Indian Economy News & Discussion - Nov 27 2017

[disha]

Abhijeet Iyer-Mitra on the Indian economy. Starting at 1:42, he makes some scathing remarks about the Indian IT industry. And at 17:42, he goes into the Indian ceramic industry, says that India has no ceramic industry right now worth mentioning- it's dominated by Bangladesh. Is this accurate?

Iyer is wrong on the overall economy but right on the ceramic industry in India. Bangladesh has a thriving ceramic industry. Vitreous tiles (used in kitchen and bathrooms) are not the only ceramics.

At the same time, India has developed its glass industry and vitreous tile industry (no thanks to government and guess where - Gujarat/Rajasthan/UP!) (Check out Borosil https://www.borosil.com/about-us/)., The vitreous tile industry has miles to go since it is mostly towards the high end and there are competing cheaper options available.

The problem is with general ceramics. Think of it as your everyday cups and mugs and plates and going upwards into high-end porcelain. For example https://jw-webmagazine.com/japanese-pot ... -in-japan/

And once you have that one can go into high end ceramics like https://www.architecturaldigest.com/gal ... ern-update for the 'arrived' crowd and for IT-Vity hoi-polloi crowd that is attracted to this forum https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2 ... 143307.htm

[nandakumar]

BL ran a story yesterday on the prospects for renewable energy in India. It is behind a paywall. Hence not posting a link. But the key point in that is photovoltaic cell imports from China became more expensive after the recent duty hike and a further hike next year? Can India acquire domestic manufacturing capability if not right away at least in the medium term that is cost competitive?

[Karan M]

I am very happy Goyal is involved in the semiconductor project. He is one of the people in this GOI with a can do spirit and the way he fixed the ventilator issue during lockdown was brilliant, and an excellent example of public-pvt cooperation. With his focus on indigenization, I finally have hope.

[Suraj]

India ranks 3rd in global manufacturing locations on cost, operating condition parameters: Report

India ranks third in the list of most-suitable locations for global manufacturing among 48 countries in terms of cost competitiveness and operating conditions, according to property consultant Cushman & Wakefield.

China and the US retain the top two positions, while India has moved one place higher to rank third, the consultant said in its Global Manufacturing Risk Index (MRI) report.

From a baseline scenario ranking that looks equally at operating conditions and cost-competitiveness but does not consider impact from the current pandemic, China retains the top spot, followed by the US at second and India at third positions, the report said.

In cost scenario, India is at 3rd position after China and Vietnam. However, India ranks 30th in risk scenario. Countries that present lower levels of political and economic risks are ranked higher.

The MRI cost scenario places greater emphasis on cost reduction to give a higher score to countries where operating costs, including labour, are lower. While China retains its lead position, Vietnam and India jumped to second and third positions, respectively, it added.

The annual Global MRI scores each country against 20 variables that make up the three final weighted rankings that cover conditions, cost and risk.

[Suraj]

An analysis of the June trade surplus:
Exports fall 12.41%, imports by 47.5% in June

Contracting for the fourth straight month, India’s exports declined by 12.41 per cent to USD 21.91 billion in June mainly due to drop in shipments of petroleum, textiles, engineering goods, and gems and jewellery items.

Imports too plunged 47.59 per cent to USD 21.11 billion in June, leaving a trade surplus of USD 0.79 billion, compared to a deficit of USD 15.28 billion in the same month of the last year, according to the data released by the Commerce and Industry Ministry on Wednesday.

During April-June 2020, exports fell by 36.71 per cent to USD 51.32 billion, while imports shrank by 52.43 per cent to USD 60.44 billion.

The trade deficit stood at USD 9.12 billion during the two months of the current fiscal.

Oil imports dipped 55.29 per cent to USD 4.93 billion in June. Gold imports in June plunged by 77.42 per cent to USD 608.7 million.

[suryag]

A nice article

https://swarajyamag.com/business/there- ... t-to-india

[Vamsee]

iPhone-maker Pegatron registers India subsidiary as Apple pushes to diversify supply


==========

With this, all 3 Apple iPhone manufacturers will have factories in India. Looks like PLI announced is showing positive results. Now we need to work really hard and try to grab as much global phone/electronics assembly + exports as we can.

The world is desperately looking for an alternative to China. We need to step up before Vietnam or Bangladesh run away with the prize.

--Vamsee

[a_bharat]

I would like to understand the benefits of WTO membership for India. I only see the downside and not much upside. Indian domestic market will be huge in a decade. We are giving foreign entities access to this huge market and what are we getting in return? We mostly export raw materials and low value add goods. What is it that India would lose out if we aren't WTO member? Where there are win-win opportunities,India could make 1-1 deals with such countries, no?

[Suraj]

That has very little to do with WTO membership and is primarily a case of poor commerce, trade and investment policymaking. Our duty structure and back of business friendly government policy has long made it easier to import things than make it at home. This has been described in detail by several BRF members who are themselves entrepreneurs or businesspeople in India.

[Suraj]

Heavy monsoon rains speed up crop planting in India

Indian farmers have planted 69.2 million hectares with summer crops, up 21.2% from this time a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare, boosted by bountiful monsoon rains that spurred sowing in most parts of the country.

Farmers typically start planting their summer-sown crops June 1, when monsoon rains usually reach India. Planting usually continues until the end of July or early August.

Planting of rice, the key summer crop, was at 16.8 million hectares as of July 17 versus 14.2 million hectares in the previous year, the ministry said.

The area planted with cotton was at 11.3 million hectares versus 9.6 million hectares the prior year.

Planting of overall oilseeds, including soybean – the main summer oilseed crop – was at 15.5 million hectares, up from 11 million hectares from the previous year. Soybean sowing in India, the world’s biggest buyer of cooking oils, looks likely to jump by at least 15% in 2020. Sugarcane sowing in the world’s biggest sugar producer reached 5.1 million hectares compared with 5 million hectares last year.

Water levels in India’s main reservoirs are substantially higher thanks to higher-than-average rains so far in the season, according to the latest government data.

India’s forex reserves hit record high of $516 billion

Forex reserves rose $3.1 billion to hit a record high of $516.36 billion for the week ended July 10, according to the latest data from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). In the week prior to that, forex reserves stood at $513.5 billion. Foreign currency assets (FCAs), which form a key component of reserves, rose $2.372 billion to $475.635 billion. FCAs are maintained in major currencies like the US dollar, euro, pound sterling and Japanese yen. Movement in the FCA occurs mainly on account of purchase or sale of foreign exchange by the RBI, income arising out of the deployment of foreign exchange reserves, external aid receipts of the government and revaluation of assets.

A BofA Securities report dated July 13 estimates that the RBI should be able to sell $50 billion of forex to protect the rupee, and even after that the import cover for over 12 months would be retained.

“We continue to expect the RBI to buy $45 billion of forex ($25 billion so far) in FY21, atop $45 billion in FY20, assuming a flat current account at our oil strategists’ $43.7/bbl forecast and $7 billion of FPI inflows. We find risks evenly balanced. Any improvement in export demand, due to global recovery, will likely be neutralised by higher domestic import demand. Further, higher (lower) FPI flows, due to risk on/off should get offset by higher/lower oil prices. On balance, we continue to expect the RBI to switch to buying in forwards to fund a higher fiscal deficit,” the report stated.

Tap connections given to 1 lakh rural houses per day; Modi’s ‘Nal Se Jal’ still has long road to cover

Nearly 1 lakh households in rural India are getting tap connections every day since India stepped out of the nationwide lockdown on June 1, 2020. Amid Covid-19 pandemic, since Unlock-1, about 45 lakh tap connections have been provided so far in the year 2020-21, said a statement by the Ministry of Jalshakti. The Narendra Modi government launched the Jal Jeevan mission in August last year. The ‘Nal Se Jal’ scheme under this mission targets to provide tap connections to every household of the country till 2024. In the seven months of 2019-20, around 84.83 lakh rural households were provided with tap connections. However, the government figures suggest that out of 19.04 crore rural households in the country, only 3.23 crore households have tap connections while the remaining 15.81 crore households are yet to be provided with tap connections.

The government said that its objective is to cover nearly 16 crore households in a time-bound manner while ensuring the functionality of already provided connections. This means that 3.2 crore households are to be covered every year, that is nearly 88,000 tap connections are required to be provided on a daily basis. The government further informed that the states and Union Territories are working hard to provide tap connection to every rural household, among which, Bihar, Telangana, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh are on top.

In the current fiscal, Rs 23,500 crore has been allocated for the implementation of Jal Jeevan Mission and at present, more than Rs 8,000 Crore of the central fund is available with the states and UTs for the same cause. On top of that, half of the 15th Finance Commission grants to Rural Local Bodies, which is Rs 30,375 crore have also been earmarked for water supply and sanitation.

[Dexter]

Minimal Fabs allow small scale manufacture of semiconductors. Several advantages include faster prototyping as well as chip optimally designed for special purposes.
Sure we can set them up in India and have a thriving ecosystem.

https://www.aist.go.jp/sst/en/exhibitio ... index.html

Any thoughts ?

[nam]

India ranks third in the list of most-suitable locations for global manufacturing among 48 countries in terms of cost competitiveness and operating conditions, according to property consultant Cushman & Wakefield.

China and the US retain the top two positions, while India has moved one place higher to rank third, the consultant said in its Global Manufacturing Risk Index (MRI) report.

What happened to all the claims about India having bad real estate and labour laws and driving the difficulty and all? And how is US in second, when it is so expensive?

Companies won't move out of China unless there is a political push. Even then they will figure out a way to import from China, unless there is a better deal to move. We need to subsidize their re-location. Chinese can do the same, however political environment is in our favor.

And another simple reason why China & US are on the top of the list. It is becoz they produces goods the world wants. We don't. Our companies prefer to import rather than invest in to innovation. They want the easy way out.

[Dexter]

Minimal Fabs allow small scale manufacture of semiconductors. Several advantages include faster prototyping as well as chip optimally designed for special purposes.
Sure we can set them up in India and have a thriving ecosystem.

https://www.aist.go.jp/sst/en/exhibitio ... index.html

Any thoughts ?

As of today they can do only 0.5 micron and 0.25 micron sometime soon. Do we have market for that in India.

Mods please help me if I am not in the right thread.

[Suraj]

You're in the right thread as long as you're talking about the economics of the subject, and not the technical aspects, in which case it goes in the IT thread.

[nishant.gupta]

India ranks 3rd in global manufacturing locations on cost, operating condition parameters: Report

India ranks third in the list of most-suitable locations for global manufacturing among 48 countries in terms of cost competitiveness and operating conditions, according to property consultant Cushman & Wakefield.

China and the US retain the top two positions, while India has moved one place higher to rank third, the consultant said in its Global Manufacturing Risk Index (MRI) report.

From a baseline scenario ranking that looks equally at operating conditions and cost-competitiveness but does not consider impact from the current pandemic, China retains the top spot, followed by the US at second and India at third positions, the report said.

In cost scenario, India is at 3rd position after China and Vietnam. However, India ranks 30th in risk scenario. Countries that present lower levels of political and economic risks are ranked higher.

The MRI cost scenario places greater emphasis on cost reduction to give a higher score to countries where operating costs, including labour, are lower. While China retains its lead position, Vietnam and India jumped to second and third positions, respectively, it added.

The annual Global MRI scores each country against 20 variables that make up the three final weighted rankings that cover conditions, cost and risk.

I have small question here. If we do rank no.3 on cost and are without a doubt, one of the largest growing consumers for almost everything under the sun due to our size of the population, then why are we competing with the likes of Vietnam for trapping the so-called exodus of factories from China?

Apple seems to have set their eyes on manufacturing in India but we still seem to fall apart and lost to much smaller countries in getting big industries to setup here. I had been thinking it was because of a cost advantage that they had but this report has confused me.

Any thoughts?

[Suraj]

Every 'ranking' is a function of what parameters they're trying to quantify. The best answer to such questions is to find the original report and find out what the parameters are, and how they rate countries on those parameters. An export oriented manufacturing entity isn't really affected by the size of the domestic market, just the availability of all factors that enable companies to quickly set up and run such factories.

[vimal]

@nishant, The answer lies in the report you quoted.

“ However, India ranks 30th in risk scenario. Countries that present lower levels of political and economic risks are ranked higher.”

Unlike Chins and Viets we don’t have a centralized decision making system that can drive long term nationalist vision without the fear of being kicked out of power. It took just 2 terms of Congress to firmly put us back to where we were before liberalization. Unfortunately politics and economics is extremely tightly intertwined in India and a small cabal of influence peddlers can subvert the India story at every possible turn. Sterlite is a prime example of how easy it is to disrupt economic activity in India.

[banrjeer]

I would like to understand the benefits of WTO membership for India. I only see the downside and not much upside. Indian domestic market will be huge in a decade. We are giving foreign entities access to this huge market and what are we getting in return? We mostly export raw materials and low value add goods. What is it that India would lose out if we aren't WTO member? Where there are win-win opportunities,India could make 1-1 deals with such countries, no?

What we get in return is experience of how to make products that have demand in the world.
Even low value add goods are ok. Once supply chains develop higher value add becomes a natural progression.

You don't get that exposure with protectionism. You could even have both strategies in play and see which one wins out.

[darshan]

Indian Spices Exports Post Solid 23 Per Cent Jump In June 2020 Over Same Period Last Year
https://swarajyamag.com/insta/indian-sp ... -last-year
In a positive development, India's spices exports registered a robust 23 per cent jump in June over the same month last year, rising from $292 million to $359 million, reports Economic Times.

In domestic currency terms, the spices exporters have been said to have benefited even better owing to foreign exchange advantage. In Rupee terms, the exports registered a solid 34 per cent jump, from Rs 2,030 crore in June last year to Rs 2,721 crore.

Indian spices were exported to almost the entire world, with main importing nations being the United States (US), the United Kingdom (UK), Germany, France, Italy, Canada, Australia, UAE, Iran, Singapore, China and Bangladesh.

This comes as a soothing touch, given the overall exports out of India in June declined from $25.01 billion last year to $21.91 billion. In Rupee terms, the exports declined from Rs 1,73,682.55 crore to Rs 1,65,898.85 crore.

[nam]

I have small question here. If we do rank no.3 on cost and are without a doubt, one of the largest growing consumers for almost everything under the sun due to our size of the population, then why are we competing with the likes of Vietnam for trapping the so-called exodus of factories from China?

Any thoughts?

Simple to explain. The factories been set up in Vietnam is nothing but re-packing of Chinese products to escape the trade war. Why waste time & resource moving things to India, when you have vietnam next door?

So you have to use stick & carrot with the manufacturers. Dangle the access to Indian markets, with condition to set up factories here.A little of subsidies here and there. Same as how Chinese have done.

[Dexter]

You're in the right thread as long as you're talking about the economics of the subject, and not the technical aspects, in which case it goes in the IT thread.

Well I wanted to the gurus to deliberate on any edge it can give to India.

A thought that I had come across in several articles and also believe in is decentralised technology would drive Industry 4.0.
Where products will be made just in time just in place as suited for the consumer.

If there is one thing that can't be done small scale, it's semiconductors. If even that is getting decentralised then we are onto something.

This can give India, with a huge local market, a great advantage against say someone like China which relies on economies of scale.

[kit]

I have small question here. If we do rank no.3 on cost and are without a doubt, one of the largest growing consumers for almost everything under the sun due to our size of the population, then why are we competing with the likes of Vietnam for trapping the so-called exodus of factories from China?

Any thoughts?

Simple to explain. The factories been set up in Vietnam is nothing but re-packing of Chinese products to escape the trade war. Why waste time & resource moving things to India, when you have vietnam next door?

So you have to use stick & carrot with the manufacturers. Dangle the access to Indian markets, with condition to set up factories here.A little of subsidies here and there. Same as how Chinese have done.

better to get out of those self-damaging FTAs with Vietnam etc..

[vijayk]

https://swarajyamag.com/videos/jio-is-g ... to-achieve

Jio Is Going To War In The Digital Space And It's Aiming Big – Here's What It's Trying To Achieve


https://swarajyamag.com/business/as-jio ... n-tech-fdi

As Jio Marries Telecom Pipe And Platform, Its $20 Billion Fund Raise Will Spur Boom In Tech FDI

Indian manufacturing started thinking global scales only after Dhirubhai short-circuited the licence-permit raj through his less-than-kosher tactics of “managing” the political and policy environment to his advantage.

And now his son Mukesh has enabled India’s takeoff in the global digital sweepstakes, where the winner takes all. With Jio Platforms, he has done the impossible. Who else can get the Godzillas of global tech – Google, Facebook, Intel and Qualcomm – to invest in one company, all at the same time, and on his own terms? This is apart from financial investors like KKR, General Atlantic, several global wealth funds. Partnership with another tech T-Rex, Microsoft in cloud technology, could yet be another gusher.

At the Reliance Industries Ltd annual general meeting (AGM) yesterday (15 July), Mukesh Ambani announced the creation of India’s first homegrown 5G technology, and plans to make one of the cheapest smartphones ever built in the world, based on Google’s Android operating system. In five years’ time, Indians may not be significantly wealthier than now, but almost no Indian will lack an affordable smartphone that will cost far less than a month’s MGNREGA wages.

This achievement is humongous for three reasons:

One, this is the first time a mobile services operator – who owns the pipes to your home, office and handheld phone – is also going to own the technology infrastructure behind it and the IPs (intellectual properties) that go with it. It will marry all of it to a platform, Jio Platforms. Reliance Jio will thus be the first company in the world to try and marry pipes to platforms, both of which tend to create network monopolies.

Two, by raising Rs 1.52 lakh crore in less than three months from 13 foreign technology partners and investors, Jio has effectively heralded a new reality: that India’s future growth and foreign direct investment (FDI) will be driven by technology and digitisation.

Just one company, Jio Platforms, has raised $20 billion. That is just for starters. Google has promised to invest $10 billion in India, including the $4.5 billion in Jio Platforms; Amazon will invest $1.5-2 billion to beef up its Indian operations and also develop solutions for small and medium enterprises, creating one million jobs; Walmart has just led another $1.2 billion round to back its investment in Flipkart; two Apple contract manufacturers – Foxconn and Wistron - may invest another $1 billion plus using the government’s Rs 42,000 crore production-linked incentive scheme for smartphone manufacture in India; Microsoft may yet join the rush with further billions.

It is already investing big in cloud computing in a partnership with Reliance and in building data centres in India. Its investment arm, M12, has set up shop in Bengaluru.

Three, given a huge financial war-chest, Jio Platforms now has the capability to join the big league of tech giants. If the US has Google, Apple, Facebook, Netflix, Amazon and Microsoft, and China its Baidu, Alibaba and Tencent, India will have Jio.

[Vamsee]

Make In India: In A First, Japanese Carmaker Honda To Export Made In India Cars To Western Nations

[Suraj]

The government is telegraphing its econonmic intent here, given it's coming from Jaishankar and not even FinMin:
Free trade agreements have not served India’s economy well: S Jaishankar

The free trade agreements (FTAs) that India entered into over the years have not been able to largely serve the country’s economy well in terms of building its capacities, though all such pacts are not the same, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Monday.

The external affairs minister said there are ways of engaging the world which do not necessarily have to be “FTA-centric”. Jaishankar made the comments during an online interaction with leading industrialist Sunil Kant Munjal and strategic affairs expert Prof C Raja Mohan on CNBC-TV18.

He, however, added that all the FTAs are not the same.

“Look at the state of the economy, look at the state of the manufacturing then look me in the eyes and say yes these FTAs have served me well. You won’t be able to do that,” Jaishankar said during the discussion on geopolitics of opportunities.
He said post COVID-19, the world is heading towards a more protectionist economy.

[Suraj]

New Consumer Protection Act comes into force

The Central Government will soon be notifying new norms for e-commerce companies for consumer complaint redressal, as part of the Consumer Protection Act 2019, which came into effect from Monday.

In an official statement, Union Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution Ram Vilas Paswan, said the rules for prevention of unfair trade practices by e-commerce platforms will also be covered under the Act. He pointed out that the new Act has been introduced after many amendments to provide protection to buyers not only from traditional sellers but also from the new e-commerce retailers and platforms.

According to the Act, e-commerce platforms will need to acknowledge the receipt of any consumer complaint within 48 hours and will need to redress the complaint within one month from the date of receipt, as per the norms set under the Act.

The gazette notification for the establishment of the Central Consumer Protection Authority and rules for prevention of unfair trade practice in e-commerce are under publication, the official statement added.

Paswan said under the Act, every e-commerce entity is required to provide information regarding return, refund, exchange, warranty and guarantee, delivery and shipment, modes of payment, grievance redressal mechanism, payment methods, security of payment methods, charge-back options including country of origin, which are necessary for enabling the consumer to make an informed decision at the pre-purchase stage on its platform.

[Mort Walker]

The FTA article didn't list any countries nor did the EAM mention specific countries. I assume he's talking about the ASEAN countries which have become a conduit for Chinese imports into India? A lot of Indian beef is exported to China through Vietnam and some other ASEAN member countries. India exports somewhere near 1.9 million metric tonnes of beef (including buffalo). India is the 2nd largest beef exporter in the world, followed by Australia 1.6 MMT and the US 1.3 MMT.

[chola]

The world went with across-the-board protectionism after 1929 and we ended up with the Great Depression. No nation had reached the developed stage in the modern age without trade. The ones that made the leap to developed world status are basically a list of the great trading nations of our time -- Japan and the four Tiger economies, South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore and Hong Kong. (Cheen is not officially a "developed" nation.)

Unless we suddenly strike oil, there is no other way. Giving up on the FTAs and other trade mechanisms and you will condemn us back to the "Hindu growth" era of the Nehru clan.

[a_bharat]

^^^ Japan, South Korea and Taiwan developed technology and were able to manufacture goods useful for the rest of the world. Once you are able to produce things competitively, you automatically become a huge trading nation. In India's case, we just gave away the huge prize of Indian market to everybody, enemies included, and got nothing in return. We should have selected a few countries / companies that are capable/willing to bring in technology, jobs, manufacturing to India in return for market access.

[Suraj]

a_bharat is right - this is a combination of factors, one being inability to construct and sustain major goods production that ensures a continued current account surplus , and second the opening up of he domestic market without gaining our pound of flesh. In fact the only major expert is IT, where were are doing spectacularly well, with gross services exports of $220 billion a year. Wouldn’t be very surprised if service exports exceed merchandise exports this year, for the first time ever. That Q1 was the first quarter with a current account surplus in 18 years is quite telling. Even more telling that we’ve accumulated nearly $520 billion in forex reserves while hardly ever having a current account surplus - it all comes from serviced exports, remittances and inward investment. Sustaining a decade or two of trade surplus will massively increase industrialization and wealth.

[rpartha]

When it comes to situation - it is apples and oranges These nations/tiger nations have set up manufacturing bases. So the talk of free market economies should be both way - you import and export. Now with emergence of China - it will be only import and it will not allow us to set up any manufacturing base. They will find a way to use third party country like Bangladesh with which we have FTA.. certain restrictions are needed...

[Vamsee]

Silver lining! India turned net exporter of chemicals after 10 years in FY 20

While exports of such products — including drug formulations, bulk drugs and drug intermediates, organic chemicals, agro chemicals and fertilisers — rose 3% year-on-year to $45 billion in FY20, imports stood at $44.3 billion, down 7.3%.

The data lend some credence to the claim that with right policy interventions, India’s chemicals sector can be a sustained driver of its merchandise exports.

However, the dependence on imports, mainly of raw materials, is too strong in certain segments. For instance, the imports of organic chemicals and residual chemicals & allied products stood at $19.7 billion, or almost 45% of the total chemical and related item imports in FY20, having risen from $12 billion in FY11. China alone accounts for two-fifths of India’s organic chemical imports, which are mostly used in making finished products for both domestic consumption and exports.

--Vamsee

[Suraj]

A couple of months ago I asked if posters would mind spending time on the commerce ministry site doing a breakdown of what our import basket is, both in terms of item and country of origin. There were several things there that were unusual, including high chemical and fertilizer imports from PRC, which we can almost entirely eliminate through domestic production. It's good to see that the government is doing this and that things are happening in the right direction.

Meanwhile, GoI seems to be pushing actively to understand the scope of regulatory hurdles to doing business easily. The first step to solving a problem is having a clear idea of the scale of it.
India’s regulatory system anything but investor-friendly. Central licences for new investors as many as 767!

A status check ordered by a committee of secretaries (CoS) revealed that the 35 central ministries/departments among them are presiding over a regime of as many as 767 pre-establishment/pre-operation licences! Add to these the multitude of inspections and approval renewals an investor is required to go through after the commencement of operations and, one could call the country’s regulatory system anything but investor-friendly.

The idea in simple terms is to put in place a one-stop digital platform for investors to obtain all requisite central and state clearances/ approvals in a time-bound and hassle-free manner. Global best practices are to be the benchmarks.

Under the directive of the CoS, which is headed by the secretary, department for promotion of industry and internal trade (DPIIT), stakeholder consultations have already been held with a few investors such as Foxconn, Samsung, Wistron and Yazaki, and their concerns have been shared with the ministries concerned. All ministries/departments would designate a nodal officer each to coordinate with DPIIT and Invest India as a single point contact for the Central Single Window System (CSWS). “The proposed portal may focus on a single-entry point for the investor providing seamless link for the existing portal and maximising vertical integration within a sector,” according to the note reviewed by the CoS.

Sources said discussions were going on with select states for integration with CSWS. A system integrator will start functional by September 1, 2020, and the scope of his work will include integration of the central ministries’ existing IT systems and the select state single-window systems.

In addition to implementation, the government needs to regularly benchmark its processes to competitor nations to see where it can improve processes further.

[darshan]

#Reform

Big Reform To Boost Investments In UP: Yogi Govt To Fast-Track Land Allotment Time For Industrial Units To 15 Days
https://swarajyamag.com/insta/big-refor ... to-15-days
In a bid to boost economic activity and to project Uttar Pradesh as an attractive destination for industries to set base, the State Government led by Chief Minister (CM) Yogi Adityanath on Monday (20 July) issued orders to fast rack land allotment time to just 15 days for mega, mega plus and super mega category of industrial investments, reports Financial Express.

In addition to the fast-tracking of land allotment, the Yogi government has also directed the adoption of a monthly land allotment cycle under e-auction model. Under this, land allotments for applications received by the government up to a specified date will be done by the end of that particular month.

[Vayutuvan]

We should have selected a few countries / companies that are capable/willing to bring in technology, jobs, manufacturing to India in return for market access.

Even now, it is not too late. Let us also not forget why Japan, SoKo, and Taiwan got special treatment.

[Haresh]

Just looking for some advice from forum members.

I am looking at setting up a Handicraft skills training center in Punjab.

We can obtain most skills such as Phulkari, block printing, wooden toy making.
However one thing we are stuck on is Jewelry making. The tools and components are available in Jallandhar, however we need trainers to train trainers.

Any ideas or advice appreciated.

Thank You

[Mollick.R]

Bank privatisation: India plans to reduce number of state-owned lenders to just five, say sources
ReutersLast Updated: Jul 21, 2020, 12:14 PM IST

India is looking to privatise more than half of its state-owned banks to reduce the number of government-owned lenders to just five as part of an overhaul of the banking industry, government and banking sources said.

The first part of the plan would be to sell majority stakes in Bank of India, Central Bank of India, Indian Overseas Bank NSE -0.91 %, UCO Bank NSE -2.41 %, Bank of Maharashtra and Punjab & Sind Bank, leading to an effective privatisation of these state-owned lenders, a government official said
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https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/in ... 066632.cms

[Mollick.R]

NPCI launches UPI AutoPay feature for recurring payments
By Garima Bora, ET OnlineLast Updated: Jul 22, 2020, 04:14 PM IST

The feature is dedicated to recurring payments and can be used for multiple financial purposes such as utility payments, booking bus pass, train tickets, paying DTH subscriptions among others. Customers can create e-mandate through their UPI ID or QR Scan for transactions up to Rs 2000. In case of transactions above Rs 2000, the UPI PIN will be needed to authenticate the payment.
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Nandan Nilekani, Co-founder and Non-Executive Chairman of the Board, Infosys, said, “This will act as an impetus to the momentum and volume of transactions that we are already seeing in UPI and allow them to reach the goal of 1 million transactions a day. We have long been planning a digital payments economy and we are now coming towards that with digital payments more than cash withdrawals. As we provide more and more such user-friendly services like UPI AutoPay we will see more and more adoption of digital payments. This is one of the national goals to increase the proportion of digital payments and reduce the amount of cash that we use in our economy.”
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“UPI AutoPay opens up an entire array of applications such as setting up your favorite streaming service with a repeat mandate or taking a bus pass a train ticket travel or paying for your dth or television media subscriptions, insurance and EMI payments and mandates on UPI AutoPay can be set up on weekly, monthly or yearly basis”

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/sm ... 105228.cms

[Mollick.R]

I think this is lowest , as of now

LIC Housing Finance slashes home loan rate to all-time low of 6.9%
By Saloni Shukla, ET Bureau Last Updated: Jul 22, 2020, 06:38 PM IST

MUMBAI: Mortgage lender LIC Housing Finance introduced an all-time low interest rate rate of 6.9% for new home loan borrowers. To bring in rate parity even current borrowers will be able to enjoy this new rate of interest.

The rate of interest for home loans up to Rs 50 lakh starts from 6.9% for borrowers with CIBIL score of 700 and above. For a similar score, the rate of interest is 7% onwards for loan above Rs 50 lakh.


https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/we ... content=23

[Vamsee]

Privatisation of coal sector will transform India’s growth trajectory, writes Amitabh Kant

First, over the years, our coal imports have been steadily rising to meet our domestic demand. In 2018–19, we had to import 25% of our total coal demand, which is 235 MT of coal. This cost us Rs 1.7 lakh crore in 2018–19 and bears an enormous pressure on our import bill. In the wake of recent disruption of global supply chains and India’s call for self-reliance, it is imperative that we allow our private sector to mine coal in India and for India. With nationalised coal mines failing to meet our demand, commercial coal mining is the only panacea for India to get rid of coal imports, achieve energy security and reduce import bill.