Page 12 - Commerce Ministry

Smooth functioning of dispute settlement mechanism in WTO reforms: Goyal

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Wednesday said that the smooth functioning of the dispute settlement mechanism and consensus-based decision-making process of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) are key in the process of the reforms of the Geneva-based body. Several developed countries including the US are pitching for WTO reforms. It is also one of the priority areas of discussion in the meeting of trade and investment meetings here. G20 member countries are gathering here for that meeting. Goyal also said that common but differentiated responsibility (CBDR) should be there in the reforms as different countries have different levels of economic development. The dispute resolution mechanism, which is not working properly for the last few years, needs to be re-established consensus based decision-making should continuethese are few central principles, which should be there in the WTO reforms, he told reporters here. Goyal held a bilateral meeting with WTO Director-Gene

Commerce ministry seeking views of NITI on draft bills on 5 cash crops

The commerce ministry is seeking views from different ministries and government think tank Niti Aayog on draft bills pertaining to five cash crops like tea and tobacco, an official said. The ministry has circulated separate notes for the bills related to cash crops of tea, coffee, spices, rubber and tobacco, which seek to promote their growth and create a conducive environment for businesses by decriminalising minor offences, the official said. After taking the comments, the ministry will approach the Union Cabinet for approval on the drafts of the Spices (Promotion and Development) Bill; the Rubber (Promotion and Development) Bill; the Coffee (Promotion and Development) Bill; the Tea (Promotion and Development) Bill; and the Tobacco Board (Amendment) Bill. In 2022, the Department of Commerce proposed the repeal and updation of decades-old laws on these sectors and to introduce new legislation with a view to promoting their growth and creating a conducive environment for ...

GeM enabled govt to save over Rs 45,000 cr since 2016: Commerce ministry

Procurement through the GeM portal have enabled the government to save over Rs 45,000 crore since its launch in 2016, the commerce ministry said on Wednesday. Government e-Marketplace (GeM) is India's online marketplace for public procurement. Launched in 2016, GeM facilitates transparent and efficient procurement for government departments, organisations and PSUs. "A hallmark of GeM's success lies in its dedication to cost savings, having enabled the government to save over Rs 45,000 crore since 2016," it said in a statement. It also said that the portal has surpassed the achievements of renowned public procurement platforms such as South Korea's KONEPS and Singapore's GeBIZ. Central buyers, including CPSEs and allied bodies, have floated over 70 bids worth over Rs 100 crore on the portal in 2022-23. With nearly 6.5 million sellers and 70,000 government buyers registered on the platform as of July 2023, the cumulative GMV (Gross Merchandise Value) surpassed Rs 4.5 lakh crore, ..

First trial shipment of fresh pomegranate exported to US: Commerce ministry

The commerce ministry on Tuesday said the first trial shipment of fresh pomegranate has been exported to the US through the air route. It was facilitated by the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA). APEDA Chairman Abhishek Dev said the increase in pomegranate exports to the US would result in higher price realisation and an increase in farmers' income. "As the long-distance market and high cost was prohibitive in commencing commercial operations, the export of trial shipment of pomegranate would help in building capacities among Indian exporters and US importers by ensuring that quality fruits are exported," it said. Buoyed by the acceptance of Indian mangoes in the US, exporters are hopeful that pomegranate would also become a successful product there. 'Bhagwa' pomegranate from Maharashtra has substantial export potential and almost 50 per cent of the fruit's export from the country is from the state's Solapur district. In 2022-23, 62,280

Commerce dept seeks Centre's nod for US-led IPEF 'supply-chain' agreement

The primary goal of the agreement is to enhance the 'resilience, efficiency, productivity, sustainability, transparency, diversification, security, fairness, and inclusivity' of supply chains

Trying to change WB's perception of being not industry-friendly: Minister

West Bengal Industry and Commerce Minister Shashi Panja on Friday said the government is fighting hard to change the perception that the state is not industry friendly so that more investments can now come to the state. Speaking at the AGM of Merchants' Chamber of Commerce & Industry (MCCI) here, Panja said the very notion of ease of doing business (EoDB) is being utilised to kill that perception of the past and the government is giving a major thrust on this area. "The state government and the Industry department is fighting against decades of perception of West Bengal as being not so conducive investment destination. We are trying to kill that perception of the past. The Industry department is giving a major thrust on ease of doing business by introducing facilities like single-window clearance. Of course, there are some other things which need to be streamlined as well", Panja said. She said that this negative perception of West Bengal should not prevail in the minds of ...

Commerce ministry looking at fixing export target in range for this fiscal

With the increasing global economic uncertainties, the commerce ministry is looking at fixing this fiscal year's export target in a range instead of a single figure, an official said. To set the target range, a detailed study on 200 countries and 31 commodity groups is in the process, the official said. The target range would depend on parameters such as the USD 1 trillion merchandise exports target by 2030; import to GDP ratio of importing countries; export to GDP ratio of India that will tell the potential and past trends. "We are not fixing any export target as a figure. In fact, my team has done an exercise, where we are saying that let us talk in terms of range. In the best scenario, the exports can be this much and in the worst scenario, it can be this much," the official said. For a monitoring purpose of exports every month, the official said a fixed number would be required and that could be a mid-value or an average may be accepted. The ministry has though fixed an intern

Commerce ministry to increase bandwidth to negotiate free trade pacts

With a number of countries approaching India for negotiating bilateral free trade agreements (FTAs) to boost economic ties, the commerce ministry is looking at ways to increase its bandwidth for undertaking these time and human resource consuming talks, a senior official said. The commerce ministry officials at present are negotiating several FTAs with countries including the UK, Canada and European Union. "Negotiations are really time consuming and energy consuming and human resource consuming. Therefore, we are trying to increase the bandwidth within the commerce department," the government official said. Indian trade service officers are expected to be engaged more in the negotiations of free trade agreements. Latin American countries such as Peru are also interested in doing an FTA with India and India is also looking deeply into that, the official said. South American trade bloc MERCOSUR is also keen to expand the scope of existing preferential trade agreements to an FTA. Ind

WPI inflation sinks to near eight-year low of minus 4.12% in June

Third straight month of dip in inflation, mainly due to high base and moderation across all three major components

Commerce ministry to promote trade, investment; priortise 12 countries

The commerce and industry ministry has worked out a detailed plan to promote trade and investment and identified 12 countries including the US and UK for priority action, an official said. The plan was formulated by a task force comprising officials from the department of commerce, department for promotion of industry and internal trade, Indian missions abroad and Invest India. Under the plan, the task force has identified calender of activities for these 12 priority nations -- US, Brazil, Canada, UAE, Saudi Arabia, UK, Germany, Sweden, Japan, Taiwan, South Korea and Russia, said the official who did not wish to be named. The plan was prepared after an in-depth analysis of export-import trends. outbound investments trends and strategic engagements with over 20 countries. As part of the plan, the ministry will organise road shows in different countries, which will encompass investment and trade promotion engagements. Industry and exporters are also encouraged to organise world-leve

Comm min asks exporters to focus on potential sectors to boost exports

The commerce ministry on Monday asked exporters to focus on potential key sectors such as food, electronics and engineering and 12 major markets to boost exports, an official said. It was also suggested to focus on organising fairs and exhibitions at global scale, the government official said. These issues among others were discussed during a meeting called by the ministry with the industry and exporters. The meeting was chaired by commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal. The six sectors which hold huge potential to increase the country's exports include food, textiles, engineering, electricals and electronics, medical devices, pharma and auto components. The main global destinations where exports could be promoted further include the US, UK, Brazil, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Sweden, Taiwan, Korea, Japan and Russia. An industry representative, who participated in the meeting, said that emphasis was given on both trade and investments. Increasing investments will help in promoti

Commerce Ministry to meet exporters over declining exports on Monday

The commerce ministry has called a meeting of exporters on Monday to take stock of the situation, as the country's outbound shipments have been contracting for the last four months, an official said. Exporters are expected to flag issues like extending greater support to participate in global exhibitions and fairs; expediting negotiations to conclude free trade agreements with the UK, Canada, Israel and GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council); and allowing industry double weighted deduction on salary to professionals to retain talent in India. Exports declined for the fourth-consecutive month by 10.3 per cent year-on-year to USD 34.98 billion in May, while the trade deficit widened to a five-month high of USD 22.12 billion, according to the ministry data. Cumulatively, exports during April-May this fiscal contracted by 11.41 per cent to USD 69.72 billion, while imports declined 10.24 per cent to USD 107 billion. Demand slowdown in major markets, high inflation in developed economies and the

Last date for exporters to apply for amnesty scheme extended till Dec 31

The last date to apply for availing benefits of the amnesty scheme for one-time settlement of default in export obligation by certain exporters has been extended for six months till December 31, the commerce ministry said on Friday. Earlier, June 30 was fixed as the last date for registration under the scheme. The government announced the new foreign trade policy (FTP) on March 31. It included an amnesty scheme for exporters for one-time settlement of default in export obligation by the holders of advance and EPCG (export promotion for capital goods) authorisations. Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), under the ministry, also said that the last date for payment of customs duty plus interest has been extended till March 31, 2024. "The last date to apply under the amnesty scheme has been extended till December 31, 2023," DGFT said in a public notice. Under the scheme, all pending cases of the default in meeting export obligation (EO) of certain authorisations can be regular

Comm min allows EPCMD to issue export registration, membership certificates

The commerce ministry has authorised the newly-established Export Promotion Council for Medical Devices (EPCMD) to issue registration-cum-membership certificates for exporters of specific items such as bandages and first-aid boxes. Under the foreign trade policy, a Registration-cum-Membership Certificate (RCMC) is required for exporters to avail benefits under the policy. Holding the certificate can also help exporters in availing benefits with respect to customs and excise. The certificate is issued by export promotion councils and commodity boards. The directorate general of foreign trade (DGFT) in a public notice stated that the council has been included in FTP for "issuing RCMC for specific items". These items also include hot water bottles, ice bags, gloves, personal protective garments for surgical/medical use, surgical gowns and drapes, syringes, with or without needles, and stethoscopes. Raghuveer Kini has recently taken charge as the executive director of the council. ...

Govt seeks industry feedback on challenges in PLI to enhance effectiveness

Goyal urged officials to hold regular consultation and roundtables with PLI beneficiaries

Indian steel, aluminium products to get greater mkt access in US: Comm min

The commerce ministry on Friday said the US has agreed to provide greater market access to certain Indian steel and aluminium products, a development which would help increase outbound shipments of these goods. This was part of the agreement reached between the two countries which have decided to terminate six trade disputes at the World Trade Organisation (WTO). The six cases are countervailing measures on certain hot-rolled carbon steel flat products from India, certain measures relating to solar cells and modules, measures relating to the renewable energy sector, export-related measures, certain measures on steel and aluminium products, and additional duties on some products from the US. "As a part of the agreement, the US has agreed to grant market access to steel and aluminium products under the exclusion process of Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act 1962," the ministry said in a statement. India has also agreed to remove the retaliatory tariffs on certain products. Howev

Backed by mobile devices, electronics up 2 notches to 4th place in exports

In this period, electronics exports touched $4.54 billion, an increase of 48 per cent from the previous year in the same period when it was $3.06 billion

GatiShakti must be leveraged to benefit sectors beyond infra: Piyush Goyal

He highlighted that the area development approach under PM GatiShakti can be used for engaging with aspirational districts of NITI Aayog

US secretary of state, commerce secretary to address 'India Ideas Summit'

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and several top members of the Biden administration will join powerful Congressional leadership and top corporate players from India and the US at this year's 'India Ideas Summit' next week. The theme for this year's two-day summit beginning on June 12 is Trust, Resilience, and Growth and will focus on how these three organising principles underpin the US-India economic partnership across sectors. The annual summit of the US India Business Council (USIBC), which is part of the US Chambers of Commerce, gains significance this year as it comes ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's first state visit to the US which starts on June 21. On Monday, June 12th, we're gonna have the Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, come and speak to our group. We are also gonna have a session with Deputy Secretary of State Rich Verma. We are looking to see how we can lift the ambitions of the United States and India for even greater .

Government accords priority to keep prices under check: Piyush Goyal

Commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal on Wednesday said the government accords priority to keeping prices under check and that is the reason why inflation is low in India as compared to several developed nations. He said that a group of ministers regularly meets and discuss the price situation. "Prime Minister Narendra Modi gives priority to keep prices under check," Goyal told reporters here while briefing about increase of Rs 143 in the minimum support price (MSP) of paddy to Rs 2,183 per quintal for this year. He added that before 2014, the average inflation rate used to be at 10-12 per cent, but after the Modi government came to power the average rate of inflation in the last nine years has come down to 4.5 per cent. "On one side we are increasing MSP and on the other hand, we have kept the inflation under control," he said. The prices in India are much lower when compared to most of developed countries, where inflation is in double digits. Wholesale prices in India fel