Minister Prabhu.

India aims for US$1 trillion of goods and services exports in its US$5 trillion economy by year 2026-27. Citing the export potentials, Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu has called for services to be captured in the global trading system as it is growing faster than merchandise.

“Such dynamic changes (in exports) need to be captured in the global trading system,” he told the 6th Growth Net Summit, being held in New Delhi on 18-19 June 2018.

The summit was organized by AnantaCenter and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) with Smadja&Smadja.

Services trade requires movement of people, unlike merchandise trade, said the Minister.

Indian goods and services exports grew by over 12% over the last one year, he pointed out.

Prabhu also disclosed that the government is working on a comprehensive strategy to boost services exports.

He said US$1 billion will be spent to promote 12 champion services sectors.

For the first time, a strategy of products in new markets is being developed.

Exports are also being promoted in regions like Africa, Latin America and Central Asia, added the Minister.

Noting that the World Trade Organisation was created as part of a rules-based, multilateral, democratic and participatory institution for expanding global trade, he said that countries have recognized the value of global trade for fostering growth and creating jobs.

“India is working with other countries to ensure that WTO remains relevant,” he said.

The summit was organized by AnantaCenter and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) with Smadja&Smadja. fii-news.com

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Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu releasing study report on Indian pharma exports to China on 18 June 2018.

India has released a study is underway on “Enhancing Indian Exports of Pharmaceutical products to China”, as the Chinese healthcare sector is expected to balloon to US$1 trillion in 2020 from US$357 billion in 2011.

The study under the Market Access Initiative Scheme (MAI) will help the Indian pharma industry to evolve appropriate and focused strategy for entry of the Indian generic drugs in China.

The study examines the health care market, pharmaceutical market the distribution system, procurement and bidding process and the regulatory landscape in China.

The study also gives recommendations on how to access the Chinese market.

China remains among the world’s most attractive markets, and by far the fastest-growing of all the large emerging ones from pharmaceuticals to medical products to consumer health.

The study has been done by IMS Health team which worked with PHARMEXCIL and Industry stakeholders. fii-news.com

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PM with CMs and Lt. Governor at NITI Aayog meeting on 17 June 2018.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has urged the States to pay special attention to expanding their exports and attracting export-oriented investment while organizing investments summits and trade events.

He also encouraged States to explore opportunities to increase corporate investment in agriculture, such as in food processing, warehousing and logistics.

National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog will soon invite States for consultations on how to improve the ‘Ease of Doing Business’ in India and to improve the ‘Ease of Living’ for the common man, said the Prime Minister at the fourth meeting of the Governing Council of NITI Aayog.

He called on states to adopt good practices such as reducing wasteful expenditure and increasing technology use.

The Chief Ministers, responding to the Prime Minister’s calls, highlighted issues such as adaptation to climate change, the need to design and implement State-specific schemes to suit local needs.

The meeting, held in New Delhi on 17 June 2018, was attended by 23 Chief Ministers and the Lieutenant Governor of Andaman & Nicobar Islands, apart from Union Ministers, who are ex-officio members and special invitees. fii-news.com

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The Prime Minister greeting chief ministers at the meeting, along with Home Minister Rajnath Singh as well as Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Sanjay Gandhi.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has highlighted the challenge to take the economic growth to double digits, as many more important steps have to be taken.

The economy has grown at a healthy rate of 7.7% in the fourth quarter of 2017-18.

Modi delivered the opening remarks at the fourth meeting of the Governing Council of NITI Aayog, in New Delhi on 17 June 2018.

“The vision of a New India by 2022, is now a resolve of the people of our country,” he said.

The Prime Minister said that schemes such as Mudra Yojana, Jan Dhan Yojana and Stand Up India, are helping in greater financial inclusion.

He emphasized the need for tackling economic imbalances on priority.

The Prime Minister said India has no shortage of capabilities, capacities and resources. fii-news.com

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HCL Technologies has signed an end-to-end IT infrastructure services deal with Falck of Copenhagen, an international leader in the ambulance and healthcare markets.

Through this deal, HCL will support Falck’s business transformation by consolidating, simplifying and standardizing Falck’s IT infrastructure operations through a centralized global service delivery model.

The new centralized model will enable greater automation, improved cost transparency, enhanced operational efficiency and increased control.

The delivery hubs for this engagement will include HCL’s newly inaugurated Global Delivery Centre in Gothenburg, Sweden, and sites in the US and South America.

“Our IT infrastructure is mission-critical, as it underpins the applications and processes that enable our teams to help people in need and to save lives,” said Poul Erbo Mortensen, Executive Vice President and COO, Falck.

“We chose HCL due to its proven track record in driving large-scale IT transformations for clients in the Nordics and around the world,” Mortensen said.

“We are looking forward to working with Falck to achieve significant efficiency gains from a unified IT infrastructure. HCL’s global service delivery model will enable Falck to optimize and evolve its IT landscape in tune with its changing business demands”,said Pankaj Tagra, EVP, Nordic & DACH Business Head at HCL Technologies.

With more than 100 years of experience, Falck operates in 35 countries and has more than 37,300 employees. fii-news.com

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Minister Sitharaman hands symbolic key to Gowtama.

Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) has opened a representative office in Hanoi as part of its global expansion and product support in the South East Asian markets.

Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman inaugurated the office on 13 June 2018 by handing over the symbolic office key of BEL at Vietnam (VIRO) to BEL Chairman & Managing Director,  M V Gowtama during the Vietnam-India Defence Industry Business Meeting.

BEL, India’s leading defence electronics company, is fast expanding its global presence, putting its best foot forward to give a thrust to exports worldwide, especially South East Asian countries such as the Myanmar, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Philippines.

Spotting a niche market in Vietnam, BEL office in Hanoi is to serve export business opportunities and to provide unstinted product support and services to users in the region.

The office will aim to promote BEL’s exports in areas such as Weapon Systems, Radar Systems, Naval Systems, Military Communication Systems, Electronic Warfare Systems, Combat Management System and Coastal Surveillance System.

VIRO is located close to the Indian Embassy in Vietnam, on the 10th Floor of TNR Tower.

BEL, India’s leading defence electronics company, is fast expanding its global presence, putting its best foot forward to give a thrust to exports worldwide, especially South East Asian countries such as the Myanmar, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Philippines.

Spotting a niche market in Vietnam, BEL office in Hanoi is for addressing export business opportunities and to provide unstinted product support and services to users in the region.

The office will aim to promote BEL’s exports in areas such as Weapon Systems, Radar Systems, Naval Systems, Military Communication Systems, Electronic Warfare Systems, Combat Management System and Coastal Surveillance System. fii-news.com

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Minister Prabhu.

Commerce, Industry and Civil Aviation Minister, Suresh Prabhu, has highlighted encouraging growth in trade volumes through purchases of US-made civilian aircrafts by Indian companies during his 10-12 June 2018 visit.

He has also underlined the enhanced cooperation in the area of energy, including India’s procurement of US petroleum and Liquid Natural Gas (LNG).

Prabhu held discussions with the US Trade Representative Robert E. Lighthizer, Secretary of Commerce Wilbur L. Ross and Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue.

He also had a joint meeting with the India Caucus Co-chairs Senator Mark Robert Warner and Senator John Cornyn.

The discussions centered around bilateral trade and commercial relations between the two countries and focused on finding the way forward to address concerns of both sides.

He agreed with his counterparts that Indian and US officials would meet at a senior level at an early date to discuss various issues of interest to both sides and carry forward the discussions in a positive, constructive and result oriented manner.

Prabhu also addressed business and industry leaders in meetings organized by US-India Business Council (USIBC) and US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF) and held meetings with other stakeholders.

The Minister pointed out that India’s rapid economic growth will create significant new market opportunities. fii-news.com

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L to R: S.C. Kalia, Mr. Ajai Kumar, Lt. General (Dr.) Mukesh Sabharwal (Retd.), Rana Kapoor, Mr. Ashok Chawla, Brahm Dutt, Mr. Vasant Gujarathi,
R. Chandrashekhar and Dr. Pratima Sheorey at the 14th AGM of YES BANK.

The Board of Directors of YES BANK has reappointed Rana Kapoor as MD & CEO of the Bank for a period of 3 years at the 14th Annual General Meeting (AGM) held on 12 June 2018 in Mumbai.

The board has also approved the appointment of Directors, namely Subhash Chander Kalia, Rentala Chandrashekhar and Dr. Pratima Sheorey

Kapoor’s three-year term is effective 1 September 2018, subject to final approval by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

The shareholders have approved through special resolution to raise capital aggregating up to US$1 billion by way of issue of shares (QIP/ADR/GDR/FCCB).

The shareholders also approved through special resolution the proposal to borrow/raise funds in Indian/foreign currency by issue of Debt Securities including but not limited to Non-Convertible Debentures, Medium Term Notes and Bonds up to a total amount of Rs.30,000 crore.

The shareholders also approved through special resolutions to raise the total borrowing limit of the Bank to Rs.110,000 crore.

Speaking on the occasion, Ashok Chawla, Non-Executive Chairman, YES BANK said, “We are extremely satisfied with the trust and faith shown by the institutional and retail shareholders in the Board of Directors and management, the Bank’s business and financial performance, growth plans and decisions to maintain the highest professional standards.”

“YES BANK is fully equipped to capitalize on innovations in technology through strategic partnerships with established organizations as well as agile fintech players, thereby enhancing customer service & developing robust future ready processes for the entire Indian Banking industry,” he said.

YES BANK, India’s fourth largest private sector Bank with a pan India presence across all 29 states and 7 Union Territories of India, headquartered in the Lower Parel Innovation District (LPID) of Mumbai, is the outcome of the professional & entrepreneurial commitment of its Founder Rana Kapoor and its Top Management team, to establish a high quality, customer centric, service driven, private Indian Bank catering to the future businesses of India. fii-news.com

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India’s Major Ports have recorded a growth of 2.41% and together handled 116.26 Million Tonnes of cargo during the period April to May 2018 as against 113.52 Million Tonnes handled during the corresponding period of previous year.

For the period from April-May 2018, Nine Ports – Kolkata (including Haldia), Paradip, Visakhapatnam, Kamarajar, Chennai, Cochin, New Mangalore, JNPT and Deendayal have registered positive growth in traffic.

Cargo traffic handled at Major Ports:

The highest growth was registered by Kamarajar Port (11.69%), followed by Kolkata[incl. Haldia] (11.33%), Cochin(8.70%),Paradip (7.61%) and New Mangalore (6.66%).

Kamarajar Port growth was mainly due to increase in Other Misc. Cargo by 28.16%,Other Liquids by 16.67%, Thermal& Steam Coal by 6.64% and POL by 5.99%.

In Kolkata Port, overall growth was 11.33%. Kolkata Dock System (KDS) registered traffic growth of 2.00%. WhereasHaldia Dock Complex (HDC) registered positive growth of 15.64% which is highest among all the Major Ports.

During the period Aprilto May 2018, Deendayal (Kandla) Port handled the highest volume of traffic i.e. 19.66 Million tonnes (16.91% share), followed by Paradip with 17.43 Million Tonnes (14.99% share), JNPT with 11.70Million Tonnes (10.07% share), Visakhapatnam with 10.60 Million Tonnes (9.12% share) and Mumbai with 10.16 Million Tonnes (8.74% share). Together, these five ports handled around 60% of Major Port Traffic.

Commodity-wise percentage share of POL was maximum i.e. 29.54%, followed by Container (20.36%), Thermal & Steam Coal (16.58%), Other Misc. Cargo (12.63%), Coking & Other Coal (7.70%), Iron Ore & Pellets (6.63%), Other Liquid (4.20%), Finished Fertilizer (1.34%) and FRM (1.03%). fii.news.com

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Badal bullish on agri-food sector.

India’s agriculture sector has rebounded strongly with Rs.100,000 crore worth of Memorandum of Understanding signed in the last one year and an annual investment of Rs.104,000 crore for capacity creation to handle agro produce.

Reporting this, Food Processing Industries Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal said there has been 351% increase in preservation and processing capacity in Mega Food Parks, 720% increase in Cold Storage capacity and direct employment of 4.90 lakh generated.

A request for proposal for Agro Processing Financial Institution is to be sent out by July 2018.

“Food Processing is all set to become the most robust sector in India to contribute majorly to India’s growth and the sector is all set to double farmers’ income by 2022,” said Badal while addressing the media on the achievements of the Ministry during the last 4 years in New Delhi on 4 June 2018.

The industry has investment commitment of nearly Rs.100,000 crores which we got in last one year alone and out of which work on investment worth Rs.73,000 crores have started.

Overall 25 Mega Food Parks would be operationalized by 2018, 15 of which have already been completed so far. Another 15 more will be operationalized by 2019, she said.

The government is creating a Cold Chain Grid to link every nook and corner of India by its 42 Mega Food Parks, 234 Cold Chain Projects and around 700 projects under PM Kisan Sampada Yojana.

More than 33 lakh farmers will directly benefit from these schemes every year and their number would keep increasing.

Badal said, “We are in the process to create a new Financial Institution that will exclusively fund food processing projects and create capacity building in the field of risk assessment and lending to food processing sector.

“Request for proposal for the institution, which will be called Agro Processing Financial Institution, will be out by July 2018.

“It will be a Non-Banking Financial Institution and will be largely driven by private sector and government will act as a facilitator. There is keen interest in the institution by both national and international companies,” said Badal.

Under the new Scheme Pradhan Mantri Kisan SAMPADA Yojana, total of 122 projects have been approved under three schemes viz. Agro Processing Clusters, Backward-Forward Linkage and Unit scheme leveraging an investment of Rs.2,300 crore.

This is expected to generate direct and indirect employment of around 3.4 lakh persons.

The Minister also gave a roundup of investments received since World Food India.

First ever global investment summit “World Food India 2017” organized from 3-5 November 2017 successfully created ‘Brand India’ putting the country on the global food map by positioning India as a ‘World Food Factory’ which led to MoUs for investment worth US$14 billion.

Other achievements are:

FDI inflow between April 2017 & December 2017 was US$822 million;

Projects worth US$11 billion are already being grounded by over 30 companies;

Metro Cash & Carry is adding 25 more stores;

SIAM Makro/CP Wholesale is opening three Big Wholesale stores in New Delhi and one store in NOIDA;

Amazon has opened a total of 67 warehouses in the country so far with 15 stores being opened over last month;

Grofers has invested in setting up of over 10 vegetable processing centers (Collection centers and Warehouses);

Over US$1 billion has already been invested by Coca-Cola, Britannia, Cargill, Tilda Hain, Emami, Keventer Agro, Rich Gravis etc. since World Food India 2017.

-/fii-news.com

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