India's manufacturing activity grew at its highest rate in eight months in March, driven by robust domestic demand, as shown by the HSBC India Manufacturing PMI rising to 58.1. However, export orders increased at a slower pace, indicating weakening global demand. Despite higher input costs, output inflation fell to its lowest level in a year.
Source: The Economic Times
The government has started implementing Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme for Textiles on Pan India basis, Pabitra Margherita the Minister of State (MoS) for Textile said in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha. The MoS, quoted by Ministry of Textiles in a statement, added PLI scheme is aimed at promoting the production of MMF Apparel, MMF fabrics and products of Technical Textiles to achieve size and scale and to become competitive. As per Ministry's Budget Estimate 2025-26, approx. 22 per cent of the budget is dedicated for PLI Scheme for Textiles. Out of the 74 applicants selected under the scheme, 24 are MSMEs. Turnover of Rs. 2,16,760 crore including exports is projected for the scheme period, the MoS added.
Source: ZEE News
India is evaluating the impact of US President Donald Trump's reciprocal tariffs set to be announced on April 2. The Commerce and Industry Ministry is preparing scenarios based on tariff differences and discussing non-tariff barriers with the domestic industry. Trump indicated that India and other countries will be lowering their tariffs significantly. India is examining multiple scenarios to assess the possible fallout of US President Donald Trump's April 2 reciprocal tariffs, officials said. The commerce and industry ministry is working on a couple of scenarios based on tariff differentials and the levies that Trump has imposed on various countries and sectors till now to protect the domestic industry.
Source: The Economic Times
Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal stated India's tariff policy aims to regulate trade, protect domestic industries, and raise revenue through taxes on imports and exports. With evolving trade dynamics, India is focusing on free trade agreements to lower tariffs, enhancing competitiveness and international trade. Monitoring imports ensures domestic industries are safeguarded under WTO rules. In a written reply to the Lok Sabha, he said with the changing trade scenario, India is moving towards having free trade agreements wherein customs tariffs and non-tariff barriers are reduced or eliminated on substantial trade. In a separate reply on India-US trade, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Jitin Prasada said the Government of India continues to engage with the Government of United States to achieve enhancement and broadening of bilateral trade ties in a mutually beneficial and fair manner. He also said that the industry is being encouraged to identify new opportunities arising out of the impact of tariffs on the existing supply chains. "Parallely, the imports are being monitored for appropriate safeguard measures under WTO (World Trade Organisation) rules, if increased imports including from Mexico, China, and Canada cause or threaten serious injury to domestic industry," Prasada said.
Source: The Economic Times
India is the fourth largest holder of foreign exchange reserves at USD 658.8 billion, enough for 11 months of imports, as stated by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. Despite global uncertainties, the Indian rupee has shown the least depreciation among major Asian currencies. India is the fourth largest country to hold foreign exchange reserves of USD 658.8 billion, enough to meet the country's imports for 11 months, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman told the Rajya Sabha on April 1, 2025.
Source: The Economic Times
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will introduce the 'NITI NCAER States Economic Forum' portal, offering detailed data on social, economic, and fiscal factors of Indian states from the past three decades. This NITI Aayog and NCAER collaboration aims to facilitate informed policy-making and analysis by providing accessible and comprehensive state-specific data. The portal, developed by NITI Aayog, in collaboration with the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER), offers direct access to the complete database categorised across five verticals -- Demography; Economic Structure; Fiscal; Health and Education of states. Besides, the portal will provide macro and fiscal landscape of 28 Indian states, structured around indicators on demography, economic structure, socioeconomic and fiscal indicators, NITI Aayog said in a statement.
Source: The Economic Times
Amid the government’s infrastructure expansion push, cargo at state-owned ports of India (also called major ports) increased by 4.35 per cent in 2024-25 to 855 million metric tonnes (mmt), officials aware of the data said.
The provisional estimates of the Indian Ports Association show that most of the 12 major ports recorded growth above the average of 4.4 per cent, while the Shyama Prasad Mookerjee Port in Kolkata and Mormugao Port in Goa recorded contractions in their cargo handling. According to the provisional data, Deendayal Port or Kandla Port and Paradip Port in Odisha handled the highest cargo out of all major ports at 150 mmt each.
Paradip Port, which handles the largest volumes of coastal cargo in India — particularly coal — recorded a cargo volume growth of 3.5 per cent. Kandla Port, which had lost a major share of its cargo due to government restrictions on non-basmati rice in 2023-24, recovered sharply, recording the highest growth out of all major ports at 13.4 per cent. Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority (JNPA), which is seen as the primary gateway to India for container movement, saw a growth of 7.4 per cent in cargo handled to 86 mmt.
Source: The Business Standard
India has set an ambitious target to elevate its textile and apparel (T&A) exports from $34.8 billion in 2023-24 to an eye-popping $100 billion by 2030. This raises a critical question — is this lofty ambition grounded in reality or is it just a daydream? If we look at the long-term trends, India’s T&A exports have grown steadily from $11.5 billion in FY2001 to $34.8 billion in FY24, accounting for only a 4 per cent share in global exports of $774.4 billion. At this pace, achieving the $100 billion target by 2030 seems a tall order unless dramatic, game-changing reforms are introduced.
Delving deeper into the numbers, the apparel segment (HSN codes 61 and 62) within overall T&A exports comprises about 42 per cent. It rose from $5.5 billion in FY2001 to $14.5 billion in FY24. Its share in global apparel exports has remained stubbornly around 3 per cent over this entire period. Meanwhile, competitors like Bangladesh and Vietnam have surged ahead. Bangladesh’s global share has grown from 2.2 per cent to 9.6 per cent, while Vietnam’s share jumped from 1 per cent to 5.8 per cent between 2000 and 2023 (see infographics). A significant portion of this shift occurred post-2010 when China’s global market share slipped from 34.8 per cent to 29.8 per cent, partly due to its trade war with the US. So, what is preventing India from seizing this opportunity to expand its apparel exports and capture the market space left behind by China? India should not only focus on apparel exports, but the exports of the entire T&A sector if it is to achieve its target of $100 billion. For this, let us dig into the challenges that lie ahead in the textile value chain — from farm to foreign.
Source: The Indian Express
The European Union is urging India to include a 'forward most-favoured-nation' clause in their free trade agreement, ensuring any concessions offered to the US will also be extended to the EU. The recent round of talks in Brussels saw little progress, with sticking points remaining on India's government procurement market and tariff negotiations for various sectors. The European Union is pressing for inclusion of a "forward most-favored nation (MFN)" provision in free trade agreement (FTA) talks with India, which would require the latter to make concessions similar to those offered to the US in a proposed bilateral trade pact. The issue of MFN status figured during the last round of India-EU trade negotiations in Brussels held a fortnight ago, people familiar with the development said Such a move would imply that reduced duties would apply.
Source: The Economic Times
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has recorded modest growth in its non-textile exports in the current fiscal year, helped by steps taken by the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) to boost trade, state media reported on April 1, 2025.
The textile sector dominates Pakistan’s export economy, accounting for around 60 percent of it, contributing 8.5 percent to gross domestic product and employing roughly 40 percent of the country’s industrial labor force.
While textiles continue to play a major economic role, the SIFC, a hybrid civil-military body designed to streamline investment and export procedures, has been actively promoting diversification through targeted support and policy incentives.
Source: Arab News
A meeting was held at the Sri Lanka Export Development Board (EDB) to discuss enhancing bilateral trade relations between Switzerland and Sri Lanka recently. The meeting was attended by Dr. Siri Walt, Ambassador of Switzerland to Sri Lanka and the Maldives, and Mangala Wijesinghe, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of the Sri Lanka Export Development Board. The discussions focused on expanding economic collaboration between the two countries. Wijesinghe outlined Sri Lanka’s comprehensive Export Development Plan, which aims to boost the country’s export sector. He has emphasized key strategies to be included in the plan such as expanding the product basket, increasing value addition, and reactivation of the Export Development Council of Ministers (EDCM) to identify and address challenges in the export industry. Dr. Walt congratulated the Sri Lankan government for conducting peaceful elections and maintaining its commitment to the IMF process. She stressed the importance of traceability in global trade, noting that transparency and accountability are essential for building trust within supply chains. Dr. Walt also emphasized that fostering a corruption-free environment would attract more investment, particularly in Sri Lanka’s tourism sector.
Source: Daily Mirror
