Ministry of Textiles organized an interactive Session with Foreign Missions in India for Bharat Tex 2025 at Sushma Swaraj Bhawan, New Delhi yesterday. The event saw participation from over 30 Foreign Missions in India namely Australia, Azerbaijan, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Denmark, Egypt, Finland, Indonesia, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Lesotho, Montenegro, Malaysia, Mongolia, Mexico, Peru, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Russia, Sri Lanka, Somalia, Taiwan, Togo, Thailand, Uzbekistan and Vietnam.
Union Minister of State for External Affairs and Textiles, Shri Pabitra Margherita graced the event as the Chief Guest. The session was also attended by Secretary, Ministry of Textiles, Ms. Rachna Shah; Special Secretary, Ministry of External Affairs, Shri P. Kumaran; Additional Secretary, Ministry of Textiles, Shri Rohit Kansal; Trade Advisor, Ministry of Textiles, Ms. Shubhra; industry leaders and officials. Speaking on the occasion, the Minister invited the ambassadors and representatives of various countries to proactively participate in Bharat Tex 2025. Describing it as the largest and the most comprehensive textiles event ever, he described Bharat Tex as a unique effort to bring the entire value chain of textiles under one roof. He highlighted the entrepreneurial spirit of the Indian textile industry in finding innovative solutions for the challenges posed by the global textile industry. He underlined that Bharat Tex will reaffirm the attractiveness of India as a reliable, sustainable sourcing destination as well as an investment destination at a large scale for textiles. The sector has the potential to provide large scale employment across the value chain and touch the lives of people across all social spheres. With innovation, collaboration, and the Make in India spirit at its core, this event is an embodiment of the 5F vision of the Prime Minister- Farm to Fibre to Factory to Fashion to Foreign, he added.
Ms. Rachna Shah also highlighted the role of Bharat Tex in the Global Textiles Industry. She invited the attendees to participate as a Partner Country in the mega textile global event. Further she emphasised on India’s focus on the Textiles sector with strong policy support backed by various incentives and schemes including PLI and PM-MITRA Parks.
Bharat Tex is a mega global textiles event being organized by a consortium of Textile Export Promotion Councils (EPCs) and supported by the Ministry of Textiles. Scheduled to be held from February 14 to 17, 2025 BHARAT TEX 2025, is positioned as a global scale textile trade fair and knowledge platform. The event will be held simultaneously at two state of the art venues: Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi and India Expo Centre and Mart, Greater Noida. While the main event will be held from February 14-17 at the Bharat Mandapam and will cover the entire value chain of textiles, exhibitions pertaining to handicrafts, garment machinery and ethnic apparel will be held from February 12 to 15 at the India Expo Centre and Mart, Greater Noida.
Bharat Tex 2025 aims to build on the resounding success of the first edition in 2024. Built around the twin themes of resilient global value chains and sustainability, this year’s show promises to be even more vibrant and attractive than the first edition, attracting top policymakers, global CEOs, international exhibitors, and global buyers. A record number of over 5,000 Exhibitors, 6,000 international buyers from over 110 countries and over 1, 20,000 visitors are expected to participate in this year’s event.
The Bharat Tex 2025 exhibition will feature dedicated pavilions for Apparel, Home Furnishings, Floor Coverings, Fibres, Yarns, Threads, Fabrics, Carpets, Silk, Handlooms, Handicrafts, Technical Textiles, Apparel Machinery, Dyes & Chemicals and many more. It will also have a retail High Street focusing on India’s fashion retail market opportunities.
The textile mega event will also provide a platform for global textiles dialogue covering conference, seminars, CEO roundtables, and B2B and G2G meetings across various key topics such as Industry 4.0, Sustainability, Global Value Chain, Investment, Trade among other areas.
Attendees can look forward to live demonstrations, cultural events, and fashion presentations, designer and brand exhibitions and sustainability workshops, and expert talks. Bharat Tex 2025 aims to serve as a unique and consolidated platform to showcase India’s full textile value chain, while highlighting its strengths in fashion, traditional crafts, and sustainability initiatives.
Source: PIB
Shillong (Meghalaya): Union Minister of Textiles Giriraj Singh is set to go on a two-day visit to Meghalaya from October 25 to 26, as per an official release. On October 25, the Minister is slated to inaugurate the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) permanent campus at Umsawli and attend the convocation ceremony of NIFT. Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma, and Minister of State for External Affairs and Textiles Pabitra Margherita will also attend the inaugural programme. Later in the day, Giriraj Singh will visit Ri Bhoi district and review the Aspirational District Programme and the implementation of various central government schemes to discuss developmental initiatives during his meeting with the district administration officials, the release stated. He will also visit the Eri Silk Village in Umden to interact with local weavers, artisans, and tourism stakeholders. Additionally, he will further visit beneficiaries in key locations of the region, including Umkon-1 Anganwadi Centre (AWC) and Marngar Primary Health Centre (PHC). As per the release, the visit of the Union Minister underscores the priority given by Prime Minister Narendra Modi government with a focus on infrastructure, connectivity, healthcare, education, startups, entrepreneurship, and tourism development aligning with the vision of 'Viksit Bharat' and 'Viksit Purvottar'.
Source: Ani News
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that India wants to enhance its influence in the world as one in every six persons is Indian and the world cannot ignore India's economy. While participating in a panel discussion on the 'Bretton Woods Institutions at 80: Priorities for the Next Decade', organised by the Center for Global Development on the sidelines of the World Bank and International Annual Meetings 2024 in Washington, DC, Sitharaman stated that no country, whether US which is far away or China which is very close cannot ignore India. When asked how nations like India and other big emerging markets step up and play a role that helps to take ownership of that process and drive the reform forward, Sitharaman said, "Yes, absolutely possible. And on this, I just want to again start from where a thought of my Prime Minister came in and this is well thought through. He once said India's priority is not to impose its dominance. In the sense we have the biggest democracy, we have in the world, the largest population but to enhance its influence. Now why do we want to have our influence enhanced? It's only because the fact that today one in every six person in the world is an Indian and you just cannot ignore our economy and the way in which it is growing, that's the second." "And third, the skilled manpower which today is in India and also everywhere else running large corporations which are for running institutions which are in large countries, developed countries. But yet that particular point that Larry mentioned, that in today's world, the course which developed countries took, starting from producing textiles, cycles, bicycles and something else, and reaching development, is no longer available. It is going to be something else," she added. Stressing that no country can ignore India, Union Finance Minister stated, "Are we in a position to define that path? In that, one flag post which I want to draw your attention to about India and its role is leading on technology, servicing through technology, leveraging technology and that is where when you look at Indians everywhere you are saying that they are the ones before sitting and readily saying yes we will give you the systems which can run complex corporate whether it is a refining system, oil refining system, whether it is multilateral banking system or anything else. So, you really can't ignore and also the geopolitical neighbourhood in which we live. No country, the US which is very far away from us or China which is very close to us, cannot ignore us."
Nirmala Sitharaman stated that India has always backed multilateral institutions and did not at any time seek to undermine any multilateral institution. She said that expectations pinned on multilateral institutions are fissured away as no solutions are coming out of them. Expressing India's support for multilateral institutions, the Union Minister said, "I think we have followed policies of strategic and peaceful multilateralism. The multilateralism of which you want us to speak about. India has always stood in favour of multilateral institutions. We didn't want any time undermining of any multilateral institution. But progressively we see the hope and the expectations which are pinned on multilateral institutions are fissured away because we think no solutions are coming out of them." "So again, Larry said, these institutions now are not offering an alternative pathway. That is where one of my points is, the core competencies of these institutions, in that they look at so many different economies, look at the dynamism with which some economies are growing and some which are getting stunted, the information base that they have, they should be the first ones to share the information and they should be the first ones to also suggest without imposing," she added. Sitharaman stressed that multilateral institutions should strengthen themselves for the global good. She said that shaping the future is an ambitious goal and called for the involvement of Bretton Woods institutions in it. She said, "In one of my earlier conversations with Larry, he voiced the concern, saying how would institutions like IMF and the World Bank go about telling an economy to a country that your economy is in a wretched position, you can't do anything about it. They can't, they cannot and they need not." "But yet, they can, with a wealth of information and experience and the manpower, the kind of human resources they have, share in time information with countries and also lead to build the strength of institutions, not tear down institutions, but strengthen up institutions for the global good, which I would think is very necessary to strengthen multilateralism. We are in favour of multilateralism. We of course spoke about a lot of things about, LiFE, which is a mission in India, LiFE being the lifestyle for environment, adapt to certain kinds of living and so on," she added. Stressing the Bretton Woods institution’s role in shaping the future, the Union Finance Minister said, "Shaping the future is one very ambitious nice goal and we need to follow that and we need to have Bretton Woods institutions work on that rather than reacting to future developments. Unfortunately, in the last few decades, we see them reacting to future developments with the strength that they have. And I think, therefore, information sharing is one thing."
The Bretton Woods Institutions are the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). They were set up at a meeting of 43 countries in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire in the US in July 1944. Their aims were to help rebuild the shattered postwar economy and promote international economic cooperation. In her remarks, Sitharaman said, "India, of course, has International Solar Alliance, Biofuel Alliance, and we're talking about disaster-resilient infrastructure and all these need money. All these need help for countries which are in smaller economies, island economies, which need them. So, through the digital public infrastructure that we have publicly funded and taken it up to different countries, we are spreading that attention and I think these are areas in which India will contribute."
Nirmala Sitharaman arrived in Washington, DC on Wednesday. India's Ambassador to the US, Vinay Kwatra, welcomed her in Washington, DC. Prior to visiting Washington, DC, Sitharaman was in New York.
Source: Business Standard
Major ports, owned by the central government, registered a 6 per cent growth in cargo in September at 65 million metric tonnes (mmt), primarily driven by crude oil cargo shipments and an increase in miscellaneous commodities. The previous month saw a near 9 per cent increase in export-import (Exim) cargo and a 1.9 per cent fall in coastal cargo. Crude Oil and miscellaneous (other) commodities, which cumulatively account for a third of major port cargo, saw an increase of 9 per cent and 41 per cent respectively. On the other hand, ahead of the festival season, the last month also saw private ports – or non-major ports – reversing their slow growth so far this fiscal, seeing a cargo growth of 10 per cent, with a 12 per cent increase in Exim cargo. For major ports, containers, which are a proxy for trade of finished goods, grew only by 3 per cent in September as private ports took a large pie of festive shipments with a 26 per cent growth.
While crude oil volumes at non-major ports had been contracting throughout the financial year (FY25), September saw a sharp 20 per cent year-on-year rise in crude oil shipments, and experts opine that these volumes will continue to rise as crude oil cargo at private ports had been sluggish due to planned shutdowns in refineries of oil majors like BPCL Kochi, IOCL and Nayara Energy took planned shutdowns in this fiscal, which also impacted the petroleum product exports.
Major ports have so far in FY25 handled 414 million mmt of cargo, which is a 5 per cent increase compared to the last year. At this pace, they outpace their private peers growing at 4 per cent. During the same period last year, major ports were on a slow growth trajectory with a 2.4 per cent growth in cargo, and over the last two years, the first half of the financial year has been fraught with international shipping challenges such as the Russia-Ukraine war, Israeli attacks across West Asia and the prominent emergence of Iran in the Israel-Palestine conflict.
In terms of port performance, traffic at Deendayal Port Authority (Kandla Port) grew by 28 per cent in September. Part of it is due to a low-base effect, as the port struggled with cargo in FY24 and lost its place as the biggest cargo-handling major Port to Odisha’s Paradip Port. So far in FY25, Kandla Port’s cargo handling has grown by 13 per cent.
Coastal cargo accounts for nearly a fourth of the total cargo volumes at major ports and almost a fifth at non-major ports. While the first half of the FY24 had seen a 20 per cent increase in coastal cargo at non-major ports, central government-owned ports had seen negligible growth. In FY25, coastal cargo at major ports has grown by 4 per cent to 93 mmt, while it has decreased by 2 per cent to 65 mmt at non-major ports. According to experts, the growth of coastal cargo at major ports can be majorly attributed to the coal evacuation from Paradip Port which handles close to 31 per cent of the coastal cargo amongst all with other ports like Chennai, Kamarajar port and even JNPA witnessing healthy growth, although the share in overall volumes remains low. The Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy expects cargo movement at major ports to slow down to 3.1 per cent in the current fiscal year. “A rise in traffic of major commodities such as petroleum, oil & lubricants (POL) and containerised cargo will push the overall growth upwards while a fall in traffic of coal and iron ore will restrict overall growth in 2024-25. Together, POL, coal, containerised cargo and iron ore account for over 77 per cent of the total cargo traffic,” it said earlier this month.
Source: Business Standard
The commerce ministry's investigation arm DGTR has recommended an anti-dumping duty of USD 422 per tonne on Chinese drawer sliders with a view to guard MSME units. In its findings, the Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) has concluded that 'Telescopic Channel Drawer Slider' has been exported to India at a price below the normal value, resulting in dumping. The imports are also undercutting the prices of the domestic industry, the DGTR has said in a notification. "The authority recommends imposition of anti-dumping duty on the imports," it said. The directorate had "suo-motu" initiated the probe against the alleged dumping of this product to guard micro, small & medium enterprise (MSME) units against cheap imports from the neighbouring country. Usually, anti-dumping investigations are initiated based on an application filed by domestic producers, but since the fragmented industries did not have the know-how of the procedures involved in the trade remedy probe, the directorate carried out the investigation on its own. Imports of these sliders from China have increased to 46,276 tonnes in 2022-23 from 17,436 tonnes in 2019-20.
The finance ministry takes the final decision to impose duties.
Anti-dumping probes are conducted by countries to determine whether domestic industries have been hurt because of a surge in cheap imports. As a countermeasure, they impose these duties under the multilateral regime of Geneva-based World Trade Organization (WTO). The duty is aimed at ensuring fair trading practices and creating a level-playing field for domestic producer’s vis-a-vis foreign producers and exporters.
India has already imposed anti-dumping duty on several products to tackle cheap imports from various countries, including China.
Source: Business Standard
Exports to eight out of India’s top 10 destinations, including the Netherlands, the United States (US) and the United Kingdom (UK), witnessed positive growth during the first six months of the current financial year (FY25), despite muted global demand amid geopolitical challenges, commerce department data showed. During April-September, exports to China and South Africa witnessed 9.4 per cent and 2.3 per cent contraction, respectively. India’s overall exports during the same period saw a marginal growth of 1 per cent at $213.2 billion.
Source: Business Standard
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping held bilateral talks on Wednesday, the first formal meeting in half a decade. The trade and investment relation between the two countries has continued to remain robust despite the ups and downs in the bilateral ties.
China has been among India’s top two trade partners for close to over a decade, although New Delhi’s import dependency on Beijing has been high as compared to exports. Government data showed that imports from China peaked at $101.7 billion during the financial year 2023-24 (FY25), as compared to $60.4 billion a decade ago. The share of imports from China fell to 15 per cent in FY24 from 18 per cent in FY15. On the other hand, exports grew at a slower pace to reach only $16.67 billion in FY24 from nearly $12 billion in FY15. Share of exports to China remained stagnant at 3.8 per cent over the past decade. As a result, trade balance continued to remain in China’s favour and peaked at $85 billion in FY24. Data also showed that foreign investment from China hasn’t been robust. During the first six months of the calendar year 2024, the FDI equity inflow from China stood at $3.09 million, with a share of mere 0.01 per cent of the total inflows. Cumulative FDI equity inflows between April 2000 and June 2024 stood at $2.5 billion, with a share of 0.36 per cent.
Source: Business Standard
Synopsis BRICS nations have decided to boost trade using local currencies and explore new financial infrastructures. They agreed to study the feasibility of an independent crossborder settlement system and establish a BRICS reinsurance company. The New Development Bank will also be developed further. They emphasized financial cooperation and inclusion in financial transactions. Kazan: BRICS nations on Wednesday agreed to strengthen trade and financial settlement in local currencies, study feasibility of an independent cross-border settlement and depositary infrastructure, and a BRICS reinsurance company. The leaders also agreed to jointly develop the New Development Bank into a new type of multilateral development bank (MDB) in the 21st century and supported further expansion of the BRICS-led bank's membership. In the declaration issued after the 16th BRICS Summit here, the leaders reiterated their commitment to enhancing financial cooperation within BRICS. "We recognise the widespread benefits of faster, low cost, more efficient, transparent, safe and inclusive cross-border payment instruments built upon the principle of minimizing trade barriers and non-discriminatory access. "We welcome the use of local currencies in financial transactions between BRICS countries and their trading partners," it said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is here to attend the BRICS Summit. The BRICS leaders encouraged strengthening of correspondent banking networks within BRICS and enabling settlements in local currencies in line with BRICS Cross-Border Payments Initiative (BCBPI), which is voluntary and non-binding. BRICS, consisting of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, has now expanded with five additional members - Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE. The nations also acknowledged the importance of exploring the feasibility of connecting BRICS countries' financial markets infrastructure. "We agree to discuss and study the feasibility of establishment of an independent cross-border settlement and depositary infrastructure, BRICS Clear, an initiative to complement the existing financial market infrastructure, as well as BRICS independent reinsurance capacity, including BRICS (Re) Insurance Company, with participation on a voluntary basis," it added. In his address at the 16th BRICS Summit, Modi renewed his call for dialogue and diplomacy as being the only way forward to resolve conflicts, in an unambiguous message to press for the resolution of the Russia-Ukraine war through peaceful negotiations.
Source: Economic Times
KARACHI: Commerce Minister Jam Kamal Khan expressed confidence on Wednesday that the country’s textile and leather industries would emerge stronger, more resilient and globally competitive through coordinated efforts between the public and private sectors.
Speaking as the chief guest at the inaugural ceremony of the fifth International Textiles and Leather Flagship Exhibition (Texpo) held at the Expo Centre, Karachi, the minister highlighted the significance of the event, running from Oct 23 to 25. The minister, along with Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Kareem Kundi, and Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) Chairman Zubair Motiwala, performed the digital inauguration of Texpo 2024. “This exhibition presents an excellent opportunity to strengthen existing relationships and forge new partnerships, ensuring mutual growth and success for all stakeholders,” Mr Khan said. He emphasised efforts to promote value addition and product diversification in non-cotton apparel, performance wear, technical textiles, sports and high-fashion shoes, and leather accessories. He underscored the importance of embracing a circular economy and the use of sustainable materials. “We are enhancing design capabilities by replacing physical samples with 3D prototypes and creating high-end products for international markets,” he noted.
The minister also outlined the Ministry of Commerce’s support for businesses through the Export Development Fund (EDF), which provides financial assistance in areas such as trade promotion, marketing, infrastructure development, skill-building and compliance with environmental, social, and governance (ESG) standards.
The minister expressed optimism about the future of Pakistan’s textile and leather sectors, pointing to sustainability, innovation and digitisation as key pillars. He also highlighted the adoption of eco-friendly techniques and investments in the latest technologies to position the country as a leader in sustainable production.
“Pakistan is at the forefront of digital transformation in supply chains and e-commerce, unlocking new opportunities for growth,” he said, adding that the country aims to set benchmarks for environmentally responsible manufacturing and ethical labour practices.
Source: Dawn
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday lauded India's economic growth, saying the country serves as an example for many BRICS nations.
Putin made the remarks in his address at the 16th BRICS Summit in the Russian city of Kazan, where he thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his participation in the three-day summit. "All of us talk about the need to ensure high economic growth rates; you (Modi) manage to do this successfully," Putin was quoted as saying by the state-run TASS news agency. "We congratulate you on these results 7.5% growth; this is an example for many of us, he noted. Thank you for your initiatives, Putin added.
India's economy is expected to be 7 per cent this year and 6.5 per cent in 2025.
BRICS, consisting of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, has now expanded with five additional members - Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE. Putin's remarks came as a senior official from the International Monetary Fund said that India remains the largest growing economy in the world while observing that the country's macroeconomic fundamentals are good. "India is said to remain the largest growing economy in the world. We project growth at seven per cent in FY24-25, supported by recovery in rural consumption, as there have been favourable harvests. Inflation is expected to decline to 4.4 per cent in FY24-25, despite some volatility as food prices normalize," Krishna Srinivasan, Director for the IMF Asia Pacific Department, said on Tuesday. On Tuesday, Putin held bilateral talks with Modi on the sidelines of the BRICS summit. In his opening remarks at the meeting, Putin noted the "good condition" of trade turnover between Russia and India. According to the press service of the Russian President, last year bilateral trade turnover reached a record high of USD 56.8 billion, an increase of more than 60 per cent, TASS reported.
In January-August of this year, due to oil supplies, trade turnover between Russia and India increased by 9 per cent year-on-year and amounted to USD 37.4 billion.
Source: Business Standard
