MAKE IN INDIA

India & FTA: Series of bilateral deals topump up supply chains

New Delhi, April 25 (IANS): India has entered into a series of Free Trade Agreements (FTA) this year with world’s leading economies and are negotiating another one with the UK, Israel and Canada that would open a plethora of economic opportunities and create jobs not just in India but also globally.

The FTAs will further push India’s integration into the global economy as a benevolent player creating a win-win model.

The India-UK FTA, when concluded, will be a major milestone between the world’s two leading economies. During his recent visit to India, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson pushed for closing the negotiations for an FTA by this October.

India has emerged as one of the most important players in the global economic landscape. The country’s trade policies, various reforms by the government and the inherent economic strength of the Indian economy have led to its standing as one of the most coveted destinations for foreign investments in the world.

Between January-October 2021, India exported goods worth $325 billion representing a 44 per cent year-on-year growth. FTAs have allowed Indian exporters to compete on a more level playing field with local businesses from other countries due to reduced trade barriers, tariffs and duties. Through these FTAs, India plans to tap into the global demand, particularly in developed countries.

Minister for Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal has stated that “India will enter into an FTA only if it is beneficial to the country. FTAs are supposed to be about two-way traffic, so India will look for reciprocal benefits and favourable market conditions from other countries. India will attempt to enter into FTAs with democratic nations that share the same values as them and are conducive to the mutual growth of both countries”.

India’s FTA with Australia

concluded in April and a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with the UAE in February demonstrate this strategic aspect of economic partnerships. India’s goods exports to Australia were worth $6.9 billion and imports about $15.1 billion in 2021.

The India-Australia FTA will provide zero-duty access to the bulk of India’s exports to Australia (96 per cent), including engineering goods, gems and jewellery, textiles and apparel, and leather. After five years, this will be expanded to 100 per cent of Indian goods.

In March, New Delhi and Ontario agreed to formally re-launch negotiations for the India-Canada Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA). The two nations committed to strengthen their trade and commercial ties through enhanced partnerships and cooperation in certain identified areas, such as agro-products, chemicals, footwear, textiles, automobiles, energy, electronics, minerals and metals, urban development, information technology and tourism. The two sides also noted the importance of the movement of professionals and skilled workers, students and business travellers in strengthening the bilateral economic partnership.

Meanwhile, India and Israel are engaged in FTA talks and want to sign a deal by mid-2022 as the year marks 30 years of formal diplomatic ties. Total merchandise trade between India and Israel amounted to $4.67 billion in FY 2020-21.

India and the EU also restarted their FTA negotiations in goods and services in early 2021 after a gap of eight years. The two regions aim to work out pacts in investments and geographic indications parallel to FTA engagement. In July 2020, India revived talks with the SACU bloc for a preferential trade agreement.

India is seeking closer manufacturing and industrial investment ties with Namibia, and its sectors of interest cover agriculture, irrigation, renewables, ICT, pharmaceuticals and medical supplies. India- Namibia trade in 2018-19 amounted to $135.92 million with Indian exports worth $82.37 million and imports valued at $53.55 million. Namibia holds rich deposits of uranium, diamonds, copper, phosphates, and other minerals while India’s advantage lies in its capabilities in IT, engineering, pharma, railways, as well as its large SME (small and medium enterprise) sector.

India-South Africa bilateral trade was worth $10.584 billion in 2018-19. Indian exports to South Africa include auto and auto components, transport equipment, drugs and pharmaceuticals, engineering goods, footwear, dyes and intermediates, chemicals, textiles, rice and gems and jewellery. South African exports to India include gold, steam coal, copper ores and concentrates, phosphoric acid, manganese ore, aluminium ingots, and other minerals.

In the Gulf, India had stated that it was looking to sign an FTA with Oman, New Delhi’s oldest strategic partner in the region. There are reportedly over 4,000 India-Oman joint ventures in Oman with an estimated investment of over $7.5 billion.

As the geoeconomics is rapidly becoming the defining feature of the World order, the economic cooperation and trade have emerged as force multipliers to strengthen the bilateral ties. Being the fastest among the big economies, India is channelising more and more of her rapid economic activities towards international trade in the spirit of globalisation.

In recent times, particularly as the Covid-19 pandemic exposed the supply chain uncertainties and vulnerabilities, not only the trade, but also the livelihoods and economies faced its consequences. This pushed the countries in the Indo-Pacific region to launch the Supply Chain Resilience Initiative (SCRI).

SCRI will go a long way to establish sustainable and smooth supply chains in the Indo-Pacific region.

We will effectively introduce FTA between India & UK: Modi

New Delhi, April 22 (IANS): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 21 said that India and the UK are working on closing the negotiations for a free trade agreement by the end of the year,

Addressing the joint media address after the bilateral talks with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson held at Hyderabad House, Modi said, “Recently we have concluded FTA talks with UAE and Australia. We wish to go for FTA with the UK with the same spirit and commitment.

“Last year, we established the strategic partnership and we have added the important Roadmap-2030 and during our talks, we reviewed the progress made in this direction and also set some goals,” Modi said.

He further said both countries have decided to enhance cooperation in the defence sector. “We welcome the UK as support in manufacturing, technology, design and development and other sectors for Aatmanirbhar Bharat,” Modi said.

Referring to the recent reforms initiated by India in infrastructure modernisation plan and National Infrastructure Pipeline, Modi said that India welcomes the increasing investments here by the UK companies and “we have seen such an example in Halol in Gujarat on April 21.

“Around 1.6 million UK nationals of Indian origin have been making a positive contribution in the Indian economy and society as well. We are proud of those people of Indian origin, we want to further strengthen this bridge and in this direction, Prime Minister Johnson has personally helped a lot, I greet him for this,” the Indian Prime Minister said

He also said that India has shown its commitment to fulfil the commitments made in COP- 26 in Glasgow and decided to further enhance the partnership for climate and energy. “I invite the UK to join India’s National Hydrogen Mission and express my gratitude for setting up Strategic Tech Dialogue between the two countries,” Modi said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the situation in Ukraine and Afghanistan were also discussed during the meeting.

Earlier, while addressing the media, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said, “I felt like Sachin Tendulkar upon my arrival and also felt like Amitabh Bachchan when I saw hoardings everywhere.”

We will effectively introduce FTA between India & UK: Modi

New Delhi, April 26 (IANS): Giving its India growth story another fillip, Apple shipped nearly 1 million ‘make-in-India’ iPhones in the country in the first quarter of 2022, a massive jump of 50 per cent (year-on-year) in iPhone shipments from within the country, data showed on April 26.

According to data shared by market intelligence firm CyberMedia Research (CMR), iPhones in India registered an overall growth of 22 per cent in the Q1 2022, led by iPhone 12 and 13 sales.

“Our insights point to the contribution of ‘Make in India’ iPhones in Q1 2022, increasing 50 per cent YoY. The contribution of newer generation iPhones, such as iPhone 13, is almost equal to iPhone 12,” Prabhu Ram, Head- Industry Intelligence Group at CMR, told IANS.

Apple’s enhanced and diversified iPhone production capabilities in India, along with aggressive retail initiatives, continue to contribute to its strong growth momentum in India.

“As Apple further diversifies its manufacturing base, the newer generation iPhone models will fuel Apple’s India growth story,” said Ram.

In Q1 2022, iPhone 12 maintained a lead with 52 per cent share, followed by iPhone 13 at 20 per cent and iPhone 11 at 18 per cent in India.

When it comes to iPads, Apple registered a 31 per cent growth in India, led by iPad 9th generation (Wi- Fi) that garnered 45 per cent market share.

Apple is expected to register a 5.2 per cent market share in India this year.

“With its enduring brand appeal, Apple continues to attract premium buyers. This is a break from the past when older-generation iPhone models gained consumer favour through aggressive and attractive price offers,” said Ram.