Apparel output drops 10.4% in Apr-Jan; Industry expresses concern
The Dollar Business Bureau India’s apparel production has shown a decline of 10.4%, during the period April-January 2017-18, according to the India Industrial Production (IIP) data released by the Ministry of Statistics and Program Implementation. The production of apparels is witnessing a continuous decline since May 2017, on month-on-month basis. From a positive growth of 1.3% in April last year, the production declined by 5% in the month of May. In June, the decline was 3.2% while in July, it recorded a dip of 5.1%. In the months of August, September, October, November and December, the apparel output recorded a drop of 6.4%, 7.2%, 11%, 13.1% and 13.5%, respectively, as per the IIP figures. Commenting on the decline, HKL Magu, Chairman, Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) ...
It is extremely important that FTA with Europe ratified soon: Amitabh Kant
The Dollar Business Bureau NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant said on Thursday it is highly important for India to ratify free trade agreement (FTA) with Europe at the earliest as nations such as Vietnam and Bangladesh already have preferential access to EU markets. “Countries like Bangladesh and Vietnam are having preferential access in European Markets and hence it is extremely important that we get the FTA with Europe ratified at the earliest,” Kant said while speaking at an event organised by Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC). The Government think tank’s CEO further said there is immense opportunity for India in the apparel sector as China has started moving out of the sector. “Today, the wages in China are 2-3 times that of India and ...
India can be the anchor for US business and investment: Juster
Anishaa Kumar On the eve of the inauguration of the eighth edition of the Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES), set to be inaugurated by the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and First Daughter and Special Advisor to President of the United States, Ivanka Trump, newly appointed US Ambassador to India, Kenneth L Juster highlighted the importance of encouraging entrepreneurs and the US and India ties. The GES will be Juster’s first major event since his confirmation as US Ambassador to India. Speaking to the media a day before the three-day (November 28-30) event to be held in Hyderabad, Juster said, “This is the most dynamic region of the world and the India and US are major democracies playing an important role in the ...
Infra sector has suffered in India due to under-investment: Amitabh Kant
The Dollar Business Bureau NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant said on Thursday that the infrastructure sector in India has suffered on account of under-investment for a long time. Kant pitched for channelling pension and insurance funds to finance infrastructure projects and also to completely re-examine the scheme of Viability Gap Funding (VGF). “We need to build up environment to tap pension and insurance funds for investments in infrastructure projects. VGF scheme needs a complete re-examination,” he said at CRISIL India Infrastructure Conclave in New Delhi. Launched in 2004, VGF scheme meant to support infrastructure projects that come under the public-private-partnerships (PPPs). VGF means a one-time or deferred grant to support the projects that are economically viable but are not financially ...
Modi sees scope for reforms in energy; receives suggestions from global cos
The Dollar Business Bureau Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday thanked Russian President Vladimir Putin and Petroleum major Rosneft, for their support and commitments to the Indian energy sector. He was referring to the $12.9 billion deal by Rosneft to acquire debt-ridden Indian refiner Essar Oil, which the two leaders helped to seal and has strengthened ties between the biggest producer and the third largest consumer of oil in the world. Modi, however, said that the status of the energy sector in India is highly uneven, while interacting with the CEOs and experts from oil and gas industry from across the world, in a meeting held in New Delhi. The Prime Minister sees scope for further reforms in India’s oil and gas sector and ...
India to see sales of 30.81 mn electric vehicles by 2040: Amitabh Kant
The Dollar Business Bureau NITI Aayog Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Amitabh Kant said on Thursday that the strong push by the Government towards e-mobility is targeted towards making India an export hub for electric vehicles. “The vehicle penetration in the country is the lowest among the developing countries. At present, India has 20 cars per 1,000 people whereas the US has 800 cars,” Kant said while addressing the 57th Annual Convention of SIAM in New Delhi. “Other countries will have the problem to make the switch to electric but India has the advantage to become the leader because of its low penetration levels. We must make India the export hub for electric vehicles,” he said. He also said that the country may be slow ...
Low productivity, absence of competitive products hindering exports: NITI Aayog
The Dollar Business Bureau Low productivity growth and absence of competitive products are two main factors that have been hindering the export sector of the country, according to a report by the the NITI Aayog. The 'Three Year Action Agenda 2017-20' of the NITI Aayog, which was unveiled by the Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Thursday said, “On the demand side, Indian firms often complain that there is inadequate demand for their products. Yet, the world market in merchandise exports at $16.6 trillion in 2015 is extremely large." Citing the reasons for Indian companies not been able to take the benefit of this huge demand, the report said, “The possible explanation is that Indian products are not competitive in the world economy.” The ...
'Writing off some debt of Air India, could be a wise move', Panagriya
The Dollar Business Bureau Niti Aayog’s outgoing Vice Chairman Arvind Panagariya has said ‘writing off some debt of Air India, so as to make it attractive to prospective investors, could be a "wise" move.’ Niti Aayog had suggested to the government to privatise the public carrier and a committee was set up under Finance Minister Arun Jaitley to carry forward the process. "I don't know whether you need to write off debt to find a buyer, I don't know the market. Transaction advisers are competent on that," Panagariya told Press Trust of India in an interview. "I am just saying that it's probably wise to write off part of the debt before this happens (privatisation of Air India)," he added. Regarding the need for asset ...