Commerce ministry to observe ‘Vanijya Saptah’ during September 20-26

Source: Financial Express, 19 September 2021

The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) is organising a soft launch of the National Single Window System and Industrial Park Rating System.

The commerce and industry ministry on Sunday said it will observe ‘Vanijya Saptah’ during September 20-26, in which a slew of programmes and events will be organised across the country showcasing India as a rising economic force, and exporter conclaves.

The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) is organising a soft launch of the National Single Window System and Industrial Park Rating System. The National Single Window System will allow investors to identify and apply for various pre-operations approvals required for commencing a business in India.

“This would provide end-to-end facilitation, support, including pre-investment advisory, information related to land banks and facilitating clearances at Central and State levels,” it added. It said that the Industrial Park Rating System (IPRS) recognizes best performing parks, identifying interventions and serving as a decision support system for investors and policy makers. The IPRS 2.0 will widen its coverage and aim to bring in qualitative assessment further to the pilot phase.

“Under IPRS 2.0, the assessment of industrial parks including private industrial parks and SEZs with introduction of qualitative indicators for assessing these parks/zones is being undertaken across parameters identified under the four pillars – Internal infrastructure and utilities, External infrastructure and Connectivity, Business Support Systems, and Environmental and Safety Management,” the ministry said.

Further, exporter conclaves/meets will also be held in more than 700 districts, including mega events in 100 districts.
It will include handholding sessions for local exporters/entrepreneurs on foreign trade issues involving stakeholders such as the lead bank, local export chambers/associations and Export Promotion Councils.

Also, five national seminars/exhibitions will be organized by the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT) in five regions of the country, – North, South, East, West and North-East. Further 35 export promotion events/exhibitions will be organized on 21-22 September by all the 14 export promotion councils, in which they would mobilize local exporters, manufacturers and industry to make export promotion a Jan Andolan.

India to host G-20 summit in 2023; Goyal appointed sherpa for grouping

Source: Business Standards, 07 September 2021

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has been appointed as India’s Sherpa for the G20, an influential grouping that brings together the world’s major economies.

Making the announcement, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Tuesday that India will hold the G20 presidency from December 1, 2022, and will convene the G20 leaders’ summit in 2023 for the first time.

The next G20 Summit is scheduled to take place from October 30 to 31 under the Italian presidency.

“Piyush Goyal, Union Minister for Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, and Textiles, has been appointed as India’s Sherpa for the G20,” the Ministry of External Affairs said.

Prime Minister Modi has been leading India’s representation at G20 summits since 2014.

India has been a member of the G20 since its inception in 1999.

“India will be holding the G20 presidency from December 1, 2022 and will convene the G20 Leaders’ summit in 2023 for the first time,” the MEA said.

“India will be part of the G20 Troika (preceding, current, and incoming G20 Presidencies) from December 1, 2021 till November 30, 2024,” it said in a statement.

G20 brings together 19 of the world’s leading economies and the European Union, with its members accounting for more than 80 per cent of global GDP, 75 per cent of global trade and 60 per cent of the global population, according to MEA.

The G20 member nations are Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Germany, France, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Expo 2020 Dubai: India to showcase economic and cultural marvel

Source: Financial Express, 03 September 2021

Large number of prominent government ministers, officials and celebrities are set to visit India pavilion during the six months of Expo 2020, which will also host number of cultural events.

The Indian Pavilion at the mega Expo 2020 Dubai, starting October 1, will showcase the country’s march to becoming a $5-trillion economy in the post-covid era, along with its vibrant culture and its past, commerce secretary BVR Subrahmanyam said on Thursday.
The Expo, which will witness the presence of top Indian companies, start-ups and various states, will also be a vibrant place to forge business deals as well. As India celebrates 75 years of its independence, the pavilion will also mirror the celebrations as well.

“India’s exceptional fightback against Covid and the emergence as a global business hub presenting huge opportunities for the world will be the overarching theme of India’s participation at Expo 2020 Dubai,” Subrahmanyam said.

Large number of prominent government ministers, officials and celebrities are set to visit India pavilion during the six months of Expo 2020, which will also host number of cultural events.
The India Pavilion will feature an innovative kinetic façade made up of 600 individual colourful blocks. “It is developed as a mosaic of rotating panels that will depict different themes as they rotate on their axis. It represents the theme of ‘India on the move’ and is a unique amalgam of the rich heritage and technological advances of the nation,” according to an official statement.

The entire four-storey structure of the India pavilion is divided into two parts. The zones are identified based on 11 primary themes — climate and biodiversity, space, urban and rural development, tolerance and inclusivity, golden jubilee, knowledge and learning, travel and connectivity, global goals, health and wellness, food agriculture and livelihoods and water.

‘Taking steps to address container shortage’
Subrahmanyam said the government could announce the extension of a transport subsidy scheme for farm goods within a week. The scheme, which is expected to soften the blow of exorbitant shipping costs for farm exporters, was in effect until March 2021. Acknowledging that container shortage has driven up shipping costs by 300-500% over the past few months, the secretary also pointed out that it’s a global phenomenon now. Nevertheless, the government is taking steps to address the issue. The Cabinet secretary held a meeting of senior officials on this issue on Wednesday. Another meeting at the shipping ministry was held on Thursday, while commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal will chair a crucial meeting next week, he said. Both short-term and long-terms solutions are being explored, he added.

EAM Jaishankar, FM Sitharaman to headline UK’s India Global Forum

Source: Business Standards, 15 June 2021

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman were on Tuesday confirmed as the headline speakers at a global event that will lay out India’s vision for post-pandemic growth.

India Global Forum, organised from London as a hybrid event between June 29 and July 1, will bring together a range of worldwide experts, including World Health Organisation (WHO) Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and former CIA Director General David H. Petraeus, to cover India’s role in vaccine and medicine manufacturing as well as cooperation in crucial areas of climate change and an equitable global economic recovery.

From India, other senior ministers set to address a host of sessions include Commerce & Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari and Women & Textiles Minister Smriti Irani.

This year’s India Global Forum brings with it a sense of urgency and impatience about the radical actions needed now to shape a post-pandemic world, said Manoj Ladwa, CEO of India Inc. Group, organisers of the forum.

It’s where the big global issues of climate change, economic recovery and opportunity, digital transformation, and tackling new age imperialist and fundamentalist threats get debated, he said.

In line with its Future. Now. Radical Actions for the Post Pandemic Era theme, the sessions of the forum will cover Climate Action; Digital Future; Global Business; Economic Recovery; Health & HealthTech; Securing Supply Chains; and Global Leadership.

From views on how the post-pandemic build back of the global economy can be used to accelerate the transition to a better and safer world, to so-called Covidonomics of navigating huge new debts, unemployment and ongoing healthcare risk, the event is being pegged as the first chance for such a high-level worldwide forum as India gradually emerges from a devastating second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Upcoming Trade Fairs in India 2021

Intersolar India 2021

14^th to 16^th December at Bombay Exhibition Centre, Mumbai

Intersolar is the world’s leading exhibition & conference series for the solar industry. As part of this event series, Intersolar India in Mumbai is India’s most pioneering exhibition and conference for India’s solar industry. It takes place annually and has a focus on the areas of photovoltaics, PV production and solar thermal technologies. Since 2019, Intersolar India is held under the umbrella of The smarter E India – India’s innovation hub for the new energy world.

Web site: https://www.thesmartere.in/en/intersolar-india

India to organize world’s largest virtual fair for textiles

Source: ETRetail.com, Sept 17, 2020

New Delhi: India is organizing the world’s largest virtual fair for textiles with around 5,000 sellers and 30,000 buyers across the globe. Textiles secretary Ravi Capoor on Wednesday said the government is planning a Textile India Fair and looking for an Indian platform for the same.

“India is planning a Textile India Fair. We are organizing the largest virtual fair in the globe with 4,000-5,000 sellers and 25,000-30,000 buyers across the globe,” Capoor said at GLOBIZ- Global Textile & Home Furnishing Expo event organised by Ficci, adding that the government is looking for an Indian platform for the fair.

He said while India has competition in apparel, home furnishings and textiles sector has the potential to double exports in two years and asked industry to plan a huge outreach programme to expand the country’s exports to new markets such as Japan, CIS and Latin America. “80% of our exports go to 5-6 markets and we are focused on a few markets which is good but we need to expand to newer markets… We can move to new areas when the chips are down for major suppliers,” he said.

Capoor said orders are coming in for Indian textiles sector and it is about how industry meets the supplies and adheres to delivery schedules.

In the April-August period, India’s exports of cotton yarn, fabrics, made-ups, handloom products, man-made yarn, fabrics and made-ups, readymade garments, jute products, handicrafts and carpets were $8.7 billion.

UP govt to organise 5-day global virtual MSME exhibition in October

Source: Business Standard, Sept 10, 2020

Lucknow: In order to connect the state’s micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) sellers with international buyers during the Covid-19 headwinds, the Uttar Pradesh government has decided to organise a five-day global virtual exhibition next month.

Buyers from 50 countries will be connected to the virtual platform, which will also promote the One District-One Product (ODOP) scheme, aimed at promoting the state’s indigenous and traditional handicrafts and industries.

UP Additional Chief Secretary, MSME and Export Promotion, Navneet Sehgal, took the stock of the situation and reviewed the preparation for the proposed virtual exhibition.

He said about 25,000 virtual stalls would be available for the different categories of products, including business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-customer (B2C).

“While institutional buyers will be able to order directly from sellers over the virtual platform, retail buyers will also get the opportunity to buy,” Sehgal said.

Some of the prominent products to be showcased during the virtual exhibition include leather footwear from Kanpur and Agra, Chikan fabric of Lucknow, perfumery of Kannauj, terracotta from Gorakhpur, brassware from Moradabad, silk work from Varanasi, carpets from Bhadohi etc.

Since, transnational Covid-19 protocols have impeded the deferment of major international trade fairs and exhibitions, the Adityanath government has decided to host the virtual event under the flagship Market Development Assistance (MDA) Scheme.

The ODOP scheme was launched by the Adityanath government in 2018 to promote the traditional and indigenous industries and handicrafts by facilitating state support in terms of setting up of new enterprises, bank credit and marketing.

The success of the ODOP scheme can be gauged from the fact that UP achieved industrial exports worth nearly Rs 1.14 trillion in 2018-19 compared to only Rs 89,000 crore in 2017-18, thus registering a upsurge of 28 per cent.

According to estimates, UP is home to nearly 9 million MSME units, which form the industrial backbone of the state. The sector contributes 60 per cent to UP’s annual industrial output and directly employs 50 million people.

The MSME sector also blends with the macro development plank of the Adityanath regime, while resurrecting the positive image of UP and repositioning the state as a preferred investment destination in the league of Indian states.

Earlier, Chief Minister Adityanath had directed officials to draw up the roadmap for leveraging the provision of Rs 15,000 crore loan component for the MSME sector in the federal economic package announced by the Centre earlier this year to beat the challenges posed by the Covid-19 lockdown and its aftermath. Meanwhile, the state is also planning to launch retail outlets to market the state’s pool of ethnic products. While, a majority of these outlets would be set up in UP, stores will also be launched in other states as well.

Upcoming Trade Fairs in 2020

COSMOPROF INDIA 2020

29^th to 31^st October at Bombay Exhibition Center, Mumbai.

Cosmoprof India represents the fourth destination of the Cosmoprof network, a 360° worldwide platform for the international beauty community, with shows in Bologna, Las Vegas, Hong Kong and Bangkok which all together involve over 500,000 professionals and 10,000 exhibitors from all over the world. Geo-adapted from the global Cosmoprof brand, Cosmoprof India has its own unique scale and entity.

Web site: https://cosmoprofindia.com/

Over 300 exhibitors have confirmed participation in Aero India 2019 so far

Source: The Hindu Business Line, Dec 30, 2018

More than 300 exhibitors, including top global and domestic players from the defence industry, have confirmed their participation in Aero India 2019, a defence official said on Sunday.

Aero India 2019 will be held in Bengaluru from February 20 to 24 and the defence exhibition will see participation of top fighter-jet manufacturers, defence equipment makers and companies related to the sector.

All activities related to Aero India 2019 have been made online — be it booking of tickets or selection of space for stalls, the official said.

The participants can arrange business to business meetings and book conference rooms online.

With nearly 50 days to go for Aero India, we already have 308 exhibitors. They include 178 domestic and 130 foreign players. We have generated a revenue of Rs 62 crore from the bookings so far.

There will be no cheque transaction for Aero India as all payments have been made online. The arrangements correspond to the best practices in the world, the official added.

There will also be a mobile application for Aero India 2019 show that will guide the users about the event.

Tickets for business days , February 20, 21 and 22, will cost Rs 2,750 each. Tickets for general visitors will cost Rs 1,800. Rs 600 will be charged for air display. On-the-spot tickets will cost Rs 250 more, the official added.

India to host World Employment Conference to market skilled workforce

Source: The Economic Times, Apr 13, 2016

NEW DELHI: The labour ministry wants to woo employers the world over to get them to hire India’s growing workforce, which the government estimates swells by 10 million every year.

The ministry and the Indian Staffing Federation, a body of the flexi staffing industry, are partnering to host the World Employment Conference for the first time in India. They seek to showcase the country’s talent beyond medical and engineering, the streams from where Indians traditionally migrate to developed nations and often don’t return. “The idea is to market our skilled workforce to the countries that have certain kind of skill deficit which Indian workers can fulfill,” a person associated with the event said.