GUJ-19-06-2023

Govt likely to come out with logistics cost estimate by Sept: DPIIT Special Secretary

NEW DELHI: The Government is working on a frameworktoassessthelogisticscostinthecountryandis expected to get a realistic estimate by September, a senior DPIITofficialsaidrecently

Deendayal Port commence operations after Cyclone BIPARJOY

Cont’d. from Pg. 3

No causalities have been reported by this storm. Port activities will start from Saturday,17thJune,informeda recent communique from Port.

Duringthereviewmeetingheld with Senior Officers, the Chairman instructed all concerned to take immediate action of restoring the damages at the Port at Kandla as well as Township at Gopalpuriwithin2days.

APM Terminals Pipavav :

Commencement of

Marine and Quay Operations from 17th June

PIPAVAV:APMTerminalsPipavavhasinformedthat it further see improvement in the weather conditions in around Pipavav Port and find it operationally feasible to berth vessels. “Thus, we are pleased to advise that APM Terminals Pipavav will commence marine and quay operations from 17th June’23, approx. 0030 hrs onwards.”

“The first container vessel (ONE Matrix) is planned for POB around 17/0030 hrs lt. As this is the heaviest vessel in the port line up, we expect it to be the most stable during the cargo ops. We shall observe ONE Matrix’s performance at the berth for 3-4 hours before bringing in the next container vessel (SCI Chennai) in the lineup around 17/0600 hrs lt. Thereafter we will resumethenormalberthingoperationsforthecontainer vesselsintheline-up.

MSC crowned 'Sea Freight Company of the Year' at 2023 Multimodal Awards

GE NE VA : MSC has been cr ow ne d ‘Sea Freight Operator of the Year’ at the 2023 Multimodal Awards, which recognise excellence in air, road,rail,maritime,andfreightforwardingservices.

This award is particularly special as it’s voted for independently by customers, and we would like to take this opportunity to thank all those that took the time to voteforus.

Dan Everitt, Managing Director of MSC UK commented: "This award honours the hard work and dedication of our teams in providing best-in-class service toourcustomers,andweareveryproudofthem.Wevalue the feedback we receive from our customers and are incrediblyhumbledtobeawardedthisaccolade."

The awards evening took place on Tuesday 13th June at the VOX at the NEC, Birmingham as part of the transport,logisticsandsupplychainevent,Multimodal.

Dan continued: “I am delighted not only for the team here in the UK, but for all MSC employees around the globe, uniting to provide our customers the very best service. A special thanks to our global leadership and of course the Aponte family, without whose continued investment, expertise, and support, this would not have beenpossible.”

“Next vessels to berth would be the Ultratech Cement Carrier & the GP1 bulk carrier. All going well with these movements, we will take a call on the tankers & Ultratech bulk carriers sometime tomorrow during the day, of course weather permitting. Vessels shall continue to provide additional mooring ropes & tend to mooring continuously & diligently during her stay in the port. If required, offshore anchor could be used underfoot during vessel’s port stay after informing the portcontrol&gettingago-ahead.

“No maintenance to be carried out on vessel’s M/E during her port stay, same to remain on short notice. You are requested to communicate revised ETA of your vesselstotheHarborMaster/Planningwhowillthenadvise youoftentativeberthingschedule. Theportreservesright toamendberthinglineupwithoutpriorintimation.”

SHIPPING MOVEMENTS AT DEENDAYAL PORT

TODAY’S

TIDE 19/06/2023

VESSELS IN PORT & DUE FOR EXPORT

VESSELS IN PORT & DUE FOR

GENERAL CARGO VESSELS

SHIPS SAILED WITH NEXT EXPORT

LIQUID CARGO VESSELS

SHIPPING MOVEMENTS AT ADANI PORT

ADANI PORTS & SEZ LTD. (APSEZ) MUNDRA

ADANI MUNDRA CONTAINER TERMINAL (AMCT)

ADANI INTERNATIONAL CONTAINER TERMINAL (AICT)

CONTAINER VESSELS DUE / IN PORT FOR IMPORT DISCHARGE

ADANI CMA MUNDRA CONTAINER TERMINAL PVT LTD (ACMTPL), MUNDRA

TO LOAD FOR U. K. NORTH CONTINENT, MEDITERRANEAN, BLACK SEA, RED SEA, EAST EUROPE & CIS PORT

TERMINAL

ADANI MUNDRA CONTAINER TERMINAL (AMCT)

ADANI INTERNATIONAL CONTAINER TERMINAL PVT LTD. (AICT)

TO

SHIPPING MOVEMENTS AT GUJARAT PORTS PORT PIPAVAV

SHIPPING MOVEMENTS AT ADANI HAZIRA

PORT

OTHER PORTS OF GUJARAT

JAMNAGAR (BEDI) PORT

(As on 19-06-2023)

NOTICE TO TRADE

Shipping Agents / Internal Dept.

APSEZ Mundra

CIRCULAR No APSEZL/03/2023

Date 16th June 2023

WEATHER ADVISORY : WEATHER CONDITIONS IN PORT IS NORMAL

This is to Inform that post cyclone, Mundra port weather condition is bet. now and Port ls getting back to normal and planning to accept vessels at all berths and shall resume all port operations from 0600 /17.06.2023.

Port is going to stop updating 6 hourly weather forecast. We will continue observing weather condition closely, For any further query pls get in touch with Mundra port POC team.

The above is for your information and for further circulation please.

Sd/-

For. Adani Ports and SEZ LTD.

Capt Sachin Shrivastava

Head - Marine Services

CC: CEO desk, All HODs

Exports decline 10.3% to $35 billion in May, trade deficit at 5 month high

NEW DELHI: A slowing world economyhasledtoexportsfromIndia decliningforthefourthmonthinarow to nearly $35 billion this May, down 10.3% from $39 billion in the same period last year, widening the trade deficit to a five month high of $22.1 billion.

However, a continuing decline in imports for five months in a row to $57.1 billion this May — compared to $61.1billionlastMay—preventedthe trade deficit from expanding at a fast clip.

According to the data released, on

the exports side, commodities that sawanincreaseinAprilandMay2023 over the same months last year included electronic goods, rice, pharma and spices. While petroleum products, gems & jewellery, engineering goods, and chemicals sawadeclineinexportsinthisperiod. Smartphone exports have seen a sharp rise, more than doubling from $498millionlastAprilto$1,068million thisApril.

On the import side, machinery, electronic goods, iron & steel and pulses saw an increase in April May

2023 over the same period last year. Petroleum products, gold, coal, chemicals and precious stones saw a decline in imports. India is hoping for a rapid economic recovery in the slowingdevelopedworldwhichareits majorexportmarkets.

“The DPIIT, Commerce Ministry, Invest India and Indian missions abroad will work together to focus on 40 key countries (including the US and the EU) as they account for 85% of our total exports,” Commerce Secretary SunilBarthwalsaid.

Global situation led to a fall in overall May 2023 exports : FIEO

NEW DELHI: Responding to the May exports figures, Dr A Sakthivel, President, FIEO said that the sharp decline in the international demand situation has led to the fall in overall exports. With major economies including US and China showing downwardtrendinexports,alongwith the Eurozone entering into technical recession after the region shrank by 0.1% in Q1 2023, marking two consecutive quarters of contracting GDP. The slowdown comes in wake of higher energy prices contributing to curbing demand in Europe's largest economy and surging inflation, added Dr Sakthivel. One of the reasons for moderating pace of growth in merchandise exports significantly in 2023 has been because of persistent geopolitical tensions, monetary tightening and recessionary fears

which has continuously led to a fall in consumer spendings across the globe especially in advanced economies, reiteratedFIEOPresident.

FIEO Chief added that we hope that exports will start showing better growth numbers starting July, 2023, as things are expected to improve from Q3 of the Calendar year, with fresh orders or order bookings for festival and New Year season beginning to come. Some of the key sectors which have shown positive growthduringthemonthof May2023, include electronic goods, ceramic products & glassware, drugs & pharmaceuticals, iron ore, fruits & vegetables, oil meals, oil seeds, cashew, spices, tobacco, other cereals, rice, tea and coffee. FIEO Chief said that though the decline in imports is a good sign for the country,

however, that has also led to degrowth in our key export sectors like petroleum products, gems & jewellery, organic & inorganic chemicalsetc.

FIEOPresidentfurtherreiterated that the need of the hour is to provide further momentum to the economy through easy and low cost of credit to the MSMEs, a very-long pending demand of the exporting community of marketing support for further promoting Brand India products and services globally and GST exemption on Freight on exports. Besides, the interest equalisation support across all sectors of export and 3-6 months transition period may be provided, whenever a major change is notified in the Foreign Trade policy, which will provide much needed cushion during suchtoughandchallengingtimes.

India's merchandise import jump in May signals stable local economy: Economists

MUMBAI: A sequential increase in merchandise imports in May that led to the trade deficit widening to a five-month high signalled a stable localeconomy,economistssaid.

Merchandise imports advanced 14.5%overthepreviousmonthto$57.1 billion, while exports inched up 0.7% to$35billion.

The merchandise trade deficit widened to $22.1 billion in May from $15.1 billion in the previous month. "The recovery in imports points to domestic demand resilience," said Madhavi Arora, lead economist at EmkayGlobal.Aroraalsopointedtoa seasonal trend, citing a typical

increase in imports in May after a slumpinthepreviousmonth.

Gold imports more than tripled to $3.7 billion - the highest level since October. Oil imports climbed 3%, while core imports, barring oil and gold,advanced12.1%.

Imports of industrial goods such asmachinetoolsandconsumergoods likeelectronicsgrewatarobustpace, indicating resilience in domestic demand, said Rahul Bajoria, Chief IndiaEconomistatBarclays.

Fertilizer imports also jumped significantly ahead of the kharif sowingseason,Bajoriaadded.

Economists, however, do not see

thewidermerchandisetradedeficitin May swaying expectations of a manageable current account deficit inthisfinancialyear.

"Falling commodity prices, an expandingservicestradesurplusand rising remittances have supported the improvement in external metrics so far," said Bajoria. "This year, a slowing global economy implies commodity prices will trend lower on average compared with the previous year."

Arora sees the current account deficit settling at 1.9% of the gross domestic product in this fiscal year endingMarch31.

Govt likely to come out with logistics cost estimate by Sept: DPIIT Special Secretary

Cont’d. from Pg. 3

At present, the Government is going by certain estimates, which suggest that India's logistics cost stands at about 13-14 per cent of the country's GDP (gross domestic product).

Special Secretary in the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT)SumitaDawra said that the Government is coming out with its logistics cost framework. The framework would include elements of this cost and how to measure that. "So our framework is being done with the help of our technical partner and it's almost done. But then we have to calculate and I think by the month of September, we will have realistic

logistics costs in the country. We will define what are the components and we will have our own estimates," she said while speaking at CII's conclave on trade facilitation.

Logistics cost plays akeyroleinfacilitating trade and enhancing the competitiveness of traders. The Departmentconductedaworkshopin March on the logistics cost framework, and a task force was set up to formulate a framework to determinethecostintheCountry.

The task force members include representatives from Niti Aayog, the

MinistryofStatisticsandProgramme Implementation (MOSPI), the NationalCouncilofAppliedEconomic Research (NCAER), academic experts,andotherstakeholders.

The Government has rolled out a national logistics policy and PM Gati Shakti initiative to boost the competitiveness of the industry and cutlogisticscosts.

India-US to soon ink agreement to expedite cargo clearances: CBIC Chairman Vivek Johri

NEW DELHI: India and US are in advanced talks for Authorized Economic Operators (AEO)-Mutual recognition agreement to expedite cargo clearances for which cabinet will soon discuss the proposal, CBICChairmanVivekJohri said.

“Cabinet will soon approve the AEO-MARagreementbetweenIndiaUS,” he said at the Trade Facilitation conferenceorganisedbyCII.

Johri said that under the agreement the AEOs of India will get the same benefits as those of US get andvice-versa.

The agreement will expedite the cargo movements in both countries. There are no pecuniary benefits howeverundertheagreement.

India, US have a preliminary agreement on this which will now needtobeimplemented.

India set to meet $2-trillion

MUMBAI: Union Minister of State for Commerce Hon’ble Smt Anupriya Patel said while Inaugurating Plexconnect 2023, India’s first even export-focused plastics exposition organised by Plastics Exports Promotion Council (Plexconcil), and also expressed the confidence that the country would achieve the target of2billion-dollarexportsasthenation turns into a 5 trillion-dollar economy. She added that India has emerged as a major hub for the world to source theirrequirements.

Shri Santosh Sarangi (IAS), Additional Secretary & Director General of Foreign Trade, who was

export target

GuestofHonoursaidIndiafocuseson the concept of recycling and reusing to drive sustainable development and also become a major circular economy. The FTA negotiations, which are in progress with several countries, should help boost exports, hesaid.

With the government’s push for free trade agreements with several countries and the new Foreign Trade Policy, the MSMEs will witness a new era of exports, said Hemant Minocha, ChairmanofPlexconcil.Nearly90%of the Plastics companies fall under MSMEs and they are bound to take advantage of the new business

: Anupriya Patel

opportunities,hesaid.

“I am sure the global plastics industrywillprovethattheyarelooking beyondChinaPlusOneopportunityand play a big role in making India a major MSMEhub,”hesaid.

India’s plastics export has grown ataCAGRof6.1%inthelastfiveyears and PLEXCONCIL plans to double exports to reach USD 25 billion by 2027. India currently exports plastics goods to over 200 countries globally, including the United States, China, United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, Germany, Nepal, Italy, Bangladesh, the Netherlands, and SaudiArabia.

India's forex reserves drop to $593.75 billion

MUMBAI: India's foreign exchange reserves fell to $593.75 billionasofJune9,theReserveBank of India's (RBI) data showed on

Friday. That was a decrease of $1.3 billion from the previous week. Reserves had risen by $5.9 billion in theweektoJune2.

India already has inked a similar agreementwithKorea,hesaid.

The Central Bank intervenes in the spot and forwards markets to prevent runaway moves in the rupee.

DFCCIL commissions critical leg to usher seamless freight connectivity from Bihar to Gujarat

NEW DELHI: The Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Limited (DFCCIL) has completed a key 27 kilometre (km) leg of the Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor (EDFC). This has enabled seamless connectivity of 1875 km between Sonnagar in Bihar to Ahmedabad in Gujarat. It is also estimated that coal transittimewillbeslashedtohalf.

According to Ravindra Kumar Jain, DFCCIL’s Managing Director, this paves the way for enhanced efficiency,reducedtransittime,andincreasedcapacityfor freight transportation. “Around 70-80% of freight movement of the Indian Railways network on this route can now be shifted to the DFC,” he told journalists in New Delhi,addingthatitwillfreeuptheroutesforspeedierand morepunctualpassengertrainstoply.

A company statement stated the first train in this crucial Chunar – Deen Dayal Upadhyay (DDU) section of EDFC was run on Thursday. In another major milestone, DFCCIL completed an 80 Km stretch of Shambhu to Sahnewal (Ludhiana) on Wednesday. With this, 2196 km or 77.2%oftheDFChasbeencommissioned.TheentireDFC alignment, except Jawaharlal Nehru Port connectivity, is

“Container movement time from Gujarat and Maharashtra ports to Northern hinterlands will reduce to lessthanoneday.Thistime-savingadvantagewillenhance competitiveness and drive economic development across

A 3km rail track to link Dadri with Multimodal Logistics Hub

NEW DELHI: A detailed project report for a 3-km railway approach line connecting New Dadri Dedicated Freight Corridor station to the upcoming multimodal logistics hub of the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor has been approved by the Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Limited (DFCCIL).

The Rs 858-crore rail project, which falls under the framework of the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor, aims at establishing a multimodal logistics hub in Dadri and facilitating the seamless movement of goods and raw materials from Greater Noida to Gujarat, Kolkata and Mumbaiwithin24hours.

Currently, in the absence of any such connectivity, it takes 4-5 days to ship the cargo. DFCCIL, which will developthetrack,willsooninitiatetheprocessofselecting acontractorbyissuingatender.

The multimodal logistic hub, situated across 823 acres in Dadri, is proposed to serve as a state-of-the-art freight handling unit. To be developed at an estimated cost of Rs 7,034 crore, the logistics hub will have advanced warehouses, custom clearance points, rail platforms, cold

storagefacilities,truckparkingbays,andcargoseparation areas. Its rail yard will have 16 platforms to allow industries to quickly upload or offload goods into freight trains.

The Integrated Industrial Township Greater Noida Limited,whichisdevelopingthelogistichubwithDMIC,is currently in the process of hiring a project consultant to oversee the tender preparation and construction monitoring.

“Acquisitionoflandforthelogisticshubprojectisalmost complete,” Greater Noida CEO Ritu Maheshwari, who is alsotheManagingDirectorofDMIC-IITGNL,said.

A multimodal transport hub (MMTH) is also set to comeupnearBorakiasapartoftheproject.Currently,the process to select a consultant for the project has been initiated.

The transport hub will integrate railway, bus stand and metro connectivity. The Greater Noida railway terminal in Boraki on the Delhi-Howrah railway line is expected to alleviate pressure on existing terminals in Delhi and primarily cater to eastbound trains to eastern UttarPradesh,Bihar,WestBengalandotherStates.

Demand rebound slows in April : Sea-Intelligence

COPENHAGEN: According to recent analysis from Sea-Intelligence, there was a sharp six-month growth decline that reverted to a minor level of growth decline in March and April 2023.

Sea-Intelligence observes that when comparing the year-on-year (YoY) demand growth in April 2023 with the share of global TEU*Miles in global trades, it becomes evident that theFarEasttoNorthAmericaandFar East to Europe trades are considerably larger than other trade routes.

However,thedeclineingrowthcan beattributedtothediminishedimportsinNorthAmerica.

This is supported by the evidence that the TEU*Miles growth, excluding the Far East to North America trade, experienced a recovery with positive growth in March 2023, and this growth continued throughoutAprilaswell.

However, Sea-Intelligence affirms it is the strength of the head-haul markets which is the true measure of

whethertheshipsarefullornotdue tothetradeimbalances.

“Onceagain,this[deterioration] is to a large degree driven by the aforementioned continued decline in Far East to North America volume,” said Alan Murphy, CEO, Sea-Intelligence.

“This very poor performance should furthermore be seen in the context of the inventory developments in the US. Therein, it was clear that despite the drop in imports, inventory sizes were still not declining, which remains problematic.

“In essence, we see a picture where global demand is indeed recovering in terms of growth rates, but with the trade to North America as well as key intra-regional trades, not being a part of this recovery.”

This month, Sea-Intelligence also presented data that indicated weakness in the market in the second half of 2022,whichmanifestedfullyinQ12023.

Cargo Traffic at Major Indian Ports rise 3.5% in May 2023 : IPA

NEW DELHI: Data released by Indian Ports Association (IPA) showed that cargo traffic at Major Ports registered a 3.5 per cent yearon-year growth in May 2023. According to the tentative data, the major ports handled 68.2 million tonnesofcargolastmonth.

The increase in cargo traffic was majorly led by the coal traffic. The ports handled 5.5 million tonnes of coking coal in the month of May, a growth of 35.5 per cent compared to the year ago period. Thermal and steam coal registered a 14 per cent yoy growth in traffic to reach 11.9 million tonnes. Overall, coal traffic rose by 20 per cent in May.

According to CMIE analysis, the month saw higher coal traffic due to increase in imports as the power ministry had asked power generation companies to ensure 6 per cent blending of imported coal. It added thatthedecisionwastakentoprepare for a surge in electricity demand due to prediction of harsher summer this year.

Coal traffic makes up for about 25 per cent of total cargo traffic at major Indian ports. CMIE said that government’s advice to thermal power plants and coal mines to use the rail-sea-route for transporting coal in India also led to an increase of trafficatmajorports.

However, CMIE predicts that the

year-on-year coal traffic growth at major ports will fall in June. It is expectedtoriseby14percent,aslight decline from the 20 per cent growth seenlastmonth.

Apart from coal, traffic of containerised cargo, iron ores and finished fertalisers posted a year-onyear growth in May. Petroleum, oil, and lubricants (POL) traffic declined by2.9percentatmajorports.

Despite Cyclone Biparjoy and closureoffewportsalongtheWestern coast of the Country, CMIE predicts that the positive momentum in growth of cargo traffic will continue this month. The agency predicts that cargo traffic will grow by 5 per cent in June.

India, Africa can double trade to $200 billion: Piyush Goyal

NEW DELHI: Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has said India and Africa can double the bilateral trade to $200 billion by 2030. At a Conclave, he also said that India can look for negotiating a free trade agreement with Africa to further strengtheneconomictiesandthatthe two "have not reached our true potential".

Goyal suggested sharing renewable energy between India and

Africa. "If we were to create an interconnectedbridgebetweenAfrica and India, partially through overline, over the ground, partially, it will also be under the ocean and we could transmit clean energy, renewable energy from Africa to India particularly during our peak hours, and from India to Africa in our nonpeakhours,"hesaid.

Goyal also offered to partner with Africa in the digital public

infrastructure space. He mentioned UPI,Covidapponhealthcareandone nation-one ration card. He extended help to develop an open network for digitalcommercetohelpdemocratise ecommerce, so that local people and entrepreneurs do not lose out on opportunitiesofecommerce.

Goyal said India works as a friend and brother with Africa and does not "take over"assets like power transmissionlinesandports.

After India’s goods exports, services exports now showing weakness : Nomura

TOKYO: The reduction in discretionary tech spending by companies in the US and other Western countries is starting to affect the services exports of India, accordingtoNomura

Growth of services exports has fallen to 0.7 percent year-on-year (YoY)inMay—whichisa28-month low — from 7.4 percent YoY growth in April and 26.7 percent YoY increaseinFY23.y

The brokerage’s analysts peg this to “weak external demand” spreading now to the services sector, after affecting demand in goodsexports.

“While an updated sectoral breakup of services exports is not yet available,datauptoQ42022indicated that the post-pandemic improvement inservicesexportswasdrivenmainly byITservices,butwasalsosupported by stronger professional & consulting services,”wrotetheanalysts.

“We believe the ongoing moderation reflects cutbacks in discretionary tech spending by Western firms in the BFSI (banking, financial services and insurance) and retail verticals,” they added.

According to Nomura’s analysts, the structural drivers of India’s services exports remain intact. The currentslowdownis“likelycyclical”.

They pointed to how it could affect thelocaleconomy.

“A slowdown in services exports could weaken urban consumption, as the IT sector is an important generator of employment. However, the balance of payments impact should be manageable, as services imports will also likely slow,” theywrote.

“We expect the services trade surplus to rise by 4 percent YoY in FY24 from 32.8 percent in FY23,

butthecurrentaccountdeficittostill narrow to 1.4 percent of GDP from 1.8percentinFY23,”theyadded.

Good exports still remain in contractionary territory, but its de-growthhassloweddown.

“Merchandise export growth contracted by 10.3 percent YoY in May, improving from -12.5 percent in April, in line with our expectations,”wrotetheanalystsin anearlierreport.

The slowdown in oil exports deepened in May, but core exports improved to -4 percent YoY from9.2 percent in April, with sequential momentum picking up to 2.3 percent MoM (month-on-month, sa) from -1.2 percentinApril.

“Our proprietary indicator – the Nomura India Normalisation Index (NINI)fortrade,whichexcludesbase and seasonal effects – shows exports largely remained flat in May at 30 percent above pre-pandemic levels. Our price volume analysis suggests that on a 3-month rolling sum basis, both prices and volumes continue to contract, although a larger share of the under performanceincoreexportsisdriven byprices,”wrotetheanalysts.

UK removes countervailing tariff on steel bar, rod imports from India

NEW DELHI: The UK Government has announced the removal of an up to 4 per cent countervailing tariff on stainless steel bars and rods imported from India due to a perceived low impact on local suppliers. The UK's Trade Remedies Authority (TRA) said recently that its

recommendation that the countervailing measure on imports of stainless steel bars and rods from India be revoked has been agreed by the Government. The TRA concluded that although subsidised imports would continue from India if the countervailing measure were no longer applied, it

is unlikely that the UK industry would be injured if the measure was no longer in place.

Trade association UK Steel said there is "minimal supply to the UK market of stainless bars and rods by UK producers and therefore very low risk of injury resulting from the removalofthemeasure".

India examining recommendation to impose countervailing duty on Chinese steel imports

NEW DELHI: The Finance Ministry is considering a proposal to impose countervailing duty on steel imports from China, Vivek Johri,

Chairman of the Board of Indirect TaxesandCustoms, toldreportersat anevent.

“Recommendationhascomefrom

Directorate General of Trade Remedies and it is still under examination, we haven't taken a final decision,"Johrisaid.

First Over Dimensional Cargo (ODC) for Numaligarh

Refinery received by Sarbananda Sonowal

NEW DELHI: Union Minister of Ports, Shipping & Waterways and Ayush Shri Sarbananda Sonowal received the first over dimensional cargo (ODC) transported via waterways at Numaligarh Refinery jettyrecently.

This is the first consignment transported by Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI), nodal agency of the Ministry of Ports, Shipping & Waterways in charge of inland waterways in the country, for the expansion of Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL) capacity from 3 MMT to 9 MMT. The MoU to transport a total of 24 ODC as well as Over Weight Cargo (OWC) for NRL was signed between IWAI and NRL last year in presence of Union Minister Shri Sarbananda Sonowal lastyear.

Speaking on the occasion, ShriSonowalsaid,“Today,Assamhas witnessed a memorable event when an ODC was transported from Kolkata to Numaligarh using inland waterways. This is the true realisation of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji’s vision of transformation via transportation.

While Modi ji’s commitment to enable Numaligarh to become an energy hub in the region, its capacity expansion in a relatively short duration of time would not have been possible without the smooth transportation of as many as 24 ODC & OWC meant for NRL expansion. Given the thrust to empower the waterwaysofIndia,underthe visionary leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji, our ministry took it upontomakethistransporthappenin a swift and smooth manner. With the successful arrival of first ODC at the NRL, traversing a huge distance via waterways, the role of Inland Waterways to empower the growth of Assam as well as that of Northeast India is imminent and I believe it is goingtoplayapivotalroleintherapid transformation of our region via an economical, ecological and sustainablemodeoftransportation.”

The first ODC was transported by an IWAI ship - MV Marine 66 - from KolkatatoNumaligarhRefineryJetty

via Indo Bangladesh Protocol Route (IBPR). The Disel Hydrotreating (DHT) reactor weighs 485 MT in net while the gross weight was 521 MT. The length of this reactor is 31.5meterswhileheightis8.250meters alongwithadiameterof8.00meters.

The ODC left Kolkata on 18 March andreachedNumaligarhaftertravelling fornearlythreemonthsviaBangladesh. IWAI, in assistance from Dredging Corporation of India (DCI), also employedthreedredgersatfivelocations in Dhansiri since March to make this transportation a success. These three dredgers are CSD Mandovi, CSD Brahmini&HSDJiaBhoroli.

Mohali DC urges industrialist to use Invest Punjab portal for exports

MOHALI: Mohali Deputy Commissioner Ms. Ashika Jain recentlyurgedtheindustrialisttouse single platform “Invest Punjab Portal” for meeting all export related needs.

Chairing a meeting of district level export promotion committee in Mohali, the DC pointed out the

importance of a single platform for government and exporters to discuss the issues and find amicable solutions. She also ensured that the district administration will always provide necessary handholding to the exporters which will help in the overall growth of the economy.

Sandeep Rajoriya, Assistant Director General, DGFT, Ludhiana, apprised the exporters of various schemes by the State Government andCentralgovernment.

He told exporters to use websites like trademap.org , Indian trade portal, dgft.gov.in to access the latest dataforinternationaltrade.

Moving from ‘Make in India’ to ‘Made in India’ : Mr. Rizwan Soomar

MUMBAI: It is heartening to note that India’s cumulative services and merchandise exports are expected to cross $760 billion this year. It will be to the significant credit of the Government’s integrated efforts to incentivise domestic manufacturing, build capacity for small and medium businesses and create the logistics infrastructurerequiredtoenhanceconnectivity.Asthe Government gears up to actualize its $2 trillion export target for 2030, the new Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) aptly encompasses a futuristic and transformative ecosystem that will propel export volumes of domestic goodsfromthecountrytotheworldeffectively. Reducing friction, improving efficiency

ForeignTradePolicy2023capturesabroadrangeof trade facilitation measures that will benefit the entire export ecosystem. Procedural reforms that integrate technology to simplify compliances are being implemented by the Government across sectors in the foreign policy, including logistics and infrastructure, through platforms like Gati Shakti National Master Plan Portal and Unified Logistics Interface Platform (ULIP). Additionally, the push for creating seamless, unified, rule-based IT systems to accelerate clearances under the automatic route will facilitate automaticapprovalsforvariouspermissions.

Introduction of online approvals for multiple processes under the FTP, including e-Certificate of Origin and issuance of Electronic-Importer Exporter Code,willnotonlystreamlinethecompliancechainbut will also reduce the processing time for authorizations. To add to that, the extension of the export obligation period will contribute significantly to the ease of doing business in the country and greatly simplify the compliance ecosystem. Such enabling measures will naturally harmonise the integration of Indian businesses and MSMEs in domestic and global valuechains.

India has signed several key Foreign Trade Agreements (FTAs) over the past couple of years, and some more are in the offing. Combining competitive trade agreements with the establishment of a robust network of export promotion institutions all the way down to the district level is a welcome development that will help India-made products reach international markets.

The decentralized approach suggested in the policy focuses on providing global platforms to products and services at the domestic district level. This, together with the establishment of a District Export Promotion Committee to design and implement district-specific ‘export action plans’, will provide critical touch points for local businesses who are looking at exports as the panaceaforbusinessgrowth.

Merchanting Trade

The introduction of merchanting trade –themovementofgoodsbyseafromoneforeigncountry to another with the help of India based intermediaries but without berthing at ports in India – in the policy, and its eligibility for certain remission schemes, is yet another strategic move to provide fillip to and

strengthen India’s establishment as a global trade hub, with linkages to maintain market continuityincaseof domestic supply shortages. It will also allow entrepreneurs and businesses in India to use locations like GIFT city in Gandhinagar as major merchanting hubs and help India emerge as a preferred merchanting trade hub in South Asia in the medium-to-long term, comparable to Dubai,Singapore,andHongKong.

Recognition of eCommerce Exports

The inclusion of provisions for cross-border trade of goods and services from India and the promotion of ecommerce will create a host of opportunities for small businesses looking to sell in global markets. The policy extends all the benefits that were earlier limited to conventionalofflineexports,toe-commerceexportstoo. The establishment of e-commerce export hubs (ECEHs), as proposed in the policy, will stand to benefit fromindustryparticipationfrommajore-commerceand logistics players, with the active involvement of the CentralorStateGovernments.

These developments, together with the sharpened focus in the policy on sustainability, compliance, and ease of doing business, will give a significant boost to India’sexports.

Rupee Trade and Amnesty Scheme

Additionally, FTP commendably concretizes the Government’s vision of establishing the rupee as a medium of exchange in cross-border trade through provisions enabling export incentives and obligations to be realized in the rupee. Such provisions will prompt India’seconomicdevelopmentasitwillprimarilylower transaction costs and increase price transparency, further allowing exporters, opting for local currency settlement, to be at par with those choosing US Dollar as the preferred currency of trade. It will also catalyse the integration of small businesses in global value chainsandfurtherExport-ImportfromIndia.

Separately, the special one-time Amnesty Scheme is a pragmatic step towards closing authorization of exporters, who have been unable to meet their export obligations under the Export Promotion Credit Guarantee(EPCG)andAdvanceAuthorisations.

Ultimately, as India continues to witness strong export growth amidst global headwinds, FTP 2023 in conjunction with the National Logistics Policy announced last year, will be transformational in not only sustaining the current growth momentum but also in establishing an export oriented robust regulatory framework to help India exceed its export targets.

Author : Mr. Rizwan Soomar, CEO & MD India Subcontinent & Sub-Saharan Africa, DP World.