Exporters on Thursday sought a fund of Rs 750 crore for three years to tap USD 25 billion export potential in the US, aiming to seize potential opportunities that may arise as the US President-elect, Donald Trump, has threatened to impose high tariffs on Chinese goods. In its pre-Budget meeting with the finance ministry, Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) President Ashwani Kumar has also demanded extension of the five per cent Interest Equalisation Scheme (IES). "A marketing scheme to focus on the US with a corpus of Rs 250 crore per year (Rs 750 crore overall) for three years may be launched to generate additional exports of USD 25 billion," Kumar said. He said that higher tariffs on China can create a significant opportunity for Indian exports, particularly in sectors where China has previously been a dominant supplier. Based on a study undertaken by FIEO, India can replace China in sectors like electronics and electrical equipment (USD 10 billion additional export
While aiming to protect its manufacturers from potential US tariff hikes on its exports, India is exploring ways to strengthen ties with Washington
The commerce ministry this time around may witness a repeat of 2011 when a discrepancy of about USD 9 billion was detected in the trade data for the April-November period. This time, the issue involves suspected errors in calculating gold import figures for November 2024. In 2011, there was over-reporting of export data on account of miss-classifications and double counting due to problems in the computer software, which was getting upgraded. Noticing an unusual surge in the gold imports in November this year, pushing the country's trade deficit to a record, a commerce ministry official on Wednesday said that DGCIS (Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics) has taken up detailed examination of the gold import data and reconciliation would be done with the data received by CBIC (Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs). The country's gold imports in November reached a record high of USD 14.86 billion, registering a four-fold increase, mainly on account of ..
The commerce ministry needs to properly monitor the scheme to promote exports, EPCG, as it not only allows duty-free imports of capital goods but also grants a long gestation period for meeting the export obligation, according to a CAG audit report. The scheme allows import of capital goods for pre-production, production, and post-production at nil customs duty but subject to meeting export obligations. The report also said the import of capital goods from ports other than the registered port without adhering to the prescribed procedure involves the risk of importing the goods from multiple ports using the same authorisation that have revenue implications and has the risk of misuse of the bonds. The customs and regional authorities should monitor such cases scrupulously and invoke penal action for non-compliance, CAG said in a statement. It has presented the performance audit report on the scheme in Parliament. "The scheme not only allows duty-free imports of capital goods but als
The forum also focused on increasing bilateral trade and fostering cultural exchanges
Following the Galwan clash between the two countries' forces in 2020, India imposed restrictions on investments from countries it shares a land border with to curb opportunistic takeovers
Recalling centuries-old cultural linkage between India and Armenia, President Droupadi Murmu said on Monday that there is a need to expand bilateral trade between the two countries. During a meeting with a parliamentary delegation from Armenia, she noted the close cooperation between the two countries at global multilateral fora and appreciated Armenia's membership of the International Solar Alliance and its participation in all three Voice of Global South Summits. The delegation, led by Alen Simonyan, the president of the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia, called on Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan here. Welcoming the delegates, the President recalled the centuries-old cultural linkages between India and Armenia and the multifaceted contemporary relationship based on shared values of democracy, according to an official statement. Murmu expressed India's willingness to continue contributing to capacity building and skill development in Armenia through "our various development
India's electronics exports, driving over 62% trade surplus, to dominate US talks
India and Norway will on Monday discuss ways to enhance trade and investments ties between the two countries, an official statement said on Saturday. The talks will be held between Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and Norwegian industry delegation led by May-Elin Stener, Ambassador of Norway to India. The India-Norway Business Roundtable will be be held in Mumbai. "Minister Goyal is expected to hold discussions on key opportunities and trends for further Norwegian investments in India, and potential areas of collaboration," the commerce and industry ministry said. A significant focus of the discussion will be on the recent Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between India and the EFTA countries, which holds immense potential for both nations, it said. "India is particularly keen on attracting USD 100 billion in investments from the EFTA countries, as outlined in the agreement," it added. It said the two sides will assess the opportunities in investment partnerships in logistics
Rosneft gained access to India's fuel retail market when it completed a $12.9 billion deal to acquire Indian private refiner Essar Oil in 2017
"We are looking at opportunities across all sectors and would like to import labour from India -both skilled and unskilled"
A senior Russian diplomat on Wednesday said bilateral trade between the two countries has reached a record USD 66 billion in 2024, marking a fivefold increase over the past five years, with a 9 per cent rise in the first eight months of this year. The envoy said Russia and India are on track to achieve the ambitious USD 100 billion trade target by 2030, bolstered by expanding collaborations and diversified trade opportunities. "The recent dialogues between leaders of both countries on the possibilities of diversifying the trade basket and increasing the volume of investments in multiple sectors make the target of USD 100 billion by 2030 an achievable one," said Maxim V. Kozlov, Russian Consul General in Kolkata, at an interactive session with members of the Bharat Chamber of Commerce (BCC). "India and Russia are more than strategic partners; we are all-weather friends. Our bond is built on mutual trust and shared interests, making the growth of our economic ties both natural and ...
South American nation has become a significant contributor to world crude supply
The four industrial corridors - Amritsar-Kolkata, Chennai-Bengaluru, East Coast Economic Corridor, and Bengaluru-Mumbai - have helped India become a global manufacturing powerhouse in the world, an official statement said on Tuesday. The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) is celebrating the eighth anniversary of these new industrial corridors - Amritsar-Kolkata Industrial Corridor (AKIC), Chennai-Bengaluru Industrial Corridor (CBIC), East Coast Economic Corridor (ECEC), and Bengaluru-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (BMIC). "The establishment of these corridors has been a critical step toward transforming India's industrial landscape," the DPIIT said. Spread across key regions in India, each corridor was strategically designed to integrate industry and infrastructure, establishing world-class connectivity that supports rapid industrialisation. "With high-speed rail networks, modern ports, dedicated logistics hubs, and advanced airports, these corridors are .
The Chennai-Vladivostok maritime corridor, which is likely to boost maritime ties between India and Russia, is operational now, and container ships carrying crude oil, metal and textile have started coming to Indian ports, Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said on Monday. The Chennai-Vladivostok sea route will cover a distance of about 5,600 nautical miles. "The Eastern Maritime Corridor between Vladivostok and Chennai is operational now. Container ships carrying crude oil, metal and textile have started coming to Indian ports," Sonowal told reporters here. The Eastern Maritime Corridor is estimated to reduce the time required to transport cargo between the Indian and Russian Ports of the Far East Region by up to 16 days. The time taken will come down to 24 days compared to more than 40 that it currently takes to transport goods from India to Far East Russia via Europe. The current trade route between Mumbai and St Petersburg in Russia covers a distance of 8,675 nautical miles, an
US Congressman-elect Suhas Subramanyam has said he is opposed to imposing tariffs on India as it will lead to a trade war between the two countries. Subramanyam's comments came amid the likelihood of higher tariffs on Indian exports by the new Trump administration. I don't support (imposing) tariffs on India. I think that would be really bad. It would lead to a trade war. And I don't think it's good for either country, Subramanyam told PTI in an interview. Ahead of his election as US President, Donald Trump had taken a potshot at India's tariff structure and talked about imposing reciprocal tax on countries like China and India. With Trump set to assume charge as US president, there is a likelihood of higher tariffs on Indian exports. There's a lot of businesses that do really great work in India and a lot of Indian companies are expanding to the US. So the more our countries work together economically, the stronger we'll be, Subramanyam said. Getting ready to be sworn in as a me
Speaking to ANI on Sunday, Gomes also highlighted Prime Minister Narendra Modi's strong relationship with Brazil President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva
India will not be able to reap greater benefits from the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement due to widening trade deficits with member countries and China's opaque trade practices, think tank GTRI said in its report. In 2019, India decided not to join the RCEP bloc due to concerns about trade imbalances and its impact on the domestic industries. The RCEP pact, a kind of comprehensive free trade agreement (FTA), was negotiated among the 10 ASEAN member states -- Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam -- and their six free trade partners -- China, India, South Korea, Japan, New Zealand, and Australia). The countries account for about 30 per cent of the global gross domestic product (GDP) and trade and nearly half of the world's population. "Any benefits from RCEP would likely be minimal and incremental, especially considering China's opaque trade practices. India cannot have a bilateral FTA wit
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday called for "urgent" measures to address the issue of widening trade deficit between India and Russia. While India's exports to Russia stood at only USD 2.24 billion in April-August this fiscal, imports soared to USD 27.35 billion during the period. The trade deficit is aggregated at USD 25.11 billion. The high trade deficit is mainly on account crude imports. Russia emerged as India's biggest supplier of crude oil, which is converted into fuels like petrol and diesel in refineries, after Russian oil was available on discount following some European nations shunning purchases from Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Addressing the India-Russia Business Forum here, Jaishankar also pitched for removal of non-tariff barriers and regulatory impediments to help improve the trade balance with Russia. "The balance of trade needs urgent redressal since it is so one-sided. It is imperative that non-tariff barriers and regula
Chief Economic Adviser to the Government of India V Anantha Nageswaran shared his thoughts on the impact of the US elections on India's growth at the Business Standard BFSI Insight Summit