen:
2.
First of all, I would like to congratulate the WTO Secretariat for the
painstaking efforts made by them over the last several months in
finalizing the Secretariat Report on the Trade Policy Review of India. I
would particularly like to thank Mr. Michael Daly and his team for their
hard work and the depth of their analysis on India’s trade policy. India
welcomes the interest evinced in this Policy Review as borne out by the
500 plus questions posed. I trust our responses have satisfied our
friends and justified the time and interest they have devoted to this
exercise.
3. I
welcome this opportunity to apprise the WTO membership with the current
economic situation in India and, more importantly, to sketch out the
likely evolution of trade policy in India in the coming years. We look
upon the Trade Policy Review as an occasion for introspection, to see
where we are, and where we need to go in the coming years. India today is
on the threshold of far reaching reforms which we expect to fundamentally
transform the Indian economy.
4.
India is the largest democracy in the world. Democracy has taken deep
roots in India and hence the need of the Indian polity to fashion an all
inclusive growth process has become an absolute imperative as we go
forward. The eradication of poverty, the provision of basic needs for
all, the development of agriculture and rural development, health care,
access to employable education, provision of adequate infrastructure and
effective governance are the key issues on our agenda of action. This
multi-faceted development process poses a major challenge for us. India
has a Federal polity with the Central Government and the State Governments
having exclusive domain over various sectors with certain overlaps. In
the past two decades, we have also focused attention on another tier of
Government – Local Self Government. There has been increased devolution
of responsibilities to the local levels which on the one hand has
increased complexities of administration while at the same time empowering
people at the grass-root level. This process of devolution of powers and
responsibilities is evolving and with more than a million elected
representatives at the local level (one-third of them women by statute) a
churning of the entire Indian political, social and economic fabric is
taking place. Democracies work slowly but steadily and the pace of
reforms is the price that we pay for inclusive growth. India has a
population of 1.1 billion, a quarter of whom are significantly
disadvantaged in terms of income, assets, education and access to health
facilities. It is with some pride that I am able to report that the
Indian economy, which grew at the rate of 5.3% in the 80s, increased its
rate to 6.5% in the 90s and, in the last 4 years, has grown at over 8%.
5.
Agriculture in India remains the backbone of the rural economy. Over 81%
of India’s farmers are small and marginal farmers with holdings of 2
hectares or less. They number over 127 million cultivators. In addition,
there are over a 100 million landless agricultural labourers, most ekeing
out a bare subsistence from the sector. India is home to 22% of the
world’s poor, and rural poverty is far higher than urban poverty. The
pattern of development has left nearly 60% of our population dependent on
the sector. To provide inclusive growth, this vulnerable sector of the
economy needs special care and protection. The pressure on land needs to
be relieved by providing alternative avenues of employment and income
through crop diversification, rural non-farm sector, manufacturing and
services. Horticulture and food processing industries are obvious direct
linkages. The sector’s modernization and transformation will take time.
But, transformation will substantively entail absorption of labour in
manufacturing and services. While no doubt domestic reforms are important
and are being carried out, this would be facilitated if access to
industrial goods and services markets in the developed countries is
accelerated. The development dimension of the Doha Development Round
gives an immediate and sharp focus to this crying need.
6.
Growth in India has not only sustained itself at a high rate but has also
exhibited a low volatility and a strong immunity to economic shocks. In
the IMF working paper “From ‘Hindu Growth’ to Productivity Surge: The
Mystery of the Indian Growth Transition” Dani Rodrik of Harvard
University and Arvind Subramanium of IMF have stated “Between 1980 and
1999 India’s growth exhibits the lowest variation in terms of both the
standard deviation and the coefficient of variation. Thus, India
outperformed all regions, save East Asia, in terms of average growth, and
outperformed all regions, including East Asia, in terms of the stability
of growth.
7. We
are of the view that continued and sustained growth of the Indian economy
is not only good for India but also for the rest of the world. We also
believe that in a more integrated global economy, it is necessary that
other less developed countries also grow significantly so that they are
able to get the benefits of globalization. The Government of India is
acutely aware that there is no inevitability of high growth and that
sustained rapid growth cannot be taken for granted. For sustained
economic growth, there is need for continual reform as well as a matrix of
institutions and public policies tailored to the new needs of the
economy. We firmly believe that continued policy reforms and
institutional development are a sine qua non for sustained economic
growth in India. As brought out in the trade policy report, a slew of
policy reforms have indeed been implemented over the last decade. There
have been changes of Government over the last fifteen years, however, the
momentum of economic reforms has not abated. In a vibrant and complex
democracy such as India, the reform process can and will have some fits
and starts but the overall direction of the Indian economic reforms has
always been positive.
8.
India continues to unilaterally reduce its tariffs and barriers to foreign
trade. The Secretariat notes that the overall applied MFN rate fell from
32.4% in 2001-02 to 15.8% in 2006-07. It is not just the lowering of
tariffs but the very fact that our imports every year have been higher
than our exports shows that we are in fact an open economy. In fact, when
I state that Indian exports have grown by more than 20% every year in the
last 4 years and imports by more than 30% every year, I think I have made
my case.
9.
India has made considerable progress in opening up the capital account.
For foreign institutional investors we are 100% convertible. Indian firms
can take up to 300% of their net worth out of the country for overseas
capital investment.
10.
Infrastructure deficit has been identified in the Government Report as a
principal constraint on economic growth. Over the last decade the
Government has significantly shifted away from the direct production of
infrastructural goods and services and has focused on providing a sound
regulatory and policy framework which would adequately incentivise the
private sector to invest in the sector. We have made good progress in
telecom, roads, ports, electricity and aviation but the deficit is still
high.
11. In
telecom, a revolution has been unleashed by having competition among
multiple private telecom companies. The total number of telephones has
increased from 54.63 million on March 31, 2003 to 206.83 million on March
31, 2007. 6 million phones are being added every month. We hope to touch
500 million telephones by the year 2010. Little shops offering internet
access are now dotted all over the country. A national e-Governance
Mission has become operational last year. All telecom services have been
opened to international competition. There is no limit on the number of
service providers in national and international long distance segment. The
share of the private sector in the number of telephones has increased from
15% in March 2002 to 65% in December 2006.
12. In
roads, India has embarked on an enormous project, the National Highways
Development Project (NHDP), which is the largest highway project ever
undertaken by the country. It has been decided that all the sub-projects
in NHDP Phase-III to Phase-VII would be taken up on the basis of
Public-Private Partnership (PPP) on Build Operate and Transfer (BOT) mode.
Implementation of projects through construction contracts will be only in
exceptional cases where private sector participation is not possible at
all.
13. In
the port sector 100% FDI has been allowed. Private Sector Participation (PSP)
has been enhanced by following the “landlord port” model, which implies
that operational activities of the port are increasingly transferred to
the private sector through contractual agreements.
14.
The power sector has been radically restructured with the enactment of the
Electricity Act 2003. This Act replaced the three legislations of 1910,
1948 and 1998 and provides a comprehensive framework for reforming the
sector. The Electricity Act, 2003 has established a pro-competitive
regulatory framework which permits entry of the private sector in
generation, trading, and distribution of electricity.
15. In
the aviation sector,
air transport
services have blossomed since the termination of the state monopoly over
scheduled air transport services in 1994 and subsequent reforms to the
domestic regulatory environment. Existing airports are being modernized
and new greenfield airports are under construction. The concept of
establishment of merchant airports by the private sector is being explored
to meet the demands of this fast growing sector.
16. An
investment of about US$ 320 billion would be required in the core
infrastructure sectors during the 11th Five Year Plan period
(2007-12). These investments are to be achieved through a combination of
public investment, PPPs, and exclusive private investments, wherever
feasible. India welcomes FDI in these core sectors.
17. IT
has been harnessed for customs clearance in a big way. Electronic
Commerce/Electronic Data Interchange System enables trade to file and
track customs documents on a 24x7 basis. A Risk Management System (RMS)
has been introduced at important customs stations. Facility for e-payment
of customs duty is being introduced. We hope by the end of 2007 to have
e-connectivity among all the major stakeholders in trade, including
customs, ports, shipping, airlines, banks, etc.
18. In
an attempt to streamline SPS procedures and enforcement, the Food Safety
and Standards Act was passed by Parliament in August 2006. This Act
consolidates 13 laws and establishes the Food Safety and Standards
Authority (FSSA). The regulations and rules to implement the Act are
currently being formulated.
19. The
system of corporate governance is being radically modified. The Government
of India is considering comprehensive revision of the Companies Act, 1956
in order to embrace best practices in corporate governance as revealed by
international experience. The Ministry of Company Affairs e-governance
project, namely MCA-21, envisages easy and secure online access to all the
services being provided by the Registrars of Companies. Electronic filing
of documents by companies has been made mandatory from 16th
September, 2006. From November 1, 2006 persons who are directors of
companies or intend to be directors are required to obtain Director
Identification Number. This will put relevant information about directors
in the public domain. The Acts regulating the professions of Chartered
Accountants, Cost & Works Accountants, and Company Secretaries have been
amended in 2006. These amendments seek to improve the quality of audits
through setting up of a Quality Review Board. The professions are sought
to be made more accountable so that stakeholders can repose increased
trust in the information supplied to them by these professions. A Bill has
been introduced in Parliament to permit establishment of limited liability
partnerships.
20. The
Competition Act was enacted in 2002 and the Competition Commission of
India was established in 2003. Major amendments to the Competition Act
are currently under process in the light of the Report of the Standing
Committee of Parliament.
21. Are
Indian policies working? It would certainly seem so, witness the large
upsurge in the foreign direct investment into India in the last three
years. FDI equity flow into India in 2002-03 was USD 2.22 billion. In
2006-07 it was USD 16 billion – a staggering increase of 725%. In line
with international practice, if reinvested retained earnings are included,
FDI into India was USD 19 billion in 2006-07 constituting 2.3% of GDP.
This is a quantum jump compared to barely 0.5% of GDP three years ago. The
targeted FDI equity flow for 2007-08 is USD 25 billion. The multifold
increase in FDI is a strong vindication of the effectiveness of the
policies followed by India.
22. In
a globalised world, the economic benefits of growth should not get
appropriated by any single country or a group of countries. Our exports
have boomed, so too our imports. India’s trade deficit has gone up from
US$ 8.7 billion in 2002-03 to US$ 56.7 billion in 2006-07. While India’s
services exports have caught the imagination of the world, the dynamic
expansion of India’s services imports attracts less attention even though
the growth rate of services imports exceeded that of exports in 2006.
We welcome this as we believe that this helps not only India but also the
countries from whom we import such services. I would, however, like to
caution that developing countries labour under an international trading
architecture that is loaded against their development needs. Developed
countries have a tendency to talk of market access in developing countries
of goods and services of export interest to them but our access to
markets of developed countries are sometime thwarted by a phalanx of
protectionist measures, some legal and some not so legal. The Human
Development Report 2005 states that “Developed country governments
seldom waste an opportunity to emphasize the virtues of open markets,
level playing fields and free trade, especially in their prescriptions for
poor countries. Yet the same governments maintain a formidable array of
protectionist barriers against developing countries.” On an average,
low-income countries face tariffs three to four times higher than the
barriers applied in trade between high-income countries. Developing
countries account for less than one-third of developed country imports but
for two-thirds of tariff revenues collected.
23.
Non-tariff barriers to imports from the developing countries are
ubiquitous. Non-tariff barriers in the form of restrictive regulations
have been acting as impediments that significantly affect not only exports
but also the capacity to trade. Non-tariff barriers in destination
countries have had a significant impact on India’s exports because these
measures impose additional costs on exports. More than serving the
ostensible purposes of consumer safety, environment protection, and
ethical business practices, non-tariff barriers, thanks to their frequent
use and abuse, have increasingly become a hindrance to global trade.
Non-tariff barriers of the developed countries come in various hues and
constantly re-invent themselves. Full compliance is nearly an impossible
task for developing countries as they do not have the financial resources
to comply with the standards prescribed by the developed countries.
Moreover, standards are revised, mostly upwards, at regular intervals and
not necessarily on the basis of objective scientific criteria or
reasonable risk assessment, making it very difficult for developing
countries to adapt to these ever-changing requirements.
24. The
result is that even after more than two decades of rapid trade growth the
pattern of trade remains highly skewed in favor of the developed world.
High-income countries representing 15% of the world’s population still
account for two-thirds of world exports. The share of world exports of
Sub-Saharan Africa, with 689 million people, is less than one-half of that
of Belgium, with 10 million people.
25. We
have a historic opportunity to partially correct this imbalance in the
current Doha Development Round. India is extremely concerned at the slow
pace of negotiations. While the suspended talks have resumed, the
political will on the part of developed countries is still not evident.
Unless the development dimension of the Doha Round is met and the
developing countries prosper, global trade will always be at risk. The
rapid economic growth of developing countries is a must for a truly global
trade order to flourish. India stands committed to meet its obligations
under the mandate of the July Framework and the Hong Kong Ministerial
Declaration. Developed countries must recognize that our destinies are
intertwined.
26. Sustained economic reforms require an enormous investment not
just of capital but of organizational and institutional ability to meet
the challenges. This is one area where the developing countries have a
very deep deficit. This is responsible not only for the uneven nature of
reforms but also for the stops and starts in economic reforms in
developing countries including India. The nature of reforms is such that
there can be no one size fits all reforms. Each country has its own
genius, its history, its culture, its economic, political and social
institutions and we all have to, in one sense, muddle our way through to
prosperity. There is much that we can learn from each other but we also
have to do the learning ourselves. Capacity building and handholding are
therefore a must in these critical times. India believes in accelerating
its pace of economic reform. Economic and social reforms would vary from
country to country and the manner in which these are implemented would
have to be country specific. Changing institutions and laws and rules is
often the easier part of economic reforms. Changing mindsets is the most
difficult and the irony is that changing the mindset of people and
government in the developed world is perhaps even more difficult than
changing mindsets in the developing world.
27. The
rise of India will engender enormous benefits for the rest of the world.
A Report released by McKinsey a few weeks ago viz. The ‘Bird of Gold’:
The Rise of India’s Consumer Market provides extensive discussion of
how big an opportunity India will afford to businesses in the years to
come. It says at one place “The upcoming changes in the Indian consumer
market will create major opportunities and challenges for Indian and
Multinational businesses alike.” India could become the fifth largest
consumer market by 2025. India’s middle class will rise from 50 million
to 583 million by 2025 creating a unique opportunity for both India and
the world. Price Waterhouse Coopers in its Report The World in 2050:
How big will the major emerging market economies get and how can
the OECD compete? states “The rise of the E7 ( i.e. China, India,
Brazil, Russia, Indonesia, Mexico and Turkey) should boost average OECD
income levels in absolute terms through creating major new market
opportunities. India’s prosperity and that of the rest of the world are
closely intertwined. The world needs a buoyant, thriving Indian economy;
it is in the rest of the world’s best interest”.
NB:
The General Council of the WTO meets to review trade
policies and practices of individual WTO member countries under the Trade
Policy Review Mechanism. The frequency with which a country goes through
this review varies. For India, it is once every four years.
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22st May 2007 |
INDIA’S SHARE IN WORLD TRADE GOES UP SIGNIFICANTLY
TO TOUCH 1.5% -- SHARE MAY CROSS 2% BY 2009, SAYS KAMAL NATH
New Delhi:
May 22, 2007
India’s share in world trade has gone up significantly since 2004.
According to the latest information published in the World Trade
Statistics by the World Trade Organisation (WTO), India’s share in total
world trade (which includes trade in both merchandise and services sector)
has gone up from 1.1% in 2004 -- i.e., the initial year of the Foreign
Trade Policy (2004-09) – to 1.5% in 2006. “Based
on the current rates of growth of merchandise and services trade, it is
expected that India’s share in world trade covering merchandise plus
service sector trade may well double from the level of 2004 to cross 2%
mark in 2009”, Shri Kamal Nath, Minister of Commerce & Industry, has said.
As
far as merchandise trade alone is concerned,
India’s share in global merchandise trade may increase from 1.2% in 2006
to 1.5% in 2009.
It
may be recalled that India’s share in merchandise trade has increased
from 0.9% in 2004 to 1.2% in 2006, thereby crossing one per cent share of
world trade. At the same time, India’s services trade has recorded an
even higher growth performance resulting in an increase in the share in
world services trade from 2% in 2004 to 2.7% in 2006.
In
the Foreign Trade Policy announced by Shri Kamal Nath in August 2004, a
medium term horizon for India’s export growth was envisaged and as part of
this, the share of India’s merchandise trade in world trade was targeted
to double in 2009.
According to the World Trade Statistics of the WTO in 2006,
India’s total merchandise trade (export + import) was
valued at US $ 294 billion in 2006 and India’s services trade inclusive of
export and import was US $ 143 billion. Thus, India’s global economic
engagement in 2006 covering both merchandise and services trade was of the
order of US $ 437 billion, up by a record 72% from a level of US $ 253
billion in 2004.
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22st May 2007 |
KAMAL NATH TO LAUNCH
INDIAN MANGO FESTIVAL IN TOKYO ON 23 MAY
New Delhi:
May 22, 2007
India is the largest producer of mangoes in the world (approximately 14
Million Tons) contributing more than 50% share of the world production.
Many Indian Mango varieties have gained international acclaim due to their
unique colour, flavour, aroma & taste. The Indian mango is a special
product conforming to the highest standards of quality and is packed with
nutrients. A single mango can provide up to 40% of the daily dietary
fiber needs – a potent protector against heart disease, cancer and
cholesterol build-up. In addition, this luscious fruit is a warehouse of
potassium beta-carotene and antioxidants. Approved Indian varieties in
Japan are Alphonso, Kesar, Benganpalli, Langra, Chausa and Mallika.
In addition to the usual post-harvest procedures followed for other
destinations, a special VHT (Vapour Heat Treatment) is also carried out
for exports to Japan, strictly in accordance with the Japanese import
regulation.
As
part of the India-Japan Friendship Year celebration the Agricultural and
Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) Ministry of
Commerce & Industry, Government of India in coordination with Japan
India-Business Cooperation Committee (JIBCC) is organizing the Mango
Festival from 23rd-28th May 2007. The festival will
be launched by Shri Kamal Nath, Commerce & Industry Minister. Ministers
of the concerned Ministries of the Government of Japan, members of the
JIBCC, prominent members of the Indian Community, members of the media,
importers & exporters, members of the Japan & Tokyo Chambers of Commerce
&Industry and Senior Indian officials would be attending the festival. A
short film on Indian Mangoes will be screened at the launch party and
there would be a display of the various varieties of Indian mangoes.
The
“Mango Festival” will be held on 23rd May 2007 at the Rose Room
(Banquet Hall) at the Hotel Tokyo KAIKAN, Tokyo from 1830 to 2100 hrs.
The
launch of the festival will be followed by in-store promotions from 24-28
May 2007 at 15-20 selected departmental stores / super markets and
promotion of mango cuisines from 24-28 May 2007 at 30 selected Indian
restaurants.
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21st May 2007 |
FIRST
CONSIGNMENT OF BANGANPALLI MANGOES TO JAPAN FLAGGED OFF
New Delhi:
May 21, 2007
The Minister of State
for Commerce, Shri Jairam Ramesh yesterday flagged off the first
consignment of Banganpalli mangoes from Tirupati-- in Andhra Pradesh’s
main mango-cultivating district of Chittoor-- to Japan.
The consignment was of 1
tonne (about 2500 mangos) and it is expected that by the end of this
season (end-July) about 35-40 tonnes would be exported. This is the first
full season that India is exporting mangoes to Japan after the 20-year ban
was lifted for six varieties in June 2006. These varieties are Alphonso,
Banganpalli, Chausa, Kesar, Langra and Mallika. In addition, market access
for Malda and Dushehari varieties are also now under review. Each
Banganpalli mango is expected to retail for Rs 200 in Japanese stores.
Agricultural
and Processed Food Products Exports Developments Authority
(APEDA) has already
established a Vapur Heat Treatment (VHT) plant at Vashi near Mumbai and is
setting up three more—at Tirupati and Nuzvid in Andhra Pradesh and at
Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh.
The investment at each of the VHTs is around Rs 8 crore. Three VHTs have
already come up in the private sector at Chittoor, Thane and Nashik. The
VHT plants are essential for treating Indian mangos so that they meet
Japanese health standards.
Andhra Pradesh is India’s
leading producer of mangos, accounting for about 30% of the country’s
mango production. It also accounts for about 80% of the country’s mango
pulp production. Under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme,
about 6000 acres of assigned lands of scheduled caste families in Chittoor
district has come under mango cultivation in 2006/07 and another 15,000
acres is being taken up in 2007/08. Banganpalli cultivation is being
encouraged in these lands, in preference to Totapuri variety which goes
entirely into pulp production.
Exports of mangoes to USA
have already started and the irradiation facility for processing mangos to
meet US health standards is at present located at Lasal Gaon, Nashik. If
needed, APEDA will collaborate with BARC to set up such facilities at
other places as well.
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21st May 2007 |
INDIA-MEXICO SIGN MOU ON BILATERAL HIGH LEVEL GROUP ON TRADE,
INVESTMENT AND ECONOMIC COOPERATION
New Delhi:
May 21, 2007
Shri Kamal Nath,
Union Minister of Commerce & Industry, and Mr. Eduardo Sojo Garza-Aldape,
Minister of Economy of Mexico, signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)
on the Establishment of a Bilateral High Level Group (HLG) on Trade,
Investment and Economic Cooperation between India and Mexico, here
today. The objective of MOU includes promotion of economic and trade
relations between the two countries; facilitating better access to their
respective markets and avoid imposition of new barriers to trade and
investment; creation of bilateral consultative mechanism to include trade
and economic cooperation.
The functions of
the HLG formed under the MOU includes – to devise specific measures for
further promotion of bilateral cooperation in fields to be mutually
identified; to maintain liaison between two countries in economic,
commercial, technical and other related fields; to review progress of
economic commercial and technical cooperation between the two countries
and suggest measures for strengthening them and to formulate proposals and
submit recommendations to the respective governments for coordinated
efforts in furthering economic benefits for both countries.
The HLG will be
co-chaired from the Indian side by Minister of Commerce & Industry and the
Secretary of Economy from Mexico or by their representative. The HLG
will meet once a year alternatively in each country unless otherwise
agreed and special meetings of Working Groups or ad hoc Expert Groups may
be arranged when required by both countries.
The Indian
exports to Mexico during 2005-06 was US $ 432.85 million while imports
from Mexico were US $ 96.18 million. Major item of exports from India
include transport equipment, drugs & pharmaceuticals, readymade garments,
inorganic/organic/agro chemicals etc., while major import items include
electronic goods, Metalifers ores & metal scrap, iron & steel, plastic
material etc.
*************
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18th May 2007 |
JAIRAM RAMESH
CO-CHAIRS MEETING OF INDO-TANZANIAN
JOINT TRADE COMMITTEE WITH TRADE MINISTER OF TANZANIA
BHEL LIKELY
TO SIGN AGREEMENT FOR SETTING UP
GAS BASED POWER PLANTS IN TANZANIA
New Delhi:
May 18, 2007
Shri Jairam Ramesh,
Minister of State for Commerce, co-chaired the Second Meeting of the Joint
Trade Committee (JTC) between India and Tanzania along with the Tanzanian
Minister of Industry, Trade and Marketing, Mr. Basil P Mramba, here this
afternoon and underlined India's desire for further expansion and
diversification of bilateral trade and investment with Tanzania.
Shri Ramesh highlighted that mutually beneficial engagement
between India and Tanzania was possible in several areas and valued
Tanzania as an important destination for India’s increasing requirements
of gold and rough diamonds, cashew, leather etc. “Indian would like to
forge a Long-Term relationship with Tanzania with regards to sourcing of
raw materials while looking to cooperate with Tanzania to help it move
towards value added production and manufacturing”, he said. The Minister
also offered
India’s help in the field of training, HRD and skill
development.
Mr. Basil P Mramba hoped
that the Indian companies would invest more in Tanzania and highlighted
areas such as power, leather, horticulture and infrastructure etc. where
Indian investments could benefit Tanzania.
Tanzanian side also
requested India to assist in the preparation of a feasibility study for
the establishment of a cyber city in Kilimanjaro International Airport (KIA)
area (Arusha Cybercity) following which
India has agreed to
provide technical support for preparation of a feasibility report.
Meanwhile, during the discussions, Shri Jairam Ramesh
offered to lead a multi-sectoral delegation to
Tanzania in August 2007
to look at the different opportunities between two countries and to take
concrete and timely steps for entering into mutually beneficial economic
projects. The Tanzanian Minister welcomed Shri Ramesh’s suggestion and the
two sides will workout the details of the visit in due course.
Meanwhile, BHEL has offered to set up two 125 MW gas or coal/oil based
power plants in Tanzania and an agreement to this effect may be signed
during the proposed visit. NTPC also offered to provide technical
assistance to upgrade the efficiency of power plants in
Tanzania and to train
the Tanzanian technical personnel.
The Ministers noted the
following potential growth areas for India-Tanzania business partnership:
Areas for India's exports:
Pharmaceuticals, transport equipment, electrical machinery, construction
material / machinery, textiles & garments, ICT hardware and software.
·
Project Exports from India:
Development of IT and telecom systems, power generation – gas, hydel as
well as coal based, power transmission, construction – roads, bridges,
hospitals and infrastructure development, mining, agro-processing, gem
cutting and polishing, educational services, railways.
·
Potential areas for imports by India:
Cashew nuts, cotton, diamonds, and precious stones, timber. There would
be potential for sourcing minerals like coal, iron ore, tin, tungsten,
platinum, titanium vanadium, nickel, cobalt etc., from Tanzania when
Mtwara corridor development project takes off. There are also
possibilities of importing granites, marbles, graphite, gypsum and other
industrial minerals and Tanzania also has a significant untapped uranium
reserves.
Two-way trade between
India and Tanzania has more than doubled in the last five years – having
gone up from US $ 166 million in 2001-02 to almost US $ 360 in 2005-06.
The upward trend is continuing during the current year as well. India's
exports to Tanzania were valued at around US $ 240 million and India's
imports from Tanzania were US $ 119 million in 2005-06. Economic reforms
in both countries and the major role played by the Indian community in
Tanzania's overseas trade had contributed to the rapid growth in the
volume of trade from the 1990s onwards.
*******
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16th May 2007 |
KAMAL NATH
FLAYS US MOVE ON H1B VISA – SAYS WILL RAISE
THE ISSUE
AT G-4 MEETING IN
BRUSSELS
TEXT OF KAMAL NATH’S PRESS STATEMENT ON H1B VISA ISSUE
New Delhi:
May 16, 2007
Shri Kamal Nath, Union Minister of Commerce & Industry, has said that the
US move on utilisation of the special H1B visa by Indian IT companies
restricting movement of skilled professionals would have an adverse impact
on the rapidly expanding services trade and has warned that it would be
difficult for India to enhance its commitments in the services
negotiations in the World Trade Organisation (WTO) unless there is forward
movement by trading partners like US in such areas.
Shri Kamal Nath has also said that he will raise this issue with Ms. Susan
Schwab, the United States Trade Representative (USTR) and in the G-4
meetings scheduled to be held in Brussels on May 17-19, 2007.
Following is the full text of the statement by Shri Kamal Nath on this
subject:
“A
letter written by two members of the US Senate Judiciary Committee (Sub-
Committee on Immigration, Border Security and Refugees) to some prominent
Indian IT companies has been brought to my notice. The letter seeks
details about the utilization of the special HIB visa programme by these
companies.
I am surprised
both with the form and content of the letter. Issues such as work visas
are inter-governmental in nature and should be dealt with accordingly.
Temporary movement of skilled professionals is an essential component of
the global services economy and bears no relation to immigration issues.
Any move which creates uncertainty and unpredictability about such
movements will naturally have an adverse impact on the rapidly expanding
services trade.
In recent
years, India and the US have significantly expanded their bilateral
engagement in services trade to mutual advantage. Indeed, the importance
of knowledge-based services trade in the trade basket is a unique feature
of India-US trade. For quite some time now, we have been discussing with
the US regarding further liberalization of their regime for movement of
skilled professionals to facilitate further expansion of this trade. At
this juncture, we would be extremely concerned if there are efforts to
circumscribe the existing levels of liberalization in this area in the
United States.
I will be
raising this issue with Ambassador Susan Schwab, USTR and in the G-4
meetings being held in Brussels on May 17-18, 2007. In previous
discussions, I have informed Ambassador Schwab that while India continues
to liberalise its services economy, it expects at least equal movement
from important trading partners like the US in areas of our interest like
Mode-4. Unless we see forward movement in such areas, it will be
difficult for India to enhance its commitments in the services
negotiations.
Services are
an important component of the breakthrough in the current WTO negotiations
and any move which vitiates the current progress will only frustrate the
progress in bringing the round to a successful completion. I would like
to assure Indian industry that India will not subscribe to any WTO
conclusion without a satisfactory outcome in services”.
*********
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16th May 2007 |
PROMOTION OF EXPORT OF GEMS AND JEWELLERY
Vaisakha 26, 1929
New Delhi, 16th May, 2007
Export of gems and jewellery has bee identified
as a thrust sector in the Foreign Trade Policy (2004-09). In the Foreign
Trade Policy as updated on 19.4.2007, following facilities have been
extended to the sector:
(i)
Import of
gold of 8 carat and above allowed under the replenishment scheme subject
to the import being accompanied by an Assay Certificate specifying the
purity, weight and alloy content.
(ii)
Duty Free
import entitlement of consumables, tools, machinery and equipments for
metals other than Gold and Platinum equal to 2% and for Gold and Platinum
equal to 1% of FOB value of exports during the preceding financial year.
In case of rhodium-finish silver jewellery, entitlement will be 3% of such
jewellery.
(iii)
Duty free
import entitlement of gems & jewellery samples in a financial year upto Rs.
300,000/- or 0.25% of the average of last three years export turnover of
gems and jewellery items, whichever is lower.
(iv)
Duty free
re-import entitlement for rejected jewellery upto 2% of the FOB value of
exports in preceding year.
(v)
Cutting and
polishing of gems & jewellery, treated as manufacturing for the purposes
of exemption under Section 10A of the Income Tax Act.
(vi)
Import of
precious metal scrap/used jewellery allowed for melting, refining and
re-export of jewellery. However, such import will not be allowed through
hand baggage.
(vii)
Gems &
Jewellery exporters allowed to export jewellery on consignment basis as
per Rules.
(viii)
Gems &
Jewellery exporters allowed to export cut and polished precious and
semi-precious stones for treatment and re-import as per Rules.
In the Union Budget
2007-08 following facilities have been provided to this sector:
(i)
Import duty
on cut and polished diamond abolished.
(ii)
Import duty
on unworked corals reduced from 30% to 10%.
(iii)
Import duty
on rough synthetic stones reduced from 12.5% to 5%.
(iv)
Introduction of Income Tax on turnover basis for assesses engaged in
diamond manufacturing and trading who declare profits from such activities
at 8% or more of turnover.
Other facilities
extended to this sector are promotion of gems and jewellery products
through advertisements, publicity campaigns and participation in
international fairs, organizing buyer-seller meets abroad, etc. The
Government also encourages creation of training infrastructure in this
sector.
Export value of
gems and jewellery in money terms during 2004-05, 2005-06 & 2006-07 (upto
January, 2007) are as under:
Year Export Value
(in
US Million $)
2004-05
13,761.77
2005-06
15,546.58
2006-07(up to Jan,
07) 12,849.79
This was stated by the
Minister of State for Commerce, Shri Jairam Ramesh in a reply in the Rajya
Sabha today.
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16th May 2007 |
CAP ON NUMBERS OF SEZs
Vaisakha 26, 1929
New Delhi, 16th May, 2007
Only such applications
which satisfy the requirements laid down in the Special Economic Zones
Act, 2005 and the Special Economic Zones rules, 2006 and have been duly
recommended by the State Governments concerned, are considered by the
Special Economic Zones (SEZs) Board of Approval. It is not possible to
estimate the number of SEZs that would be set up in the next three years.
However, after the SEZ Act, 2005 and SEZ Rules, 2006 came into effect on
10th February, 2006, 237 formal approvals for setting up SEZs
have been granted of which 103 SEZs have been notified while 3 have been
withdrawn/cancelled.
This was stated by the
Minister of State for Commerce, Shri Jairam Ramesh in a written reply in
the Rajya Sabha today.
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16th May 2007 |
ALLOTMENT
OF LAND TO COMPANIES FOR SEZs
New Delhi:
May 16,
2007
Vaisakha 26, 1929
Land being a State
subject, decision to identify or allot land for various purposes including
Special Economic Zone (SEZ) is taken by the respective State Governments
in accordance with the policies and procedures laid down for the purpose.
Only the proposals duly recommended by the State Governments are granted
approval by the Central Government. The extent of land involved in the
234 formal approvals granted till date is about 33,808 hectares which was
already in possession of the State Governments, State Industrial
Corporations or private developers, Minister of State, Shri Jairam Ramesh
said in a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha today..
Various issues concerning
the Special Economic Zones (SEZs) policy including issues relating to land
acquisition for SEZs have been considered by the Government and it has
been decided that the State Governments would not undertake any compulsory
acquisition of land for such SEZs approved after 5th April,
2007. It has also been decided to fix the upper limit of the area
required for multi product SEZs at 5000 hectares with the provision that
the State Governments may prescribe a lower limit. Further, the Ministry
of Rural Development has been requested to reformulate a comprehensive
Land Acquisition Act to address all relevant issues and also to work out a
comprehensive Resettlement and Rehabilitation Policy ensuring livelihood
from the project to at least one person from each displaced family.
Extent of land involved
in SEZs formally approved in the case of Brandix India Apparel City
Private Ltd., Infosys Technologies, Jindal Stainless Ltd., Tata
Consultancy Services Ltd., Mahindra Gesco Developers Ltd., M/s. Reliance,
M/s. Ascendas and The Chatterjee Group is as follows:
|
Name of Developer |
Extent of land (in
hectares) |
|
Brandix India Apparel
City Private Ltd. |
404.7 (Andhra
Pradesh) |
|
Infosys Technologies |
155.99(Karnataka) &
79.8 (Maharashtra) |
|
Jindal Stainless Ltd. |
446 (Orissa) |
|
Tata Consultancy
Services Ltd. |
70.5 (Tamil Nadu) |
|
Mahindra Gesco
Developers Ltd. |
28(Maharashtra) &
49 (Rajasthan) |
|
Reliance
Infrastructure Ltd. |
1224 (Gujarat) |
|
Information
Technology Parks Limited (Ascendas) |
10.879 (Karnataka) |
|
International
Biotech
Park (Chatterjee Group
TCG Urban
Infrastructure Holdings Limited |
13 (Maharashtra)
12 (Kerala) |
This was
stated by the Minister of State for Commerce, Shri Jairam Ramesh, in a
written reply in the Rajya Sabha today.
*****
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16th May 2007 |
EXPORT OF WHEAT, RICE, PULSES, SUGAR, VEGETABLES AND FRUITS
New Delhi:
May 16,
2007
Vaisakha 26, 1929
The total export of
wheat, rice, pulses, sugar during April 2006-December 2006 is as under :-
|
Item
|
Quantity MTs |
Value Rs.
Crores |
Units
price realization
Per Kg
(FOB) |
|
Wheat |
46137 |
34.91 |
7.6 |
|
Basmati
Rice |
753938 |
1960.84 |
26 |
|
Non
Basmati Rice |
2610524 |
2942.32 |
11.3 |
|
Pulses (Dal) |
213551 |
652.08 |
30.5 |
|
Sugar |
1140549 |
2402.22 |
21.1 |
|
Vegetable |
NA |
1081.38 |
NA |
|
Fruits |
NA |
964.28 |
NA |
|
Total |
|
10038.03 |
|
The export
of Indian products including Agricultural products are governed by Foreign
Trade Policy which is formulated keeping interest of all stakeholders
including domestic consumers. Major export destination/major importing
countries for Indian agricultural products are European Union, USA, Gulf
countries, China and Japan.
This was
stated by the Minister of State for Commerce, Shri Jairam Ramesh, in a
written reply in the Rajya Sabha today.
***
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16th May 2007 |
NO INSTANCE OF FLOUTING OF SEZ GUIDELINES BY PROMOTERS
New Delhi:
May 16,
2007
Vaisakha 26, 1929
No instance of flouting of SEZ guidelines by promoters has
come to the notice of the Government so far, Minister of State for
Commerce, Shri Jairam Ramesh stated in a written reply to a question in
the Rajya Sabha today.. The empowered Group of Ministers (EGOM) at its
meeting held on 5th
April, 2007 had inter alia decided to fix the upper limit of the area
required for multi product SEZs at 5000 hectares with a provision that the
State Governments may prescribe a lower limit.
In the 234 formal approvals granted so far, none of the SEZs
has an area over 5000 hectares and therefore, the question of reviewing
permission granted in these 234 formal approvals does not arise. In cases
where in principle approvals have been granted, the developers are
required to submit proposals for formal approvals. The decision of the
EGOM would be applicable to all these cases as well as new proposals
received.
*****
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16th May 2007 |
TRADE BY EXPORT-ORIENTED
INDUSTRIAL UNITS
New
Delhi: May 16, 2007
Vaisakha 26, 1929
Total foreign exchange earned by the Export
Oriented Units (EOUs) during the year 2004-05, 2005-06 and 2006-07
(April-December) were to the extent of approximately US $ 8700 million, US
$ 11200 Million and US $ 8100 Million (provisional) respectively. The
share of EOUs in the total exports of the country was about 10.45%, 10.84%
and 9.07% during the year 2004-05, 2005-06 and 2006-07 (April-December)
respectively.
Units under export oriented scheme are
eligible for fiscal concessions which include duty free import, domestic
procurement and reimbursement of Central Sales Tax (CST) on capital goods,
raw materials, consumables for their production activities and corporate
tax exemption on export income for a period of 10 years.
This was stated by the
Minister of State for Commerce, Shri Jairam Ramesh, in a written reply in
the Rajya Sabha today.
*****
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16th May 2007 |
REVIEW OF IRON ORE EXPORT POLICY
New Delhi: May 16,
2007
Vaisakha 26, 1929
Government has not of late reviewed or revised
the iron ore exports policy, Minister of State for Commerce Shri Jairam
Ramesh informed in a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha today.
The existing iron ore exports policy
regulates and promotes judicious use of iron ore for domestic purpose and
export of surplus quantity. Production of iron ore is in excess of
current domestic demand. Besides, the surplus iron ore fines, produced
during mining as well as sizing and calibrating lumpy ore has to be
evacuated through enabling exports as there is meager demand for it by
domestic steel industry. Its accumulation would lead to curtailment of
production resulting in unemployment predominantly in tribal areas,
increased cost of production, reduction in economic activities and export
earnings in addition to causing environmental hazards, he said.
*****
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16th May 2007 |
BOA NOT CONSIDERING FRESH SEZ APPLICATIONS: JAIRAM RAMESH
New Delhi:
May 16, 2007
Board of Approvals (BOA) for SEZs is not considering fresh
SEZ applications, Shri Jairam Ramesh, Minister of State for Commerce, said
in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha today. All applications including
applications for conversion from in-principle to formal approvals, duly
recommended by the state government concerned, are considered by the
BOA. The BOA meeting held on 9th
May, 2007 considered applications for conversion of in-principle approval
to formal approval. No such request for conversion was pending from
Andhra Pradesh.
After the Special Economic Zones Act 2005 came into effect
on 10th February, 2006,
237 formal approvals were granted for setting up SEZs, of which, three
have been withdrawn/cancelled. The land involved in the 234 valid formal
approvals is about 33,800 hectares, he said.
***********
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16th May 2007 |
EXPORT OF INDIAN MANGOES
TO JAPAN AND USA: VAPOUR TREATMENT PLANTS BEING SET UP IN ANDHRA PRADESH,
SAYS JAIRAM RAMESH
New Delhi:
May 16, 2007
Two vapour heat treatment plants for mangoes are being set up in
Andhra Pradesh at Nuzwid and Tirupati by the AP Industrial Development
Corporation Limited, Shri Jairam Ramesh, Minister of State for Commerce,
said in reply to a Unstarred Question in the Rajya Sabha today.
Import of Indian mangoes in US & Japan was not permitted citing
the presence of fruit flies and stone weevil. Now both Japan & USA have
lifted the ban provided the mangoes are given vapour heat treatment (for
Japan) or irradiated (for USA), he said.
**********
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16th May 2007 |
EXPORT TARGET OF $ 160
BILLION FOR 2007-08 WITH THRUST ON EXPORTS FROM
RURAL & SEMI-URBAN AREA: JAIRAM RAMESH
New Delhi:
May 16, 2007
Government have set an export target of US $ 160 billion for the
current year 2007-08 with major thrust on exports from rural and
semi-urban areas, Shri Jairam Ramesh, Minister of
State for Commerce, said to a Unstarred Question in the Rajya Sabha today.
The
Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) as updated on 19/4/07 only aims at stimulating
greater economic activity and employment generation in the rural and
semi-urban areas by incentivising exports from these sectors by way of
rewards schemes like Vishesh Krishi & Gram Udyog Yojana, Focus Market
Scheme and Focus Product Scheme. The details of these schemes are
available in the Foreign Trade Policy and on DGFT website viz.,
http://www.dgft.gov.in It is not likely to affect availability of agro
products in the domestic market or lead to upsurge in their prices.
**********
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16th May 2007 |
KVIC
GIVEN EPC STATUS: JAIRAM RAMESH
New Delhi:
May 16, 2007
Khadi & Village Industries Commission (KVIC) was granted deemed Export
Promotion Council status on 11/12/2006. This would enable KVIC to take
various initiatives for export promotion. Increase in KVIC’s exports
would create additional employment opportunities for women and the rural
poor. This was stated by Shri Jairam Ramesh, Minister of State for
Commerce, in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha today.
***********
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16th May 2007 |
New Delhi:
May 16, 2007
India’s
Manufacturing Sector, which has a near 80% weightage in the country’s
Industrial Production, has shown an impressive performance with a
record growth of 14.1% in March 2007 as compared to a growth of 10.1% in
March 2006, which is the highest manufacturing growth in over a
decade. The manufacturing growth rate has also doubled in 5 years – from
6% in 2002-03 to a record 12.3% in 2006-07. “This augurs well for the
11th Plan, which envisages a growth of 12% for the
Manufacturing Sector”, Shri Kamal Nath, Union Minister of commerce &
Industry, has said.
As per the
Quick Estimates of Industrial Production released by the Central
Statistical Organization, India’s industrial production registered a high
growth of 12.9% in March 2007, as compared to 8.9% in March 2006.
Industrial growth during the financial year 2006-07 (April 2006 to March
2007) went up by 11.3% as compared to 8.2% registered in the previous
year. This is the highest growth of the industrial sector since 1995-96.
The industries
which have shown an excellent performance in March 2007 include ‘Wood
and Wood Products; Furniture and Fixtures’ (113.9%), ‘Metal Products and
Parts, except Machinery and Equipment’ (47.5%), ‘Food Products’ (23.7%),
‘Basic Metal and Alloy Industries’ (23.3%) and ‘Cotton Textiles’ (21.2%).
Among the use-base economic sub-groups, Consumer Non-Durables have
registered an impressive growth of 18.5% during March 2007 over March
2006. The Intermediate Goods and Capital Goods have also recorded a high
growth of 13.3% and 13.2%, respectively.
Mining and Quarrying
Sector has shown a growth of 6.2%, while the Electricity Sector has
registered a growth of 7.9% during March 2007 compared to March 2006.
FDI
FDI equity inflow
during the financial year 2006-07 at nearly US $ 16 billion (US $ 15.7
billion) has been 2.8 times more than the inflow (US$5.5 billion) received
during the previous year.
This is the highest FDI equity inflow into the country during any
financial year since the commencement of economic reforms. FDI equity
inflow in the month of March 2007 was US$3.8 billion which is the highest
inflow received so far in a single month.
TOP INVESTING
COUNTRIES
Major investment (US$
6,363 million – or $ 6.3 billion) during the financial year 2006-07 came
from Mauritius. U.K., U.S.A., Netherlands & Singapore are the other major
countries from where inflows have been received. These five countries
together have contributed 83% of the total FDI equity inflows during
2006-07 as compared to 67% in 2005-06.
Mauritius accounts for 51% in the total FDI inflows during the year
2006-07 compared to 46.4% in 2005-06. Contribution of U.K. has been 15%
in 2006-07 compared to 4.8% in 2005-06. USA has invested 7% during
2006-07 compared to 9.1% in 2005-06. Both, the Netherlands and Singapore
have contributed 5% each during 2006-07 compared to 1.4% and 5%,
respectively, in the previous year.
MAJOR SECTORS
RECEIVING INFLOWS AND TOP INFLOWS
The five sectors which
have attracted highest FDI into India during 2006-07 are Services,
Electrical Equipments (including computer software & electronics),
Construction Activities, Telecommunications and Real Estate. The
Construction and Rear Estate Sectors have together received US$ 1.45
billion during the year 2006-07 which is about 12% compared to 3.4% of the
total FDI inflows received during the year 2005-06. The Services sector
has received 38% during the year 2006-07 compared to 10.5% in the previous
year. The
share of the Electrical Equipment sector has been 22% in the year 2006-07
compared to 26.1% in 2005-06 and the Telecommunication sector has received
4% in 2006-07 compared to 12.2% in 2005-06.
RBI’s MUMBAI REGION
LEADS
The
Mumbai Regional Office of RBI registered inflows of US$ 3,599 million
amounting to about 29% of the total inflows received during 2006-07.
New Delhi, Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad are the other major RBI’s
Regions which have received FDI inflows during the same period.
**************
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16th May 2007 |
REOPENING
OF TEA GARDENS
STATEMENT OF JAIRAM RAMESH ON THE REOPENING OF SURENDRANAGAR TEA
GARDEN IN WEST BENGAL
New Delhi:
16th
May, 2007
Shri Jairam
Ramesh, Minister of State for Commerce, has today issued the following
statement concerning the proposed reopening of the Surendranagar Tea
Garden in West Bengal:
“On
May 11th, I had organised a meeting at the Tea Board, Kolkata
to discuss the reopening of the 14 closed tea gardens in West Bengal. I
had invited tea garden owners, trade unions, banks and state government
officials to the meeting and they all participated. The West Bengal
Labour Minister Shri Mrinal Bandyopadhyay was also present. A copy of
the record of discussions is attached. I met the West
Bengal Chief Minister later that day to brief him on the meeting.
At the May
11th meeting, I had been able secure specific dates for the
reopening of 5 of the 14 closed tea gardens. Shri Robin Paul owner of
the Surendranagar Tea Estate had made a firm commitment to reopen on May
17th. Shri Paul’s statement to this effect had been supported
by INTUC but had been opposed by CITU. I realized immediately that the
owner is controversial but took him at his word. I announced that I
would myself be present in Jalpaiguri on May 17th when the
first step to reopen Surendranagar Tea Estate would be taken.
Simultaneously, I had assured CITU that the state government would
undertake an inquiry on the allegations made by CITU. The inquiry would
be undertaken by Shri S.K.Das, the state Labour Secretary who was
present at the meeting. I had then met with CITU and persuaded them to
come with me for the symbolic reopening of Surendranagar on May 17th.
On May 14th,
the Chairman, Tea Board contacted the State Labour Secretary and Home
Secretary over telephone and discussed details of my visit to Jalpaiguri
in order to finalize the arrangements. I was to reach Jalpaiguri around
11am on May 17th. All arrangements had been made but at 1730
hours on May 15th, I was informed by the Chairman Tea Board
that the Chief Secretary of West Bengal had called him over telephone
and requested that I postpone my visit to Jalpaiguri on May 17th.
The Chief Secretary said that the state government apprehends trouble
and that the presence of the owner along with me there could create law
and order problems. In deference to this request from the state
government conveyed through Shri Amit Kiran Dev, I have accordingly put
off my visit to Jalpaiguri for the reopening of Surendranagar Tea Estate
for the time-being.
I have no
sympathy with nor do I support in any way the current owners of the
closed tea gardens. My one and only concern is with the concern
of tea garden workers and their families. I will continue in my efforts
to reopen the closed tea gardens in West Bengal. I have asked the
Chairman Tea Board to continue the dialogue with the owners and trade
union leaders that I had initiated on May 11th. I am still hopeful of
some re-openings taking place. I appeal to the trade unions to cooperate
with me and with each other as well in these efforts”.
Record note of
discussions held during the meeting taken up by Shri. Jairam Ramesh,
Minister of State for Commerce, in Tea Board, Kolkata on 11th
May 2007 regarding the revival of closed tea gardens in West Bengal.
- List
of participants in annexed.
-
Chairman, Tea Board
welcomed the Minister of State for Commerce, Minister in charge, Labour
Department, Govt. of West Bengal, MOS for PWD Govt. of West Bengal, Labour
Secretary, Govt. of West Bengal, District Magistrates of Jalpaiguri and
Darjeeling districts, owners/ representatives of closed tea gardens,
bankers and the trade union representatives and other officials. In his
opening remarks, he mentioned that with the active involvement of the
Minister of State for commerce, a series of discussions have been held
with all the stakeholders in Kerala and this exercise has yielded results
and having witnessed positive developments towards opening of the closed
tea gardens, a similar meeting has been convened for West Bengal as well.
-
MOS for Commerce mentioned
that several efforts have been made by the Central Government towards
re-opening of the closed tea gardens. As per the records of Tea Board, 33
closed tea gardens remain closed as on date of which 14 were in West
Bengal, 17 in Kerala and 2 in Assam. The initiatives taken in Kerala in
collaboration with the Government of Kerala had resulted in opening of one
tea garden on 7th April 07, and nine more are slated to open
on 27th May 07. The Government of Kerala have also taken up a
variety of relief measures.
-
The MOS mentioned that
Govt. of India is in the process of developing a rehabilitation financial
package which envisages restructuring of the outstanding Bank loans,
waiver of Tea Board loans and the penal charges towards PF dues,
providing fresh working capital from Banks and term loan facilities
under the Special Purpose Tea Fund from Tea Board,
-
The Minister for Labour,
Govt. of West Bengal, lauded the initiatives taken by the MOS and
expressed that his endeavors were bound to yield positive results. He had
appreciated the fact that while the rehabilitation package envisaged some
sacrifices from owners, Govt and Banks, it had spared the workers who
have suffered the most due to closure of the gardens. He mentioned that
under the FAWLOI [Financial Assistance to the Workers of Lock out
Industries] scheme, the State Government has been providing financial
relief to the workers in the closed tea gardens @Rs.750 per month/worker
besides extending various other relief measures.
-
It was noticed that out of
14 closed tea gardens, the owners/representatives of the following three
gardens were not present;
-
Ramjhora Tea Estate*
-
Katalguri Tea Estate*
-
Dheklapara Tea Estate
*It was informed
that the land lease in respect of these two tea gardens has been
terminated by the State Government.
-
A review was made in
respect of the remaining 11 closed tea gardens with the participation of
owners/representatives, banks and the concerned trade union
representatives present in the meeting. The conclusions reached after
in-depth discussions in respect of each tea garden were as under:
1 & 2 : Samsing, Bamandonga
and Tondoo Tea estates.
The owner of these gardens
Shri Sajjan Agarwal was not present. He was represented by his executives.
They pointed out that they were keen to reopen the gardens and towards this
end they have already commenced dialogue with their Banker – Allahabad Bank
[for restructuring the outstanding liabilities] PF authorities and the
workers. According to them excessive labour was one of the major problems
faced by them. For instance in the Samsing Tea estate, out of the
total strength of 2500 workers, 1000 were found be excessive. In the case of
Bamandonga and Tondoo Tea estates Gird power supply needs to be restored.
The Executive Director of
Allahabad Bank informed that 80% of the company’s dues have been sacrificed
by the bank in its offer for restructuring the same.
The representatives have
indicated that the possibilities of reopening the gardens have brightened
mainly owing to the sympathetic considerations by the Bank, PF authorities
and workers unions. They would, therefore, endeavor to reopen the gardens
as early as possible. To the suggestion of MOS to work out the critical
milestones and indicate firm date for reopening the gardens, it was agreed
to by the company representatives that both the gardens will be re-opened
on 29th June 2007 and they requested the MOS to inaugurate the
re-opening ceremony.
3: Cinchula Tea Estate:
The owners have indicated
that they were unsuccessful in their effort to get their compromise proposal
accepted by the Bank of Baroda towards restructuring the outstanding
loan. The Officers of Bank of Baroda have indicated that they will
reconsider the case if the company approach them with a fresh proposal.
Accordingly the owners were advised to submit a fresh proposal within one
week.
4. Sikarpur and Bandapur Tea
Estates:
The owners have indicated
that they were not in a position to run the garden and therefore decided to
dispose of it. They will be approaching their Banker- United Bank of
India(UBI) to consider extending some time limit for liquidating the
outstanding dues by the new buyer of the garden. The Officers of UBI have
indicated that they will consider the proposal favorably. Accordingly the
owners have been advised to submit the proposal within one week.
5. Barnobari Tea Estate
The owner of the garden
indicated that he was not in a position to run the garden due to huge loss
suffered by him. He has found a new buyer who was willing to go in for one
time settlement of the outstanding dues with the Allahabd Bank. If proposed
rehabilitation package was made available to him, he might also opt for
running the garden by himself.
In view of complaints of
mismanagement of funds and serious concerns expressed by the State
Government Officials as well as trade union representatives about the
credibility of the owner, the owner was advised to dispose of the garden to
the new owner. The District Magistrate of Jalpaiguri was asked to make an
inquiry on the allegations and submit a report. The Allahabad Bank, was
asked to examine the proposal for disposal of the garden.
6 & 7 . Kalchini and
Raimatong.
Shri R.K. Kanoi, the owner
of the gardens was not present. His officials represented him. They have
indicated that although their employer was keen on reopening the gardens, he
was constrained by the liquidation proceedings initiated by one of the
creditors. They have been advised to submit suitable representation to
Court about the plight of the workers due to closure of the gardens and
proceed with the reopening the gardens. The officials of the company have
indicated that they proposed to reopen the gardens tentatively by 15th July
2007.
The officials of Bank of
Baroda have indicated that they will consider restructuring the outstanding
dues, if the company came forward with firm proposals.
-
& 9. Surendranagar Tea
Estate & Red Bank Tea Estate
Shri Robin Paul, the owner
of the estates indicated that the Red Bank Tea Estate was under liquidation
process and he has made an appeal to the court and the court hearing on his
appeal is scheduled on 14th May 2007. He further indicated that
his Banker- UBI has restructured the liabilities pertaining to Surendranagar
Tea Estate and therefore propose to take over the management immediately.
Certain conflicting remarks were made by the trade unions operating in the
gardens – CITU having major role in Red Bank Tea Estate and INTUC in the
case of Surendranagar Tea Estate. After detailed deliberations, Shri Robin
Paul stated that he would re-open the garden on 17th May, 07. The
Labour secretary was requested to convene a conciliation meeting to resolve
the disputes between the owner and the operating workers unions.
-
Chamruchi Tea Estate:
The owner of the garden
indicated that, because of her family circumstances, she was not in a
position run the garden and on the look out for a prospective buyer to
take over her garden. She said that her property is attached with the
Allahabad Bank and requested the Bank authorities to take steps to sell of
the garden and liquidate the outstanding dues at the earliest. The bank
officials have indicated that they will be in apposition to locate a buyer
very soon.
11.
Raipur Tea Estate:
The owner of the garden
indicated that he was not in a position to run the garden due to his
physical ailments. He has found a buyer and will be transferring the
ownership rights soon after the hearing on his arbitration case is
completed. He indicated that the next hearing is expected to take place
during the third week of June 07. The prospective buyer who happens to be
the grand son of the original owner of the garden, indicated that he was
very much willing to take over the garden as soon as the sale formalities
are completed.
8.
Chairman Tea Board suggested that a review needs to be made
on the functioning of OMCs (Operational Management Committee) in some of the
closed tea gardens. Labour Secretary, Govt. of West Bengal, indicated that
the OMCs are functioning only in such of the closed tea gardens which have
been abandoned by the owners. His department has since issued certain
guidelines to ensure transparency in the revenue transactions being handled
by the OMCs. However, he has agreed to take a fresh review on the OMCs.
Action Plan
|
Sl. No |
Name of the Tea Garden |
Proposed Action |
Action to be followed by |
|
1 |
1.Samsing,
PO: Mateli
PS: Mateli
2.Bamandonga and
Tondoo Tea estates
PO: Nagrakata
PS: Nagrakata
|
Gardens to be Re-opened on
29th June 2007 |
1.
Allahabad Bank to restructure the outstanding loans
2.
State Govt. to restore power supply to Bamandonga T.E
3.
Tea Board to co-ordinate between Bank and State Government.
4.
MOS to be invited for inauguration of the re-opening ceremony on 29th
June. |
|
2 |
3.Cinchula Tea Estate
PO: Kalchini
PS: Kalchini
|
A fresh proposal to be submitted to Bank of Baroda for restructuring
the outstanding bank dues |
5.
The
owners to approach the Bank within one week
6.
Tea
Board to co-ordinate between the Bank and the owners in resolving the
pending compromise proposal. |
|
3 |
4.Sikarpur and
Bandapur Tea Estates
PO:
Jalpaiguri
PS: Jalpaiguri
|
A fresh proposal to be submitted to United Bank of India for
restructuring the outstanding bank dues |
7.
The
owners to approach the Bank within one week
8.
Tea
Board to co-ordinate between the Bank and the owners in disposing the
garden to a new owner |
|
4 |
5.Bharnobari Tea
Estate
PO: Hasimara
PS: Jaigaon
|
A fresh proposal to be submitted to Allahabad Bank for considering
onetime settlement of outstanding bank dues |
9.
The
owners to approach the Bank within one week along with the new owner
for striking one time settlement
10.
DM
Jalpaiguri to conduct an enquiry as to the financial mismanagement
of the owner as alleged by the trade unions. |
|
5 |
6.Kalchini and
7.Raimatong.
PO: Kalchini
PS: Kalchini
|
Gardens to be Re-opened on
15th July 2007 |
11.
Owners
to make an appeal to the court and arrange for reopening the gardens
as agreed in the meeting.
12.
The
owners to approach the Bank of Baroda for restructuring the
outstanding loans.
13.
Tea
Board to co-ordinate between the owners and the Bank of Baroda. |
|
6 |
8.Surendranagar Tea
Estate &
9. Red Bank Tea
Estate
PO: Banarhat
PS: Banarhat |
Surendra Nagar Tea Estate to be Re-opened on
17th May 2007 |
14.
MOS to
attend the re-opening ceremony on 17th May 2007
15.
Secretary, Labour, Govt. of West Bengal to convene a conciliation
meeting with the owner and the operating trade unions. |
|
7 |
10.Chamruchi Tea
Estate
PO: Banarhat
PS: Banarhat
|
The garden to be sold |
16.
Allahabad Bank to take necessary steps to sell the garden.
17.
Tea
Board to co-ordinate between the owners and the Allahabad Bank
|
|
8 |
11.Raipur Tea Estate
PO:
Jalpaiguri
PS:
Jalpaiguri |
The garden to be sold |
18.
The
owner to transfer the ownership rights to the new owner soon after the
court hearing scheduled to be held during June is over. |
PO: Post office; PS :
Police Station
Annexure-1
Members Present in the
Meeting with Shri Jairam Ramesh, Minister of State for Commerce on 11th
May, 2007 in Kolkata
|
Sl.No. |
Name of Organization |
Name |
|
1. |
WB CMS/HMS |
Subhas Basu |
|
2. |
NUPW/INTUC |
Provat Mukherjee |
|
3. |
NUPW/Member Tea Board |
Aloke Chakravorty |
|
4. |
NUPW/INTUC |
Mani Kr. Darnal |
|
5. |
Allahabad Bank |
S.K.Goel |
|
6. |
Allahabad Bank |
Dr. Deepak Palit |
|
7. |
Allahabad Bank |
A.B. Bhattacharya |
|
8. |
United Bank of India |
P.K. Gupta, CMD |
|
9. |
United Bank of India |
A. Banerjee, GM (G) |
|
10. |
Red Bank T.E. &
Sundernagar T.E. |
Robin Paul |
|
11. |
Chamurchi |
Sushila Kejriwal,
Director |
|
12. |
Talbot |
Vishal Sharma, Project
Executive |
|
13. |
Chamurchi T.E. |
A. Barua |
|
14. |
Sikarpur Bhandarpur
|
A.K. Kanoi |
|
15. |
- do - |
B.K. Kanoi , Director |
|
16. |
Kalchini & Raimatang
T.E. |
N.K. Chatterjee,
Sr.General Manager |
|
17. |
Kalchini & Raimatang
T.E |
P. Tiwari, PCA |
|
18. |
Commerce & Industries
Dept.,Govt. of W.B |
B.K. Das |
|
19. |
Commerce & Industries
Dept.,Govt. of W.B |
Dr. Jiban Chakrabarti |
|
20. |
D.M. Darjeeling |
Rajesh Pandey |
|
21. |
D.M., Jalpaiguri |
R. Ranjit |
|
22. |
Labour Department |
Subesh Das |
|
23. |
Anjuman Tea Co.Ltd. |
D.N. Kanoi |
|
24. |
Garden Mujnai |
|
|
25. |
Samsing Plantations |
S.K. Seksaria |
|
26. |
Tondoo Tea Co.(P)Ltd. |
A.K. Sengupta |
|
27. |
D.C.B.W.O. (UTUC) |
Rana Sen |
|
28. |
West Bengal Cha Sramik
Union& Convenor, Co-ordination Committee |
Chitta Dey |
|
29.
|
Duars Cha Bagan
Workers Union (UTUC) |
Manohar Tirkey |
|
|
|
|
|
Sl.No. |
Name of Organization |
Name |
|
30. |
Amritpur Tea Co.Ltd. |
Somnath Banerji |
|
31. |
CBMU, WB (CITU) |
Ziaul Alam |
|
32. |
West Bengal Cha Sramik
Union |
Kalyan Roy |
|
33.
|
Rashtriya Cha Mazdur
Congress (NFITU) |
Kalipada Guha |
|
34. |
Raipur T.E. |
Tilak Prasad Ray |
|
35. |
Defence Committee for
Plantation Workers Right
West Bengal Cha
Mazdoor Sabha
Hind Mazdoor Sabha |
Samiir Roy |
|
36. |
Shikapur |
Nimish Kanoi |
|
37. |
D.C.B.W.U.(U.T.U.C) |
Binoy Chakrabarti |
|
38. |
T.E.A. of WB (CITU) |
Satyaban Gupta |
|
39. |
Whitecliff Tea Pvt.
Ltd. |
B.B. Sengupta |
|
40. |
United Bank of India |
S.S. Baswan, CM |
|
41. |
Anjuman Tea Co.Ltd. |
H.P. Chakraborty |
|
42. |
Anjuman Tea Co. Ltd. |
N.N. Chakraborty |
|
43. |
Bharnobari Tea |
Arvind Poddar |
*******************
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15th May 2007 |
SIMPLIFICATION OF PROCEDURES FOR EXPORT
OF AGRICULTURAL PRODUCE UNDERWAY
New Delhi:
Vaisakha 25,1928
May 15, 2007
Simplification of procedures for
the export of agricultural commodities including reduction in agencies and
clearances required are considered by the Government wherever possible
keeping in view the domestic regulations and the requirements of the
importing countries. As part of this exercise streamlining and
simplification of documentation and regulatory clearances for perishable
agricultural produce is under way. This was stated by the Minster of State
for Commerce & Industry, Shri Jairam Ramesh in a written reply in Lok
Sabha today.
A Number of clearances are required for export
of agricultural commodities. These depend upon the commodity to be
exported, the domestic regulations and the requirements of the importing
countries. For instance, export of mango to Japan requires Vapour Heat
Treatment of the fruit while for export to the United States of America
irradiation is essential. For export of groundnuts an export certificate
from APEDA is required. Pre shipment inspection is essential for export of
meat. These are amongst the other requirements that have to be met for
these commodities.
As part of its ongoing programme for
development of infrastructure to facilitate export of agricultural produce
the Agriculture and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA)
has set up Centers for Perishable Cargo (CPCs) to maintain cold chain at
international airports at Delhi, Hyderabad, Chennai, Bangalore, Trivandrum
and Mumbai. Provision of such facilities at airports in Cochin, Bagdogra,
Kolkatta, Goa, Nashik and at Haldia seaport has been taken up.
*****
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15th May 2007 |
MERGER OF MMTC, STC AND PEC
New
Delhi: May 15, 2007
Vaisakha 25, 1929
A consultant firm was engaged to carry out a
study to assess the role of MMTC Ltd., STC Ltd. and PEC Ltd. in the
liberalized Indian economy and to recommend the business model and the
processes these organizations should adopt and the structural changes, if
any, required to adopt the recommended business model and processes for
their long-term sustainability and growth. The consultant firm has, among
others, recommended the merger of these organizations.
MMTC Ltd., STC Ltd. and PEC Ltd. have been
asked by the Government to consult the employees for their feedback on the
recommendations of the consultant firm.
There is no decision of the Government as
yet on the issue of merger of these organisations.
This was stated by the
Minister of State for Commerce , Shri Jairam Ramesh, in a written reply in
the Lok Sabha today.
*****
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15th May 2007 |
IMPORT OF CEMENT
New
Delhi: May 15, 2007
Vaisakha 25, 1929
The import of Cement is under Open General
License (OGL) and anyone can import the requisite quantity provided it
conforms to the BIS standards. In order to augment domestic availability
of cement, the import duty on cement was brought down to Nil from 12.5% as
on 21st January, 2007. The Government in its Budget
announcement, has also introduced a dual excise duty structure on cement
(excise duty of Rs.600 per metric tonne (PMT) of cement with MRP more than
Rs.190 per bag and excise duty of Rs.300 PMT on cement with MRP of Rs.190
or less per bag.
In addition to the above, the Ministry of
Finance has removed the countervailing duty (equivalent to the excise duty
and special additional custom duty of 4% on cement w.e.f. 3rd
April, 2007). The importers have to adhere to the Cement (Quality Control)
Order, 2003, which provides for mandatory BIS Certification.
This was stated by the
Minister of State for Commerce , Shri Jairam Ramesh, in a written reply in
the Lok Sabha today.
*****
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15th May 2007 |
DUTY FREE ACCESS TO NEIGHBOURING COUNTRIES
New
Delhi: May 15, 2007
Vaisakha 25, 1929
During the Fourteenth SAARC Summit held
in New Delhi on 3-4 April, 2007, India announced its decision to allow
duty free access to India to the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) of
SAARC which are signatories of the Agreement on South Asian Free Trade
Area (SAFTA), before the end of this year.
These LDC countries are Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives and Nepal.
Afghanistan, which was inducted as a member of SAARC during the Fourteenth
SAARC Summit would also be an LDC and signatory of SAFTA after completing
the required formalities. In terms of the phased Trade Liberalization
Programme (TLP) of SAFTA, which has become operational from 1st
July 2006, India as a Non-Least Developed Country (NLDC) of SAARC and
signatory of SAFTA, had already decided to reduce tariffs to zero percent
for SAARC LDCs, except on the items kept in the Sensitive List, by
31.12.2008.
With the present decision India would complete SAFTA TLP for LDCs one
year in advance. India has already been giving market access to Nepal and
Bhutan as per the bilateral Trade agreements signed with these countries.
Except Bangladesh the export potential of Maldives and Afghanistan, which
has become new member of SAARC is not significant. Further, SAFTA tariff
concessions for LDCs would exclude those items kept in the Sensitive List
of India under SAFTA. The present decision is therefore not likely to have
any serious impact on Indian industry and trade.
This was stated by the Minister of State for Commerce,
Shri Jairam Ramesh, in a written reply in the Lok Sabha today.
*****
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15th May 2007 |
EXPORT OF INDIAN MANGOES
New
Delhi: May 15, 2007
Vaisakha 25, 1929
The United States of America (USA) has
allowed the import of Indian mangoes irradiated at 400 Gy dose to mitigate
mango stone weevil. The irradiation facility was approved on April 26,
2007 by United States-Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
(US-APHIS). The first consignment of mangoes was dispatched to the United
States on April 27, 2007. There was accordingly no export of mangoes to
USA in last 3 financial years.
Opening up of the US market for Indian
mangoes affords greater opportunities for the Indian mango growers.
Agricultural and Processed Food Products
Export Development Authority (APEDA) has initiated various measures to
increase export of mangoes to the USA. These include :
i.
Organisation of a Mango
Promotion Campaign, in USA in June, 2007, interaction between importers
and exporters, dissemination of information and promotion of Indian
mangoes through participation in various exhibitions in USA.
ii.
Upgradation of irradiation
facility of Lasalgaon, Nasik.
iii.
Preparation and
dissemination of Standard Operation Procedure documents (SOP’s) for
irradiation facility for treatment of mangoes.
iv.
Preparation and
dissemination SOP’s for pack houses for backward and forward linkages.
v. Imparting trainings to the identified orchards
at par to the Eurepgap standard for acceptance
of the fruits
for exports to the US.
vi. Develop guidelines based on the
protocol agreed between the two
countries.
This was stated by the Minister of State for Commerce,
Shri Jairam Ramesh, in a written reply in the Lok Sabha today.
*****
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15th May 2007 |
New Delhi:
May 15, 2007
Duty Free Credit Entitlement (DFCE) Scheme for status holders was started
from 1/4/2003. The scheme was limited to Status Holders who had exports
of at least Rs.25 crore in 2003-04 and incremental growth of 25%. The
scheme was tightened, modified and renamed as Target Plus Scheme in
September 2004. Target Plus Scheme was designed with objective to
reward incremental growth in exports. Status Holders contribute more
than 60% to India’s export efforts and to achieve substantial higher
exports, fillip to these exporters was granted by Target Plus Scheme. As
on 30/4/2007, out of 1923 applications received, 897 claims have been
disbursed by grant of duty credits of Rs.4725 crore, 229 applications have
been rejected wherein claim amount was Rs.574.63 crore.
Applications complete in all respects received till 31/3/2007 have been
considered by Zonal Committee and decided. A total of 797 applications,
where the claim amount is Rs.3792.10 crore, were found deficient and
incomplete.
Government has modified Target Plus Scheme for exports during 2005-06 by
providing duty credit benefits at 5% of incremental exports, removing
petroleum, cereals, ores, sugar and gems & jewellery from purview of the
scheme, and by lowering eligibility criteria to Rs.5 crore from Rs.10
crore. After being in operation for exports during 2004-05 and 2005-06,
Target Plus Scheme has been abolished for exports from 1/4/2006 onwards.
This was indicated by Shri Kamal Nath, Union Minister of Commerce &
Industry, in the Lok Sabha today.
**********
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15th May 2007 |
New Delhi:
May 15, 2007
The ban imposed on import of rice by Russia recently with effect
from 1/5/2007 is violative of the Protocol signed in February 2007 and the
Government of India is taking up the matter with the Russian
authorities. This was stated by Shri Jairam Ramesh, Minister of State
for Commerce, in a written reply in the Lok Sabha today.
The Russian Agency on Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance (ROSSELKHOZNADZOR)
issued a notification on 27 April, 2007 imposing a ban on import of rice
from India to Russia due to the purported detection of pesticides. The
Russian side has started the cause as detection of demethoate, which is
not admissible under Russian regulations.
Earlier, on 4/12/2006, Russian Agency on Veterinary & Phytosanitary
Surveillance (ROSSELKHOZNADZOR) issued a press release announcing a
suspension on import of rice from Thailand, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, USA
including India due to the purported detection of pesticides. As a
result of efforts made by the Government of India to revoke the announced
suspension, a delegation from the Federal Service for Veterinary and
Phytosanitary Surveillance of the Russian Federation (FSVPSRF) visited
India during 19th to 24th February, 2007. At the
end of the visit, a protocol was negotiated which has now been signed by
both the sides, the Minister added.
Details of export of rice from India to Russia
during the last three years are:
2003-04
2004-05 2005-06
Qty: MTs Value in
Qty: MTs Value in Qty: MTs Value in
Rs. Lakhs
Rs. Lakhs Rs. Lakhs
Basmati 206.73 76.65
94.42 38.96 179.20 70.96
Non-basmati 74952.40 5572.59 3769.02
458.63 24776.34 2805.54
Total 75159.13 5649.24
3863.44 497.59 24955.54 2876.50
(Source: DGCI&S)
***************
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9th May 2007 |
BOARD OF
APPROVAL FOR SPECIAL ECONOMIC ZONES MEETS
New Delhi:
May 9, 2007
The Board of Approval (BoA)
for Special Economic Zones (SEZs) met here today to consider proposals
for conversion of in-principle approval to formal approval.
Out of the 23 proposals
for conversion of in principle approval to formal approval considered,
the Board granted formal approval in 16 cases. Prominent among these
are:
1.
Suzlon
Infrastructure Limited for High tech Engineering products and related
services with an area of 115.73 hectares in Vadodara, Gujarat and for a port based high-tech engineering products and related services
with an area of 175 hectares in Karnataka.
2.
IT/ITES
SEZ in Orissa by M/s DLF Limited over an area of 22 hectares.
3.
Sector
specific SEZ for Aluminium SEZ by M/s Vedanta Alumina Limited in Orissa.
4.
Two
proposals of New Chennai Township Private Limited in Tamil Nadu for
Engineering sector with an area of 126.26 hectares and for Multi services
with an area of 121.41 hectares.
5.
A
Multiproduct SEZ by Tamil Nadu Industrial Developer Corporation Limited in
Ennore, Tamil Nadu over an area of 1214 hectares.
6.
A
Multiproduct SEZ by Tamil Nadu Industrial Developer Corporation Limited in
Nangunneri, Tamil Nadu over an area of 1020 hectares
7.
IT/ITES
SEZ to be developed by Unitech High tech structures Limited in 24
Parganas, West Bengal, over an area of 19.58 hectares.
8.
IT/ITES
SEZ to be developed by M/s Enfield Infrastructure Limited near Rajarhat,
West Bengal over an area of 20 hectares
9.
Biotech SEZ to be developed by M/s Enfield Realtors Limited in Burdwan
District of West Bengal over an area of 10 hectares
List of Formal Approvals granted in the SEZ
Board of Approval
meeting held on 9th May, 2007
HECTARES
|
1.
|
B.A. Tech
Park Pvt. Ltd., |
Thumbe
village, Bantwal Taluk, Karnataka. |
IT/ITES |
12.02 |
|
2.
|
DLF |
Bhubaneshwar, Paradip Road, Paradip, Orissa |
IT/ITES |
22 |
|
3.
|
Enfield
Infrastructure Limited |
Chandpur
Champagachi, near Rajarhat (24 pgns. North), West Bengal |
IT/ITES |
20 |
|
4.
|
Enfield
Realtors Limited |
Kanksha,
Panagarh, Distt- Burdwan, West Bengal |
Biotechnology |
10 |
|
5.
|
J.Matadee
Eco Parks Pvt. Ltd |
Mannur
Village, Sriperembdur Taluk, Kancheepuram Distt., Tamil Nadu |
FTWZ |
40 |
|
6.
|
Jayant Oil
and Derivatives Limited |
Taluka
Vagra, District Bharuch, Gujarat |
Chemicals |
122
|
|
7.
|
N.G.
Realty Pvt.Ltd. |
Village
Rajoda, District Ahmedabad, Gujarat |
Industrial
Machinery and Ancillaries |
230 |
|
8.
|
New
Chennai Township Private Limited |
Seekinakuppam Village, Cheyyur Taluk, Kancheepuram District, Tamil
Nadu. |
Engineering |
126.26 |
|
9.
|
New
Chennai Township Private Limited |
Seekinakuppam Village, Cheyyur Taluk, Kancheepuram District, Tamil
Nadu. |
Multi
services |
121.41 |
|
10.
|
Suzlon
Infrastructure Ltd |
Vadodara,
Gujarat |
Hightech
Engineering products and related Services |
115.73 |
|
11.
|
Suzlon
Infrastructure Ltd. |
Near
Mangalore Port, Karnataka |
Port-Based
for Hi-tech engineering products and related services |
486 |
|
12.
|
Tamil Nadu
Industrial Development Corporation Limited (TIDCO) |
Nanguneri
Taluk, Tirunelvel, Tamil Nadu |
Multi
Product |
1020 |
|
13.
|
TIDCO |
Ennore,
Tiruvallur, Tamil Nadu |
Multi
Product |
1214 |
|
14.
|
Unitech
Hi-tech Structures Limited, |
Rajarhat
Dist. North 24 Parganas, Kolkata, West Bengal |
IT/ITES |
19.58 |
|
15.
|
Vedanta
Alumina Ltd |
Distt
Jharsuguda, Orissa |
Aluminium |
242.81 |
|
16.
|
Velankanni
Information System Pvt. Ltd |
Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu |
IT/ITES |
61 |
****
SB/NR/MRS
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4th May 2007 |
KAMAL NATH WARNS AGAINST CONDITIONALITIES TO DEVELOPMENT DIMENSION IN
DOHA ROUND OF WTO NEGOTIATIONS – SAYS SPs AND SSM NECESSARY SAFETY NETS
TO PROTECT FARMERS – STRESSES LIKELY DISASTROUS IMPACT OF UNRESTRAINED
TARIFF LIBERALISATION ON INDUSTRIAL ECONOMY
COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY MINISTER ADDRESSES OXFORD UNIVERSITY
ON FUTURE OF WORLD TRADE TALKS
New Delhi:
May 04, 2007
Shri Kamal
Nath,
Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, has
cautioned against attempts to move the current
Doha Round
negotiations in the World Trade Organisation (WTO) from an unconditional
delivery of the development dimension of the Round to conditionalities
which would hinder such an outcome.
Delivering a Special Address at the University of Oxford (University
College) last evening, the Minister deplored that although development was
enunciated as the centrality of the Round, “some are seeking to weave it
in a mesh of ifs and buts”.
Highlighting
India’s concerns in agriculture, Shri Kamal Nath strongly emphasised the
need for a safety net to protect the interests of farmers in developing
countries like India. “Even the window of Special Products and the
Special Safeguard Mechanism that was devised in the July Framework as a
means of safeguarding livelihood security and rural development needs –
even this is being sought to be tied up in knots so as to render it
ineffective.
Low-income or resource-poor rural households have little ability to absorb
price fluctuations and a flood of subsidized imports of agricultural
products.
If developing country governments are not able to provide a safety net – a
safety net for livelihoods, mind you, not for corporate profits – then it
would be the surest recipe for social disaster and instability”,
he said.
Referring to
concerns on industrial tariffs, Shri Kamal Nath warned that
unrestrained tariff liberalisation can have disastrous effects on a
country’s industrial economy. “The former Trade Minister of
Zambia told me that his country actually experienced de-industrialisation
after its membership of the WTO. The harsh truth is that the most
vulnerable in any re-adjustment are women and artisans, small scale
industries run by local entrepreneurs and those that are located in
geographically disadvantaged pockets of the country. Flexibilities in
the application of a NAMA formula remain an inviolable essential to ensure
balanced regional and sectoral development”, he stressed.
The following
is the full text of Shri Kamal Nath’s Special Address:
“It
is a privilege and an honour for me to be here, speaking to you at
University College in Oxford – an institution that has been hallowed by
time and history. I come from a culture that so values knowledge that it
treats seats of learning as places of pilgrimage. In the century before
Christ, Takshashila and Nalanda were to Asia what, a millennium later,
Oxford and Cambridge became to Europe. I come to Oxford with awe, with
respect and with pleasure. I come to you to speak to you of my country and
how it engages with the world of commerce, how we perceive the new
globalised world, how it perceives us, and how we confront the challenges
of the new economic architecture.
It is not
just that the world’s perception of India is changing; India’s own
perception of herself is changing. How an ancient culture engages with the
New Economy is one of the most fascinating and exciting developments of
the past decade.
There are two
worlds: one is the world that is viewed through ‘screens’ – the laptop,
the TV, the mobile phone. But there is another world – the real
world beyond the virtual – a world whose many realities do not
succeed in seeping through the many screens that have so become part of
our lives.
When we talk
of the WTO negotiations and the challenges this poses for India, we need
to look at the flaws, the inequities and the opportunities in the current
global trading system. It is important to understand the many nuances of
India and its changing economy, its changing society – its successes as
well as its continuing socio-economic problems; its giant strides as well
as the chains that continue to hinder its footsteps. Only then will you be
able to see India’s position in the WTO negotiations in perspective.
To the
generation of Europeans and Americans who grew up soon after the Second
World War, India was a mystic land of snake-charmers, where tigers roamed
the streets and maharajas wore fabulous jewels and rode on elephants.
Then a few years after Independence, in the fifties and sixties and even
up to the eighties, we were seen increasingly as a land of dire poverty,
famine, disease and ignorance. Doomsayers constantly predicted that we
would either fall under the Soviet yoke or break up or both. And since
the nineties, and more especially in the new millennium, we started to
surprise the world. Suddenly everyone seems to think that our marvelous
economic progress and amazing achievements mean that India is no longer
really a developing country, and so should have no problem in opening its
markets, both agricultural and industrial, to the world, and that we are
unnecessarily making a big fuss in the WTO.
Ladies and
Gentlemen, you as scholars, learned and aware, know as well as I do that
each of these three views is one-dimensional – the third, as much as the
earlier two. But not everyone appreciates that no reality is
one-dimensional, least of all the Indian reality. India, with one-sixth of
the planet living within its boundaries. India, with a diversity greater
than that which exists in all of Europe, and an underlying unity stemming
from a shared history and culture, that is more fundamental than that
shared by the countries of Europe. An India, that for sixty years has
been, in spite of its poverty and illiteracy, a vibrant democracy. Someone
said that every time India votes in a general election, it is always the
largest democratic exercise in the history of the world.
Democracy has
paid rich dividends to India. A vibrant spirit of openness and
transparency pervades our body politic. We have nurtured and developed
rock solid public institutions: a totally independent and universally
respected judiciary, a free and animated press, a sophisticated banking
system, financial markets, stock exchanges – in general, a political,
economic and financial network that is, if not state-of-the-art, certainly
resilient and dependable.
A few years
ago we sensed the dangers that rapid growth without ‘inclusive’
development can pose to the social polity. For the last three years we
have been moulding policies such that while growth continues unhindered,
indeed while it is speeded up, the fruits of growth are more evenly
spread, and reach the common man – what we in India call the ‘aam aadmi’.
This is not
always easy, I admit. Sometimes it may seem to an outside observer that
these attempts run contrary to a liberal and open free economy. But our
commitment to both – inclusive growth as well as liberalization – is
undiminished. I am convinced that there is no dichotomy between these, and
I believe that the challenge of governance lies in reconciling them.
Countries have to seek their own solutions. I agree that the problems of
poverty are universal – but their social contexts differ. In India we have
specific contexts, and the solutions we seek also need to be
India-specific; and that is what a strategy of calibrated reforms is all
about.
One measure
of India’s economic openness and engagement with the world economy is her
trade. Surprising as it may seem, share of trade in goods and services as
a percentage of GDP is higher in India than in the US or Japan. We have
recently achieved a feat unprecedented elsewhere – we have more than
doubled our merchandise exports within three years. Coupled with our
expanding imports, our total merchandise trade is of the order of 300
billion dollars annually. With our export and import of services each at
75 billion dollars, our engagement with the global economy is 450 billion
dollars. Foreign Direct Investment last year was 19 billion dollars, and
our foreign exchange reserves exceed 200 billion dollars (up from less
than a billion 16 years ago). Our GDP is more than a trillion dollars in
real terms – in PPP terms it is four times as much.
In the past,
India has been called a caged tiger, a lumbering elephant, and various
other exotic animals in the zoo. I think it would not be boastful to say
that today we have moved out of the zoo – and on to the race-course. Year
on year, we have recorded an economic growth rate of over 8% for the past
three years. Last year it was 9.2%.
I am acutely
conscious that these fine figures cannot gloss over social problems. While
there still is a great deal of illiteracy in India, we have got around the
hump of the problem. We now have a 70% literacy rate, and the gender
imbalance and rural-urban imbalance in this is far less pronounced.
Another remarkable achievement is that we have got a handle on our
population growth rate; it is now 1.8%, comparable to that in some
developed economies. And because this has not been the result of coercion,
the drop is not sudden and sharp. This means that the age-distribution of
our population is proving an advantage. Whereas greying populations are
the bane of Europe, in twenty years time even China is going to face that
problem. India will be reaping the population dividend for another half
century, during which she will have the largest and youngest workforce on
the planet.
The economic
reform process in India is irreversible. A succession of governments
during the last sixteen years, representing a spectrum of political
alliances, have all conceded that. This is because economic reform has
found resonance with the people. There is popular support for the process.
People are impatient for prosperity – not for their children or
grandchildren, but for themselves.
What has all
this got to do with the WTO? If India is doing so well, then why is it
perceived as ‘being difficult’ in the negotiations? The answer is that it
is precisely because we cannot afford to jeopardize
what we all are seeking: a more balanced, a more just and a
more development oriented outcome in the WTO; an outcome that does not
perpetuate the structural flaws in global trade, but redresses them.
There are
many realities that co-exist in India. Just because Indian industry has
matured to the extent of aggressively pursuing acquisitions abroad, and we
are witnessing an outward flow of FDI, does not mean that we have reached
first world status. Sixty percent of India’s people are dependent upon
agriculture for their livelihoods. Indian agriculture is characterized by
small holdings of less than five acres. Ninety percent of landowners are
also tillers. Indian agriculture is predominantly ‘subsistence’
agriculture, not ‘corporate-for-profit’ agriculture. In spite of this,
the Indian farmer is willing to compete with the American farmer. But he
cannot compete with the
US Treasury.
We cannot allow what has happened to West Africa, to happen to our
farmers.
The cotton
issue is a bleeding sore on the conscience of the world. It is tragedy of
a proportion equal to the war in Rwanda or famine in Ethiopia. Whole
populations of some nations in West Africa have been reduced to abject
poverty through unfair trade. And we are still ‘negotiating’ about it. Let
us not mince words: however much we may want a world without tariffs, we
must admit that tariffs are legitimate economic instruments. Subsidies, on
the other hand, are not. How fair is it to ‘trade off’ legitimate
instruments against illegitimate ones? Quid pro quos are all very
well. We understand that. But when we are asked to abandon the only
defence we have against illegitimate subsidies, and that too on the basis
of a promise that these illegitimacies will be dismantled at some point in
the future (and that too, not entirely), don’t you think it’s a bit rich?
Even the
window of Special Products and the Special Safeguard Mechanism that was
devised in the July Framework as a means of safeguarding livelihood
security and rural development needs – even this is being sought to be
tied up in knots so as to render it ineffective. Low-income or
resource-poor rural households have little ability to absorb price
fluctuations and a flood of subsidized imports of agricultural products.
If developing country governments are not able to provide a safety net – a
safety net for livelihoods, mind you, not for corporate profits – then it
would be the surest recipe for social disaster and instability.
On the
industrial front, developing countries have agreed to a non-linear Swiss
formula. We have agreed to this, only in the hope that developed
countries, which in spite of their seemingly low average industrial
tariffs continue to maintain high tariff peaks and tariff escalations on
products of export interest to developing countries, will be forced to
reduce these peaks and escalations. India has not been averse to high
ambition levels, provided the mandate of less than full reciprocity in
percentage reduction commitments is met. Coefficients are only numbers.
What is important is the outcome of those numbers: the reduction
commitments. What kind of development round would this be if the formula
coefficients chosen are such that developing countries end up cutting
tariffs by a higher percentage than developed countries?
We must not
lose sight of the fact that unrestrained tariff liberalization can have
disastrous effects on a country’s industrial economy. The former Trade
Minister of Zambia told me that his country actually experienced
de-industrialisation after its membership of the WTO. The harsh truth is
that the most vulnerable in any re-adjustment are women and artisans,
small scale industries run by local entrepreneurs and those that are
located in geographically disadvantaged pockets of the country.
Flexibilities in the application of a NAMA formula remain an inviolable
essential to ensure balanced regional and sectoral development.
Does all this
mean that India is aiming for a ‘low ambition’ outcome? Of course not. We
are as ambitious as any one else. But ambition can mean different things
to different people. I believe that the only way to qualify ambition is to
measure it against the goals we have set for ourselves. The goal of this
round of negotiations is development, and so our ambition ought to be
oriented towards achieving it.
Ladies and
gentlemen: I believe that the mandate and the principles of a Development
Round hold the promise of the most ambitious interface between national
economies and the international environment ever undertaken by governments
across the globe. Though development was enunciated as the centrality of
the Round, some seek to weave it in a mesh of ifs and buts. The current
freeze we are witnessing is because the debate is being deflected from an
unconditional delivery of the development dimension to conditionalities
that expose what seem to be the real intention of some. We have engaged in
this Round in the belief that it is a Development Round. And we shall
continue to proceed on that premise.
The need for
delivering on the development dimension rests not merely on fairness and
equity and justice – though that would be reason enough. But healthy
economics itself demands it. Where would Europe and America sell their
goods if Asia and Latin America and Africa were sick and poor and
floundering? An economically healthy developing world is important to the
continued prosperity of the North, as it is also the only guarantor of
international peace.
Over three
billion people on this planet continue in the clutches of poverty. Yet
they are imbued with a vision of hope. They do not know what International
Economics is, they have not heard of the WTO or the Doha round. But what
they do know is that there is a world out there in which a
privileged few consume twenty times more oil, fifty times more energy and
a hundred times more electricity than they do. That is the ‘virtual’
world. The WTO negotiations are relevant only insofar as they can answer
the question: How and when will the virtual and
real converge?”
**************
SB/NR/MRS
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4th May 2007 |
INDIA DISAPPOINTED WITH WTO DRAFT PAPER ON AGRICULTURE,
SAYS KAMAL NATH
SENSITIVITIES OF DEVELOPING COUNTRIES LEFT UNADDRESSED
INDIA TO WORK WITH OTHER DEVELOPING COUNTRIES ON COMMON
RESPONSE
New Delhi:
May 4, 2007
Shri Kamal
Nath, Minister of Commerce & Industry, has said that India is disappointed
with a Paper on Agriculture
circulated at a Special Session of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in
Geneva on 30 April, 2007 “because while the
concerns of all the developed countries have been taken fully on board in
a spirit of mutual accommodation, the sensitivities of developing
countries with millions of resource poor farmers, have been left
effectively unaddressed”.
India strongly feels that any outcome
of the Doha Development Round, which tends to perpetuate the structural
flaws and distortions in agriculture trade and does not address the
sensitivities of the agriculture of the developing countries and LDCs,
will run counter to the Doha mandate and risk another failure of the
recently resumed negotiations, Shri Kamal Nath warned.
In a
statement issued in London today on his return from Oxford, the Minister
said that India is specially disappointed to note that the Paper by the
Chair of the WTO Committee on Agriculture suffers from a serious imbalance
in terms of the suggested way forward. While it proposes that effectively,
the Overall Trade Distorting Support (OTDS) of one of the major
agricultural subsidisers could remain at least 50% above its actual levels
of subsidies disbursed last year, it also suggests indirectly that the
market access commitments of the major group of developed countries could
remain at levels proposed in July, 2006 at the time of the breakdown of
negotiations or could even be reduced effectively from that level by using
liberal flexibilities Such a step would also lead to the impairment of
the reduction commitments to the high tariff regimes of another group of
developed countries. Side by side, “the Paper proposes stringent norms
and low numbers for the Special Products (of agriculture) of developing
countries and LDCs, which are required to protect their food security,
livelihood security and rural development needs. It also leaves the
question of removal of subsidies relating to cotton by a major developed
country, which has caused serious problems to many African LDCs,
largely unanswered”, the Minister said.
“India will
work together with the G-20, G-33 and G-90 group of developing countries
to put forward a common response to the proposals and options presented in
the Paper”,
Shri Kamal Nath said.
**************
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4th May 2007 |
PM COMMENDS
RECORD FDI INFLOWS
New Delhi:
May 4, 2007
Prime
Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh, has in a letter written to Shri Kamal Nath,
Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, complimented him for the record
foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows in 2006-07. Appreciating
the record performance of bringing in US $ 19 billion FDI in 2006-07, the
Prime Minister has commended the Minister and his team on their success in
achieving this record performance.
Last year, the
FDI equity inflows into
India were US $ 5.5
billion and there has been 275% jump to US $ 16 billion during the year
2006-07. Adding the quantum of retained earnings reinvested by the
foreign investors in
India in 2005-06, the gross
FDI was US $ 7.7 billion while in 2006-07 it is put at US $ 19 billion.
Lauding his energy and dynamism, the Prime Minister has expressed the
optimism that the Minister and the Department of Industrial Policy &
Promotion (DIPP) would be able to cross the FDI target of US $
30 billion during the current year.
***********
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3rd May 2007 |
ENHANCEMENT OF CLUSTER DEVELOPMENT SCHEME FOR BUILDING SME
COMPETITIVENESS PROPOSED
CRITICAL ROLE OF SMEs IN INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT STRESSED AT SME
CLUSTER CONCLAVE
New Delhi: May 03, 2007
Close on the heels
of Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh’s call to focus on the role of small
& medium enterprises (SMEs) in India’s industrial development, national
and international experts at an SME Cluster Conclave have emphasised the
critical importance of SMEs in India’s economic growth.
At the SME Cluster Conclave organised by Confederation of Indian Industry
(CII) in partnership with the Ministry of Small Scale Industries here
yesterday, it was indicated by the Secretary, Ministry of Small Scale
Industries & Rural and Agro Industries, Dr. Chandrapal, that government
was proposing to increase financial assistance to existing clusters of
Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) upto as much as 80% of their
financial requirements under the 11th Plan.
Shri
Jawahar Sircar, Additional Secretary & Development Commissioner, Ministry
of SSI & ARI said that the Cluster Concept was India’s answer to global
competition. “To enable MSMEs to become competitive, the government is
proposing to build a pool of consultants under its National Manufacturing
Competitiveness Programme.
These consultants would be deployed with a cluster of 8-10 companies for a
period of one to one and a half years. The cost of these consultants will
be borne by the government”, he said.
Participating in the Conclave, Mr. Philippe
Scholtes, UNIDO Regional Representative in India, said that the United
Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) has proposed a 5-year
country Strategy for India, of which cluster development would be an
integral part along with programmes aimed at upgrading technological
capability and building up of social capital in the country’s industrial
sector. He also referred to the interesting new experiment of Twinning
of Clusters as in the India-Italy Cluster Development Cooperation and said
that UNIDO was also exploring new applications of Industrial cluster based
approaches focussing on corporate social responsibility and poverty
alleviation in micro enterprises.
On behalf of
the National Manufacturing Competitiveness Council (NMCC), Shri Rajeev
Ranjan, Chief (Joint Secretary)/NMCC, stated that the
National Strategy for Manufacturing drawn up by NMCC had
been accepted by the government for implementation and that enabling SMEs
to achieve competitiveness was one of the key elements of this strategy
He further indicated that Strategy had identified the following areas for
priority action viz., textiles & garments, food processing, IT hardware &
electronics, leather & footwear, automobiles & auto-components and
chemicals & petrochemicals including pharma.
Other speakers included Mr. Jamil Ashraf, Executive Director, Sandhar
technologies; Mr. H.P. Kumar, Chairman & Managing Director, NSIC; Mr.
Rakesh Rewari, Deputy Managing Director, SIDBI; and Mr. S. Sandilya,
Chairman, CII Economic Affairs Committee & Chairman, Eicher Group
**********
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2nd May 2007 |
New Delhi: May 02, 2007
Shri Kamal Nath, Minister of Commerce & Industry, will deliver a Special
Address at the University College in Oxford, in response to an invitation
from the University of Oxford on 3rd May, 2007.
The Special Address, which is part of the University’s Global Economic
Governance Programme, will be on “India
and the Future of the World Trade Talks”.
During his visit to the UK, Shri
Kamal Nath is also likely to call on Prime Minister Tony Blair.
On the bilateral front, he will hold discussions with Mr. Alistair
Darling, UK Secretary of State
for Trade & Industry and participate in the Indo-UK Joint Economic &
Trade Committee (JETCO) review meetings. JETCO was established in
September 2004 to further develop a strategic economic relationship and
promote business-led vehicles to enhance bilateral trade and investment
between India and the UK.
Indo-UK trade has gone up substantially in recent years,
with two-way trade between the two countries rising from a level of US
$ 6.2 billion in 2003-04 to US $ 9 billion in 2005-06.
India had a trade surplus with the UK in
2005-06 as India’s exports to
the UK surged to US $ 5.1 billion and India’s imports from the UK stood at
US $ 3.8 billion.
***********
SB/NR/MRS
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1st May 2007 |
New Delhi:
May 01, 2007
The
cumulative value of
India’s
exports for the period April-March, 2007 was US $ 124629.48 million ($
124.6 billion) or Rs.563800.06 Crore as against US $ 100606.92 million ($
100.6 billion) or Rs.445657.97 Crore during the same period last year,
indicating a growth of 23.88%, according to the provisional data for
merchandise exports available from Directorate General of Commercial
Intelligence & Statistics (DGCI&S). Exports during the month of March
2007 were valued at US $ 12583.58 million ($ 12.5 billion) or Rs.55400.45
crore compared with US $ 10906.21 million ($ 10.9 billion) or Rs.48511.93
Crore in March, 2006.
The cumulative value of
India’s imports during April-March, 2007 was US $ 181368.26 million ($ 181.3 billion) or
Rs.820568.13 Crore which was higher than imports at US $ 140237.65 million
($ 140.2 billion) or Rs.620826.68 Crore during April-March, 2006. Imports during the month of
March, 2007 were valued at US $ 16382.94 million (Rs.72127.53
crore) compared with US $ 13811.65 million (Rs.61435.58 Crore) in
March, 2006.
Crude Oil imports were valued at US $ 4597.64 million in
March, 2007 compared with US $
4202.92 million in the corresponding period last year thus registering a
growth of 9.39%. Crude Oil imports during April-March,
2007 were valued at US $ 57271.10 million which was 30.31% higher than
Crude oil imports of US $ 43951.27 million in the corresponding period
last year.
Non-oil imports were
estimated at US $ 11785.30 million during March, 2007
which was 16.55% higher than growth on non-oil imports of US $ 10111.47
million in March, 2006. Non-oil imports during April-March, 2007 were
valued at US $ 124097.15 million which was 24.74% higher than the level of
such imports valued at US $ 99481.88 million in April- March, 2006.
The trade deficit for
April-March, 2007 was estimated at US $ 56738.77
million which was higher than the deficit of US $ 39630.72 million during
April- March, 2006.
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