2 2nd JULY 2018
GUJARAT+NORTH INDIA
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Suresh Prabhu reviews strategy for revitalizing India’s Exports
China to reduce tariffs on 8,549 types of goods from India, 4 other Asian Countries
Govt plans to sell Air India building in Mumbai to JNPT
GUJARAT+NORTH INDIA
2nd JULY 2018 11
Govt approves financial assistance to ECGC & NEIA to boost exports NEW DELHI: In an effort to boost exports, the Government has approved financial assistance of over Rs. 3,000 crore to the Export Credit Guarantee Corporation (ECGC) and National Export Insurance Account Tr ust (NEIA). These were among the many proposals approved at the meeting of the Cabinet and the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA). ECGC will receive capital infusion of Rs. 2,000 crore while NEIA will have grant-in-aid (corpus) of Rs. 1,040 crore. This will help in providing insurance cover approximately up to Rs. 3 lakh crore. ECGC provides insurance cover to exporters of goods in case of payment default by the receiving party or in other incidence. Similarly, NEIA provides insurance cover for project export.
Interim Finance Minister Piyush Goyal said more financial assistance will help exporters, especially those belonging to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). Echoing similar sentiment, an official statement said that it would strengthen India’s exports to emerging and challenging markets like Africa, CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) and Latin American countries. “With a stronger under writing capacity, ECGC will be in a better position to support Indian exporters to tap new and unexplored markets. Increased capital infusion will help ECGC to diversify its product portfolio and provide cost effective credit insurance helping exporters to gain a stronger foothold in the difficult markets,” it added.
Covers from the corporation will help in improving competitive position of India exporters in international markets. “More than 85 per cent of customers benefited by ECGC’s covers are MSMEs. ECGC covers exports to around 200 countries in the world,” it mentioned. Talking about additional grant to NEIA, another official statement said that the amount of Rs. 1040 crore is to be utilised during three years from 2017-18 to 2019-20. “An amount of Rs. 440 crore has already been received for the year 2017-18 and Rs. 300 crore each will be given to NEIA for the years 2018-19 and 2019-20,” it said. It would strengthen NEIA to support project exports from the country that are of strategic and national importance.
Decline in rupee against US dollar to provide level playing field for exporters: FIEO NEW DELHI: Collapse of Indian rupee to a lifetime low of 69.10 against the US dollar will not give an extra edge to domestic exporters, but provide a level playing field in global market, FIEO said recently. Fe d e r a t i o n o f I n d i a n E x p o r t Organisations (FIEO) Director General Ajay Sahai said the development will not provide any additional support to exporters as currencies of other emerging economies, including China, too are depreciating.
"It will provide a level playing field to our exporters. It will not provide a much needed support as India is not singled out," Sahai said. India's exports grew 20.18 percent to $28.86 billion in May -- the highest in six months, even though the trade deficit widened to a four month high of $14.62 billion. During 2017-18, the exports grew by about 10 percent to $303 billion. The rupee has touched a lifetime low of 69.10 against the US dollar recently
as rising crude oil prices deepened concerns about the country's current account deficit and inflation dynamics. Consistent dollar demand from banks and importers, mainly oil refiners, following higher crude oil prices kept the rupee under pressure. Global oil prices have climbed after the US asked its allies to end all imports of Iranian oil by November. Concerns over supply disruptions in Libya and Canada also pushed prices higher.
GMR Infrastructure bags mandate to develop Port in Andhra Pradesh HYDERABAD: GMR Infrastructure Ltd has been chosen the successful bidder under the Swiss Challenge mode to develop a greenfield commercial port in Andhra Pradesh. The proposed port would be located about 30 km North of Kakinada and is proposed to be developed as an all-weather, deep draft, multi-cargo port. Mr. BVN Rao, Business Chairman, Transportation & Urban Infrastructure of GMR Infrastructure Ltd in a statement said, “This is an important milestone that will charter new frontiers of recognition and growth for the entire GMR Group, in India and internationally.” The port is located at one of the strategic nodes of the Vizag Chennai Industrial Corridor and is expected to
benefit from the associated corridor developments. Given the strategic location, the port is expected to become the gateway to the East Coast. Once operational, the port will have an initial capacity of 16 million tonnes. GMR has offered a revenue share of 2.7 per cent of gross revenue payable to the AP Gover nment under the bid for 30 years. The Government has approved provision of external infrastructure such as a road connecting the nearest highway to the port boundary, water supply up to the port boundary and power supply from the nearest substation up to the port boundary, under the AP Ports Policy. It proposes to provide infrastructure support of Rs 200 crore.
“This will augur well for a huge leap forward in the economic development graph of the region, while improving our port’s potential to attract even more prestigious clients, taking the project valuation up many-fold,” he said. Kakinada Special Investment Region (KSIR) is being developed as a port-based multi-product special investment region. While the port would be spread over about 1,950 acres, the industrial park will come up over 8,500 acres. This Special Investment Region would house various industries including petrochemicals, food and agro processing, electronics, renewable energy, offering a combination of export-oriented SEZs and domestic market oriented DTAs.
Record export growth of Indian spices in 2017-18 NEW DELHI: India exported a record 10,28,060 tonnes of spices and spice products valued at Rs 17,929.55 crore in 2017-18 as against 9,47,790 tonnes worth Rs 17,664.61 crore in FY 2016-17, registering an increase of 8 per cent in volume and one per cent in rupee terms. In dollar terms, exports of spices were pegged at USD 2,781.46 million, notching an increase of five per cent as compared to 2016-17, a Spices Board release said here. "Exports of Indian spices maintained an increasing trend during 2017-18, attaining an all-time record in both volume and earnings," Spices Board Secretary A Jayathilak said.
Equally heartening was the fact that the total exports exceeded the target fixed for 2017-18 both in terms of volume and value, he added. Compared to the target of 10,23,000 tonnes valued at Rs 17,665.10 crore (USD 2,636.58 million) for the financial year 2017-18, the achievement was 100 per cent in terms of volume, 101 per cent in the rupee and 105 per cent in dollar terms, he said. "The appreciable increase in exports in 2017-18 was the consequence of innovative market interventions and the emphasis on value-added products by the Board to promote Indian spices globally,"
the official said. During FY 2017-18, small cardamom, cumin, garlic, asafoetida and tamarind and seeds like ajwain (Bishop's weed or carom), mustard, dill seed and poppy seed showed an increase both in volume and value, contributing substantially to spice export basket. During the period, a total volume of 17,200 tonnes of spice oils and oleoresins worth Rs 2,661.72 crore were exported as against 12,100 tonnes valued at Rs 2,307.75 crore in the preceding year, marking an increase of 42 per cent in volume and 15 per cent in value.