Samsara Newsletter

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Week 40, 2018 (Sep 29 - Oct 05)

Policy & Economy News

India continues to be world's largest BPM base, generated US$ 32.5 bn revenue: Nasscom

India's story compelling evidence that openness in services contributes to growth: report

Business News - The India Boom Factor

CEPA with Bangladesh can boost trade in South Asia: Suresh Prabhu

Exports from Germany to India have increased substantially in the past few years: German Ambassador

Engineering exporters receives orders worth $ 3.3 million from EEPC India exhibition in USA

Shipping News

Cochin Shipyard signs MoU with Andaman & Nicobar administration for ship repair operations at Port Blair

Cargo traffic on Ganga waterway may rise to 21.89 MT by 2021: Nitin Gadkari

Logistics News

Air freight volumes up again in Aug.

Cabinet approves MoU between India & Russia on bilateral cooperation in roads, road transport

Indian Port News

Prime Minister inaugurates Mundra LNG terminal

V O Chidambaranar Port takes promotional measures to boost cargo traffic

BMCT achieves vessel productivity of 155 moves per hour & monthly throughput of 50,000 TEUs

Policy & Economy News

India continues to be world's largest BPM base, generated US$ 32.5 bn revenue: Nasscom
Press Trust of India - New Delhi, October 5 Top
Body Nasscom Thursday said India continues to be the largest BPM (business process management) base in the world, generating close to USD 32.5 billion in revenue with an employee strength of 1.2 million.

The Indian BPM industry is estimated to now account for over 37 per cent share in global sourcing and is witnessing a 1.7X revenue growth. This is set to grow from USD 154 billion to a projected USD 167 billion in FY18, an increase of almost 8 per cent, Nasscom said in a statement.

"As digital technologies reshape businesses, this industry with its foundation in domain and process expertise, is increasingly innovating to emerge as the hub for digital solutions. Upskilling for digital, acquiring competencies through acquisitions or partnerships, building platforms and products, and leveraging centers of excellence in new technologies are some of the key priorities of companies in the BPM industry," Nasscom Vice-Chairman and WNS CEO Keshav R Murugesh said.

Nasscom, which hosted its BPM Strategy Summit 2018 in Bengaluru, highlighted that the industry is taking advantage of emerging technologies such as Robotic process automation (RPA), artificial intelligence (AI), digital communications, Internet of Things (IoT), cognitive computing and more, to improve profitability, collaboration and competitiveness.

"The major row over data privacy needs to be addressed and compliance with the European Union's GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) as a regulatory requirement. Adoption of technologies like Blockchain and AI have shown how security, speed, and operational efficiencies can be enhanced," the statement said.

India's story compelling evidence that openness in services contributes to growth: report
Press Trust of India - Washington, October 1 Top
India's economic reforms and growth story offer compelling evidence that openness in services contributes to long run growth performance, the IMF, World Bank and WTO said in a joint report Sunday.

India's reforms in the 1990s brought more openness, better regulation and greater investment, allowing Indian manufacturing firms to source services from a range of domestic and foreign providers operating in a more competitive environment, the report said.

The report -- 'Reinvigorating Trade and Inclusive Growth' -- was released by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank and World Trade Organization.

Manufacturers' access to better, more reliable, and more diverse business services enhanced firms' ability to invest in new opportunities and technologies, to concentrate production in fewer locations, to efficiently manage inventories, and to coordinate decisions with suppliers and customers, it said.

Referring to a 2016 study, the report said procompetitive reforms in banking, insurance, telecommunications and transport boosted the productivity of both foreign and locally-owned manufacturing firms.

Other empirical studies reinforce these findings, but also stress the importance of well-designed reforms accompanied by sound domestic regulation, said the report, asserting that India provides "compelling evidence that openness in services contributes to long run growth performance"

Business News - The India Boom Factor

CEPA with Bangladesh can boost trade in South Asia: Suresh Prabhu
Exim News Service - New Delhi, Sept. 30 Top
THE Union Commerce and Industry Minister, Mr Suresh Prabhu, said here last week that India and Bangladesh have proposed early conclusion of a Compressive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CEPA) to boost bilateral trade and investment and set an example for giving a fillip to regional trade in South Asia.

Speaking at the launch of The World Bank Group's Regional Trade Report, on return from his Bangladesh visit, Mr Prabhu said that India and Bangladesh have agreed to upgrade trade logistics for seamless movement of cargo. In the same spirit, he said, India would be willing to engage with its South Asian neighbours to reap the advantages emanating from similar agro-climatic conditions, topography and crop cultivation.

Presenting a snapshot of the Regional Trade Report, Dr Sanjay Kathuria, Lead Economist and Coordinator, South Asia Regional Integration, The World Bank Group, said regional cooperation can lay open to India the potential to more than triple its trade with South Asia from the current level of $ 19.1 billion to $ 62.4 billion.

He said that in order to realise the benefits of proximity, addressing regional trade barriers was pivotal. Average tariffs on South Asia are double the world average and there was a lack of awareness among exporters regarding the partner country's regulations and standards. This called for a proactive approach, led by India, to address information asymmetries and accelerate mutual recognition of standards.

Dr Kathuria said that India could play a lead role in making SAFTA effective, create awareness, building capacity of partner countries to remove the 'noise' related to non-tariff measures, expand and accelerate the connectivity agenda with neighbours, take new initiatives and scale up existing trust-building activities through people-to-people contact, said a FICCI release.

Exports from Germany to India have increased substantially in the past few years: German Ambassador
Exim News Service - NEW DELHI, Oct. 3 Top
The German Embassy here held a press meet recently to talk about the industrial growth and free trade agreement between India and the European Union (EU).

Speaking on the occasion, the German Ambassador, Mr Martin Ney, said that exports from Germany to India have increased substantially in the last few years. In 2017, direct investment in India by the German mechanical engineering sector totalled 1.2 billion euro - three times higher than in 2008, he said.

Stating that Germany supports a free trade agreement between India and the EU, Mr Ney said, "Despite willingness on the part of India to resume talks on FTA, no political decision has been taken yet to restart the negotiations. The FTA between the European Union countries and India is the need of the hour," he added.

Engineering exporters receives orders worth $ 3.3 million from EEPC India exhibition in USA
Daily Shipping Times -Colombia, October 5 Top
Indian engineering exporters, particularly from the SME segment, have got business enquiries worth about $100 million and orders worth of $ 3.3 million from the just concluded five-day EEPC India exhibition in Colombia, USA.

"Our exhibitors booked orders worth $ 3.3 million and potential business enquiries of nearly $ 98.5 million. These business enquiries are most likely to materialise," Ravi Sehgal, Chairman, EEPC India, said in a letter to Suresh Prabhu, Commerce and Industry Minister.

EEPC in a press release said India's engineering exports to Colombia were $483 million in 2017-18. The exhibition, where 77 companies participated, was held under the EEPC India's flagship series INDEE (40th edition), with support of the Commerce Ministry.

Shipping News

Cochin Shipyard signs MoU with Andaman & Nicobar administration for ship repair operations at Port Blair
Exim News Service - Kochi/New Delhi, Sept. 30 Top
With a view to spruce up the operational efficiency of the marine dockyard and to ensure faster turnaround of vessels for seamless operations, Cochin Shipyard Ltd (CSL) and the Andaman & Nicobar Administration have entered into a MoU whereby CSL shall take up the 'Operation & Maintenance of the Marine Dry-Dock" at Port Blair. Under the ambit of this MoU, CSL shall assist the Administration in (a) setting up of ship repair ecosystem at A&N islands, (b) augmentation and modernisation of marine dockyard, and (c) skill development and training schemes for A&N Islands.

The local population and the island's economy are heavily dependent on water transport. The Administration owns and operates around 84 mainland-island and inter-island vessels for passenger/cargo transport. While the bigger ships are capable of traversing the sea to mainland India for repairs, the remaining ships and vessels are dependent on the facilities at the island for their maintenance and upkeep, which is handled by the Directorate of Shipping Services through its marine dockyard facility at Port Blair, said a release.

Cargo traffic on Ganga waterway may rise to 21.89 MT by 2021: Nitin Gadkari
Daily Shipping Times -New Delhi, October 4 Top
The National Waterway 1 on river Ganga is expected to see 21.89 million tonnes (MT) of cargo traffic in the next two to three years on the back of Government measures to promote inland water transport in the Country, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari has said.

Besides, 13 standardised state-of-the-art ship designs have been drawn as part of efforts to boost river transport and remove any ambiguity on vessel sizes that can sail on Ganga, Gadkari added.

"We have taken a slew of steps to promote inland water transport, which has been neglected so far. A study has projected traffic at 21.89 MT on National Waterway 1 (NW-1) by 2021," Minister said.

The cargo traffic on NW-1 was 5.5 MT in 2017-18, he said. Currently, various projects underway on NW 1 have the terminal capacity of 13.62 MT and these include Varanasi, Haldia and Sahebganj Multi-Modal hubs, the Minister further said.

With the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) coming up with 13 vessel designs, this move would serve as an enabler for domestic shipbuilding industry working on inland vessels and open huge possibilities for cargo and passenger movement on NW-1.

The Government is implementing Jal Marg Vikas Project (JMVP) for capacity augmentation of navigation on NW-1 (Varanasi-Haldia stretch) at a cost of Rs 5,369.18 crore (Rs.53.6 billion) with the technical assistance and investment support of the World Bank.

Even as the work on JMVP is going on in full steam, the specially designed vessels will navigate on low drafts with high carrying capacity and at the same time the project would be environment friendly, an official said.

"Some of the designs would enable movement of bulk cargo carriers with capacity of 2,500 tonnes at 3 metres depth, thereby, removing almost 150 truckloads of pressure from the road or one full rail rake with the plying of just one such vessel," the official added.

Logistics News

Air freight volumes up again in Aug.
Exim News Service - Geneva, Oct. 3 Top
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) released data for global air freight markets showing that demand, measured in freight tonne kilometres (FTKs), rose 2.3 per cent in August 2018, compared to the same period the year before. This pace of growth was unchanged from the previous month but was less than half the five-year average growth rate of 5.1 per cent, informed a release.

Freight capacity, measured in available freight tonne kilometres (AFTKs), grew by 4.5 per cent year-on-year in August 2018. This was the sixth month in a row that capacity growth outstripped demand growth. Yields, however, appear to be holding up.

Growth is being supported by a number of factors, including buoyant consumer confidence, an upturn in the global investment cycle and growing international e-commerce. However, said the release, demand is being negatively impacted by three factors:

* A broadbased weakening in manufacturing firms' export order books. Specifically, export order books in Europe, China, Japan and Korea have fallen in recent months.

* Longer supplier delivery times are being reported by manufacturers in Asia and Europe, the top two global trading areas by volume. This typically means that they have less need for the speed afforded by air freight.

* Risks to global trade from the recent escalation in trade tensions.

"August demand for air cargo grew at 2.3 per cent, unchanged from the previous month. Buoyant consumer confidence, the growth of international e-commerce and the broadbased global economic upturn are behind the growth. But there are downside risks. Order books are weakening and supply delivery times are lengthening. And the growing trade tensions are a spectre over the industry. The early focus of tariffs was not on products typically carried by air. But as the list of tariffs grows so does the air cargo industry's vulnerability. And, we can expect souring trading relations to eventually impact business travel. There are no winners in trade wars," said Mr Alexandre de Juniac, IATA's Director-General and CEO.

Cabinet approves MoU between India & Russia on bilateral cooperation in roads, road transport
Exim News Service - New Delhi, Oct. 4 Top
The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister, has approved the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and Russia on bilateral cooperation in the road transport and road industry. The MoU will be signed during the upcoming visit of the Russian President to India.

In order to develop and establish a formal platform for cooperation in the transport and highways sector, a MoU in the field of road transport and road industry has been jointly negotiated and finalised by both countries.

Both the countries stand to benefit by mutual cooperation in this field. Increased cooperation, exchange and collaboration with Russia will contribute to a long-term and effective bilateral relationship of communication and cooperation in road transportation and road industry and Intelligent Transport System (ITS). This will also help in planning and administration of road infrastructure and road network management, transport policy, technologies and standards for the construction and operation of highways in the country.

Considering Russia's proven experience in adoption of technology in the road transport sector, it would be beneficial to learn from such best practices through close interaction. India is implementing its highway infrastructure augmentation plans at a rapid pace. To make full use of the road infrastructure, it is necessary to embrace technology to enhance transport productivity and safety. This will also help in reducing overall logistics cost, said a release.

Indian Port News

Prime Minister inaugurates Mundra LNG terminal
Exim News Service - Anjar (Gujarat), Oct. 2 Top
The Prime Minister, Mr Narendra Modi, on Sunday, September 30, 2018 inaugurated the Mundra LNG terminal, the Anjar-Mundra pipeline project and the Palanpur-Pali-Barmer pipeline project, at Anjar.

Speaking on the occasion, the Prime Minister appreciated the development work that has happened in the Kutch region over the last 20 years.

He said that the inauguration of the LNG terminal is the highlight of today's programme. I am fortunate to have inaugurated three LNG terminals, he added.

Mr Modi said that when Gujarat got its first LNG terminal, people were surprised. Now, the state is poised to make a fourth LNG terminal, he added.

Gujarat is emerging as an LNG hub of India, the Prime Minister said, adding that this should make every Gujarati proud. Asserting that a strong energy sector is needed for the growth of any country, the Prime Minister said that we cannot alleviate poverty if we are energy poor.

He stressed that the aspirations of people are rising, and they want i-ways, gas grids, water grids and optical fibre networks in addition to conventional infrastructure.

The Prime Minister spoke of the steps taken by the Union government to make the aviation sector more affordable and improve connectivity. He also spoke of the efforts made to ensure that all villages are electrified, and the work being done towards electrifying every single household in India, said a release.

V O Chidambaranar Port takes promotional measures to boost cargo traffic
Daily Shipping Times - Tuticorin, October 3
Top
With a view to attracting more cargo as well as to improve its performance, V.O.Chidambaranar Port, one of the leading Major Ports in the Country and located at Tuticorin, Tamil Nadu, has taken various promotional measures.

CONTAINER TRAFFIC:

According to official sources, for attracting container traffic, the port has offered 50% concession in vessel-related-charges (VRC) for mainline vessels to call at VOC Port.

At the request of the Port, Indian Customs has extended DPE facility for Containerized Rail Cargo inside the port. This initiative attracted Dalmia Cements to divert their shipment in container from neighbouring Ports to VoCPT and expected to handle 10,000 TEUs per annum.

Presently, about 30,000 TEUs generated in primary hinterland bound for Far East is handled through mainline vessels calling at West/East Coast Ports which is likely to divert to VoCPT after recommencement of mainline service.

Also, the port extended 15 days free storage period for clearance of containers moved by rail (ICD or non-ICD) facilitating the movement of containers by Rail in the Port since 16 August 2018.

An additional 190 MTPA capacity is expected to be created by 2020, he said at the two-day CII Port Conclave 2018.

RAW COTTON TRAFFIC:

To improve the Raw Cotton traffic, the special storage facility for handling raw cotton at Dakshin Bharat Gateway Container Terminal for free trade was inaugurated on 04 August 2017 along with Southern India Mills' Association (SIMA), Coimbatore.

As a trade facilitation measure to increase 'Ease of Doing Business,' scope of Direct Port Delivery was widened to all full laden import containers since 31 May 2018.

PERMISSIBLE DRAFT OF GENERAL CARGO VESSELS:

The permissible draft of general Cargo Vessels increased from 12.8m to 13.20m and Beam increased from 32.26m to 38m. Further, the maximum permissible draught is increased from 13.2 meters to 14.0 meters for berths NCB -I and NCB -II from 11 September 2018, taking advantage of tidal condition.

The permissible draft of Container Vessels increased from 11.50m to 12.50m; LOA from 230m to 270m and beam from 32.26m to 38m since 26 October 2017.

Use of HMC made mandatory and labour levy reduced to Rs.1/tonne against the use of HMC with effect from 07 May 2018.

BMCT achieves vessel productivity of 155 moves per hour & monthly throughput of 50,000 TEUs
Exim News Service - Navi Mumbai, Oct. 4 Top
PSA's Bharat Mumbai Container Terminals (BMCT), at JN Port, has achieved a new vessel productivity benchmark of 155 moves per hour on COSCO Shipping Lines Co. Ltd's vessel M.V. Xin Hong Kong, which departed the terminal on September 30, 2018.

Together with sister vessels from service partners CMA CGM and Hapag-Lloyd, M.V. Xin Hong Kong operates the India Ocean/EPIC 2 weekly service, linking India and the Middle East directly with the North European ports of Antwerp, Hamburg and London, said a release.

A total of 2,462 moves were handled during the call which took less than 16 hours of operations, including 47 units of Out-of-Gauge (OOG) cargo-a demonstration of BMCT's flexibility in being able to handle large amounts of non-standard cargo to meet customers' needs.

With an increasing number of vessel calls, BMCT recorded a new monthly throughput record of 50,434 TEUs in September. Throughput at BMCT has progressively increased since commissioning in February 2018.

Nine more Rubber-Tyred Gantry Cranes (RTGCs) will be delivered to BMCT in November 2018, while three more quay cranes are scheduled to arrive in January 2019. This will bring the total number of RTGCs and quay cranes at BMCT to 36 and 12, respectively, raising its annual capacity to 2.4 million TEUs, the release added.

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