"16"

China is maintaining the economic data on calendar year basis whereas India is maintaining data on financial year basis. Some of the vital areas of Chinese and Indian data are as under:

It has been the constant endeavour of the government to achieve higher levels of economic progress in the shortest possible time, by pursuing sustainable policies across various fronts, including promotion of exports.

This information was given by Shri Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry, in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha today.

The Medium Term Export Strategy (MTES) for the period 2002-2007, has been announced. Focus products have been identified by examining the import basket of major trading partners and India’s export basket. MTES gives the road map for the export sector by giving macro and sector-wise strategies to increase India’s share of merchandise exports from 0.67% to 1% of world exports by 2006-2007.

Three major markets namely, USA, EU and Japan, besides 25 other destinations, are identified as major potential market for exports. Key macro strategies and sector-wise have been evolved to enhance the competitiveness of India’s exports. This was stated by Shri Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Minister of State for Commerce & Industry, in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha today.

In reply to another question, Shri Rudy said that export promotion continue to be a major thrust area. Several measures to boost exports have been undertaken in order to provide competitive edge to the Indian goods in the international market. These include reduction in the export credit rate for both pre-shipment and post-shipment, special financial package to manufacturer-exporters with an export contract of Rs.100 crore or above for a period of one year, extension of normal repatriation period from 180 days to 360 days for exports for a period of one year and upward revision of duty drawback rates on a number of product groups. All these and other factors have helped to arrest the declining trend in exports experienced during the early part of the current financial year. Further, taking stock of the developments in the recent past and considering the current global economic environment, the MTES for the period 2002-2007 has been announced.

As per the latest available data from DGCI&S, Kolkata, India’s exports of merchandise goods during April-December 2001-2002 are valued at US $ 32.6 billion which is only 0.64% higher than the level of US $ 32.4 billion during April-December 2000-2001. Exports during the month of December 2001 recorded a rise of 1.11% in dollar terms as compared to the exports of December 2000.

The fifth round of bilateral talks between India and Nepal to review and revise the Indo-Nepal Trade Treaty was held at Kathmandu on 18-19 February 2002. The Indian delegation was led by Shri Dipak Chatterjee, Commerce Secretary, Government of India. The Nepalese delegation was led by Shri Bhanu Prasad Acharya, Secretary, Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Supplies of His Majesty’s Government of Nepal. Significant progress was made during these talks in terms of narrowing down of differences. The next round of talks is likely to be held at New Delhi on 27-28 February 2002. The Indo-Nepal Trade Treaty was valid initially upto 5^th December 2001 and was subsequently extended by a period of 3 months upto March 5, 2002.

Shri Murasoli Maran, Union Minister of Commerce & Industry has said that India and Indonesia will cooperate closely in the areas of Information Technology, pharmaceuticals and agro-products to step up the current level of bilateral trade. This was indicated when Ms. Rini M. S. Soewandi, Minister of Trade and Industry, Indonesia, called on Shri Maran, here today, with a 16-member delegation. Shri Dipak Chatterjee, Commerce Secretary and Shri V. Govindarajan, Secretary (IPP) were present in the meeting along with other senior officials.

Shri Maran raised the issue of Counter Trade in wheat with the visiting Minister and asked the Indonesian side to nominate a company that they deem fit to undertake counter trade. As per the MOU signed between MMTC Ltd., and Indonesian Chamber of Commerce, in February 2000, the Indonesian side has to designate a company to undertake counter trade. Indonesian Minister assured that her Department will take up this issue and a tangible solution will come out by the time Indonesian President visits India in the end of March this year. Indian side informed that 10% reduction in tariff on crude palm oil has been effected w.e.f. 30/11/2001 and no special additional duty (SAD) is levied on import of crude oil. Indonesian side evinced keen interest in seeking expertise of India in information technology and pharmaceutical sectors.

Shri Maran informed that knowledge-based industry in India is growing very fast and it requires movement of persons. In this regard, he underlined the need to rationalise the visa regime. Both sides agreed to work out closely in the cases of anti-dumping issues.

India-Indonesia bilateral trade during 2000-2001 amounted to US $ 1301.78 million with our exports at US $ 399.24 million and imports at US $ 902.54 million. The total Indian investment in Indonesia is about US $ 800 million whereas the Indonesian investment in India is about US $ 83 million. The major items of exports to Indonesia include oil meals, groundnut, agro-chemicals, cotton yarn fabrics, machinery and instruments etc. Major items of imports include vegetable oils (edible), coal, coke and briquettes, organic chemicals etc.

The government plans to promote direct contacting at the Board Room level in selective sectors to attract more Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into the country. Addressing a Destination India Seminar at The Hague (Netherlands) today, Shri Murasoli Maran, Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, said that borrowing a leaf from some other East Asian country, "we would like to visit your Board Rooms instead of inviting you in Seminars and present the new vibrant India". The Minister said that though India had been a relatively late starter in proactively seeking FDI, its liberalised policy today welcomed investment in almost all areas of economic activity and in most sectors through the automatic route. "There are no trapdoors for FDI at the centre anywhere. Of course, some physical operational problems are still there. This is so because the destination of FDI is the States. But there is a paradigm shift in the attitude of States and the emphasis of reforms is increasingly getting shifted to the States. Each one is now competing with the other to get more FDI", the Minister said.

Noting that nearly 3.2 per cent FDI into India has come from the Netherlands since the onset of liberalisation, Shri Maran said there was tremendous scope for more investments to India from the Netherlands. India would welcome Dutch investments particularly in telecom, transportation industries, food processing industries and the services sector, he said, while urging the Dutch investors to start implementing their approved projects so that the realisation rate from the Netherlands could achieve the first position in the country. Referring to his meeting with Dutch investors who are already in India prior to his visit and problems regarding customs duties and taxes raised by the investors at the meeting, Shri Maran informed that the government had already initiated action for finding ways and means of minimising the time taken for various approvals as also for resolving their tax-related problems in consultation with the concerned authorities.

Turning to trade, Shri Maran said there was ample scope for improving trade between the two countries as the share of the Netherlands in India’s exports and imports during 2000-2001 was only 1.98 per cent and 0.77 per cent respectively. Inviting Dutch investments in Special Economic Zones (SEZs), Shri Maran said: "One of the major initiatives that we took last year to unleash new economic activity and to open massive investment opportunities is the introduction of SEZs. These are patterned on the successful zones in some other countries, tailored to India’s requirements and would ‘ab initio’ be free zones and ‘deemed foreign territories’ – where investment would be permitted unfettered by any controls. The setting up of SEZs is also likely to further boost our exports".

India and Italy have signed agreements which will enable the Indian industry to benefit from Italian technology and investments for the rapid development of the leather sector in India. MOUs to this effect were signed in the presence of the Union Minister of Commerce & Industry, Shri Murasoli Maran, at a Destination India Seminar in Milan today between leaders of the leather industry of Italy and the leading leather institutions of India. Stating that the Italian leather industries enjoyed good linkages with their Indian counterparts, Shri Maran noted the pride of place occupied by Italy in the global leather trade with a share of over 20 per cent and its global leadership in fashion leather and original brand manufacture. The Minister indicated that the 10^th Five Year Plan Document on Leather Policy to be implemented from 2002-2007 would provide every support to the leather sector and facilitate development and infrastructure on a scale which could be compared with the best in the world. He further said that with foreign investment in mind, two projects for development of integrated tanneries were proposed on a pilot basis and that modernisation of tanneries was being expanded in scope through a massive increase in Government of India assistance.

Shri Maran also said that 100% foreign direct investment (FDI) through the automatic route was now allowed in India in tanning industries and leather footwear including components without the requirement of licence as the reservation of small scale industries in these segments had been removed. The Central Leather Research Institute (CLRI) of India enjoys a share of about 30 per cent of intellectual products like patents and copyrights generated in the leather sector during 1997-2001, it was indicated.

On investment opportunities in India, Shri Maran’s message to Italian business was four-fold i.e.: "(1) investing in India is safe…. With a stable government and one that is committed to economic reforms… (2) It is profitable to invest in India (as) India has a large and growing consumer market… (3) India offers limitless opportunities for investment…. (and) would welcome Italian investment particularly in transportation industry, food processing, metallurgical industries, electrical equipment, textiles and leather… and (4) Economic policies in India are evolving at a steady pace and are predictable and transparent. (Further), a flexible and investor-friendly approach forms the corner stone of our FDI policy. These are both dynamic and interactive and factor in investor perceptions adequately…. Therefore, I would emphasise that no investor can afford not to be in India".

Currently heading a high-level investment promotion delegation to Italy and the Netherlands, Shri Murasoli Maran, Union Minister of Commerce & Industry, has said that India could consider adopting the Italian concept of Cluster System and Specialised Service Centres (SSCs) as an important step towards enhancing the competitiveness of Indian industry through the restructuring and modernisation of the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in India. "In collaboration with our business associations like the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) and the Italian government, we would like to set up a project to explore the possibility of replicating the Italian experience in Indian conditions", the Minister said while addressing a Destination India Seminar in Rome today. "The local model of clusters in Italy is a matter of keen interest and an important matter of replication as a part of our development strategy", Shri Maran said, while noting that SMEs – described as "Bearing Axle" or spine of the Italian economy -- account for 40% of its GDP, and represent 96% of the Italian industry. The Minister said that India too there were many clusters, but the Indian clusters could borrow from Italy to meet the challenges of globalisation and competition by boosting technology and transfer of know-how through the establishment of SSCs, providing companies with focussed technological services, he said.

Referring to the scope for increasing bilateral trade, Shri Maran observed that during 2000-2001, the share of Italy in India’s export and import was only 2.9% and 1.4% respectively. "India has tremendous comparative advantages in both outsourcing of supplies and as an export base. Exports are now a national priority and an integral part of our developmental policy. We have taken bold initiatives for exports including setting up of Special Economic Zones", the Minister said.

Turning to FDI, the Minister said that Italy today ranked 12^th in terms of cumulative FDI approvals in India, with FDI worth US $ 1.28 billion. However, the overall investment inflow from Italy till November 2001 had been just around US $ 0.40 billion or roughly 2.5% of the total FDI inflows into India. Outward FDI flow from Italy during 2000 has been of the order of US $ 12.10 billion and India’s share in that has been just 1.1%. The important sectors attracting FDI from Italy present are transport industries, food processing, metallurgical industries, electrical equipment and textiles. As a prelude to his visit, Shri Maran said that he had interacted with Italian investors who were already in India and found that most of them were very happy doing business in India. But, more attention was needed for development of infrastructures, Shri Maran said, while underlining that India’s investment demand for infrastructure projects was truly massive, with estimates putting India’s investment requirements in just the four infrastructure sectors of power, telecom, ports and roads alone at US $ 267 billion.

"Today, ours is probably one of the most open and liberal investment regimes among the emerging economies. Except for a small negative list, most sectors are open for entry through automatic route… In cases which are not covered under the automatic route, the Foreign Investment Promotion Board ensures speedy clearance of proposals received in about 30 days. We have in the recent past opened up new and potentially growing sectors to foreign investment including defence industries, development of integrated townships and mass rapid transit system. We have also increased permissible foreign equity limits in banking and telecom sectors, hotels & tourism and drugs & pharmaceuticals. Our FDI policy is now totally transparent, speedy and investor-friendly", Shri Maran said. The results of India’s proactive policy has been significant with India attracting FDI worth US $ 4.5 billing during the year 2000. In 2001, when global FDIs recorded a sharp decrease of over 40%, FDI inflows into India upto November 2001 recorded a 12% increase compared to the inflows for the corresponding period of 2000, even though the investment flows worth much lower than the country’s potential. "India remains high on the corporate investor radar screens and is widely perceived to offer ample opportunities for investment", Shri Maran said.

The 17^th India International Leather Fair (IILF) 2002 has resulted in a business turnover of more than Rs.85 crore with the focus primarily on exports. Export deals, as reported by participants at the IILF which concluded successfully on 4^th February at Chennai, are valued at Rs.51.5 crore followed by import business to the tune of Rs.21 crore and local business orders estimated at Rs.12.6 crore. These estimates are on the basis of the feedback received from the 80% of the 220 participants. Besides this, a joint venture with an estimated value of Rs.20 crore was signed. The Fair was inaugurated by Shri Murasoli Maran, Union Minister of Commerce and Industry.

Indian leather industry is on an upswing as reflected by the presence of overseas exhibitors. More than 37 overseas exhibitors from 19 countries directly participated in the fair such as – Argentina (1), France (1), Hong Kong (1), Italy (12), Taiwan (6), Germany (1), the Netherlands (1), Spain (6), People’s Republic of China (1), Singapore (1), South Africa (1), South Korea (3), Czech Republic (1), Ireland (1), Portugal (1), United Arab Emirates (1) and United Kingdom (1).

More than 10,000 representatives of trade and industry visited the Fair. Buyers from 35 countries such as Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bangladesh, Bahamas, China, Denmark, Ethiopia, France, Germany, Hong Kong (China), Hungary, Iceland, Iran, Italy, Kenya, south Korea, North Korea, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Oman, Reunion, Russian Federation, Saint Lucia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Spain, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, Syria, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States of America, Yugoslavia, Zambia etc., visited the exposition.

The highlights of the Fair included Seminars on a number of important subjects such as US Footwear Market; Value- Upgradation by Finishing Raw Hides & Skins and Opportunities in China for Indian leather & leather products coordinated by Council for Leather Exports (CLE). International Technology Market (INTECHMART), organised by CLE, where meetings were held between foreign businessmen and Indian counterparts, was also organised.

The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) has issued Public Notice No.67 dated 01/02/2002 notifying additional standard input-output norms for 32 new export items and amendments/corrections/deletions in the standard input-output norms for 35 existing export items. Of the 32 new norms, 21 norms relate to the chemicals and allied products and one norm relates to electronic products (shifted from engineering group), eight norms relate to the engineering products and one norm relates each to textile and miscellaneous products.

Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), Ministry of Commerce & Industry, New Delhi, dated 8^th February, 2002

Shri Murasoli Maran, Union Minister of Commerce & Industry, will be leading a high level official and business delegation to Italy and Netherlands from 11^th to 15^th February 2002 to participate in a number of events. In Italy, the Minister will be visiting Rome and Milan. At Rome, Shri Maran will be meeting Mr. Antonio Marzano, Italian Minister for Production activities, and will also address the ‘Destination India’ seminar being organised in collaboration with CONFIINDUSTRIA. A large number of Italian business community are also expected to participate at the event in which enhancing the level of Italian investment into India, particularly in areas such as transportation industry, food processing, textiles and leather will come in for sharper focus. The Minister will also be participating at the Opening Session of the Joint Economic Committee of the two countries on the 12^th February at Rome. Shri V. Govindarajan, Secretary (IPP), will be accompanying the Minister.

India’s leather industry has been doing remarkably well in the recent past and is poised for even greater progress in the coming years, particularly with the initiatives being set in motion by the Government during the Tenth Plan. Italy is a global leader in leather and occupies a pride of place in fashion leather and Original Brand Manufactures (OBM). The Minister will also be present on the 13^th February at the signing ceremony in Milan, the commercial capital of Italy, where 3 Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) will be signed between the Indian leather industry and the Italian leather industry and institutes.

In the Netherlands, Shri Maran will be meeting Mr. Ybema, Dutch Minister of Foreign Economic Relations and will also participate at the ‘Destination India’ event being organised at the Hague. The Netherlands is one of the prominent investors into India and major Dutch corporates including Dutch Shell and Phillips are household names in India. Telecommunications, transportation industry, food processing and services sector including banking are some of the focus sectors for Dutch investors in India.

This opportunity will be availed by the Indian side to highlight the considerable liberalisation the FDI investment regime has undergone in recent years in India and also to apprise the business communities in both the countries of the tremendous investment opportunities unfolding in the country.

The Government’s initiatives to complement the changes in Intellectual Property (IP) laws with major upgradation and modernisation of the administrative framework have begun to show results. The initiatives are a strategic response to the rapidly growing relevance of intellectual property in technology and knowledge-driven economic development. The need for modernisation was also acute because of the lack of adequate manpower and supporting infrastructure necessary for dealing with the increasing workload of IP offices in India. The existing administrative frameworks which were set up in the pre-independence period also needed to be harmonised with international practices to cope with emerging challenges.

Apart from legislative changes in relevant IP laws, the Government’s initiatives have including major upgradation and modernisation of the administrative framework covering Patents, Designs, Trade Marks and Geographical Indications. Projects to modernise the Patent Office, the Design Offices, the Trade Marks Registries and the establishment of a new Geographical Indications Registry at a cost of over Rs. 85 crore have been taken up.

The modernisation initiatives have started showing initial results. Patent Offices, which have been examining around 2800 applications per year, examined around 4200 applications in 2000-2001. The average output of Patent Examiners has improved by 50%. These gains, which are with existing manpower, will be further consolidated with the appointment of 132 Examiners, 83 of whom are being issued appointment orders.

From October 2000, the practice of Preliminary Examination Reports (PERs) for patents was commenced. This has resulted in starting early the process of patent processing. Over 24,000 PERs have been issued by various offices till now out of the total backlog of 39,000 applications pending. As a result of the recent initiatives, the Delhi Patent office is currently examining food, drug and medicine related patent applications filed as recently as in March 2001 and the Chennai office applications of June 2001.

In order to further improve the functioning of the Patent offices, comprehensive computerisation is under-way and work is being sanctioned on turnkey basis to an appropriate implementing agency. This will ensure complete solutions of all IT related requirements of the offices and result in an IT enabled world class Patent Office.

The main components of modernisation include strengthening of infrastructure support; comprehensive computerisation; automation and re-engineering of work procedures; human resource development through additional manpower and suitable training at all levels and liquidation of backlog. The approach is inclusive of action for refurnishing existing offices and equipping them with state-of-the-art automation tools.

The simplification/re-engineering of work procedures and development of data bases to facilitate on-line search as also to create user friendly systems has been undertaken through the technical assistance of the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO). A comprehensive IT Strategic Plan to cover the automated offices has also been drawn up.

Two modernised patent offices in Delhi and Chennai were operationalised in July and August 2001 respectively and a modern Geographical Indications Registry (GIR) inaugurated at Chennai in August 2001. The modernisation of the Design office and the Patent office in Kolkata and the Trade Mark Registry in Mumbai is nearing completion. These offices are likely to be made operational shortly. The GIR has commenced basic work to receive and process applications. A Website has already been launched and it is proposed to upgrade it to an integrated, interactive IP portal by the end of 2002. A world-class IT enabled patent offices is targeted by end of 2003.

These first-phase initiatives in regard to Patent offices have enabled initial computerisation, establishment of on-line search facilities, development of work manuals, launch of Website, preparation of information brochures, installation of front office software to generate computerised information about status of patent applications and issue of receipts. In turn, these have resulted in the improved performance of these offices.

Modernisation initiatives related to Trade Marks Registry and its branches involve augmentation of existing capabilities through IT support, and strengthening of available infrastructure apart from improving public utility services and augmenting the staff resources of the Registry. The thrust of the project is to eliminate the backlog of pending applications.

The modernisation project to strengthen the infrastructure of the Head Registry in Mumbai is expected to be completed by March, 2002. Activities relating to initial automation support and improvement of library have already been completed. 16 additional posts have been sanctioned in order to strengthen the working of the trademark offices. Work on improving record management and digitalisation of paper records to CD Roms is under progress. The existing Trade Marks Automated System (TMAS) is being re-designed to cover the new elements of the Act and to integrate the working of the branches through a shared network and delegated functions.

The progress of work on the reduction of backlog in the Trade Marks Registry is now gathering momentum as a result of initial computerisation and recruitment of 20 contract Examiners from October, 2001. The number of trademarks registered in 2000-2001 was 14,020 compared to 8,010 in the year 1999-2000. The output per examiner has increased from 7-8 applications per day to approximately 25 applications per day. Consequently, against the earlier examination of approximately 9,000 applications per month, the average monthly examination has gone up to approximately 17,000 per month. The time for initial examination of pending applications has been reduced to approximately 2½ years and is expected to be further brought down to around 1½ years by March, 2002. This has been possible with the adoption of IT based search tools in the Trade Marks Registry and growing familiarisation with the computerised systems will increase the output.

The WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs) -- signed as part of the Uruguay Round Accord – contains, inter-alia, general provisions and basic principles relating to Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs); sets out standards concerning scope and use of IPRs; refers to enforcement at the national level; and provides for transitional arrangements. Developing and transitional economies that have to change their legislation (eg., for changing to product patent regime) have until 2005 to adhere to the TRIPs provisions. TRIPs Agreement covers several forms of Intellectual property, namely, copy rights, trade marks, industrial designs, patents, plant & seed varieties, geographical indications, integrated circuits and undisclosed information and trade secrets.

The government has decided to release with effect from 6^th February, 2002, one lakh metric tonnes of onion for export upto 15^th April, 2002.

The quantity of onion released will be allocated to the following agencies for export either directly or through registered exporters as per the quantity indicated against each with the usual conditions of Minimum Export Price (MEP), payment of refundable deposit, etc:

National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd. (NAFED) -- 35,000 metric tonnes;

The Karnataka State Cooperative Marketing Federation Ltd. (KSCMF) -- 2,000 metric tonnes;

The National Cooperative Consumers' Federation of India Ltd. (NCCF) – 5,000 metric tonnes; and

Mr. Kenneth Dam, US Deputy Secretary of the Treasury, called on Shri Murasoli Maran, Minister of Commerce and Industry, here today. Mr. Dam, who was accompanied among others by the US Ambassador Blackwill, said the United States (US) was keen to enhance the trade dialogue with India both at bilateral and multilateral levels. The discussions focussed on issues of interest to both sides with a view to promoting robust growth in Indo-US trade and business relations. Mr. Dam emphasised in particular the US desire to promote closer cooperation with India in WTO negotiations, post-Doha, in view of similarity of concerns in many areas between the two countries. Stressing the need for better market access, Shri Maran urged that market access concessions in textiles given recently by the US to some other trading partners be extended to India and also pointed out that reduction in peak tariffs and tariff escalations would be in the interest of both the developed and the developing countries. Mr. Dam conveyed the US interest in promoting cooperation with India in the financial sector, including liberalisation of financial services.

On the issue of soda ash, the Indian side informed that the ANSAC petition before MRTPC for vacation of interim injunction and termination of proceedings based on restructuring of ANSAC operations in respect of their exports to India had now been adjourned to 13^th and 14^th of this month.

The US is currently India’s largest trading partner and leading export destination. The current trend of India’s exports to the US has turned positive after a negative trend for some months with India’s exports to the US in November 2001 (as per US Customs) estimated at US $ 739.27 million as against US $ 701.16 million in November 2000, thereby showing an increase of 5.43%. This was a welcome trend, Shri Maran said. Indo-US trade volume was US $ 14.35 billion in 2000.

STC Ltd., has presented a dividend cheque of Rs.5.46 crore for the year 2000-2001 to Shri Murasoli Maran, Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, here today. Shri S.M. Dewan, Chairman & Managing Director of STC presented the cheque towards dividend at 20 per cent on the paid up capital.

The Corporation recorded a turnover of Rs.1040 crore, which included competitive turnover of Rs.978 crore – a growth of 25 per cent for the corresponding period of last year. STC recorded a profit of Rs.3 crore during the year 2000-2001. The Corporation is forecasting a turnover of Rs.1637 crore for the year 2001-2002 and the profit is being projected at Rs.8.5 crore, which is three times higher than that of last year.

STC has also finalised a plan of capital restructuring, under which 30 per cent of its equity will be cancelled and every shareholder having 100 share will be paid Rs.1465. The Union Government will get a sum of Rs.40 crore excluding dividend tax of about Rs.4.5 crore.

India and the Russian Federation have agreed to take necessary measures to ensure growth and continued diversification of bilateral trade. Increased trade in agricultural commodities, in addition to tea and tobacco, is expected to contribute to raising substantially the bilateral trade turnover and to the diversification of the Indo-Russian trade basket. This is indicated in the Protocol of the 8^th Session of the Indo-Russian Working Group on Trade and Economic Cooperation held under the inter-governmental commission on trade, economic, scientific & technological and cultural cooperation. The Protocol of the two-day session was signed here today by Shri Dipak Chatterjee, Commerce Secretary, on behalf of the Government of India and by Mr. Mikhail Egonovich Dmitriev, First Deputy Minister of Economic Development and Trade, on behalf of the Russian Federation. Steps will be taken to encourage more active interaction between Indian and Russian commercial organisations engaged in the trade of agricultural products and on this context, the Russian side has responded positively to India’s request to assist in identifying reliable commercial organisations in Russia dealing in import of wheat, rice and other relevant products.

Both sides have agreed to initiate remedial action to arrest the declining trend in bilateral trade, especially in the context of the decline in exports of some important items like tea, tobacco, and rice (from India) and fertilisers, iron & steel and metaliferrous ores and metal scrap (from Russia). The Working Group took note of the deliberations between the Tea Board and the Russian Association of Tea and Coffee procedures (Roschaicofe) and hoped that the decisions taken would further help in promoting India’s tea export to Russia. The Russian side also agreed to look into India’s request to nominate an Apex Russian Organisation with whom the Indian Tobacco Board could interact for increasing exports of tobacco to Russia. The Protocol states that all efforts should be made both at the governmental level and to increased interaction among business circles to provide gradual transition to trade between India and Russia on the basis of normal commercial terms and forms, especially as the Rupee debt repayment would be completed in the near future. In this context, the progress made in developing cooperation between Indian and Russian banking and financial institutions was also noted.

With a view to operationalising the Protocol for Cooperation in the field of processing and trade of rough diamonds and precious metals which was signed during the visit of President Putin in October 2000, both sides have agreed to hold the First Meeting of the Joint Working Group for Cooperation in the field of rough diamonds in February/March this year.

On India’s request to expedite settlement of all pending claims of Indian exporters and organisations Russia’s request for early settlement of short payments under states credit, both sides took note of the progress made on these issues and welcomed the decision of the sub-group on banking and financial matters to consider the setting-off of exporters’ claims against repayment of outstanding short payments from the Ministry of Defence of India.

On Russia’s concern regarding import of a range of Russian goods, it was agreed to continue the mechanism of informal consultations. The Indian side also informed the Russian side that a revised notification had been issued which should meet Russia’s concerns relating to the issue of declaration as a non-market economy country. The revised notification applies uniformly to all countries and is of generic nature wherein no country has been specifically named for being classified as a "non-market economy" country. The next session of the Working Group will be held in Moscow in 2003.

The 8^th Session of the Indo-Russian Working Group on Trade and Economic Cooperation began here today with both sides underlining the need for urgent measures to step up the level of bilateral trade. The Indian delegation at the two-day meeting is being led by Shri Dipak Chatterjee, Commerce Secretary, while the Russian side is headed by Mr. Mikhail Egonovich Dmitriev, First Deputy Minister of Economic Development and Trade of the Russian Federation and Co-Chairman of the Working Group.

In his opening remarks, Shri Chatterjee recalled the Declaration on Strategic Partnership signed by Prime Minister Vajpayee and President Putin in October 2000 laying emphasis on economic and commercial relations between India and the Russian Federation and said that the current Session of the Working Group assumed greater urgency and importance against this backdrop as a forum for providing a firm underpinning to the excellent political relations between the two countries. Taking note of the decline in bilateral trade, including the drop in the offtake of tea and tobacco by Russian importers, he said urgent steps were needed to reverse this trend. The Tea Board of India had been interacting with Roschaicofe and a similar arrangement could be worked out with the Tobacco Board, the Commerce Secretary said. He also urged the Russian side for headway in implementing the proposal for Indo-Russian cooperation in the area of processing and trade of rough diamonds, the Protocol for which was signed during President Putin’s visit, as this would be of mutual benefit and could lead to a marked increase in the bilateral trade turnover. Taking up the issue of the pending claims of Indian exporters including those of the Shipping Corporation of India, State Trading Corporation and the Steel Authority of India, Shri Chatterjee requested the Russian side to settle these claims expeditiously. Mr. Egonovich on his part spoke of the prospects of enhancing bilateral trade and economic cooperation, while noting the positive work done by the sub-group on banking and financial matters. Keeping in view that rupee debt repayments were nearing completion, both sides stressed the need for continued inter bank cooperation as a means of improving trade. Shri Chatterjee also suggested reorientation of the role of the Working Group, given the changed business environment in India as well as Russia and with rupee repayments nearing completion so that it could come up with practical proposals for expanding and deepening trade and economic ties. Shri L.V. Saptharishi, Additional Secretary, Shri S. S. Kapoor, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Commerce and Industry and other senior officials participated along with Shri S.D. Kapoor, Chairman and Managing Director, MMTC Ltd., Shri S.M. Dewan, Chairman, STC and senior representatives of RBI, EXIM Bank, ECGC etc. The Russian delegation included several representatives of Russian banks as well as Russian trade representatives.

Referring to the issue of declaration of the Russian Federation as a non-market economy, the Commerce Secretary mentioned that a revised notification had been issued which applied uniformly to all countries and was of a generic nature (wherein no country was specifically named for being classified as a non- market economy). Responding to Russia’s concerns on anti-dumping issues, he said there should be regular informal consultations based on the mutually agreed line of action in such matters.

Trade between India and Russia stood at Rs 6399.11 crore in 2000-2001 as against Rs. 6807.66 crore in 1999-2000. India’s exports to Russia were valued at Rs. 4054.65 crore and imports from Russia were Rs. 2344.46 crore during 2000-2001 as against Rs. 4107.23 crore and Rs. 2700.43 crore respectively in 1999-2000. The Protocol of the Working Group Session will be signed here tomorrow.

The total import of 300 sensitive tariff lines for the period April to December 2001 has been Rs. 8364 crore against Rs. 7843 crore for the corresponding period of last year thereby showing a positive growth of only 6.7%. This figure may undergo some revision after validation of commodity codes because of the possibility of some items having been inadvertently misclassified by the importers. Provisional estimates of commodity group-wise imports from April-December 2001 as compared to April-December 2000 are enclosed.

2. At the broad group level, commodities with increase in imports and significant contribution in the total import of sensitive items are Edible oil, Cotton & silk, Spices, Rubber and Marble & Granite. Imports of food grains, fruits & vegetables & milk & milk products have shown a sharp decline at broad group level during the period.

3. In the edible oil segment, the imports have increased from Rs. 4636.77crore last year to Rs. 4981.43 crore for the corresponding period this year. A significant feature of edible oil import is that while import of Soya bean and palm crude oil has gone up, that of refined Soya bean & palm oil has gone down leading to better utilisation of the processing capacity in the country. However, import of Sunflower oil, both crude & refined, has gone down.

4. On the basis of the country of origin, the data reveals significant decrease in imports from Malaysia, Guinea Bisu, Ivory Coast, Russia, China, Ghana etc.

5. Imports from Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, Tanzania, Iran, Switzerland, Zimbabwe, Uzbekistan, USA, Greece, etc have shown increase.

IMPORT OF SENSITIVE ITEMS- PROVISIONAL ESTIMATE
Value (Rs. Crore)
Sl. No.	COMMODITY GROUP	No. of Tariff lines	Apr-Dec 00	Apr-Dec 01
1	Milk & Milk Products	22	40.42	8.81
2	Fruits & Vegetables	48	1305.50	732.86
3	Poultry	13	0.03	0.25
4	Tea & Coffee	32	27.84	28.12
5	Spices	35	128.57	214.85
6	Food Grains	12	28.43	3.20
7	Edible Oil	27	4636.77	4981.43
8	Alcoholic beverages	8	21.70	19.93
9	Rubber	11	27.32	100.10
10	Cotton & Silk	6	1449.47	2114.46
11	Marble & Granite	14	7.39	19.32
12	Automobiles	32	55.93	49.74
13	Products of concern to SSI (Umbrella, locks, toys, writing instruments, tiles, glassware etc.)	20	86.24	79.82
14	Others (wheat floor, sugar, cigarette & salt)	20	27.19	11.15
	Total	300	7842.80	8364.03

Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), Ministry of Commerce & Industry, New Delhi, dated 5^th February, 2002

India’s Exports during April-December, 2001-2002 are valued at US $ 32571.98 million which is 0.64% higher than the level of US $ 32365.45 million during April- December, 2000-2001. In rupee terms, the exports were Rs.154445.09 crore, which is 5.05% higher than the value of exports during April- December, 2000-2001.

Exports during December 2001 are valued at US $ 3697.88 million which is 1.11% higher than the level of US $ 3657.31 million in December 2000. In rupee terms the exports were Rs.17719.35 crore, which is 3.64% higher than the value of exports during December, 2000.

India’s Imports during April- December, 2001-2002 are valued at US $ 38362.28 million representing a growth of 0.31% over the level of imports valued at US $ 38242.34 million in April- December, 2000-2001.

Oil imports during April- December, 2001-2002 are valued at US $ 10626.63 million which is 14.64% lower than oil imports valued at US $ 12449.65 million in the corresponding period last year. Non-oil imports during April- December, 2001-2002 are estimated at US $ 27735.65 million which is 7.53% higher than the level of such imports valued at US $ 25792.69 million in April- December, 2000-2001.

Imports during December 2001 are valued at US $ 3967.93 million which is 1.02% higher than the level of US $ 3927.86 million in December, 2000. In Rupee terms the imports increased by 3.54%.

The trade deficit for April- December, 2001-2002 is estimated at US $ 5790.30 million which is lower than the deficit at US $ 5876.89 million during April- December, 2000-2001.

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

Department of Commerce Economic Division IMPORTS & EXPORTS : (PROVISIONAL)
(Unadjusted for late returns)
(Rs Crores)
	December	April-December
EXPORTS
2000-2001*	17097.76	147017.11
2001-2002	17719.35	154445.09
%Grw 2001-2002/2000-2001	3.64	5.05
IMPORTS
2000-2001*	18362.58	173850.95
2001-2002	19013.39	181752.89
%Grw 2001-2002/2000-2001	3.54	4.55
TRADE BALANCE
2000-2001	-1264.82	-26833.84
2001-2002	-1294.04	-27307.80
*Final figures as given by DGCI&S

Department of Commerce Economic Division IMPORTS & EXPORTS : (PROVISIONAL)
(Unadjusted for late returns)
(US $ Million)
	December	April-December
EXPORTS
2000-2001*	3657.31	32365.45
2001-2002	3697.88	32571.98
%Grw 2001-2002/2000-2001	1.11	0.64
IMPORTS
2000-2001*	3927.86	38242.34
2001-2002	3967.93	38362.28
%Grw 2001-2002/2000-2001	1.02	0.31
TRADE BALANCE
2000-2001	-270.55	-5876.89
2001-2002	-270.05	-5790.30
*Final figures as given by DGCI&S

Shri Dipak Chatterjee, (IAS: West Bengal:1966), has taken over today as Commerce Secretary. Prior to this, Shri Chatterjee was Secretary, Department of Mines, in the Ministry of Coal & Mines and before that, Secretary in the Department of Chemicals and Petro-Chemicals. He had also worked as Additional Secretary and the Designated Authority for Anti-Dumping & Countervailing Duty Investigations in the Ministry of Commerce before moving to the Department of Chemicals & Petro-Chemicals.

During his long career as a senior public administrator, Shri Chatterjee had served in various capacities both at home and abroad. During 1989-91, he was with the Commonwealth Secretariat, London. He has also the experience of working as Consultant with the Asian Development Bank, Manila, as a Financial Analyst and had also served as Joint Secretary in the Planning Commission. Shri Chatterjee succeeds Shri Prabir Sengupta as Commerce Secretary.

Shri Chatterjee studied in the St. Stephens College, Delhi and holds a post-Graduate degree in Physics from the University of Delhi. He also obtained an M.Sc. (Economic degree) from the University of Wales, UK. He has a rich and wide experience in policy formulation, management, planning, revenue and general administration as well as that of the financial sector especially pertaining to External Debt Management, Plan Finance, Economic and Technical Assistance from other countries and has undertaken several consultancy assignments among the commonwealth countries. Throughout his career, he has also held a number of key posts in the State of West Bengal.