Synopsis India on Thursday said it has not made any proposal to the Maldives for a bilateral free trade agreement (DTA) and that it was ready to consider if the island nation expresses interest for such a pact. "No specific proposal for a bilateral FTA with the Maldives has been made by the Government of India," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said. Denying reports of offering any Free Trade Agreement (FTA) proposals to Maldives, the Ministry of External Affairs on Thursday said that if Maldives is considering FTA with India, it will surely be looked into. MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that the Indian government has not offered any Free Trade Agreement (FTA) proposal to the Maldivian government. "On Maldives, we have seen some reports the Minister speaking about we (India) offering FTA. We havent done so. If Maldives is considering FTA with us, we will surely look into it," Jaiswal said during the weekly presser. Last week, Maldivian Economic Minister Mohamed Saeed announced that efforts were underway to reach a new Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between Maldives and India, as reported by Maldivian online news outlet Adhadhu. Notably, an FTA was signed between South Asian countries in 2004. The agreement was titled the South Asian Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA). The agreement was signed to empower the region economically and facilitate trade. Maldives signed SAFTA but it does not have FTAs with individual countries in the region, Adhadhu reported. Maldivian Economic Minister Saeed made this statement during a press conference last week and said India had requested for an FTA with the Maldives, to which, MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal denied. "In my recent talks with India, they expressed their wish to have a free trade agreement with Maldives separately, in addition to SAFTA. The President wants to have that opportunity with all countries," Maldivian Economic Minister said. Earlier this month, the Indian government provided a budget support to Maldives in the form of a rollover of USD 50 million Treasury Bill, for an additional year at the request of Maldivian Foreign Minister Moosa Zameer. "State Bank ofIndia has subscribed for one more year the USD 50 million Government Treasury Bill, issued by the Ministry of Finance of Maldives, upon maturity of the previous subscription. These Government Treasury Bills are subscribed by SBI under by SBI under a unique Government-to-Government arrangement at zero-cost (interest-free) to the Government of Maldives," the Indian High Commission in Maldives said in a statement. This extension of the subscription has been done at the request of the Maldivian government. The ministry further appreciated the Indian government's support to the Maldives in the form of budgetary allocation. Calling it a "true gesture of goodwill," Maldives Foreign Minister Moosa Zameer thanked External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar after India extended budgetary support to Maldives in the form of a rollover of USD 50 Million Treasury Bill.
Source: The Economic Times
Synopsis The commerce ministry recently conducted a 'Chintan Shivir' in Rajasthan's Neemrana to discuss issues related to Free Trade Agreements (FTAs). The event included deliberations on standard operating procedures (SoPs) for FTA negotiations, capacity building, and addressing contemporary issues like labor, environment, and gender. Participants emphasised the importance of economic assessment, digital trade challenges, and interdisciplinary support for successful negotiations. They highlighted the need for expertise in law, economics, data analytics, and industry-specific knowledge. The commerce ministry held deliberations with experts, former officers and senior officials from different departments on framing a standard operating procedure for free trade pacts and other related issues under these agreements, an official release said on Tuesday. The commerce ministry in the release stated that the 'Chintan Shivir' was organised on May 16-17 at Neemrana, Rajasthan. "The Shivir facilitated discussions on various issues related to negotiations of Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) by India, its position and strategy that should be adopted for such negotiations," the ministry said. The participants also deliberated on standard operating procedures (SoP) for FTA negotiations, capacity building and resource management for trade negotiations as well as certain contemporary issues under modern FTAs such as labour, environment, and gender It said that Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal spearheaded the deliberations which sought to chart a strategic course for India's future engagement in FTA negotiations. Economic assessment and modelling of FTAs, addressing new disciplines into FTAs such as labour, environment, gender, and indigenous people; and services and digitaltrade in FTAs were among the main themes for discussions, it said. SoP for FTA negotiations including stakeholder consultations; capacity building and FTA resource management; and leveraging trade agreements to address emerging areas such as CBAM (carbon border adjustment mechanism), supply chain disruptions, critical minerals, and artificial intelligence were also discussed. It said that participants in the economic assessment session highlighted that detailed economic studies, including models like computable general equilibrium, are necessary to guide FTA negotiations. The participants also discussed the need for careful consideration of trade and industrial policies together. On the digital trade issue, the experts and officials discussed the challenges of data sovereignty, consumer protection and cybersecurity. The session also explored India's data adequacy issues under the EU GDPR (European Union General Data Protection Regulation) and the significant challenges posed by the evolving landscape of e-commerce and digital trade. In the SOP session, speakers and participants discussed the drafting of SOP and its benefits in enhancing the objectives of trade agreements and creating documentational or institutional memory for future negotiations, it added. "Participants discussed the challenge of on-the-spot drafting requiring mechanisms to draft agreements in real-time during negotiations to ensure clarity and immediate consensus, and how the negotiators can ensure that commitments undertaken are pre-approved," the ministry said. Speakers also highlighted the importance of interdisciplinary support noting that successful negotiations require expertise in law, economics, data analytics, and industry-specific knowledge. In a different session, the ministry said, it also emerged during discussions that India should negotiate a dedicated chapter on critical minerals or critical minerals-based agreements, especially with such mineral-rich countries to protect India from abrupt disruption in the supply chain.
Source: The Economic Times
Indian government bond yields were largely unchanged on Friday after tracking US yields lower in early trade, as traders await fresh debt supply through the weekly auction. The benchmark 10-year yield was at 6.9915 per cent as of 9:55 a.m. IST, following its previous close of 6.9966 per cent. "At the current levels, traders want to assess fresh demand at the auction, and hence the early rally has seen a pause," trader with a primary dealership said. New Delhi will raise Rs 29,000 crore ($3.48 billion) through the sale of bonds later in the day and the auction includes a new five-year paper worth Rs 12,000 crore. US yields eased after data showed the world's largest economy grew slower than estimated in the first quarter as consumer spending was revised lower, suggesting the Federal Reserve has scope to cut interest rates later this year. Gross domestic product grew at a 1.3 per cent annualised rate, down from the advance estimate of 1.6 per cent and notably slower than the 3.4 per cent pace in the final three months of 2023. Bets of a rate cut in September improved marginally to 51 per cent from 47 per cent before the data, according to the CME FedWatch Tool. Back home, the central government has bought back bonds worth an aggregate of around Rs 23,000 crore this month and cut the supply of Treasury Bills by Rs 60,000 crore till the end of June, amid strong cash position. Traders await the result of the general election due on Tuesday, followed by the Reserve Bank of India's monetary policy decision on Friday. The RBI will cut interest rates just once this year, most likely in October-December rather than next quarter, although there was no clear majority among economists polled by Reuters on the timing of the first move.
Source: Business Standard
A simmering dispute between textile sizing unit owners and the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) came to a head this week over allegations that the regulator plans to shutter operations in the textile hub. At a meeting on Tuesday organised by the local Sizing Association, industry representatives claimed the MPCB has unfairly targeted their factories while turning a blind eye to other entities discharging an estimated 8.5 crore litres of untreated sewage daily into area rivers and waterways.
"The MPCB is issuing shutdown notices to us for lacking bio-digesters to treat effluents, despite previously advising us to purchase land and install the treatment systems ourselves," stated Jayant Marathe, president of the association.He cited the high costs and logistical hurdles involved in self-managing bio-digesters as prohibitive for most sizing unit owners. Marathe declared that if the regulatory pressure persists, the town's 150 textile sizing facilities, which employ nearly 4,500 workers, would go on an indefinite strike. Such a move could have cascading impacts on Ichalkaranji's vital weaving, handloom, and powerloom textile sectors. For its part, the MPCB has yet to publicly address the allegations but has historically defended its monitoring and enforcement efforts as critical for controlling industrial pollution.
The heating conflict highlights the challenges developing regions like Maharashtra face in balancing economic development with environmental protection. With sizing an indispensable component of the textile production chain, all stakeholders have incentives to find a compromise solution.
Source: KNN India
Synopsis The geopolitical situation has reshaped India's export patterns, particularly in the engineering and machinery sectors. While opportunities in the Russian market have expanded, exporters must navigate the complexities of sanctions and banking reluctance to capitalize on this growth. Russia's ongoing conflict with Ukraine and the resulting international sanctions have significantly impacted India's export landscape. Over the past financial year, India saw a substantial increase in the export of engineering goods, machinery, machine parts, and aircraft spares to Russia, while traditional exports such as pharmaceuticals, tea, coffee, and tobacco either stagnated or declined, reported TOI. Despite the growing interest from Russia to import Indian goods, exporters face challenges due to the fear of sanctions and the reluctance of banks to process transactions. Industry experts suggest that some goods destined for Russia may be rerouted through the UAE, which has benefited from the geopolitical tensions between Ukraine and Russia. Russia has become India's fourth-largest trading partner, with total trade estimated at $65.7 billion, driven largely by substantial oil imports. However, this trade relationship has also resulted in India having a significant trade deficit with Russia, second only to China, standing at over $57 billion. There has been some movement towards allowing Russian exporters to invest more freely using rupee payments, facilitated by mechanisms already in place by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Indian exporters remain cautious, primarily due to banks' hesitancy to engage in transactions that might attract sanctions. The auto components sector, which initially saw increased interest post sanctions, has largely stayed away due to Indian companies' significant exposure to American buyers and global car manufacturers. Official data from the financial year 2023-24 shows that exports to Russia increased by over 35% to $4.3 billion, even as India's overall goods exports declined by more than 3%. Of the $1.2 billion increase in exports to Russia, nearly half was attributed to machines and machine parts, including electronics, as per the TOI report.
Source: The Economic Times
India's economy is expected to have grown at a slower pace in the January-March quarter than the previous three months, dampened by a moderation in manufacturing and urban spending, but economists see economic momentum remaining strong in Asia's third-largest economy. The median forecast from a survey of 54 economists put GDP growth at 6.7 per cent year-on-year for the three months, the fourth quarter of India's 2023/24 fiscal year, lower than the higher- than-expected 8.4 per cent expansion in the previous quarter. In the October-December quarter, growth was boosted by a sharp fall in subsidies, while gross value added (GVA), seen by economists as a more stable measure of growth, rose 6.5 per cent. In the March quarter, GVA growth is seen at 6.2 per cent. Driven by an increase in state infrastructure spending and strong urban demand, the economy has shown remarkable strength in the face of global headwinds. The central bank expects the economy to grow by close to 8 per cent this fiscal year, which would be the highest among large economies globally.
The GDP figures will be released on Friday at 1200 GMT.
"Sustained momentum in domestic demand is likely to have underpinned the stellar performance of the economy," said Ankita Amajuri, economist at Capital Economics, which expects 7.5 per cent growth in March quarter. High-frequency indicators data for April including auto sales, housing loans and fuel consumption reflected strong urban demand, though there were concerns about weak rural demand despite forecasts of a normal monsoon this year. On Wednesday, S&P Global Ratings raised its sovereign rating outlook for India to "positive" from "stable", adding that regardless of the outcome of national elections it expected broad continuity in economic reforms and fiscal policies. It expects the economy to grow at 6.8 per cent in the current fiscal year starting April, and close to 7 per cent annually over the next three years. India's marathon national election is in its final stage with votes scheduled to be counted on June 4, and investors are gearing up for Prime Minister Narendra Modi securing a third term in office. India is among the world's fastest-growing economies but growth is below what is needed to create jobs in the economy, some economists say. Raghuram Rajan, former governor of the Reserve Bank of India, has said India's economy needs to grow by around 9 per cent-10 per cent annually for next couple of decades to create good jobs for millions of educated young people and achieve the target of becoming a developed country by 2047.
Source: Business Standard
The Economist Intelligence Unit’s (EIU) Global Outlook report has forecast India to be the fastest growing major economy in 2024-2028, with its growth expected to outpace China’s. The report suggests that as India's economic heft expands, there would be a crossover in the mid-2040s with BRICS nations taking over the G7 in terms of nominal gross domestic product (GDP). The EIU has revised its forecast for real GDP growth for 2024 to 2.5 per cent compared to 2.4 per cent previously. “...growth will be unchanged rather than slowing from 2023. Growth is proving surprisingly resilient in the face of high interest rates and geopolitical risks,” the EIU Global Outlook report said. Over the next five years, EIU has projected the global economy to grow by 2.8 per cent, with more fragmentation and regionalisation in the world economy dragging the growth potential. “The return of industrial policy, including sanctions and the provision of new incentives, will push firms to adopt more inefficient supply chains, stoke trade tensions in strategic sectors and make it difficult to compete across the global marketplace,” the EIU report said. The finance ministry’s monthly economic review for April said that after a strong growth which surpassed market expectations in FY24, early indications suggest a continuation of the economic momentum in the first quarter of FY25. S&P Global Market Intelligence in its October 2023 report projected India will become the world’s third-largest economy, overtaking Germany and Japan, by 2030 on the strength of its youthful demographic profile and rapidly rising urban household incomes. S&P Global Ratings on Wednesday had also revised its outlook on India to positive from stable, citing robust economic expansion. Rating agencies including Fitch and Barclays have revised India's GDP growth projection for FY24 to 7.8 per cent due to strong domestic demand and persistent growth in business and consumer confidence levels. The International Monetary Fund in April had raised India’s GDP growth projection for FY25 by 30 basis points to 6.8 per cent in its update to the World Economic Outlook, amid buoyant domestic demand.
Source: Business Standard
PhonePe has launched secured lending products on its platform by partnering with banks, non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) and other fintech firms, it said on Thursday. Walmart-owned PhonePe said it has more than 535 million registered users and aims to create a “powerful and seamless user experience” in the secured loans category. Customers can access to lending solutions on the PhonePe app in six major categories. mutual fund, gold, bike, car, home and loans against property, and education loan. “This provides us with the opportunity to connect lenders and millions of our customers across the country on a single platform to meet their financial needs,” said Hemant Gala, chief executive officer (CEO) of PhonePe Lending. “Lenders are investing heavily in digitising the secured loan journeys and customers are adapting to the digitisation at a rapid pace.” PhonePe has partnered with Tata Capital, L&T Finance, Hero FinCorp, Muthoot Fincorp, DMI Housing Finance, Home First Finance, rupyy, Volt Money, and Gradright for secured lending. More lenders will be added in the coming weeks. The platform has 15 active partners and aims to scale to 25 by the next quarter. Users can avail of the facility under the existing ‘loan’ section on their PhonePe app, select their desired category, and choose from a list of lenders. The loan application journey is initiated within PhonePe’s familiar app environment, eliminating the need to navigate multiple applications, and simplifying the process for the user. Sudipta Roy, managing director and CEO at L&T Finance, said the collaboration aims to empower individuals and families to realise their homeownership and mobility aspirations. Vivek Chopra, chief operating officer of Retail Finance at Tata Capital, said the partnership highlights the company’s effort to boost credit penetration in India. Bharat Lamba, co-founder and chief business officer of Volt Money said his company is leveraging PhonePe's extensive reach and Volt Money's financial offerings. “PhonePe changes the game by (taking) our service from a few thousand to millions of students,” said Aman Singh, co-founder of Gradright.
Source: Business Standard
China will reinstate tariffs on 134 items it imports from Taiwan next month after the Ministry of Finance said it would suspend concessions given on the items under a trade deal because Taiwan had not reciprocated. The Cross-Strait Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) between China and Taiwan was initially signed in 2010. China in December suspended tariff concessions for some products under the ECFA, but the finance ministry said the island has not reciprocated. "The Taiwan region has unilaterally adopted discriminatory measures such as prohibiting and restricting the export of mainland products, which violates the provisions of the (agreement)," the finance ministry said. The suspension of the tariff concessions are due to take place from June 15 and would apply to products imported from Taiwan including base oils, the ministry said. Taiwan's China-policy making Mainland Affairs Council said in a statement that the ECFA deal had benefited both sides' companies since it was signed. "We call on the mainland to deal with differences through constructive dialogue that does not involve political prerequisites and stop economic and trade pressure." China views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, a position the government in Taipei rejects. Chen Binhua, spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office, said Taiwan had unilaterally adopted discriminatory trade restrictions on the export of more than 2,500 mainland products.
Source: Business Standard
China's container throughput has experienced a notable increase, rising 9 per cent year on year (YoY) in the first four months of 2024, according to official statistics. The Ministry of Transport reported that ports across the country handled a total of 104.03 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) during this period. In terms of cargo throughput, China's ports managed 5.55 billion tonnes from January to April, reflecting a 5.2 per cent rise compared to the same timeframe last year. This growth is indicative of an expansion in foreign trade, Chinese media reports said quoting the ministry. The data further highlighted a substantial 9.1 per cent increase in foreign trade cargo throughput over the same period in 2023. Additionally, China's overall goods imports and exports saw a 5.7 per cent year on year growth in yuan terms, surpassing the 5 per cent growth recorded in the first quarter.
Source: Fibre2fashion
Summer is not usually a time when commuters look forward to getting on the train. However, this year, overground passengers have something to look forward to.In February, Mayor Sadiq Khan announced that the London Overground is to be rebranded. Now, with Khan safely re-elected, the changes will go ahead. By the end of the year, the Overground will be divided into six new lines, each with new names and colours. One line in particular holds significance for London’s Jewish community. The purple Weaver Line will travel from Liverpool Street to Cheshunt or Chingford, passing through stations including Bethnal Green, Hackney Downs, Stoke Newington, and Stamford Hill. These areas of London have a strong Jewish heritage and are still home to Jewish communities today. According to Transport for London, the name of the new Weaver Line was chosen because it will travel through “areas of London known for their textile trade, shaped over the centuries by diverse migrant communities and individuals”. As outlined in an official TfL blog, these communities are Huguenot, Jewish, and Bangladeshi. At various points in time, all these groups have lived and worked in East London, each playing a significant role in the development of the London textile trade. The Huguenots began arriving from France as refugees from religious persecution in the late 1600s and were instrumental in establishing a thriving textile trade in the East End of London, mainly in Spitalfieds. Today, one can walk through the Tenter Streets in Tower Hamlets, named after the equipment, used to hold fabric taut for drying (the equipment is also the origin of the phrase “on tenterhooks”). Jewish migrants followed in the 19th and 20th centuries. According to the Museum of London, between 1880 and 1914, 150,000 Jews from Eastern Europe and Russia arrived in the UK, many fleeing religious persecution. This was followed by a wave of migration in the 1930s. Large numbers settled in the East End, between Spitalfields and Whitechapel, many earning a living in the textile and fashion industries. By the late 1960s, the fashion scene had moved across the city to the West End. On Carnaby Street, one of the centres of the fashion world, more than half of the shops were once owned by Jews. The current exhibition at the Museum of London Docklands, Fashion City: How Jewish Londoners shaped global style (extended until 7 July), showcases the work of Jewish Londoners in fashion. Dr Lucie Whitmore, curator of the exhibition, says that part of her motivation in creating the show was to highlight a history that has not been brought to prominence in the past. “That’s the thing that’s missing: the acknowledgement that Jewish migrants and their descendants have had an absolutely massive impact on London’s fashion reputation and that needed to be acknowledged.” Today, the East End has a large Bangladeshi community. Bangladeshis began arriving in London in the 1950s, with many settling around Brick Lane and Spitalfields. The building on 59 Brick Lane, which was once a Huguenot chapel and then an Ashkenazi synagogue, is now a mosque. Like those who preceded them, many Bangladeshis were involved in the textile trade. Now, East London has become better known for its restaurants and bars, but the history of the area is evident on every street. “I like that we are situated in a narrative of migration,” says Rabbi Roni Tabick, of the New Stoke Newington Synagogue. “There’s something about that continuity between those three communities which is so lovely, and it’s so London. And I think having the Weaver Line trying to capture all three of our communities and the role we’ve played is lovely.” Ian Stone, historian of London and grandchild of a Jewish tailor in the East End, also sees the symbolism in the new name: “If you look at that Huguenot story, if you look at that Jewish story, there are so many similarities. It does speak to a weaving of communities into the fabric of London life. If people become more aware of that, it can only be a good thing.” The reaction is not all positive, however. Rabbi Tabick sees irony in a new name that celebrates community connections in the context of tensions between Jews and Muslims since the war in Gaza. “There’s millions of pounds being spent on this rebranding effort,” Rabbi Tabick says, “and fine – I support that, I get the need but I also think some money should be spent on trying to create the sort of community cohesion that the names are celebrating. “It can’t all be down to individual Jews and Muslims to reach out to each other and try to build bridges. We need some investment in that work. It’s so important. And I think that, unfortunately, there isn’t much being invested in it at the moment.” As a mere rebranding project, perhaps the new line does as much as it can. “You can only ever do your best with these things,” Ian Stone concludes. “You take a long-term view of this, and hope that that weaving – that fabric, that textile – continues.”
Source: Jewish News
