Barriers that impede India-ASEAN trade must be removed: Sitharaman
The Dollar Business Bureau Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Thursday that if India and ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations) countries were to recognize their full potential for business then they need to fast-track the ‘corridors of connectivity’ to ‘corridors of trade’. “Barriers that impede trade must be removed besides enhanced utilization of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA),” she said while speaking at the ASEAN-India Expo and Forum, being held in Bangkok from August 2-5. Sitharaman said that for trade promotion, the introduction of non-tariff measures such as facilitating customs and operation procedures have to go a long way to ensure smooth movement of goods and services between the partner nations. The Minister termed Act East policy of India as “the pillar of its foreign policy”, ...
Hyderabad RCEP meet provides a push to negotiations: Teaotia
The Dollar Business Bureau Commerce Ministry said on Monday that the recent round of discussions in Hyderabad for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) would provide a push to the negotiations. Around 700 officials representing 16 nations including Australia and China, gathered in the city during July 17-28 to negotiate the mega trade deal RCEP. It is vital that the RCEP provides a forward looking and positive alternative with regards to rising protectionism across the world, Commerce Secretary Rita Teaotia said in a statement. “India is constructively engaged in RCEP and hopes that the 19th RCEP Round in Hyderabad would find innovative ways to provide impetus to the negotiations,” Teaotia said. The Commerce Secretary further said that the real success of RCEP will be assessed ...
Cabinet approves MoU for $9 bn export credit from Korea
The Dollar Business Bureau The Cabinet has approved a proposed agreement for export credit of $9 billion between Export-Import Bank of India (EXIM Bank) and Export-Import Bank of Korea (KEXIM) for infrastructure development in the country and for supplying goods and services as a part of project in other nations. “The Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved the proposed memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Export-Import Bank of India (EXIM Bank) and Export-Import Bank of Korea (KEXIM) for export credit of $9 billion for infrastructural development in India and for the supply of goods and services as part of projects in third countries,” said an official statement. The MoU is likely to be signed between the two sides when Finance ...
Chandrababu bags USIBCs Transformative Chief Minister Award
The Dollar Business Bureau Chandrababu Naidu, Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, has been selected for the US-India Business Council’s (USIBC) ‘Transformative Chief Minister Award’ for his role in strengthening the partnership between India and the US at the state level. The award would be presented to the Chief Minister on May 8, 2017 during the Annual West Coast Summit of USIBC in the Menlo Park, California, according to a statement. The summit will see an assembly of 150 industry leaders from across sectors including information technology (IT), manufacturing, healthcare, food processing, clean energy, banking, digital payments and officials from the Government of India for exploring the effects of manufacturing in India, the country’s move towards digitisation and cashless society and the future of ...
Aussie media highlights no breakthrough in CECA with India
PTI India and Australia failed to make a headway in finalising the long-overdue free trade deal during Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull's first visit to India though he got along well with his counterpart Narendra Modi, the Australian media revealed. Turnbull's trip had raised high hopes of breathing new life into the stalled trade negotiations but the two leaders admitted that the progress was "very slow". The Australian PM said there was no point in setting arbitrary time frames for the agreement. "You can sign an agreement any time, it’s a question of whether it’s got the provisions that make it valuable and worthwhile from Australia's point of view," Turnbull was quoted as saying by Skynews TV channel. The two covered a ...
Cabinet greenflags amendments for cess removal ahead of GST
PTI The Union Cabinet today approved amendments in the Customs and Excise Act relating to abolition of cesses and surcharges on various goods and services to facilitate implementation of GST. The amendments in the Customs Act, 1962, allow furnishing of information relating to import or export of goods by specified persons to enable analysis and detection of cases of under or over-valuation in imports and exports. It also aims to check misuse of export promotion schemes, including the Drawback Scheme, and violations of the provisions of the Customs Act and various other laws under which Customs officials have been authorised to implement these laws. "Amendments or repeal of various provisions of other Acts which will no longer be relevant consequent on rollout ...
GeM can save huge amount to the exchequer
The Dollar Business Bureau The online portal, GeM, has been launched to facilitate transparent and end to end online purchases of government goods and services. Government e-Marketplace (GeM) has been initiated by Ministry of Commerce to change the process in which government goods and services are bought and obtained. This procurement of goods and services is essential for various departments such as government sectors, organisations, public sector undertakings and autonomous bodies. GeM is a unitary marketplace that includes both goods and services made available to government buyers. The statement said that the online procurement process includes e-bidding and reverse e-auction. The other benefits comprise paperless work for vendor registration, order placement and payment processing respectively. The statement also said that the prices of goods and ...
Indo-Aus FTA on track to be sealed by year end
Source: PTI Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Prime Minister of Australia, Malcolm Turnbull in their first bilateral meeting on the sidelines of G20 Summit 2015, in Turkey on Sunday The Indo-Australia free trade agreement is on track to be sealed by the end of the year but “issues” in India could impact plans for realising the deal, Trade Minister Andrew Robb has said. The minister's latest remark came at a time when Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to meet his Australian counterpart Malcolm Turnbull and discuss the trade pact on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Turkey on Monday. The trade pact is likely to dominate talks between both the leaders who on Sunday night announced the completion of all the ...
