Samsara Newsletter

www.samsaragroup.com

Week 3, 2019 (Jan 12 - Jan 18)

Policy & Economy News

Maharashtra Govt to set up Export Promotion Council to boost exports

Cabinet approves infusion of Rs. 6,000 crore (Rs.60 billion) in Export-Import Bank of India

Suresh Prabhu unveils new National Air Cargo Policy

Export demand to drive future growth of manufacturing companies: FICCI-PwC

Govt doubles GST exemption limit for MSMEs; 2 million businesses to benefit

Business News - The India Boom Factor

India-Africa trade touches $ 62.66 billion for 2017-18, increases 22%

Exports up by 10 % during April-Dec period: Commerce Ministry

India among world's leading exporters of creative goods: UN report

Despite Brexit uncertainty, UK exports to India up by 27 pc

India's rapeseed oil meal export from April to December up by 56%: SEA

Shipping News

Union Ministers Nitin Gadkari and Piyush Goyal flag off maiden voyage of Concor vessel via Coastal Shipping

Logistics News

PM inaugurates Multi-Modal Logistics Park in Jharsuguda

Indospace to invest Rs 650 cr (Rs.6.5 billion) in Gujarat to build three logistic parks

Indian Port News

Improved facilities at NMP attract more international tourists

Major sea ports record 3.77% volume growth in first 9 months of FY19

Policy & Economy News

Maharashtra Govt to set up Export Promotion Council to boost exports
Daily Shipping Times: Mumbai, Jan 18 Top
Maharashtra Government will establish State Export Promotion Council & Global Investment Promotion Council, one of Senior State Industries Department Official said recently. These initiatives are in addition to slew of incentives being proposed to attract domestic and foreign direct investments and thereby retain Maharashtra's pre-eminence in this regard.

"The Maharashtra Export Promotion Council will act as a common platform to build awareness towards competitiveness and do incentivizing for export growth. The activities will not be limited to inviting global and domestic interested stakeholders but prepare roadmap of export promotion for next 20 years and interact with Government agencies and international communities," said the officer. He informed that the council will be Chaired by State Industries Minister.

Furthermore, the Global Investment Promotion Council will create strong network of enterprising people across the globe to attract investment in multiple sectors in the state. The council will establish bilateral ties with the US, European, Asian, Middle Ease and African countries.

Cabinet approves infusion of Rs. 6,000 crore (Rs.60 billion) in Export-Import Bank of India
Daily Shipping Times: New Delhi, Jan 18 Top
The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has approved the recapitalization of Export-Import Bank of India.The details are as follows:

i.Issuance of Recapitalization Bonds by Government of India to the tune of Rs.6,000 crore (Rs.60 billion)for capital infusion in Export Import Bank of India.

ii.The equity will be infused in two tranches of Rs. 4,500 crore in FY 2018-19 and Rs.1,500 crore (Rs.15 billion) in FY 2019-20 respectively.

iii.The Cabinet also approved an increase in the authorized capital of Export-Import Bank of India from Rs. 10,000 crore to Rs. 20,000 crore (Rs.100-200 billion). The recapitalisation bonds will be on the lines issued to Public Sector Banks.

Major Impact:

Export-Import Bank of India is the principal export credit agency for India.

The infusion of capital into Export Import Bank of India will enable it to augment capital adequacy and support Indian exports with enhanced ability.

The infusion will give an impetus to anticipate new initiatives like supporting Indian textile industries, likely changes in Concessional Finance Scheme (CFS), likelihood of new LoCs in future in view of India's active foreign policy and strategic intent.

Suresh Prabhu unveils new National Air Cargo Policy
Daily Shipping Times: New Delhi, Jan 17
...The policy document was released during the two-day Global Aviation Summit 2019
Top
The Centre unveiled its much-awaited national air cargo policy, which seeks to make India among the top five air freight markets by 2025, besides creating air transport shipment hubs at all major airports over the next six years.

The policy document released during the two-day Global Aviation Summit 2019, stated that the policy will encourage code sharing/inter-line agreements between foreign and Indian carriers.

As per the policy, international cargo comprises 60 per cent of the total air cargo tonnes handled in the Country, logging a growth of 15.6 per cent in the previous fiscal, while domestic cargo grew by over 8 per cent, which reflects the skewed modal mix, in which roads account for over 60 per cent of cargo transportation as compared to the global average of around 30 per cent.

As per the document, the potential in the new markets needs to be explored with long-term infrastructure creation in order to sustain cargo growth in the next 10-15 years at least.

It also aims to promote the development of a last mile/first mile connectivity program at international/regional gateways, as per the document.

As part of the security strategy under the policy, the strategy will address security related to the physical cargo, people handling the cargo, data and information related to shipments within and across all chains of custody transfers, it added. To increase process transparency while decreasing shipment delays, costs and dwell time, a fully automated paperless trade environment with minimum face-to-face interactions will be implemented, as per the policy document.

Export demand to drive future growth of manufacturing companies: FICCI-PwC
Daily Shipping Times: New Delhi, Jan 16 Top
India Inc. is optimistic on the prospects for the growth of the economy in the next 12 months, foresees faster sectoral growth and expects future growth to be driven by export demand. This prognosis is held out by the FICCI-PwC India Manufacturing Barometer 2019: Building Export Competitiveness.

The FICCI-PwC India Manufacturing Barometer survey was carried out from July to October 2018.

The sample includes companies that contribute approximately 12% to the manufacturing GDP of the Country from various sectors, namely, automobiles and auto components, chemicals, electrical machinery, food processing, leather, pharmaceuticals and textiles.

The respondents contend one of the key reasons for faster growth is the focus on Ease of Doing Business and introduction of reforms such as GST that are opening new vistas for investments across the Country. In the past, the manufacturing sector relied on the domestic market as the primary source of revenue.

To cement India's status as a global export destination, India Inc. expects the Government to focus on business ecosystem reforms and the industry's integration with global value chains.

Currently, over 65% of the companies whose CXOs participated in the survey have the Indian market as their major source of business. However, 85% of them believe that their future growth will be driven by export demand. This is in sync with India's export performance over the last 12 months. In FY 2017-18, India's exports grew by 9.8%, the fastest growth in the last five years.

An interesting observation from the survey is that the quality advantage being seen as the reason for driving export growth, ahead of cost advantage as the primary reason for exports. However, imports during the same period also grew by 19.6%.

The survey notes that to make export growth more sustainable, the industry requires an ecosystem that promotes manufacturing competitiveness and facilitates the production of goods of global quality standards at prices that are competitive. Stronger economic relations with certain countries in target sectors will enable the development of competitive supply chains beyond Indian borders.
Govt doubles GST exemption limit for MSMEs; 2 million businesses to benefit
Daily Shipping Times: New Delhi, Jan 14 Top
Two million additional micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in India will become eligible to opt out of the goods and services tax (GST) system from the beginning of the next financial year, the GST Council decided recently.

The Council took a slew of measures for MSMEs by increasing the annual turnover threshold for exemption from GST registration to Rs 40 lakh from the current Rs 20 lakh, introducing a composition scheme for services, easing return filing procedures, and raising the composition threshold for traders and manufacturers. However, for services providers, the threshold remains the same at Rs 20 lakh.

The revenue impact of this move is estimated to be more than Rs 6,000 crore (Rs.60 billion) on an annual basis.

 

Business News - The India Boom Factor

India-Africa trade touches $ 62.66 billion for 2017-18, increases 22%
Daily Shipping Times: New Delhi, Jan 18 Top
India's partnership with Africa based on a consultative model of cooperation, non-prescriptive, participative, and responsive to the needs of the African countries, witnessed an increase in bilateral trade of nearly 22% from the last year. Ranking as the third largest export destination in Africa, India-Africa trade has touched $ 62.66 billion for 2017-18.

"The Duty Free Tariff Preference (DFTP) Scheme announced by the Government for Least Developed Countries (LDCs) has immensely benefited African nations and contributed towards steady increase in the trade figures by extending duty-free access to 98.2 % of India's total tariff lines. So far, 38 African countries enjoy the benefits of the DFTP Scheme.

Among the key imports from Africa to India, petroleum products dominated India's import basket during 2016-17, with a significant share of 52 per cent of India's total imports from Africa.

Recently, 47 African leaders have recently signed a framework, the largest free trade agreement since the creation of the WTO. So far 27 countries of the region have signed the agreement on free movement of people.

The pact is expected to boost intra-African trade by 53.3 per cent by the elimination of import duties and non-tariff barriers providing opportunities for expansion of trade ties. India views this development as yet another opportunity to boost trade and economic ties with Africa.

Exports up by 10 % during April-Dec period: Commerce Ministry
Daily Shipping Times: New Delhi, Jan 17
... Grows marginally by 0.34 per cent to $ 27.93 billion in December 2018
Top
Exports grew marginally by 0.34 per cent to $ 27.93 billion in December 2018 on account of negative growth in sectors such as engineering and gems & jewellery, according to a Commerce Ministry data. In Rupee terms, exports were Rs. 197,535.86 crore (Rs.1.9 trillion) in December 2018, as compared to Rs. 178,802.77 crore (Rs.1.7 trillion) in December 2017, registering a positive growth of 10.48 per cent.

Cumulative value of exports for the period April-December 2018-19 was US $ 245.44 Billion (Rs.17,11,905.60 crore) as against US $ 222.77 Billion (Rs.14,36,614.25 crore) during the period April-Dec 2017-18, registering a positive growth of 10.18 per cent in Dollar terms (19.16 per cent in Rupee terms).

Non-petroleum and Non Gems and Jewellery exports in December 2018 were US $ 21.11 Billion, as compared to US $ 20.88 Billion in December 2017, exhibiting a positive growth of 1.08 per cent. Non-petroleum and Non Gems and Jewellery exports in April-December 2018-19 were US $ 177.66 Billion, as compared to US $ 164.66 Billion for the corresponding period in 2017-18, an increase of 7.90 per cent.

Imports, however, dipped by 2.44 per cent to $ 41 billion during the last month, narrowing the trade deficit to $ 13 billion. The trade deficit stood at $ 14.2 billion in December 2017.

Gold imports declined by 24.33 per cent to $ 2.56 billion in December last year as against $ 3.39 billion in the same month of 2017.

During April-December this fiscal, exports grew by 10.18 per cent to $ 245.44 billion. Imports rose by 12.61 per cent to $ 386.65 billion. The trade deficit widened to $ 141.2 billion during the nine months of the current fiscal from $ 120.57 billion in April-December 2017-18. Oil imports in December 2018 rose by 3.16 per cent to $10.67 billion.

India among world's leading exporters of creative goods: UN report
Daily Shipping Times: Geneva, Jan 16 Top
India's creative goods exports nearly tripled from USD 7.4 billion in 2005 to USD 20.2 billion in 2014, making it one of the world's leading exporters of such products in the top 10 developing economies, according to a UN report.

China is the biggest single exporter and importer of creative goods and services. China's trade in creative goods between 2002 and 2015 has been exponential, with average annual growth rates of 14 per cent, the United Nations Conference on Trade & Development (UNCTAD) report said.

"China, Hong Kong (China), India, Singapore, Taiwan Province of China, Turkey, Thailand, Malaysia, Mexico and the Philippines were the top 10 performing developing economies stimulating global trade in creative goods," the report said.

Among developed economies, the US, France, Italy, the UK, Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Poland, Belgium and Japan were the top 10 creative goods exporters. India's creative goods exports nearly tripled from USD 7.4 billion in 2005 to USD 20.2 billion in 2014, the report said.

Despite Brexit uncertainty, UK exports to India up by 27 pc
Exim News Service: LONDON, Jan. 15 Top
New figures released recently reveal that the United Kingdom's exports to India in the last year, up to November, were up by 27.3 per cent amounting to £5.4 billion despite a political climate marked by uncertainty due to Brexit.

India is among the key countries with which the UK is keen to forge a free trade agreement (FTA) soon after Brexit which is scheduled to happen in March 2019.

As per reports, UK's International Trade Secretary, Mr Liam Fox, said, "As the UK takes control of its independent trade policy for the first time in 40 years, markets such as India will provide exciting export and investment opportunities for UK companies."

India's rapeseed oil meal export from April to December up by 56%: SEA
Daily Shipping Times: NEW DELHI, Jan 14 Top
India's rapeseed meal export has increased sharply by 56% during first three quarters of the 2018-19 fiscal, with South Korea, Vietnam and Thailand accounting for major imports, said Solvent Extractors Association (SEA) release.

The SEA release said: "The export of oilmeals during December 2018, provisionally reported at 303,115 tonnes compared to 391,431 tonnes in December 2017. The overall export during April to December 2018 is reported at 2,387,028 tonnes compared to 2,246,989 tonnes during the same period of last year i.e. up by 6%. The export of rapeseed meal is sharply increased to 821,777 (461,937) tonnes in first nine months, mainly exported to South Korea, Vietnam and Thailand."

SEA said that the export of rapeseed meal and soybean meal to China is unlikely to resume during current financial year as procedure for registration with MoA, China is too cumbersome, lengthy and time consuming to complete all formalities.

Iranian market has opened up for Indian soybean meal. During current year from April to December 2018, about 3.0 lakh tonnes of soybean meal shipped against last year just 23,000 tonnes, supporting export of oilmeals from India.

Shipping News

Union Ministers Nitin Gadkari and Piyush Goyal flag off maiden voyage of Concor vessel via Coastal Shipping
Daily Shipping Times: GANDHIDHAM / NEW DELHI on 14
...Concor to Start Weekly Coastal Operations
Top
The maiden coastal voyage of a vessel of Container Corporation of India (Concor) was flagged off by Shri Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister for Shipping, Road Transport & Highways and Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation and Shri Piyush Goyal, Union Minister for Railways and Coal from Kandla through video link from here. CONCOR is a PSU under Ministry of railways. The vessel SSL Mumbai is sailing from Deendayal Port to Tuticorin via Mangalore and Cochin. This is a unique example of Multi-Modal Logistics solution through integrated rail and coastal movement. With this CONCOR will start coastal movement of containers as a weekly service on this route, moving about 1400 containers.

Speaking on the occasion Shri Nitin Gadkari called this a historical day for the transport sector in India, and expressed confidence that this modal shift in the logistics chain was an important beginning that would help to bring down logistics costs and make Indian goods more competitive in the global markets in the very near future. India has huge potential for enhancing modal share of Coastal Shipping and inland water navigation.

The current share is only 7% unlike countries like China with 24% & Germany -11% ,  he said.

The Minister said the combination of railways and Coastal Shipping is a win-win situation for both modes of transport. It will release capacity for railways to carry others goods and facilitate more cost effective movement of commodities like steel, cement etc through coastal route, thereby enhancing the coastal trade basket.

Shri Gadkari also said that besides being economical, Coastal Shipping is environmentally friendly and can result in 6% reduction in harmful chemicals and pollutants in India. With estimated diversion of about 5% cargo to Coastal Shipping, the reduced traffic on rail & road can result in saving of Rs. 230 billion.

Urging CONCOR and other cargo transporters to utilize waterways and Coastal Shipping to enhance their business coefficient, Shri Gadkari said that the network of waterways is growing fast in the Country. We have declared 111 National Waterways. Work has already started on 11 waterways. With a new river port at Varanasi and more coming up at Haldia, Sahibganj and Gazipur, and also dredging of Brahmaputra and Barak, goods can now be transported on rivers right upto Myanmar via protocol route of inland waterways.

Commodities such as food-grains from Punjab & Haryana, ceramic tiles and sanitary-ware (Morbi and Himmat Nagar), Bentonite powder (Kutch), soda Ash (Saurashtra), Cotton bales and Chalk powder (Kutch) cattle-feed, dolomite powder, consumer durables, mineral powder, electrical goods (Anjar), baking soda, groundnut, waste paper etc., have good potential for coastal movement. In the return direction, commodities like clay (Tiruvantapuram), coir products (Alleppey), rubber sheet, Latex (Kottayam), Industrial salt, sand saw dust, pet flakes, titanium dioxide, glass cullet, cars and two-wheelers are some of the other commodities that can be moved coastally.

With the total potential to move 9 million tonnes of cargo, CONCOR is expected to move about 2700 containers per month in the first phase to Kandla for onward carriage by coastal route to Southern Ports like Cochin.

Under Sagarmala, the flagship programme of Ministry of Shipping, Coastal Shipping is being promoted and aims to achieve 12 % share of Coastal Shipping & inland waterways in India's overall modal mix by 2025. Relaxation of Cabotage law enabling foreign flag vessels to carry agri-commodities, fertilizers and containers between Indian ports; creation of coastal infrastructure at ports; simplification of documentation and procedures; and 40% discount on vessel and cargo related charges are some of the steps being taken to promote movement of coastal cargo. According to the National Perspective Plan of Sagarmala, a total potential of 320 MT per annum by 2025 of movement by coastal/inland waterways has been identified.

Speaking on the occasion, Shri Piyush Goyal congratulated CONCOR & Ministry of Shipping for this joint venture. He said, "Railways has introduced many new reforms in the last 4.5 years. This is another first in the series of reforms. This new service started today by CONCOR will also be very profitable for the freight movement to send the goods to different locations in a cost effective manner and will also reduce the load on railways and road. When we strive for world-class logistics costs in India, joint efforts by road, rail and sea is required, only then the pace of development will be accelerated."

Meanwhile a function was organised at Deendayal Port Trust, Kandla wherein the Director, Domestic movement Shri PK Agrawal of CONCOR, Shri G K Ravikumar, Executive Director, Coastal and Shri Madhukar Roat Chief General Manager, CONCOR, Shri Sanjay Kumar Agrawal Chief Commissioner Customs, Shri Bimal Kumar Jha, Dy. Chairman, I/c. DPT, Shri P V Narayana, Executive Director - IFFCO, were present in the programme along with Shri Sanjay Bhatia, IAS, Chairman DPT and Shri Amardeep Singh Parmar, Terminal Head, KICT.

Logistics News

PM inaugurates Multi-Modal Logistics Park in Jharsuguda
Daily Shipping Times: Balangir, Jan 16 Top
The Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi inaugurated the Multi-Modal Logistics Park (MMLP) Jharsuguda in Odisha.

The Multi-Modal Logistics Park (MMLP) at Jharsuguda is built at a cost of Rs 100 Crores (Rs.1 billion). It will facilitate Export-Import and Domestic cargo including Private Freight Traffic. MMLP is located adjacent to Howrah- Mumbai which is 5 km from Jharsuguda Railway Station. Many important industries like steel, cement, paper etc are located around the facility and will be benefitted from it.

The Multi-Modal Logistics Park will establish Jharsuguda as a Prime Logistics hub in Odisha and boost Ease of Doing Business in the State.

The 15 km Balangir-Bichupali New Railway Line would connect coastal Odisha with Western Odisha synchronising development across the State. It will reduce travel time from Bhubaneswar and Puri to major cities like New Delhi and Mumbai.

Indospace to invest Rs 650 cr (Rs.6.5 billion) in Gujarat to build three logistic parks
India Seatrade News – January 16 Top
Everstone-promoted IndoSpace Tuesday said it will invest Rs 650 crore (Rs.6.5 billion) in Gujarat to develop three logistic parks over the next three years.

IndoSpace has announced its foray into the state with start of construction work at its first logistic park in Bavla near Ahmedabad. The park will be spread over 47 acre with leasable area of 1 million sq ft.

The park is located close to the industrial hubs of Sanand and Changodar and has easy access to Kandla and Mundra ports. With rising demand of industrial space, IndoSpace is planning to build two more logistics parks in Gujarat with a total leasable area of 1.5 million sq ft.

"The Bavla industrial park not only marks our foray into Gujarat, it also shows our clear determination to strengthen our leadership in the light industrial manufacturing space. We plan to invest Rs 650 crore (Rs.6.5 billion) in new parks across Gujarat.

"Upon completion, the projects are expected to generate employment for more than 10,000 people directly and indirectly," said Rajesh Jaggi, Managing Partner, Real Estate, Everstone Group.

Recently, IndoSpace announced the closure of its third logistics real estate fund with a corpus of USD 1.2 billion, taking its total India commitment to well over USD 3.2 billion.

It has around 30 million square feet across developed and under-construction projects. Its portfolio includes 30 industrial and logistics parks in nine cities.

Indospace, promoted by Everstone Group, GLP and Realterm, has clients like IKEA, Amazon, Nissan, PepsiCo, DHL, Leoni, Steelcase, Kubota, Ericsson, Bosch and Delphi.

The Everstone Group is a premier India and South East Asia focused private equity and real estate firm. GLP is the leading global provider of modern logistics facilities and technology-led solutions. Realterm is a multi-strategy private equity real estate operator in North America.

Indian Port News

Improved facilities at NMP attract more international tourists
India Seatrade News – January 18 Top
Improved tourist facilities at New Mangalore Port Trust (NMPT), including modern immigration centre and tourist facilitation centre, have been attracting more and more international tourists to the port and in turn to areas in and around Mangaluru.

Bahamas-registered cruise vessel Amadea from Germany was the latest to call on the port on Wednesday with 447 tourists and 312 crew during its sojourn of the West Coast. The vessel sailed from Goa to Mangaluru on Wednesday morning. Many of its guests ventured out to visit places of interest in and around Mangaluru. It sailed out of the port on Wednesday evening towards Kochi, its next port of call.

As many as 32 cruise vessels are expected to call NMP during the current season ending May 7. AIDAvita was the first vessel that called on the port this season on November 16, 2018 with 650 international tourists.

About 35,000 international tourists are expected to visit Mangaluru during the current season as against 24,258 tourists and 22 cruise vessels during the last season, according to NMPT officials.

Visits of international tourists at Mangaluru got a boost when the Union government in December 2016 simplified visa issue procedure and facilitated issue of electronic visas (e-visa) on arrival to tourists at five major seaports, including NMPT.

The government has established a state-of-the-art immigration counter at the cruise lounge abutting Berth No. 4 at New Mangaluru Port with adequate facilities. On their arrival, international tourists are greeted by traditional artistes from the region who display local art forms, including Yakshagana.

The Karnataka Tourism Department in November last also opened a facilitation centre at the lounge to help and guide tourists to visit places of their interest. The government claimed that the information centre is the first of its kind in any seaport in the country.

While ship agents arrange for arrival of cruise vessels at the port, tour operators provide cabs and buses to the guests for their guided tours. Meanwhile, many tourists prefer to venture out on their own by hiring taxis and autorickshaws as Berth No. 4 is very close to U.S. Mallya Gate abutting National Highway 66. Some tourists who travel with their bicycles explore the city and its surroundings on their bikes too.
Major sea ports record 3.77% volume growth in first 9 months of FY19
India Seatrade News – January 14 Top
The major sea ports in India handled 518.6 million tonnes (MT) of cargo during the first nine months of the current year viz. from April to December 2018, marking a growth of 3.77% against 499.7 million tonnes handled during the corresponding year-earlier period.

During this period, nine ports — Kolkata (including Haldia), Paradip, Visakhapatnam, Kamarajar, Chennai, Cochin, New Mangalore, JNPT and Deendayal (Kandla) registered positive growth in cargo traffic, Shipping Ministry said in a statement.

Deendayal Port topped the list by handling the highest volume of 84.91 MT of cargo, followed by Paradip 80.43 MT, JNPT 52.53 MT, Visakhapatnam 49.28 MT and Kolkata 45.82 MT.

Together, these ports handled about 60% of the major port traffic.

Container traffic - Kamarajar Port, which is being operated by Adani group, handled 413 containers against one container on trial basis in the previous year.

In the nine-month period, Kamarajar Port also handled miscellaneous cargo (46.66%), petroleum, oil and lubricants (9.53%), thermal and steam coal (8.75%) and other liquids (7.5%).

The composition of products handled by these ports are: petroleum, oil and lubricant (33.20%), followed by containers (20.8%), thermal and steam coal (15.09%), other miscellaneous cargo (10.48%), coking and other coal (8.27%), iron ore and pellets (5.75%), other liquids (4.23%) and finished fertilizer (1.23%) among others.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Map