Make in India

Make in India: Investment opportunities

As world economies restart their engines in a bid to regain lost ground due to the Covid-19 pandemic, India too shows signs of economic buoyancy and promise. India’s Make in India initiative holds a key to the global economic revival, something that should interest Australian government ministries, corporate sector, entrepreneurs, institutions seeking R&D collaborations and Australia Inc in general, among others. India assumes greater importance as several major world economies including American, Japanese, German, British and South Korean look to move out and diversify their businesses from China. India has jumped to 63rd rank in the World Bank’s Ease of Development 2020 report, and has also been ranked as the 9th largest recipient of Foreign Direct Investment destination in 2019 by the World Investment Report 2020 of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

India’s growth engine to be powered by Assam NE: PM

Guwahati, Feb 22 (IANS): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said that India’s growth engine would be further boosted with the development of Assam and the north-eastern region. Addressing a massive public gathering at Silapathar in eastern Assam’s Dhemaji district, the Prime Minister said that the ‘Aatma Nirbhar Bharat’ vision would be further strengthened with the ‘Aatma Nirbhar Assam’ and northeast. “To achieve the Aatma Nirbhar Bharat vision continuous endeavours are going on. Whenever I visit Assam, I get the fresh impetus and inspirations to do more for the northeastern region,” Modi said after inaugurating and laying foundation stones of five mega projects worth Rs 3,000 crore in gas, oil and education sectors. “We are correcting the faults of the previous governments. If the policy is accurate, destiny would be perfect. Connectivity, health, education and infrastructure developments were ignored by the previous governments.” The Prime Minister said that the government is trying to give engineering and medical education in local languages so that its benefit could be obtained by the poor students and learners residing in the far-flung areas. Referring to the song of great singer and composer Bhupen Hazarika and rich Assamese cinema, Modi said that Assam’s all-round development would make the development of India easier. “The entire world is now respectful of India’s engineering and technological milestones,” he pointed out. The Prime Minister said that as the government is working with the mantra of ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikaas, Sabka Vishwas’, LPG and electricity connections are being given to 100 per cent households in Assam and other parts of India as these were earlier available to less than 40 to 50 per cent families. Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan said that Rs 95,000 crore would be invested in Assam’s gas and oil sector for the projects initiated by the Prime Minister on Monday. He said that the earlier Congressled UPA government headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh despite him representing Assam in the Parliament did nothing to utilise the gas and oil resources for the benefit of Assam and the country. Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal in his speech said that Prime Minister Modi with his great vision for the all-round development of the region has won the hearts of every person of the eight north-eastern states. Assam Governor Jagdish Mukhi

‘One Nation, One Standard’ to be priority: Piyush Goyal

New Delhi, Feb 20 (IANS): Time has come when we should focus on ‘One Nation, One Standard’ to make India a global leaders in setting standards as per global benchmarks as strength and character of a nation is often exemplified by the standards it sets for the quality of its products and services, said Union Minister for Railways and Commerce & Industry and Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution Piyush Goyal on Saturday while reviewing the work of Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS). He said, “While all areas of production and services should be included in this national mission, bringing a national uniformity and standardization in all kinds of public procurement and tendering can be an immediate deliverable.” Goyal further stated that BIS should also explore international partnerships and associations to achieve synergy in the field. “Lab testing in India should be as per the world standards. Modern equipments and latest technologies should be used. Gap analysis of BIS and government labs be taken up on priority basis as well,” said Goyal. Referring to the non-uniform standards in different institutions and PSUs, the Union Minister said that efforts should be made to merge different standards under one standard. He also reiterated on dialogue, participation and collaboration of industry in setting up ‘One Nation, One Standard’, simplification of the process of granting certificates and avoiding duplication. Goyal further went on to say that the aim should be to become the world leader in having maximum industrial products under ‘Indian Standards’ and nobody should feel the need to go abroad to get quality certification.

STATE PROFILES Haryana Largest producer of passenger vehicles and motorcycles in India

Haryana is one of India’s largest automobile hubs and has also emerged as a base for the knowledge industry, including IT and biotechnology. Haryana ranks #3 in Export Preparedness Index 2020 under Landlocked states category. Haryana’s electronics and IT exports stood at $7.2 bn during 2016-17, which is 6.2% of the total electronics and IT exports from India. Haryana’s business capital Gurugram is home to over 250 of the Fortune 500 companies. Located in northern India, Haryana has four key geographical features: the Shivalik Hills to the North-East, semi-desert sandy plain to the South-West, the Aravalli Range in the South and Yamuna-Ghaggar plain forming the largest part. Haryana is extremely well-connected with access to 2 international airports, 5 civil airports, 1,630 km of rail network, 26,131 km of road network including 24 national highways (NH). The state has a total installed power capacity of 11,268 MW. The entire state falls in the influence zone of two industrial corridors, namely, Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) and Amritsar Kolkata Industrial Corridor (AKIC). Thirteen districts of Haryana are in the National Capital Region (NCR), which is a prominent trade and consumption center.

Himachal Pradesh 100% electricity generated from green energy sources

With five perennial rivers flowing through the state, Himachal Pradesh has the potential to contribute 26% to India’s hydropower potential. The State has an estimated hydropower potential of over 27,000 MW. The Baddi-Barotiwala-Nalagarh industrial belt has emerged as a key manufacturing hub for various sectors and the region is known to be Asia’s largest bulk drug manufacturing area. Moreover, Himachal Pradesh ranks #3 in Export Preparedness Index 2020 under Himalayan states category. Located in the western Himalayas, Himachal Pradesh is known for its scenic beauty. The state attracted around 19.6 mn tourists in 2017, which is about 3 times the size of its population. The State Government has also developed appropriate infrastructure for tourism development which includes a provision of public utility services, roads, communication network, airports, transport facilities, water supply and civic amenities, among others.

Jammu and Kashmir Largest producer of apples, walnuts and cherry in India

Renowned for its strong horticulture and vibrant floriculture sectors, Jammu and Kashmir is also one of the promin`ent locations for handloom and handicrafts products. J&K is home to world’s finest Biovoltine silk and Pashmina wool with the Handloom sector employing about 43,000 weavers across the UT. Major handicraft items include Carpets, Paper Mache and Shawls. Handlooms sector has contributed towards J&K’s GDP with exports of $ 28.57 Mn in 2018-19 and the exports of handicraft goods stood at $ 131.09 Mn Jammu and Kashmir shares its international border with Pakistan. The UT lies in the Greater-Himalayan ranges and is enclosed with mountains and valleys. Chenab, Jhelum and Ravi are the major rivers that flow through it. It is well-connected with an international airport in Srinagar and a domestic airport in Jammu. The UT is home to about 57 industrial estates.

Jharkhand Home to 40% of India’s mineral wealth

Jharkhand is home to one of India’s largest commercial manufacturing units by Tata Motors. The country’s oldest and one of the largest steel plants, operated by the world’s 10th largest steel manufacturer - Tata steel, is located in Jamshedpur. Due to the high availability of metals and minerals such as steel and coal, the state is an ideal destination for setting up autocomponent industries, power projects, cement plants, among others. Jharkhand has an installed production capacity of nearly 1800 MW. Jharkhand has a high yield in the production of food crops such as paddy and pulses and offers opportunities to exploit the market for agro-forestry products, cashew processing, medicinal plants processing, honey production and production of milk and meat products. The state ranked fifth in top FDI destinations amongst all Indian states in 2016 and currently ranks fourth in Ease of Doing Business ranking by the World Bank.

Karnataka Knowledge, research and innovation hub of Asia, with over 400 high-end R&D centres

Karnataka is a leader in India’s technology sector, both in terms of investments and exports. It is also a popular investment destination for auto, electronics, food processing, heavy machinery and textiles industries. Karnataka is well connected to all major markets with 2 international airports, 307,030 km of the road network and 5,543 km of the rail network. The state has a coastline of 300 km with 12 minor ports and one major port in Mangaluru. The Bengaluru - Mumbai Economic Corridor and Chennai - Bengaluru Industrial Corridor pass through the state. Karnataka stands fourth in merchandise exports in the national export basket. Exports from the state stood at around $17.4 bn in 2018-19, which is 5.3% of India’s total exports. The state stands third among Indian states in terms of FDI inflows, attracting FDI worth $40.7 bn between 2000 and 2019. It is home to the Pavagada Solar Park which has an installed capacity of 2000 MW, the largest in the country of which 1400 MW is operational. The total installed power capacity in the state stands at 28,400 MW.

India’s economic recovery in consolidation phase: ICRA

New Delhi, Feb 23 (IANS): India’s economic recovery has entered into a consolidation phase in January 2021, ratings agency ICRA said on Tuesday. The agency said after the broadbased improvement seen in December 2020, the year-on-year (YoY) performance of a majority of the early available economic indicators recorded a loss of momentum in January 2021, relative to the previous month. As per the agency, this was led by a combination of factors such as the fading of the favourable base effect, supply-side issues and price hikes. “A majority of these lost steam in January 2021, relative to December 2020, partly because of an unfavourable base effect, supply-side issues and price hikes, marking a contrast to the improvement in sentiment brought on by the rollout of the Covid-19 vaccines,” ICRA’s Principal Economist Aditi Nayar said. “We do not construe the dip in volume performance of a majority of the lead indicators in January 2021 as a sign of alarm regarding the sustainability of the growth recovery. However, we do caution that the pace of underlying growth in the Indian economy remains subdued, and do not foresee a sharp ramp up in the pace of GDP expansion in Q4 FY2021.” According to ICRA, as many as nine of the 15 high frequency indicators recorded a weakening of their YoY performance in January 2021, relative to December 2020. “This sub-set includes the output of the passenger vehicles (PVs), motorcycles and Coal India Ltd (CIL), vehicle registrations, petrol consumption, ports cargo traffic, generation of GST e-way bills, bank credit and deposits.” “In contrast, six indicators witnessed an improved YoY performance in January 2021, relative to December 2020, namely non-oil exports, electricity generation, rail freight traffic, scooter production, diesel consumption and domestic airline traffic.” Accordingly, the number of indicators displaying a YoY contraction rose to five in January 2021 from three in December 2020, with PV production, vehicle registrations and CIL’s output getting added to this sub set. “The former two reflect supplyside issues related to availability of semi-conductors and price hikes, while the dip in CIL’s performance reflects a fading of the base effect. In contrast, the output of scooters recorded a turnaround to an expansion of 11.9 per cent in January 2021 from the contraction of 10 per cent in December 2020, benefiting from a favourable base effect.” “Based on available data, ICRA projects the growth in the Index of Industrial Production to remain muted at 0.5-2 per cent in January 2021. While it expects the technical recession to have ended already, the ratings agency anticipates that the pace of GDP growth, in real terms, will strengthen only modestly to 2.6 per cent in Q4 FY2021 from 0.7 per cent in Q3 FY2021.”

Pandemic, investment curbs help India reduce trade deficit with China

New Delhi, Feb 23 (IANS): The disruptions caused by Covid pandemic and additional checks on investment helped India to reduce its widening trade deficit with China in 2020. As per official data, India’s trade deficit with China declined by 19.39 per cent from $56.95 billion in 2019 to $45.91 billion in 2020. The decline had largely been supported by all-time high levels of exports of goods and services by India. While Indian imports from China dropped by 10.87 per cent and stood at $66.78 billion compared to $74.92 billion in 2019, Indian exports to China increased by 16.15 per cent from $17.896 billion to reach $20.87 billion in 2020. This is the highest level ever for Indian exports to China and the first time they have crossed $20 billion. But the souring of bilateral relations due to prolonged border tensions ensured that IndiaChina bilateral trade shrank. In 2020 bilateral trade decreased by 5.64 per cent Y-o-Y and stood at $87.65 billion compared to $92.89 billion in 2019. Among the top 15 Indian exports, a steep rise was witnessed in 2020 in ores (75.35 per cent), iron and steel (336 per cent), aluminium (2,023 per cent) and copper. Iron ore exports stood at $4 billion making India the fourth largest exporter of ores to China. Exports of iron and steel amounted to $2.53 billion, marking a Y-o-Y increase of 336.44 per cent and making India the fourth largest exporter of iron and steel to China. Exports of aluminium and its articles registered a massive increase of 2,023.12 per cent to reach $640 million and make India the fifth largest exporter in this category to China (against the 21st in 2019). Among the key agricultural commodities, including sugar, rice, oil, etc., in 2019, total exports saw an increase of 58.99 per cent from $125.3 million in 2019 to $199.14 million in 2020. The major contributors to this increase were cane sugar (387.5 per cent), soyabean oil (3,050 per cent), rice (184 per cent) and vegetables fats and oils (415 per cent). However, the exports of mangos and fish oil declined dramatically to nil. Tea declined by 6.94 per cent and fresh grapes declined by 24.1 per cent.

RIL to focus on green energy

New Delhi, Feb 23 (IANS):

Standalone RIL’s plan to foray into green energy will be also be liked by investors, brokerage Nomura said in a note. It said Reliance has indicated that it plans to build an optimal mix of reliable, lean and affordable energy using solar, wind and batteries. The new energy business of RIL will work closely with subsidiary O2C. O2C will invest in carbon capture (to convert CO2 into useful products and chemicals) and hydrogen production to meet H2 demand as the Indian economy moves from carbonbased fuels to a hydrogen economy. RIL standalone entity apart from holding controlling and majority stake in O2C (100 per cent post de-merger), Reliance Retail (85.1 per cent) and Jio Platforms (67.3 per cent), will now foray into new businesses based on clean and green development. RIL plans to have a mix of renewable energy using a mix of solar, wind and batteries to transition acceleration into a hydrogen economy. This new business will work closely with O2C and target to achieve net carbon zero by 2035. According to RIL management, a loan to O2C would make it more efficient to upstream cash from any potential stake sale in O2C. “We note that in the past, Reliance has considered a potential 20 per cent stake sale in O2C to Saudi Aramco at a valuation of $75 billion. This transaction would have resulted in potential receipt of $15 billion. A higher loan of $25 billion indicates that Reliance could consider even more than 20 per cent stake sale to strategic investors and dedicated PE investors. In our view, any stake sales to raise cash would be taken positively by investors, similar to the large cash raise in 2020 when it sold stakes in Jio and Retail,” Nomura said. Morgan Stanley said in a research that RIL’s de-merger plan for Oil to Chemicals (O2C) business is a step towards monetisation and acceleration of its new energy and material plans into batteries, hydrogen, renewables and carbon capture - all of which point to the next leg of multiple expansion and clarity on the next investment cycle. With this reorganisation, RIL will have four growth engines - digital, retail, new materials and new energy. While the market appreciates the value for the first two businesses we see significant upside risk to earnings and multiples for O2C as RIL invests in new energy/technology, Morgan Stanley said. CLSA said this O2C subsidiary will hold debt in the form of a $25 billion loan from the parent priced at a floating interest rate linked to one-year SBI MCLR and another $5 billion of non-current liabilities. “We believe this demerger should pave the way for a stake sale in O2C to strategic (talks with Aramco continue) and financial investors,” it said. “Using the $75 billion EV announced for the non-binding 20 per cent stake sale to Aramco in August 2019), will translate into an equity value of $45 billion after knocking off the $30 billion liabilities at the subsidiary level. So a 20 per cent stake sale at $75 billion EV, may bring in $9 billion cash into Reliance,” CLSA said.

Amar Chitra Katha comics to be published for young readers

Publishing house HarperCollins India and Amar Chitra Katha have announced a new collaboration to publish “a firsttime adaptation of popular ACK comics into a narrative format for young children”. The said collaboration will “bring the beautiful folktales of India from our iconic comic books into an exciting new format for younger readers,” said Preeti Vyas, President and CEO of Amar Chitra Katha Pvt. Ltd, adding, “Since our comic books are typically read by children in the 8-14 age group, we believe that these early chapter books will help us take these engaging stories to a younger age group, and open up our treasure trove of stories to a new audience.” This series, put together meticulously by the writers at Amar Chitra Katha, brings together some of the greatest folktales in the ACK catalogue. Each book in the series is adapted from the original Amar Chitra Katha comics and aims to bring the reader closer to the thoughts and traditions that make up our country’s identity, said a joint statement. Tina Narang, Publisher, HarperCollins Children’s Books, remarked, “Amar Chitra Katha has such a strong history of publishing for children, generations have grown up reading ACK comics. So, we are delighted to present a first-time adaptation of these popular comics into a narrative format for young children. We are launching this new initiative with the Amar Chitra Katha Folktales Collection.”

in developing and strengthening back-end production systems through a range of product design and business development services. We have worked with more than 150,000 artisans across 23 states in India. How, in your personal experience, did the craft sector fare during the lockdown? Mozumdar: Even in the face of a health emergency, livelihood and financial issues were the most pressing ones. Rising costs of vegetables, groceries and other essentials were found to be a major concern during the initial phase of lockdown. AIACA itself, with the Akshaya Patra Foundation, had raised a resource amount of Rs 30 lakhs for rations for 3000 artisan families across the country. Widespread cancellation of orders, pending payments, a mounting product inventory, shipments on hold or stuck in transit and a generalized sense of confusion about area-specific government relief activities and measures, were some of the difficulties faced by both artisans and craft enterprises during phases 1 and 2 of the countrywide lockdown. Production for business came to a complete standstill. As regards big craft enterprises, a specific observation was that many were anticipating the shutdown of a few centers. In many cases, the staff salaries had been unpaid. Others were found revisiting production planning, conducting exploratory work, preparing back-up plans, new designs and a strategy for online presence. The recent survey undertaken by AIACA particularly highlights the financial aftermath faced by the craft sector during these times. What are your thoughts on the findings? Mozumdar: Data in the survey revealed that while there has been a unanimous demand for financial support, it is the individual artisans who are in greater distress due to almost complete absence of working capital. 25 per cent enterprises, on the other hand, still had working capital. It was also discovered that individual artisans required more short-term support, while enterprises stressed on the need for support in the long-run (beyond 6 months). Similarly, a big gap was visible in terms of raw material availability to artisans (40 per cent) and enterprises (64 per cent). Here too, a lack of working capital can be blamed. In fact, it seemed that the artisans had exhausted their financial resources in production, as the percentage of dead stock for enterprises and artisans was relatively similar. As artisanal work is comparatively more informal and unstructured, it is possible that there was limited or no financial planning for contingency. It was clear that the pandemic delivered a more severe blow to the business of smaller, individual artisans, who are struggling to cope with drastic changes in the economic environment. As per an initial estimate by the Export Promotion Council for Handicrafts (EPCH), the handicrafts sector could suffer a loss of Rs 80‐100 billion post pandemic. Can you sum up the recommendations the report makes for this sector? Mozumdar: Infusion of capital, particularly to cater to the financial needs of individual artisans, through tax relief, subsidized raw materials and easy access to soft loans at minimal interest rates. AIACA has released a White Paper on fiscal recommendations particularly for craft enterprises, in this tenuous environment, keeping in mind the MSME outlays already announced. Provision for capacity building training, need-based handholding and equipment to empower individual artisans, collectives and enterprises, for smooth transition to e-commerce. AIACA, with extensive experience in outreach, community mobilisation and skill development training, could play an important role as an implementing partner. Strengthening mechanisms to encourage greater institutional procurement of handmade products, to deal with the problem of a mounting inventory. This would naturally increase cash flow in the sector, helping it kick-start production activity, to bounce back. Strategize to repurpose products for the changed environment. While tapping into the ready national and international markets for products specific to the pandemic is critical at this point, individuals and enterprises must also re-think their long-term planning. Since the market for luxury goods has collapsed and continues to remain an uncertain investment option, there is a pressing need to develop products on lowered price-points. For smaller artisans and groups, the pivoting to produce essential items during the pandemic (example, face masks, PPEs) has been a challenge, also keeping in mind questions of scale and quality. Greater exposure for artisans and enterprises to venture into government procurement. For this, they need orientation and handholding to walk through the complex and tiresome processes for tender applications. Such support must also take into account the need for reskilling artisans for quality control and up scaling to meet strict procurement standards. As the new definition for micro, medium and small enterprises (MSMEs) stands reviewed, it must be noted that the raising of the upper limit of investments has almost completely thrown the handloom and handicrafts community out of this categorisation. If at all, they merely qualify as micro units. Besides, this has allowed the entry of bigger players, increasing competition. Therefore, the government must think of creating a special outlay category exclusive for the crafts sector, to address their needs in a focused manner. How can the common person contribute towards the postCovid recovery of crafts? Mozumdar: Participate in awareness generation campaigns on the value of Handmade. Support smaller artisans and craft enterprises through purchasing of handmade products. Contribute skills and experience in building an active volunteer base to support artisans’ training on e-commerce, photography, catalogue-making, social media management, among others.

Pandemic delivered a more severe blow to smaller, individual artisans: AIACA

Arecent survey report brought out by All India Artisans and Craft workers Welfare Association (AIACA) has detailed cash flow crunches, wage losses, cancellation/withholding of orders, supply disruptions in the raw material value chain and uncertainties regarding shipment (both domestic and export) to be some of the key challenges highlighted by craft enterprises after the COVID-19 lockdown. Broad recommendations emerging from the survey include expectations of a stimulus from the government for craft based enterprises, including measures like reduction/deferral in GST across categories, soft loans and interest free working capital loans to aid production and the easing of access to raw material supplies. IANSlife speaks to Sreya Mozumdar, ED, AIACA to get insights into India’s $583-billlion handicrafts market, how the pandemic has impacted this largely-unorganised sector and what the survey recommends to aid the crafts sector of India. Excerpts: Please tell us about AIACA and what it aims to achieve. Mozumdar: AIACA is an apex body that has been working on a range of issues, since 2004, to promote market-led growth for the crafts sector; and increased incomes and improved living standards of crafts producers. Over the past decade, AIACA has conducted policy research and advocacy on a range of issues including access to credit for crafts producers and environmental and health and safety standards for the sector; developed a crafts-certification system called the Craftmark; assisted sales and outreach of member producer groups and enterprises through commercial trade catalogues, trade fairs and order fulfillment; and assisted