November 2020 Economic Affairs

Sakshi Education

RBI committee for conversion of large NBFCs into banks, entry of corporate
In a series of proposals, an Internal Working Group (IWG) of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has recommended the guarded entry of corporates into the banking space, conversion of big NBFCs into banks and hike in promoters’ stake to 26 per cent from 15 per cent.

The group also proposed a hike in minimum capital for new banks from Rs 500 crore to Rs 1,000 crore.

“The cap on promoters’ stake in the long run— 15 years—may be raised from the current level of 15 percent to 26 percent of the paid-upvoting equity share capital of the bank,” the group proposed.

This stipulation should be uniform for all types of promoters and would mean that promoters, who have already diluted their holdings to below 26 percent will be permitted to raise it to 26 percent of the paid-upvoting equity share capital of the bank, it added.

The committee, headed by PK Mohanty, has said “large corporates and industrial houses may be allowed as promoters of banks only after necessary amendments to the Banking Regulation Act, 1949” and strengthening of the supervisory mechanism for large conglomerates, including consolidated supervision.

This is to prevent connected lending and exposures between the banks and other financial and non-financial group entities.

According to the committee, till the NOFHC structure is made feasible and operational, the concerns with regard to banks undertaking different activities through subsidiaries, joint ventures and associates need to be addressed through suitable regulations.

Banks currently under NOFHC structure should be allowed to exit from such a structure if they do not have other group entities in their fold.

Finally, The Reserve Bank may take steps to ensure harmonisation and uniformity in different licensing guidelines, to the extent possible.
Capgemini to hire rural women graduates
Capgemini has introduced Sakhi Drishtikon, an initiative to train and hire rural women graduates, post-graduates or diploma holders in technical subjects from economically-weaker families and bring them into the mainstream workforce.

Under this initiative, Capgemini would have 500 rural women from rural India joining its workforce by December end while, during calendar 2021, the firm expected 15% of its fresh hiring to come from rural talent.

“SakhiDrishtikon takes advantage of new ways of living and working,” said Radhika Ramesh, executive vice-president, Capgemini India.

The chosen candidates are currently on a 4-5 month training programme during which they are paid a salary of ?3.8 lakh or more per annum similar to fresh hires.
India can attract $120-160 billion FDI annually by 2025: CII-EY report
India can expect to attract $120-160 billion of foreign direct investment (FDI) annually by 2025 if it manages to increase the FDI to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ratio between 3-4% from less than 2% now, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and EY said in a report released Monday (23rd November, 2020).

“This can aid in bringing back India’s GDP growth rate to 7-8% range,” they said in the report titled ‘FDI in India: Now, Next and Beyond’.

As per the report, India has observed a GDP growth of 6.8% in the current decade, with FDI to GDP at around 1.8%.

Adopting an approach of reshoring in manufacturing of electric vehicles and high-end machinery, regionalization of some of the global value chains in cotton textiles and mining, coupled with diversification of services are the factors that will determine FDI inflows post Covid-19, it said.

India received $35.37 billion FDI during April-August 2020, the highest so far for the first five months of a financial year, according to official data.

The report highlighted that a large untapped opportunity beyond four major states remains to be explored. Four Indian states— Maharashtra (28%), Karnataka (19%), Delhi (16%) and Gujarat (10%) — attracted around 75% of the FDI inflows in the country from October 2019 to June 2020.
Ministry issues draft Merchant Shipping Bill with updated global norms
The Centre has issued a draft Merchant Shipping Bill, 2020 for public consultation. The proposed legislation aims to repeal and replace the Merchant Shipping Act, 1958.

The primary aim is to promote the growth of the Indian shipping industry by incorporating the best practices adopted by other advanced countries like the US, Japan, the UK, Singapore, and Australia, the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways.

The Bill seeks to introduce for the first-time statutory framework for regulating maritime emergency response against maritime incidents

The Bill will improve welfare of Indian seafarers on abandoned vessels and safety of such vessels

The Bill has provisions for repatriation of abandoned seafarers have been enhanced, in line with the Maritime Labour Convention regulations.

The Bill will promote ease of doing business, the Bill does away with the requirement of a general trading licence for Indian vessels.

It will enable the electronic means of registration, and grant statutory recognition to electronic agreements, records, and log-books, in addition to electronic licenses, certificates, and payments.

The Bill also aims to increase India’s tonnage and to make the vessel a tradeable asset.
Invest India, UNDP launch ‘SDG Investor Map’
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Invest India have launched the SDG Investor Map for India with an aim to help India promote Sustainable Development.

Under this, it had laid 18 Investment Opportunities Areas (IOAs) in six critical SDG enabling sectors in order to balance commercial returns with catalytic development impact.

The Map will bridge the gap between high-level development targets and the need for commercially viable returns.

Investing in opportunities will enhance employment and employability and push forward the inclusion of underserved communities and leverage technology.

IOAs will create job opportunities and industrialization needs.

It focused on inclusive business models and leverage digital technologies to deliver commercial returns and impact at scale.

IOAs include Digital Platforms to service input/output needs of farmers to enable easy access to markets (Agriculture), Online Supplementary Education for K12’ (Education), Access to credit by Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises and Low-Income Groups especially through digital platforms for Income Generating Purposes’ (Financial Services), and Tech-Enabled Remote Care Services (Healthcare).
Indian Railways launches new online facility for employees for PF advance, balance check
Indian Railway has launched a completely digitized online Human Resource Management System (HRMS). The aim is to leverage improved productivity and employee satisfaction. HRMS is a step towards realizing the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to transform India into a digitally empowered society and knowledge economy.

HRMS is a high thrust project for Indian Railways.

The move is to improve efficiency and productivity of Railway system and

HRMS will create a big impact on the functioning of all the employees and will make them more tech savvy.

Under HRMS, Employee Self Service (ESS) module will enable railway employees to interact with various modules of HRMS including communication regarding change of data.

Provident Fund (PF) Advance module enables Railway employees to check their PF balance and apply for PF advance online.

Settlement module digitizes the entire settlement process of retiring employees.

Employees can fill their settlement/pension booklet online and processed online completely

Service details can be fetched online and pension is . This will eliminate use of paper and it also facilitates monitoring for timely processing of settlement dues of retiring employees.
China-led mega trade bloc RCEP takes off
The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) has come into existence on the sidelines of the 37th ASEAN Summit.

It has laid down the path for restarting discussion that had failed to admit India earlier and said new developments would be taken into consideration if India re-applies.

RCEP consists of 10 Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) members, as well as South Korea, China, Japan, Australia and New Zealand. It excludes the USA, which withdrew from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) in 2017.

Negotiations over the RCEP deal began in 2012. India was also part of the negotiations but it pulled out in 2019 over concerns that lower tariffs could hurt local producers.

Members of the RCEP make up nearly a third of the world's population and account for 29% of global Gross Domestic Product (GDP).The China-backed group will emerge as the largest Free Trade Agreement (FTA) in the world surpassing both the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement and the European Union (EU).

It is expected to eliminate a range of tariffs on imports within 20 years and also includes provisions on intellectual property, telecommunications, financial services, e-commerce and professional services.

Under RCEP, parts from any member nation would be treated equally, which might give companies in RCEP countries an incentive to look within the trade region for suppliers.

Ratification will likely be tricky in national parliaments, owing to both anti-trade and anti-China sentiments among the countries.
MIB requests compliance of policy on FDI in digital media
Information and Broadcasting Ministry has issued a public notice to facilitate eligible entities involved in uploading/streaming of news and current affairs through digital media, to comply with the decision of Union Government, which had permitted 26% FDI under Government approval route.

The entities having foreign investment below 26 per cent may furnish intimation to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting within one month.

They have to provide details of the company, entity and its shareholding pattern along with the names and addresses of its Directors and shareholders.

Any entity which intends to bring fresh foreign investment in the country has to seek prior approval of the Central Government, through the Foreign Investment Facilitation Portal of DPIIT.

Every entity has to comply with the requirements of citizenship of Board of Directors and of the Chief Executive Officers.
WPI at 8-month high
India's Wholesale Price Index (WPI) increased to 1.48% in October 2020. This was the highest in the past eight months.

Wholesale price index (WPI) inflation was 1.32% in September.

The annual rate of inflation based on WPI Food Index, which comprises 'food articles' from primary articles group and 'food product' from manufactured products group, decreased to 5.78% in October from 6.92% in September. The government also revised the wholesale inflation for August to 0.41% from 0.16% earlier.

Food inflation cooled to 6.37% in October from 8.17% in September. Inflation in vegetables and potato was 25.23 % and 107.70 %, respectively, in October.

In the manufactured products category, inflation was at 2.12% compared to 1.61% in September. Fuel and power witnessed a 10.95% deflation in October.

India’s retail inflation, based on the consumer price index, was a six-year high of 7.61 % in October.
DIPAM inks agreement with World Bank
Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) signed an agreement with World Bank. Under the agreement, World Bank is to provide advisory services to DIPAM for asset monetization.

Asset Monetisation is creating new sources of revenue by unlocking underutilized or untilised public assets.

DIPAM is to facilitate monetization of non-core assets and enemy property of Rs 100 crores. There are plans to sell minority stakes in LIC.

DIPAM is mandated with facilitating monetization of non-core assets of government CPSEs under strategic disinvestment or closure and enemy property of value of Rs. 100 crore and above.

DIPAM has a framework for monetizing non-core assets.

The World Bank advisory project, is aimed at analyzing public asset monetization in India and benchmarking its institutional and business models against international best practices as well as supporting development of operational guidelines and capacity building for their implementation.

It is expected that this project would facilitate and accelerate the non-core asset monetization process and help unlock the value of these un-used/ marginally used assets which has the potential to substantially augment financial resources for further investments and growth.

The amount raised through the sale of non-core assets would form part of the disinvestment proceeds.
Oxford Economics revises downwards its India growth forecast
Global forecasting firm Oxford Economics on 19 November, 2020 revised downwards its India growth forecast over the medium term to an average 4.5 per cent over 2020-25, from its pre-pandemic projection of 6.5 per cent.

In a research note, it said India's post-COVID-19 scars could be among the worst in the world.

Oxford economics forecast India's growth equilibrium to worsen substantially over the medium term, with potential growth averaging just 4.5 per cent over 2020-2025 in our latest baseline, as opposed to our pre-virus forecast of 6.5 per cent

Oxford economics project India's GDP per capita to be 12 per cent below our pre-virus baseline even in 2025, implying the largest amount of scarring among major economies globally

It added that the Indian government has announced various schemes and reforms this year, with an eye on the medium-to-long-term growth.

However, India’s implementation track record is mixed and is likely to have been weakened further by recent social and institutional developments that detract from its capacity to focus on economic policymaking.

Beyond 2020, Oxford Economics said India remains one of the most rapidly growing economies but not enough to prelude a large medium-term output in the wake and aftermath of the COVID pandemic.

Oxford Economics said it expects private investment to continue to be held back by both macroeconomic and financial factors.

On the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme, the global forecasting firm said that while not a reform in itself, the scheme is an important fiscal incentive that could impart a significant boost to manufacturing and investment in principle.
Oil India launches seismic survey in Mahanadi onland basin
The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas and Steel has launched Seismic Survey campaign of Oil India Limited in the Mahanadi basin of Odisha.

According to the ministry, the oil and gas exploration will be a game changer in the socio-economic development of Odisha. The estimated cost of the seismic survey is Rs 220 crores.

The estimated cost of the exploration campaign in the region is Rs 1,248 crores. Of this, the seismic survey will require Rs 220 crores. Mahanadi basin was chosen as the first location to roll out the National Seismic Programme.

The National Seismic Programme was launched in 2016 to trace hydrocarbon resources such as oil and natural gas. The programme aims to undertake fresh appraisal of sedimentary basin in the country. The National Seismic Programme will conduct high resolution seismic acquisition, processing and interpretation survey.
Mastercard, USAID join hands for Project Kirana to empower women through financial inclusion
Mastercard and United States Agency for International Development launched “Project Kirana”. The programme will enable women entrepreneurs to grow, launch and thrive.

Under Project Kirana, a two-year programme is to be rolled out in selected cities such as Kanpur, Lucknow and Varanasi of Uttar Pradesh. The project will work to increase revenue, digital payments and expand financial inclusion.

The project aims to build digital literacy and financial literacy of the women in the state. It will improve business management skills of women.

It is estimated that the GDP of the country will grow between 12% and 25% in the next five years by bringing in more women. The women owned business in India have tremendous untapped potential that is capable of transforming the economies.

India is one of the countries with highest gender gap in the world. As Project Kirana is designed to support women and increase their financial access in the country, it will help solve gender parity issues.
Government of India & NDB Sign Agreement for USD 500 Million
The New Development Bank (NDB), headquartered in Shanghai, has approved a US$500 million loan fund for the Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) project to further improve the public transport system and ease the national capital area.

Crowding took a step forward. The Ministry of Urban Affairs, the Ministry of Finance, the National Capital Region Transportation Corporation (NCRTC) and multilateral banks signed loan agreements.

These funds will be used to finance rolling stock, signalling systems, operating structures, operating personnel's residences, train control and telecommunications systems.

The loan term of the China Development Bank is 25 years and the grace period is 8 years. The lack of effective public transportation options and the rapid increase in vehicle traffic have made the National Capital Region one of the most polluted areas in the world.

The Ministry of Finance stated that by 2030, NCR is expected to become the most populous urban area in the world, which will increase the pressure on housing, water supply, electricity and transportation facilities.

The purpose of the express rail project is to establish a high-speed commuter rail network connecting Delhi with adjacent cities. The 82-kilometer Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut RRTS will be implemented in phases between cities. The train will reduce the time of travel from Delhi to Meerut from the current 3-4 hours to less than one hour

Funds from the New Development Bank will also be used to purchase signal, telecommunications and train control systems with advanced functions, such as automatic train operation, automatic train protection, automatic train supervision and integration with platform screen doors.

The project can serve as a demonstration of the development of high-capacity rapid urban transport corridors in other urban areas of India.
PM Modi inaugurated Ro-PaxHazira-Ghogha ferry service in Gujarat
Ro-Pax service is a water transport service project under Eastern Waterfront Development.

Hazira-Ghogha Ro-Pax ferry service will work as a Gateway to South Gujarat and Saurashtra region. It will reduce the distance between Ghogha and Hazira from 370 Kilometres to 90 Kilometres.

The reduced cargo travel time will result in huge savings of fuel approximately 9000 litres per day and will lead to reduction in CO2 emission by approximately 24 million tonnes per day.

It will give an impetus to the tourism industry with ease of access to Saurashtra region and lead to creation of new job opportunities.

With the onset of Ferry services, the port sector, furniture and fertilizer industries in Saurashtra and Kutch region will get a big boost.

Eco-tourism and religious-tourism in Gujarat, especially in Porbandar, Somnath, Dwarka and Palitana will grow exponentially.

The benefits of enhanced connectivity through this ferry service will also result in increased inflow of tourists in the famous Asiatic lion wildlife sanctuary at Gir.

The Ghogha-Dahej ferry service has been on the drawing boards since 1995, the Costal Regulation Zone clearance for construction and operation of the RO-RO ferry service terminals at Ghogha and Dahej were received on June 14, 2010. The project began in 2012. The project was commissioned in October 2017.
The 15th Finance Commission submits its Report for 2021-22 to 2025-26 to the President of India
The Fifteenth Finance Commission (XVFC) led by Chairman Sh N K Singh submitted its Report for the period 2021-22 to 2025-26 to the Hon’ble President of India.

Members of the Commission, Shri Ajay Narayan Jha, Prof. Anoop Singh, Dr. Ashok Lahiri and Dr. Ramesh Chand along with Secretary to the Commission ShriArvind Mehta accompanied the Chairman.

The Commission was asked to give its recommendations on many unique and wide-ranging issues in its terms of reference. Apart from the vertical and horizontal tax devolution, local government grants, disaster management grant, the Commission was also asked to examine and recommend performance incentives for States in many areas like power sector, adoption of DBT, solid waste management etc.

The Commission was also asked to examine whether a separate mechanism for funding of defence and internal security ought to be set up and if so how such a mechanism could be operationalised. The Commission has sought to address all its ToRs in this Report to the Union government.

This Report has been organised in four volumes. Volume I and II, as in the past, contain the main report and the accompanying annexes. Volume III is devoted to the Union Government and examines key departments in greater depth, with the medium-term challenges and the roadmap ahead. Volume IV is entirely devoted to the States. The Commission has analysed the finances of each State in great depth and has come up with State-specific considerations to address the key challenges that individual States face.

The Report will be available in the public domain once it is tabled in the Parliament by the Union Government along with explanatory memorandum/action taken report on the recommendations contained in the Report. The cover and title of the Report are also unique in this Report- “Finance Commission in Covid Times” and the use of Scales on the cover to indicate the balance between the States and the Union.
IFSC Authority approves the International Financial Services Centres Authority (Banking) Regulations, 2020
The IFSC Authority, after detailed deliberations, approved the International Financial Services Centres Authority (Banking) Regulations, 2020.

Banking constitutes one of the major focus areas of IFSC and is expected to drive and facilitate the other constituent operations in the IFSC in due course. A self-contained regulation laying down the major principles of banking operations at IFSCs is thus an important step in the IFSC reaching its desired potential.

The Authority approved the draft banking regulations at its meeting today, which paves the way for putting in place the rules for the various aspects of banking operations that would be permissible at the IFSC.

The salient aspects of the Banking Regulations include:
Laying down the requirements for setting up IFSC Banking Units (IBUs)

Permitting persons resident outside India (having net worth not less than USD 1 Million) to open foreign currency accounts in any freely convertible currency at IFSC Banking Units (IBUs)

Permitting persons resident in India (having net worth not less than USD 1 Million) to open foreign currency accounts in any freely convertible currency at IFSC Banking Units (IBUs) to undertake any permissible current account or capital account transaction or any combination thereof under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS) of the Reserve Bank of India.

Laying down the permissible activities of IBUs including credit enhancement, credit insurance, and sale , purchase of portfolios, engage in factoring and forfaiting of export receivables and undertake equipment leasing, including aircraft leasing

Permitting the Authority to determine business that a Banking Unit may be permitted to conduct in INR with persons residing in India and persons resident outside India, subject to settlement of the financial transaction in relation to such business in freely convertible foreign currency.

The abovementioned regulations will be notified by the Government of India in due course.
MOFPI Provides 50% Subsidy on air Transportation from North-Eastern and Himalayan States
Under Aatma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyan, Operation Greens Scheme TOP to TOTAL, 50% transportation subsidy is now made available for air transportation for 41 notified fruits and vegetables from North-Eastern and Himalayan States to any place in India.

Airlines will provide the transport subsidy directly to the supplier/consignor/consignee/ agent by way of charging only 50% of the actual contracted freight charges and will claim the balance 50% from MoFPI as subsidy. The scheme was approved and the amended Scheme Guidelines were notified on 02.11.2020.

In relaxation of other conditions for Operation Greens – TOP to TOTAL Scheme for transportation through Airlines from eligible airports, all consignment of notified fruits and vegetables irrespective of quantity and price would be eligible for 50% freight subsidy.

The transportation subsidy was earlier extended under Operation Greens Scheme for Kisan Rail Scheme with effect from 12.10.2020. Railways charge only 50% of freight charges on the notified fruits and vegetables.

Eligible Crops: –
Fruits (21) - Mango, Banana, Guava, Kiwi, Litchi, Mousambi, Orange, Kinnow, Lime, Lemon, Papaya, Pineapple, Pomegranate, Jackfruit, Apple, Almond, Aonla, Passion fruit, Pear, Sweet Potato, Chikoo;

Vegetables (20): - French beans, Bitter Gourd, Brinjal, Capsicum, Carrot, Cauliflower, Chillies (Green), Okra, Cucumber, Peas, Garlic, Onion, Potato, Tomato, Large Cardamon, Pumpkin, Ginger, Cabbage, Squash and Turmeric (dry)

Eligible airports: -
All the airports in Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim (Bagdogra), and Tripura from North-East, and Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh among the Hilly States.
Government sets up Inter-Ministerial Committee to strengthen the Capital Goods Sector
The government has set up a 22-member inter-ministerial committee in strengthening the Capital Goods(CG) Sector through interventions that help the CG Sector in contributing more actively in the national goal of achieving a USD 5 trillion economy and a USD 1 trillion manufacturing sector.

Initiatives in the Capital Goods Sector require in depth consultations and deliberations with all concerned Ministries / Departments on regular basis. It is in this light proposed an Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) is being constituted with representation from all the concerned Ministries / Departments dealing with the CG sector and using CG machinery to regularly meet and deliberate to address the issues and bottleneck pertaining to the sector. The IMC will help DHI in taking a holistic view for all the issues pertaining to the CG Sector.

The Committee will look into on all such issues pertaining to the Capital Goods Sector including technology development, mother technology development, global value chains, testing, skill training, global standards, and reciprocity issues, custom duties to make this sector globally competitive and to become the manufacturing hub for the world. Any other relevant issue pertaining to the Capital Goods sector may also be brought before the Committee with the prior approval of the Chairman.
India Inc lauds economic reforms under AatmaNirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan 3.0
Industry body FICCI has said that Finance Ministry has offered a huge Diwali Bonanza that will lift growth, employment, exports and make India part of the global value chains. Commenting on the series of measures announced by the Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman yesterday to further stimulate the economy, FICCI President Dr Sangita Reddy said, package contained announcements for the stressed sectors, the sunrise sectors and other significant areas that will play a crucial role in making India strong and self-reliant. She said, the additional outlay of 18 thousand crore rupees for the PM Awas Yojana - Urban along with the income tax relief for developers and home buyers will ring in growth in the housing sector.

PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry has also appreciated the bold economic reforms announced by the Finance Minister under Aatma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan 3.0. The President of PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Sanjay Aggarwal said that the reforms will have a multiplier effect on the economic growth trajectory through enhanced demand, job creation, increased private investments, escalated exports and growth of sectors that have strong backward and forward linkages. He said, the recovery in the key economic and business indicators on the back of series of stimulus announcements by the Government in last 7 to 8 months will go a long way in the fight against the pandemic impact of COVID-19 on trade, industry and economy.
India Ranked 196th in BMI Ranking 2019, Netherlands Tops; Published in The Lancet
A review of BMI (Body Mass Index) of various countries’ teenagers has been recently published in the international medical journal “The Lancet”, according to which India is placed at 196th rank with respect to BMI in boys & ranks198th in girls. India’s 19-year-old boys and girls have a BMI of 20.1 means they are also among the shortest in the world.

India’s boys ranked 180th with an average height of 5.46 feet while girls ranked 182nd with an average heightof 5.06 feet.

Review Coverage:
This review covered school-aged children and adolescents for ages 5-19 years from 1985 to 2019 in 200 countries and territories: a pooled analysis of 2181 population-based studies with 65 million participants.
Sugar industry desperately needs export subsidy
The sugar industry has strongly reacted to Union Commerce and Industry Minister's announcement that the central government is not considering an extension of its export subsidy for the 2020-21 sugar season.

The industry has warned of a ‘vertical collapse’ in the sector due to excessive stock.

At the start of the (October-November) sugar season, the industry draws up its balance-sheet, which determines the availability of sugar for the next season.

In case of unusually high stock, ex-mill prices remain low for the present season as well as for the upcoming season, which result in liquidity crisis for the sugar sector.

For the season which has started, the annual production is estimated to be 326 lakh tonne (without any diversion towards ethanol), and the season has started with opening stock of 107 lakh tonne.

The industry sources estimate sugar production being lower by 20 lakh tonne as mills are expected to produce ethanol, and thus the total available sugar balance in this season is expected to be 413 lakh tonne.

After deducting the domestic consumption of 260 lakh tonne, the opening stock of next season (season of 2021-22) is estimated to be 155 lakh tonne.

This unusually high stock, without an export incentive like a government subsidy, will result in a ‘vertical collapse of the sector’.

Sugar industry is a big business in India. Around 525 mills produced more than 30 million tonnes of sugar in the last crushing season.

This makes it the world's largest producer, unseating Brazil.

India is the world's largest consumer of sugar.
13th UMI Conference is being organized by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs
The 13th Urban Mobility India (UMI) Conference is being organized by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs on 9th November 2020.

The theme of this year’s event is “Emerging Trends in Urban Mobility” with focus on innovative measures taken at national and international level to address the challenges posed by Covid-19 pandemic to provide accessible and convenient transport to the people.

The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Government of India issued the National Urban Transport Policy, 2006 (NUTP).

As part of the NUTP enunciations, the Ministry has taken the initiative to organize an annual international Conference-cum-Exhibition on Urban Mobility India popularly known as UMI.

The primary objective of the conference is to disseminate information to the cities, whose officials attend the conference to help them keep up-to-date with latest and best urban transport practices globally.

Till date, twelve events have been organised on urban mobility, and state governments, city authorities and other stakeholders have gained substantially through participation in these conferences.
No tax for battery-operated vehicles till 2022
The State Government of Tamil Nadu recently notified that it will grant 100% motor vehicle tax exemption for Electric Vehicles.

The State Government had issued orders for 50% concessional rate to EV taxes. It has now been made to 100%.

The State Government has exempted taxes to both transport and non-transport vehicles.

The State Government is already providing incentives to attract investments. The Tamil Nadu Government provides 100% GST reimbursement and 50% capital subsidy to the EV manufacturing units. The plan is to set up an EV park through these incentives. The park is to be set up in 300 acres of land.

Tamil Nadu announced a comprehensive EV policy, which gives incentives and subsidies for both supply side and demand side.

The policy covers the EV ecosystem with incentives to EV charging stations developers and to tap components including battery and cell manufacturing, electric motors, EV powertrains, battery management among others.

Tamil Nadu is planning to set up the country's first park exclusively for the electric vehicle production eco-system.

The state is targeting investments of about Rs 50,000 crore in the EV segment and has announced a series of incentives to attract investments in this space.

It will create 150,000 jobs with a comprehensive EV ecosystem in the state.

The state accounts for 35 per cent of the country's auto component production and nearly 30 per cent of four-wheeler manufacturing is from the state.

Currently Tamil Nadu is home for nearly 20 OEMs covering all auto segments and over 350 auto component players and over 4,000 SMEs under Tier-IV in the state.

The state has got installed production capacity to produce 1.71 million passenger vehicles and 4.82 million two-wheelers every year.