Commerce and Industry Ministry | Business Upturn

Goyal emphasizes possibilities for women to find employment and sees India as a maker of high-quality footwear

Avinash Ram — Sun, 30 Jul 2023 04:11:22 +0000

The Indian footwear and leather industry was given a lot of attention by Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, who emphasized its importance as a substantial source of foreign exchange. He emphasized the industry’s labor-intensive nature during the India International Footwear Fair 2023 (IIFF), which was hosted in New Delhi, pointing out that it creates employment prospects for almost 4.5 million people, 40% of whom are women. Goyal expressed the utmost faith in India’s ability to become the world leader in the production of premium footwear. India is the second-largest exporter of leather clothing, third-largest exporter of saddlery & harnesses, and fourth-largest exporter of leather items in the world, he noted, drawing attention to India’s remarkable rankings.

The minister also emphasized the significant fact that the Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSME) is in charge of overseeing over 95% of the production facilities in this sector.

According to Goyal, Indian shoe sizes will soon be introduced in order to distinguish Indian footwear internationally and lessen reliance on foreign sizing trends. As part of India’s growth plans for leather and footwear, the minister said that testing facilities will be developed by the government. Goyal urged the parties involved to grow the company while maintaining a commitment to environmental responsibility, eco-friendly operations, waste management, and the investigation of renewable energy sources.

According to him, organizations like CLRI, FDDI, and NIFT will work with the market to produce new goods and technologies that are in line with the shifting trends and demands of the market.

India relaunches talk on FTA with Canada

Himanshu Mishra — Fri, 11 Mar 2022 17:02:44 +0000

India and Canada on Friday re-launched the bilateral comprehensive unrestricted trade dialogues in New Delhi which will fill in sectors comprising s agro-products, chemicals, footwear, and textiles, the government announced in a statement.

Commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal and his Canadian counterpart decided to sign an interim agreement before advancing to a full pact. The two sides talked about the market access for Indian agriculture commodities such as sweet corn, baby corn, and banana during the fifth ministerial discussion on trade & investment.

“Both sides decided to consider an interim agreement or Early Progress Trade Agreement (EPTA) that could be inferred early as a transitional step towards the CEPA. Ministers concluded that an EPTA would be agreeing with Article XXIV of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade,” the Ministry announced.

The commencement of trade conversations comes in the backdrop of deteriorating geopolitical uncertainties following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which has affected global trade.

EPTA will comprise chapters on goods, services, rules of origin, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, technical barriers to trade, and dispute settlement. It may also enclose any other sectors mutually agreed upon, the statement announced.

“Furthermore, Canada and India conceded to expand and protect bilateral investment, including through the intensification of negotiations toward a Bilateral Investment Agreement, while contemplating alternatives to achieve this goal alongside CEPA,” the release announced.

Canada is India’s 31st largest market, ranging for just $3 billion or 0.88% of India’s total outbound cargoes in April-January 2021-22. Objects from the North American nation stood at $2.5 billion during this period, composing for 0.52% of India’s total inbound shipments. With imports worth $2.68 billion, and exports of about $2.9 billion in 2020-21, India had a small trade abundance of nearly $200 million with Canada.

India’s export witnesses 43% rise in October, jumping to $35.65 billion

Ayisha Farah — Mon, 15 Nov 2021 14:05:41 +0000

Giving credit to solid global orders, India’s merchandise exports increased 43 percent in October 2021 in comparison to the same period the past year. Impressively, exports also grew by almost 40 per cent compared to October 2019, before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Commerce and Industry Ministry published on November 15 presented an outbound trade increase to $35.65 billion in October, jumping from $24.92 billion in October 2020. Exports have increased by over 55 per cent in the April-October period of FY22 (2021-22) in comparison to 2020. Compared to 2019, exports have jumped to 26 percent over the same period, the Ministry said.

After a questionable FY21 (2020-21), exports started rising in December. In February, prior to the low base effect generating, growth was a marginal 0.67 percent. Since then, calculated annually (Y-o-Y), exports have witnessed a notable increase because of the low base effect that has faded off, officials say.

In October, imports witnessed an evenly notable increase, jumping to a huge 62.5 percent to $55 billion. This was an ongoing course from the prior month when import growth was above 84 percent. It had been gradually decreasing previously. Specialists state this bodes great for the economy, implying the return of industrial and consumer demand.

Related to exports, as the low base fades off, the hikes in import growth have declined. Imports had increased at 51.5 percent in August, 62.9 percent in July, 98.3 per cent in June, 73.6 percent in May, and 163 percent in April.