ministry of commerce | Business Upturn

Remove Bournvita, other beverages from health category: Ministry directs e-commerce players

Markets Desk — Sat, 13 Apr 2024 08:02:44 +0000

The Ministry of Commerce and Industry in a shocking move on Saturday has asked all e-commerce websites to remove all drinks/beverages, including Bournvita, from the category of health drink on their platforms. Earlier, the FSSAI (Food Safety and Standards Authority of India) had asked all e-commerce players and websites to remove and not label all dairy-based or cereal-based beverages as ‘health drink’. As per the laws in the country, ‘health drink’ is not defined in the country’s food laws, and ‘energy drink’ refers specifically to flavored water-based drinks, both carbonated and non-carbonated.

‘NCPCR, a statutory body constituted under section (3) of the commission for Protection of Child Rights (CPCR) Act, 2005 after its inquiry under Section 14 of CPCR Act, 2005, concluded that there is no “Health Drink defined under FSS Act 2006, Rules and regulations as submitted by FSSAl and Mondelez India Food Pvt Ltd,’ the ministry said in a notification.

FSSAI had raised concerns over misleading consumers through such practices. “This corrective action aims to enhance clarity and transparency regarding the nature and functional properties of the products, ensuring that consumers can make well-informed choices without encountering misleading information,” FSSAI said earlier this month.

India makes more real time digital transactions than US, China & Europe combined according to DPIIT

United News of India (UNI) — Tue, 14 Mar 2023 14:35:22 +0000

New Delhi, March 14: India makes more real time digital transactions than US, China and Europe combined, Anurag Jain, Secretary, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce and Industry, said on Tuesday.

“Real development happens when every citizen is able to make choices about what they want to do with their life without worrying about the basic necessities of life,” he said during an interactive session on ‘Inclusion on the Back of Technology: Best Practices’ at the CII Partnership Summit 2023 held in the city.

The Secretary said that in terms of real-time online digital transactions, what India does is more than US, China and Europe put together.

He said that when Prime Minister Narendra Modi talks about the vision for 2047, he is talking about the vision of a developed country, not just from the perspective of per capita income, but a country where all basic needs are met.

“India has a paperless, presence-less, and cashless solution for everything. The public digital infrastructure of India is unique. It is based on open systems, open architecture and open network, which allows everyone to plug in and removes entry barriers,” he added.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Business Upturn staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

India’s trade deficit gap widens further to $24.69 billion in May

Dipankar Ray — Wed, 15 Jun 2022 10:52:19 +0000

India’s trade deficit has taken a turn for the worse and the gap has widened due to the sharp increase in the gold imports and the non-oil exports which led to the trade deficit of $24.69 bn, according to the latest report released by the Ministry of Trade and Commerce on Wednesday, June 15, 2022.

India has another problem that it has to tackle shortly which includes the rising prices of global fuel. Due to the hike in prices, India’s import bill has risen by 62.83% year-on-year to $63.22 bn whereas, on the other hand, the exports rose by 20.55% to $38.94 bn.

“Based on the performance in April-May 2022. We foresee the current account deficit to widen to $26 billion. In the ongoing quarter compared to the $ 23 billion during the previous quarter”. Aditi Nayar, Chief Economist ICRA said.

“The merchandise exports in May 2022 were $38.94 billion. As compared to $32.30 billion in May 2021, exhibiting a positive growth of 20.55 percent. The estimated value of services export for May 2022 is $23.28 billion. Exhibiting a positive growth of 30.32 percent vis-a-vis May 2021 ($17.86 billion)”. The commerce and industry ministry said in a statement.

From April-May 2022 India’s total exports have $124.59 billion which had exhibited a positive growth of almost 26%, and the total merchandise export stood at almost $79 billion as opposed to 63.05 billion a year ago in 2021.

According to the World Bank, global trade is on the verge of being affected more due to the Russia-Ukraine war. “Russia and Ukraine account for a small share— under 3 percent—of global exports. However, many global industries rely on supplies of key commodities produced in the two countries. Especially in Russia,” the World Bank report stated. The report stated how the war has caused disruptions around the world surrounding global supply chains. As well as the distribution of materials.

Further details are yet to be received.

Andhra Pradesh retains top place in State Business Reform Action Plan Ranking 2019

Anjana Krishna — Sat, 05 Sep 2020 13:09:42 +0000

The State Business Reform Action Plan Ranking 2019 was released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry on Saturday and Andhra Pradesh retained top spot on the list. Uttar Pradesh and Telangana were placed on the second and third spot.

The other states in the list of states with ease in doing business include Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and Himachal Pradesh. Delhi bagged the spot amongst Union Territories.

“Government of India has been making efforts to streamline business regulation through a single-window system, labour law reforms, reforms in Disputes Act etc. to make doing business quick and economical,” Piyush Goyal, the minister of state for commerce and industry said at the event.

“India’s steadfast commitment to reforms is evident from the steady climb from 142nd rank in 2014 to 63rd rank in 2019 in World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business Ranking. If a state has a high ranking, it does not mean it is superior to others in any way. Efforts put in by all states count,” he added.

He also said that India will be able to play an ‘assertive role’ on the global stage due to the PM Modi’s call for a self-reliant India.