India not re-considering joining mega trade agreement RCEP, says Goyal

India in 2019 decided not to join the mega free trade agreement RCEP as the pact was not addressing its concerns and since then there has been no change in that position, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Friday.

The RCEP (Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership) agreement is being negotiated among 10 ASEAN members (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam) and their six free-trade pact partners Australia, China, India, Japan, South Korea and New Zealand.

In a written reply to the Rajya Sabha, Goyal said that the structure of RCEP did not adequately address the ambitions and concerns of India's stakeholders.

Due to that, India decided not to join the bloc, in its current form.

Accordingly, during the third RCEP Leaders Summit held on November 4, 2019, in Bangkok, India conveyed its position that current structure of RCEP did not address the outstanding issues and concerns of the country.

"There has been no change in India's position since then," Goyal said.

He replied to a question about whether the government is re-considering joining the agreement.

The remarks assume significance as in November Niti Aayog CEO BVR Subrahmanyam stated that India should be a part of the RCEP.

Goyal also said that India's imports from China have jumped to $101.74 billion in 2023-24 from $70.32 billion in 2018-19.

However, exports dipped to $16.66 billion in the last fiscal from $16.75 billion in 2018-19.

"Most of the goods imported from China are capital goods, intermediate goods and raw materials and are used for meeting the demand of fast-expanding sectors like electronics, telecom and power in India," he said.    Govt disburses Rs 20,657 cr to 9.58 crore farmers in 18th installments of PM-KISAN scheme

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  In a written reply to Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Agriculture Ram Nath Thakur informed that 9,58,97,635 farmers received Rs 20,657.36 crore under the PM-KISAN's 18th installment for August-November 2024 period.

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 The semiconductor imports in India rose 18.5 per cent to Rs 1.71 lakh crore in 2023-24, Parliament was informed on Friday.

According to data shared by the Minister of State for Electronics and IT Jitin Prasada, India imported 18.43 billion semiconductor chips in FY24. 

Citing the Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence & Statistics (DGCIS) portal, he said that in 2022-23, 14.64 billion chips were imported into the country at a valuation of Rs 1.297 lakh crore.

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Over 59,000 pucca houses have been constructed and more than 87,000 Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTG) households have received electricity connections within a year under the Pradhan Mantri Janjati Adivasi Nyaya Maha Abhiyan, the government said. 

The Minister of State for Tribal Affairs, Durgadas Uikey, in a written reply said on Thursday that 6,350 villages with PVTG populations have been provided piped water supply in the last year. The government has set a target of supplying piped water to 15,309 villages by 2026.

  Data shows that the Ministry of Power has provided new electricity connections to 87,132 PVTG households within a year. The target is to reach 2.65 lakh households by 2026.