The Ministry of Textiles, under the leadership of its Secretary, convened the 8th Empowered Programme Committee (EPC) meeting today at Udyog Bhawan, New Delhi. The meeting focused on advancing India’s technical textiles sector, which is poised to play a significant role in the nation’s industrial and educational landscape. In a significant move to foster innovation, the committee approved grants of approximately INR 50 lakhs each to four promising start-ups under the ‘Grant for Research & Entrepreneurship across Aspiring Innovators in Technical Textiles (GREAT)’ scheme. These start-ups are working on cutting-edge projects in key strategic areas such as composites, sustainable textiles, and smart textiles, which are critical for the growth and modernization of the industry. In a parallel development aimed at strengthening the academic infrastructure, the EPC also sanctioned a grant of approximately INR 20 crores to five educational institutes. These funds will be used to introduce specialized B.Tech courses in technical textiles. The new courses will cover various applications including geotextiles, geosynthetics, composites, and civil structures, reflecting the growing importance of technical textiles in multiple sectors. This initiative aligns with the broader goals of the National Technical Textiles Mission, which seeks to position India as a global leader in technical textiles by promoting innovation, research, and education. The introduction of these courses is expected to build a strong foundation for the next generation of engineers and innovators in the technical textiles domain. By empowering start-ups and academic institutions alike, the Ministry of Textiles is taking decisive steps to ensure that India not only meets its domestic demands but also becomes a key player in the global technical textiles market.
Source: News on Air
Rationalisation of the Goods and Service Tax (GST) rates and change in slabs are “on the discussion table,” finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Tuesday, adding that a fresh process will be initiated in this regard at the GST Council meeting on September 9. The minister’s statement indicates the Narendra Modi 3.0 government will accord high priority to the much-awaited structural overhaul of the comprehensive indirect tax. A committee of officers will present the status of the current GST rates and the revenue trends after the GST was rolled out in July 2017 at the 54th Council meeting. The re-constituted Group of Ministers, headed by Bihar deputy chief minister Samrat Choudhary, would make a detailed presentation in front of the Council on the work done so far and the unfinished agenda. “A short discussion on rate rationalisation may happen among ministers in the Council,” Sitharaman said. She, however, added that any decision on the rate rejig would take longer as the GoM would need time to prepare its recommendations. Official sources said that the GoM is currently looking into various aspects of rate rationalisation. This includes ascertaining whether commodities of similar nature have the same GST rates so that there are no classification disputes. Reducing the number of slabs from four now to three is under consideration. The reconstituted GoM had its first meeting last week, after which state finance ministers who are a part of the ministerial panel spoke against the need to tweak the four major tax slabs under the indirect tax regime. The GST Council meets at least once in a quarter. At present, the GST structure has four slabs – 5%, 12%, 18%, and 28%. As per an RBI study, the weighted average tax rate under the GST had come down to 11.6%, from 14.4% at the time of its launch as against the revenue-neutral rate (RNR) of 15.5%. Sources said the weighted average rate has even come down further to below 11%. However, some experts have pointed out that the RNR of the GST base was actually lower and there is no need to follow the 15.5% rate. They cite the current buoyancy in tax collections. As the proceeds from the GST compensation cess will be enough to repay loans, taken to compensate states in the past, ahead of the scheduled time (March 2026), sources said the Council will discuss the way forward on these cesses.
Source: Financial Express
The Ministry of Textiles has approved four start-ups with a grant of approximately fifty lakh rupees each at the eighth Empowered Programme Committee meeting chaired under the National Technical Textiles Mission in New Delhi today. The four startups have received grants under the Grant for Research and Entrepreneurship across the Aspiring Innovators in Technical Textiles scheme. These startups are focused on key strategic areas of composites, sustainable textiles, and smart textiles. The committee has also approved a grant of approximately twenty crore rupees to five education institutes to introduce courses in technical textiles under the ‘General Guidelines for Enabling of Academic Institutes in Technical Textiles’. The approved institutes have proposed to launch a new B.Tech courses in different fields of technical textiles, including geotextiles, geosynthetics, composites, civil structures, etc.
Source: Newsonair
The 10th Round of the India-Australia Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) negotiations took place from August 19-22, 2024 in Sydney. The discussions focused on key areas including goods, digital trade, government procurement, rules of origin, and agri-tech. This round of negotiations, held after a gap of approximately five months since the 9th Round, was marked by intense dialogue aimed at bringing greater clarity and convergence on the remaining provisions. Intersessional meetings were held between the two rounds to bridge differences and work towards alignment on these and other unresolved tracks. The Indian delegation was led by Rajesh Agrawal, chief negotiator and additional secretary, Department of Commerce, government of India, while the Australian side was headed by Ravi Kewalram, chief negotiator and first assistant secretary in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), Australia. The negotiations saw significant efforts to narrow differences, with both sides striving to better understand each other's proposals and seeking ways to achieve convergence. These discussions were mindful of domestic sensitivities, with a shared goal of reaching a balanced and mutually beneficial outcome, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry said in a press release. All five negotiating tracks presented their findings and outcomes in a joint meeting of the chief negotiators, who provided further guidance for the future direction of the talks. It was agreed that, given the clear understanding achieved on the proposals under the five tracks, track leads from both sides would develop an action plan for continued negotiations via virtual meetings before the next round, expected to take place in India. In addition to the formal negotiations, the Chief Negotiators reviewed the broader bilateral trade and investment relations between India and Australia. Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening and enhancing the economic partnership, building on the positive impact of the India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA), which came into force on 29 December 2022. Efforts were made to ensure that the CECA negotiations deliver meaningful benefits and a balanced outcome for both nations. On the sidelines of the 10th Round, fruitful discussions were held with key stakeholders including Jodi McKay, national chair of the Australia India Business Council (AIBC), and Pat O’Shannasy, CEO of Grain Trade Australia. The round table meeting, organised by Australia, also saw the participation of the Consul General of India in Sydney. These discussions explored the feasibility of deepening economic cooperation between India and Australia through the CECA negotiations, with a particular focus on promoting investments. The next round of the India-Australia CECA negotiations is likely to be held in November 2024 in India.
Source: Fibre2fashion
India’s Andhra Pradesh state will unveil a new textile and garments policy aimed at attracting significant investments in the sector, which the government has recognised as a crucial driver of employment and economic growth, as reported by the S Savitha, State Textile Minister. Savitha highlighted the state’s commitment to creating a favourable environment for investment. She noted that the textile industry is eager to invest in Andhra Pradesh, and the government is actively working to support this. Savitha mentioned that many industrialists had either left the state or ceased operations during the previous government’s administration. She pointed out that there are numerous opportunities for establishing textile units in the agro textiles, geo textiles, and mobile textiles sub-sectors within the state. Additionally, Savitha emphasised that Andhra Pradesh ranks second in the nation for silk production, sixth in cotton production, and seventh in jute production. The state is home to nine textile and apparel parks, including three in the private sector.
Source: India Textile Journal
GST Taxpayers valid bank accounts to be barred from filing GSTR-1 from Septemer 1 GST taxpayers who do not furnish bank account details to GST authorities will be barred from filing outward supply return GSTR-1 from September 1, GST Network (GSTN) has said in an advisory. As per GST Rule 10A, a taxpayer is required to furnish details of a valid bank account within a period of 30 days from the date of grant of registration, or before furnishing the details of outward supplies of goods or services or both in Form GSTR-1or using Invoice Furnishing Facility (IFF), whichever is earlier. "From 1st September, 2024 this rule is being enforced. Therefore, for the tax period August-2024 onwards, the taxpayer will not be able to furnish GSTR-01/IFF as the case may be, without furnishing the details of a valid bank account in their registration details on the GST portal," GSTN said in an advisory dated August 23. The GST Council in its meeting in July last year, had approved an amendment to Rule 10A to strengthen the registration process and to effectively deal with the menace of fake and fraudulent registrations in goods and services tax (GST). As per the amendment, a registered taxpayer was required to furnish the details of the bank account having his name and PAN within 30 days of the grant of registration or before the filing of a statement of outwards supply in Form GSTR-1/IFF (invoice furnishing facility), whichever is earlier. In the advisory, the GSTN asked all the taxpayers who have not yet furnished the details bank account having his name and PAN within 30 days of the grant of registration or before the filing of a statement of outwards supply in Form GSTR-1/IFF (invoice furnishing facility), whichever is earlier. In the advisory, the GSTN asked all the taxpayers who have not yet furnished the details of valid bank accounts to add their bank account information in their registration details by visiting the GST portal. "...in absence of a valid bank account details in GST registration, you will not be able to file GSTR-1 or IFF as the case may, be from August 2024 return period," the GSTN advisory added.
Source : The Hindu
Synopsis India and Oman are close to finalizing a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) to increase bilateral trade and investments. The agreement would benefit Indian exports, including textiles and pharmaceuticals, by eliminating duties. Improved direct shipping links were also discussed to reduce trade costs and enhance economic ties. Discussions for the proposed free trade agreement (FTA) between India and Oman are at an advanced stage and both sides hope to conclude the pact early, Indian Ambassador to Oman Amit Narang said on Tuesday. The pact will give a significant push to bilateral trade and investment ties between the two countries, he said. The pact, officially known as the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), is expected to boost Indian exports to the west Asian country by eliminating duties, especially on petroleum products, textiles, electronics, pharmaceuticals, machinery, and iron and steel. "Discussions for a bilateral CEPA with Oman are at an advanced stage. We hope to conclude these discussions early and once this is done, this will be a significant push to bilateral, not just trade, but also bilateral investment ties," Narang said. Addressing an event organised by Ficci here, the Indian Ambassador to Oman also highlighted the significant potential for enhancing direct shipping links between the two nations as a large part of Indian exports to Oman come not directly but through the UAE. He said the India-Oman bilateral trade, which crossed USD 12 billion in 2022- 23, has moderated and settled at USD 8 billion in FY24. "Between 2021 and 2023 the bilateral trade between India and Oman more than doubled... we went from USD 5 billion to cross USD 12 billion. "In the past financial year, the bilateral trade has moderated a little bit, it has settled to USD 8 billion... moderation is mainly on account of over dominance of hydrocarbons in the bilateral trade," Narang said. "India imports a lot of oil and fertilisers from Oman and this decline in the value terms of the trade this year is a reflection of the decline in values of these two commodities globally," Narang said. He pointed out that a large part of Indian exports to Oman come not directly but through the UAE and these are not reflected in the India-Oman bilateral trade but in India's trade with the UAE, adding that there is potential for enhancing direct shipping links. "Currently, I understand that there are two shipping lines... there is therefore huge potential for direct shipping to reduce cost of bilateral trade and that will have a significant impact in further improving our bilateral trade figures," Narang said. Addressing the event virtually, Indian Ambassador to the UAE Sunjay Sudhir said India will soon upgrade its political engagement with the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) as a whole in the very near future. The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) brings together six Arab countries -- Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE. "With ongoing efforts towards integration of our card system, instant payment platforms and messaging systems, economies of India and the UAE will be more closely integrated in the future," Sudhir said. He further asserted that GCC has emerged as an important hub for innovation with countries like the UAE and Saudi Arabia leading the charge, adding that the future holds immense potential for deeper cooperation in emerging sectors such as artificial intelligence, health-care and space technology reflecting the mutual aspirations for prosperity and sustainable development.
Source: Economic Times
Synopsis Nirmala Sitharaman met Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and Prime Minister Lawrence Wong to strengthen bilateral ties. Accompanied by other Indian ministers, they discussed enhancing cooperation in digitalisation, skill development, sustainability, and other areas, ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's expected visit next month. Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman Monday met Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and Prime Minister Lawrence Wong to take forward bilateral strategic partnership. She was joined by external affairs minister S Jaishankar, commerce minister Piyush Goyal and railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.
Source : Economic Times
China is pushing global use of the yuan to reduce the impact of potential Western sanctions.It aims to guard against sanctions in scenarios such as military conflict over Taiwan, a researcher says.
But China's trade partners face challenges in using more yuan.
China is on a drive to expand the use of the yuan internationally, but a researcher says Beijing's near-term intent is more about protecting against sanctions than currency dominance. "China's strategies to develop an alternative financial system are defensive rather than offensive — at least for now," Zoe Liu, a fellow for China studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, wrote on Wednesday. Liu wrote that Beijing's goal was to minimize any impact of potential sweeping sanctions from the West in "extreme geopolitical scenarios such as a military conflict over Taiwan," which China claims as its territory. Her post was published on the website of the Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum, a London think tank. "Expanding the use of the renminbi in trade is less challenging than increasing its status as an international reserve currency," Liu wrote. Countries around the world have been diversifying their assets and chipping away at the dominance of the US dollar over fears that — like Russia — they could be shut out of the world's greenback-based financial system should sanctions hit. However, king dollar is so entrenched in the world's financial system that few really think it can be dethroned.
The yuan faces challenges in its globalization
While the US and China's strategic competition points to a possible race for currency supremacy, the Chinese yuan is far from ready — and even Beijing knows that.
An often-cited hurdle to the yuan's internationalization is China's use of capital controls to maintain financial stability. This means Beijing has control over how much foreign money can move in and out of China's economy, which in turn influences the foreign-currency exchange rate.But Liu wrote that capital controls weren't necessarily a dealbreaker for the broader adoption of the yuan in trade. "China is already a top trading partner for over 120 countries, and the Chinese government is willing to facilitate exports by offering currency swaps and providing trade finance," she explained. But the yuan's path to becoming an international reserve currency is fraught with obstacles because of other factors. The factors listed by Liu include the lack of risk-free yuan-denominated assets, the somewhat closed nature of the Chinese financial market, and the preference of China's leader, Xi Jinping, for one-man rule rather than the rule of law.
Businesses have reservations about using the yuan
Recent data from China's central bank shows that even Chinese businesses aren't that sold on the yuan, as they hold back on converting their foreign-exchange earnings into the Chinese currency. This appears to be primarily because of the yuan's current weakness. It also shows that it's not so easy to displace the mighty US dollar as the world's top reserve and trading currency of choice. A recent global survey of about 1,660 enterprises showed that there just wasn't enough interest in using the yuan to trade.
Conducted in March by China's Bank of Communications and Renmin University, about three-quarters of the survey's respondents were in East Asia. Another fifth of respondents were in Southeast and Central Asia. Half of the companies surveyed said the main stumbling block to wider use of the yuan was simply because their trading partners weren't willing to use the currency. About 64% of all respondents said complex policies were the main obstacle, and more than 40% cited the compatibility of laws and regulations and barriers to capital flow as major difficulties.
Source: Yahoo News
The UAE’s foreign trade reached 1.39 trillion dirhams ($379 billion) in the first half of 2024, marking an 11.2 percent increase year on year, according to the latest official data. The figures reveal a significant rise in non-oil exports, which totaled 256.4 billion dirhams, up 25 percent from the previous year, according to a statement released by the government. Additionally, non-oil exports to the UAE’s top 10 trading partners surged by 33.4 percent, underscoring the country’s growing trade prominence, the Emirates News Agency, also known as WAM, reported. This comes as the share of non-oil exports of the UAE’s total foreign trade stands at 18.4 percent. Economic relations with various countries had strengthened, with trade increasing by 10 percent with India, 15 percent with Türkiye, and 41 percent with Iraq, which had become the top destination for UAE exports, followed by India, Turkiye, and others.
Source: Eport News
Korea’s seven national flag carriers, including Korea Marine Transport Co. (KMTC), will launch ships for small and medium-sized enterprises on eight routes in Southeast Asia. The move is aimed at supporting mid-sized Korean exporters facing business difficulties due to soaring shipping freight rates. The Korea International Trade Association (KITA) announced on Aug. 27 that it has partnered with KMTC, Janggeum Merchant Marine, Heung A Shipping, Namyang Shipping, Chun Kyung Shipping, Pan Ocean, Pan Continental Shipping, and Dongjin Shipping to provide transportation support on Southeast Asian routes through the end of the year. Forwarding company LX Pantos will also join the support project. The Korea International Trade Association (KITA) announced on Aug. 27 that it has partnered with KMTC, Janggeum Merchant Marine, Heung A Shipping, Namyang Shipping, Chun Kyung Shipping, Pan Ocean, Pan Continental Shipping, and Dongjin Shipping to provide transportation support on Southeast Asian routes through the end of the year. Forwarding company LX Pantos will also join the support project.
Through the project, the KITA will provide freight space of about 300 TEU container boxes every week on eight routes in five countries — Vietnam (Ho Chi Minh City and Haiphong), Thailand (Bangkok and Ramchabang), Malaysia (Port Klang), Singapore and India (Chennai and Nhava Sheva) at freight rates that are lower than market prices.
The reason for the KITA’s support is that ocean freight rates have been on a sharp rise this year due to the Red Sea Incident. In particular, container ship freight rates on Southeast Asian routes have increased nearly fivefold from $318 in January to $1,482 in August. This is a higher growth rate than those of North American West Coast routes and Northern Europe routes, which have doubled in the same period.
“We will lower the rates by applying lower rates applied to large companies with high creditworthiness to mid-sized exporters,” said an official from the KITA, explaining that the program is voluntary participation by shipping companies without any budgetary support. The KITA plans to recruit mid-sized companies to participate in the project through its website by Sept. 6. Our support will cover cargoes that can be loaded into dry containers such as general merchandise.
Source: Businesskorea
