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Exports post highest ever growth in 2010-11
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Taming the white waters of India
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Microsoft to help IT startups in India
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| 02. NEWSMAKER |
| Exports post highest ever growth in 2010-11 |
| Business Standard: April 20, 2011 |
New Delhi: Rise 37.5% to touch $246 billion; imports grow 21.5%
India’s merchandise exports reached $246 billion, registering a growth of 37.5 per cent while imports topped $350.3 billion, up 21.5 per cent year-on-year during financial year 2010-11. While the recovery had been happening at a sluggish rate in developed economies, bulk of the growth came from newer markets.
The government had set a target of achieving exports worth $200 billion in the last financial year. It had also set an ambitious goal of realising $450 billion in export of goods by 2014. In 2009-2010, exports ended up falling 3.6 per cent to $178.6 billion and imports declined by 5.5 per cent year-on-year at $286.8 billion.
“We have exceeded this year’s target by $46 billion even though there had been contraction in demand in the last financial year. We will strive towards achieving higher targets in the future,” Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma said while releasing the provisional trade figures. He also said the trade deficit for financial year 2010-2011 was expected to end within the range of $105-110 billion. According to initial numbers, the trade deficit stood at $104.4 billion.
“The numbers indicate the current account deficit (CAD) is around a comfortable 2-2.5 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP),” said Commerce Secretary Rahul Khullar. He said exports in March grew by a whopping 43.9 per cent to $29.1 billion, the highest growth so far and imports grew by 17.3 per cent reaching $34.7 billion. The official data with revised figures is expected to be released on May 1.
He also reiterated the numbers released by the ministry of commerce and industry are to be revised as there had been a mechanical failure in Indian Customs and Central Excise Electronic Commerce/Electronic Data Interchange Gateway.
“We see an impending slowdown in some of the European economies, while on the other hand, the price of oil is not going to come down soon, which will have a bearing on our imports. So while imports will rise, exports may slowdown. So, overall concern on the trade deficit side remains,” said Shanto Ghosh, economist, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India.
The minister also said the growth had mainly come from newer markets such as Latin America and Africa and not from traditional destinations of the US, Europe and Japan. Sharma said going forward with the bilateral trade agreements that India had signed with South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand and Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) would contribute in achieving the target of $450 billion in exports by 2014.
“In the last financial year (2009-2010), growth had mainly come from Latin America, Africa and Asia. Asia is contributing around 52 per cent of the total exports and going forward with the implementation of the bilateral trade agreements, this may go up to 55 per cent. However, the only concern will be of infrastructure bottlenecks that may not be able to sustain the kind of growth targets we are planning,” said Federation of Indian Export Organisations Director General Ajay Sahai.
Exporters also feel that increasing cost of credit might spell doom for exports going forward, especially the small and medium sector, which accounts for 40 per cent of the country’s exports. “The good performance of exports is expected to continue as developed economies continue to recover, while rising crude oil prices poses an upward risk to imports bill,” said a note by Crisil Ratings. In FY11, growth in exports came mainly from engineering products rising by a staggering 84.8 per cent to $60.1 billion, petroleum soaring by 50.6 per cent at $42.5 billion, electronic goods by 34.5 per cent at $7.4 billion, textiles at $21 billion, drugs and pharmaceuticals at $10.3 billion and carpets at $1.1 billion. This is for the first time that exports of carpets from India have exceeded the $1 billion-mark. |
| Canada Tourism opens office in Delhi |
New Delhi: Canada Tourism Commission has announced the official launch of their India operations, with their first office in New Delhi.
Mr Andrew Clark, Vice-President, Market Development, Canada Tourism Commission (CTC), said that India’s growth made it an important market for CTC even as traditional markets were weakening.
Currently, an estimated 110,000 tourists from India visit Canada every year. Of these, a mere 16 per cent are pleasure tourists. Mr Derek Galpin, Managing Director, China and India, Canada Tourism Commission, said that CTC wanted this number to increase significantly.Mr Galpin said CTC’s initiatives this year will focus on the travel trade sector in India.
“First and foremost, we need to raise awareness amongst the travel and tour operators,” he said. As part of its initiatives, CTC plans to bring Canadian suppliers to India to meet their counterparts at Showcase Canada B2B programme.Also beginning next month, CTC plans to take tour operators on familiarity tours to Canada.
There will be five tours, three in September and two in October. CTC has also developed an online training programme for agents on Canada.
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| Source : The Hindu Business Line: August 19, 2009 |
| Gujarat achieves IT turnover target of Rs 5K cr |
| Source : Business Standard: April 15, 2011 |
Mumbai/ Ahmedabad: With the current state IT policy nearing its completion in November 2011, Gujarat has successfully achieved its IT turnover target of Rs 5,000 crore much ahead of deadline. In the IT policy announced in November 2006, the state government had set a target of achieving Rs 5,000 crore turnover and 200,000 jobs in the IT sector.
"We have achieved our existing IT policy target for turnover. By November 2011, when the existing IT policy completes its tenure, we would have crossed the previous target. Moreover, we will revise the target under the new policy for the next five years," said a senior state government official.
According to the official, Gujarat government is likely to work on a revised draft policy in near future even as the current IT policy meets its deadline. The said new policy will envisage guidelines for IT, ITeS, semi-conductor industry, IT-based application services and IT-based electronic service industries in Gujarat.
Apparently, the Department of Science and Technology and its nodal agency Gujarat Informatics Ltd (GIL) are preparing a rough draft with the help of a private agency. Even as the new IT policy is being formulated, the senior state government official said that IT policies of other states including Karnataka are being studied, whereas top IT and related companies will be roped in for views and suggestions.
In terms of exports, the state has been growing steadily. Under the Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) alone, Gujarat witnessed IT exports by STPI units to the tune of Rs 1,063 crore for 2009-10.
Meanwhile, the Gujarat government has been working on ICT adoption in education and e-governance, even as possibilities are being explored to capitalise on opportunities rising in the context of BPO, KPO, and semiconductor sectors. |
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