Manufacturing Financial News

import duties, flagging dumping of chemicals from China. Crop Care Federation of India, which represents key players in the agrochemical sector, has sought an increase in import tariffs, currently at about 7.5%. «The government should raise import tariffs by 7.5% counteracting Chinese predatory pricing and monopolistic practices with targeted tariff,» said Harish Mehta, senior advisor, Cropcare Federation of India, adding that this will safeguard the chemical industry, which is a key contributor to the nation's GDP and exports. An increase between 5% and 7.5% in tariffs will go a long way towards levelling the playing field on the price front for domestic players, it suggested. The industry in its representation has pointed out that the Indian chemicals sector was trade surplus as recently as 2020-21 but reported a $17 billion trade deficit in FY23, arguing that predatory trade practices by foreign players, notably from China are largely behind this swing. As per industry estimates, the global chemicals industry is already worth $5,000 billion and India's share is small, valued at $220 billion in 2022. Industry in its representation has also made a case to fast-track trade remedy measures including making BIS standards mandatory in specialty chemicals and agrochemicals by line ministries along with need to expedite regulatory approvals by respective ministries (agriculture, health, environment) with preference for domestic manufacturing projects.

Gold and copper are two of the oldest metals known to humans. They have now acquired a new sheen. In the case of gold, uncertainty in the global economy and instability in geopolitics have sent the price of the precious metal, an investment of safe resort, soaring. In the case of copper, the ongoing energy transition and move to Industry 4.0, which are highly mineral-intensive, has seen demand grow impressively with an upward pressure on prices. India is heavily import-dependent for both metals, importing more than 95% of demand for each. GoI can dent this trend. Indeed, security of mineral supply chains is already emerging as a priority. India's goal as a manufacturing hub can only be realised if there is a security of raw materials. So far, GoI has pursued a strategy of looking for resources overseas. It can look at home as well.

Union Budget on July 23 in Parliament, standard deduction to Rs 1 lakh and increasing tax break among others are some of the expectations for the comman man that consultancy firm KPMG expects. «There has been a significant rise in medical expenses, fuel costs and overall inflation. Keeping in mind the increase in personal expenditure it is popularly expected to enhance the standard deduction to Rs 1 lakh from the existing limit of Rs 50,000,» said the firm in a note. The Union Budget will be Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led coalition government's first major policy announcement after the 18th Lok Sabha polls.

Jairam Ramesh targeted the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Centre on Sunday, over the recent tax collection data, and said that individuals are paying more tax than companies, and the middle class is bearing the weight of heavy taxation while Rs 2 lakh crore has been put in «pockets of billionaires» due to slashing of corporate taxes. He highlighted that income tax collection stood at Rs 3.61 lakh crores and gross corporate tax collections were Rs 2.65 lakh crores, from April 1 to July 1, 2024. Taking to social media platform X, Jairam Ramesh said, «As we head towards the Budget on July 23rd, data has just been released that gross personal income tax collections amounted to Rs 3.61 lakh crores during April 1-July 1 2024 while gross corporate tax collections were Rs 2.65 lakh crores. This reconfirms and re-establishes the point we have been making for quite some time--that individuals are paying more tax than companies.»

Union Budget 2024-25 on July 23, the electric vehicle (EV) sector is optimistic about potential announcements that could spur industry growth. The EV sector is at a critical juncture, with every player striving to capture market share. The industry anticipates that the government will introduce FAME-3, allocate funds for charging infrastructure, provide incentives for the localization of EV components, integrate EVs with renewable energy sources, implement a priority lending scheme, and reduce GST on EV services, among other measures.

Budget 2024, to be presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. Industry players are hopeful for tax reductions on exports to bolster demand for Indian-made gold and diamond jewellery.

PC Jeweller Ltd plans to raise up to Rs 2,705 crore by issuing warrants on a preferential basis to promoters and investors, mainly to settle bank loans and for working capital requirements. Promoters will infuse around Rs 850 crore into the company by subscribing to warrants issued by the company. In a regulatory filing on Saturday, PC Jeweller informed that its board has approved the proposal to raise funds up to Rs 2,705.14 crore by preferential issue of fully convertible warrants.

Aatmanirbhar Bharat initiative, aimed at boosting domestic manufacturing and reducing dependence on imports. Launched in 2020, the PLI scheme seeks to incentivize companies to set up and expand their manufacturing capabilities within India, thereby fostering self-reliance and bolstering the country’s economic resilience. At its core, the PLI scheme provides financial incentives to manufacturers based on their incremental sales from products manufactured in domestic units. These incentives are designed to make Indian products more competitive on a global scale, encourage large-scale manufacturing, and attract investments in critical sectors. The scheme is targeted at sectors where India has the potential to emerge as a global leader, thereby creating significant employment opportunities and boosting exports. To date, the government has rolled out PLI schemes across 14 key sectors, including electronics, pharmaceuticals, textiles, and white goods. The success of these initial schemes has prompted the government to consider expanding the program to other strategic sectors.

Tamil Nadu Prohibition Amendment Act, 2024, stipulating enhanced punishment term and quantum of fine for offences like manufacture, possession and sale of illicit liquor that endangers lives, has come into force, Chief Minister M K Stalin said on Saturday. The TN Prohibition Act, 1937, which was amended in the wake of the hooch tragedy in Kallakurichi was adopted unanimously by the state legislative assembly on June 29 and Governor R N Ravi gave his assent on July 11, he said. An official release here said that the amended Act has been notified in the Gazette. Days after over 60 people died following the consumption of methanol-laced illicit liquor in June, the chief minister piloted a bill amending the TN Prohibition Act,1937, ensuring harsher punishment to the offenders so as to prevent hooch tragedies in the state.

Red Sea crisis and ongoing war between Ukraine-Russia and Israel-Hamas. E-commerce exports are growing rapidly and those done through the postal and courier routes are pegged at $1.5 billion. Here's a look at the challenges the export sector is facing and its budget wishlist. India's goods and services exports in FY24 were at an all-time high of $778.2 billion, up 0.23% from $776.4 billion in 2022-23 (goods USD 437.1 billion and services USD 341 billion). Key issues in India's export saga;

Bergen in Norway. Strictly speaking, the gleaming Northern Lights terminal is just the gateway to the actual dump, where carbon dioxide will be offloaded from ships and then pumped down into an aquifer 1.6 miles below the seabed, about 60 miles offshore, keeping it locked away. Getting to net zero mostly means stopping doing things that emit carbon. A supplement to this is capturing those emissions and storing them, like refuse in a landfill. In theory, carbon capture and storage, or CCS, offers the ultimate climate hedge for fossil fuel producers, albeit at a cost of perhaps $10 trillion through 2050.More likely, it will play a vital role in mopping up the most stubborn emissions, but will be outcompeted by faster-moving alternatives for energy transition. Moreover, the incentives required to make it work would present, in themselves, a profound risk to fossil fuel producers. Of the emissions that need to be eliminated to achieve net zero in 2050, Bloomberg NEF projects CCS accounting for 16% of them. The amount being captured annually by 2050, more than 8 gigatons, would be bigger than the total energy-related emissions of the Americas today.

EEPC India has suggested restoring the interest subvention to 3% for the specified 410 tariff lines besides raising the subvention rate to 5% for MSME manufacturers exporting under any tariff line. «Considering the rise in the repo rate from 4.4% to 6.5%, we have requested to restore the interest subvention rate to 3% for the specified 410 tariff lines. We also requested that for Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSME) manufacturers exporting under any tariff line, the interest subvention rate be increased to 5%. Merchant exporters have low-profit margins, and the cost of credit affects their viability significantly. Therefore, we have requested to extend the Interest Equalisation Scheme to merchant exporters with a 3% subvention rate,» EEPC India chairman Arun Kumar Garodia said. According to Trade Notice No 07/ 2024-25, the Interest Equalization Scheme has been extended for two months but only for MSMEs. It also says that the claims from non-MSME exporters will not be accepted beyond 30th June 2024.

BEIJING — China dominates the supply chain for many of the world's critical minerals, but so far it's held off on sweeping restrictions on at least one: tungsten.

Greece has introduced a new law allowing certain private-sector workers to enforce a six-day workweek. Effective July 1, this measure aims to support the country's aging workforce and provide additional income for workers, while ensuring respect for workers' rights. The law targets specific industrial and manufacturing sectors, particularly businesses operating continuous shifts 24/7, and will be applied only in exceptional circumstances, such as an unexpectedly increased workload. Labor unions, advocating for better working conditions, have strongly opposed the move, sparking heated debates and protests. Greece already has the longest average workweek in the European Union, and it remains uncertain whether this extension will enhance productivity.

₹11.5 trillion, or 4.3% of the 2022-23 GDP, over the seven-year period. India’s informal sector consists of a vast network of small businesses, street vendors, and independent workers, operating outside the formal legal framework, and their sheer size—three-fourths of the workforce—means they play a critical role in job creation. The latest survey covered 458,938 informal sector enterprises between October 2022 and September 2023.

Republicans will gather for their convention in Milwaukee next week united behind presidential candidate Donald Trump but divided on what the party stands for. There are, of course, widely aired disagreements over abortion and the war in Ukraine. But a potentially more consequential division has opened over economics.

The public offer is being made through the book-building process, wherein about 50% of the issue is reserved for qualified institutional buyers, 35% for retail investors, and 15% for non-institutional investors.

private investment plans reportedly slumping to a 20-year low in the first quarter of this fiscal, the Congress on Monday alleged India has suffered due to «random policy changes» and an atmosphere of «fear and intimidation». Congress general secretary, in-charge communications, Jairam Ramesh, in a statement alleged that everyday in the «Modi-Made Anyay Kaal» is a new record of economic failure. «We have already seen a 45-year high unemployment rate, a 50-year low household savings rate, and the first-ever decrease in real rural consumption. Now, we have another disturbing fact to reckon with. The Hindu reports that in the April-June quarter of this 2023/24 fiscal year, fresh investments announced by corporates is just Rs. 44,000 crore. This is a 20-year low,» Ramesh said in a post on X. «Compare the decade of Manmohan Singh as Prime Minister with that of the non-biological PM. Investment as percentage of GDP (average over time) was 33.4% during the UPA and 28.7% in the Anyay-kaal,» he said.

The Biden administration says it’s providing $244 million to expand and update the federal government’s registered apprenticeship program

Emcure Pharmaceuticals jumped 4% to Rs 1,384 after a strong debut on the exchanges on Wednesday. The stock is listed at Rs 1325 on NSE and BSE over the IPO price of Rs 1008 apiece, a premium of Rs 317 or 31.4% as against the issue price. The enthusiastic listing was kind of expected after it received an overwhelming response, as the issue was subscribed to a whopping nearly 68 times.

economic policy towards 2047 with an emphasis on job creation through labour-intensive manufacturing, credit for MSMEs and continued focus on services exports by expanding GCCs, according to Goldman Sachs. “We expect the general government to stick to the announced fiscal deficit target of 5.1% of GDP for FY25 (or even slightly lower) and announce further consolidation to a deficit of below 4.5% of GDP by FY26”, Goldman Sachs said in a note Monday. Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the full budget for FY25 on July 23. In her interim budget, presented in February, she had pegged fiscal deficit at 5.1% of GDP