The Centre’s production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for key sectors has the potential to add $520 billion worth of manufacturing in the next five years, NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant said.
Recently, the Centre had announced the PLI scheme with a budgetary support of $26 billion.
Addressing the virtual session, ‘PLI for Exponential Growth of Manufacturing’, organised during Ficci’s 93rd annual convention, Kant said that the PLI scheme in the 10 champion sectors will support Indian manufacturers.
He emphasised that this is the time for supply chains across the world to get relocated and India must leverage the opportunity to become the most preferred destination for manufacturing.
According to Kant, the PLI scheme is a game-changer for the manufacturing sector and the 10 sectors will attract investment in large scale, boost export potential and give rise to economic space which will ensure India’s integration in the global value chain.
NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant
“If we want size and scale of manufacturing, we should support manufacturing for the next five years so that companies become an integral part of the global value chains,” Kant said.
He further mentioned that the government has supported both labour intensive and cutting-edge technology areas with PLI that will help MSMEs in the value chain.
“We want India to become global champion in manufacturing in areas where we have announced PLI,” Kant said.
“Our 73-74 per cent exports were concentrated in items where global trade is only 30 per cent and with the PLI scheme, we are supporting areas where we can take lead in major globally traded items,” he added.
Odisha is fast emerging as the ‘Manufacturing Hub of Eastern India. Chief Minister Mr Naveen Patnaik said the state government is embarking upon the second phase of value addition for development through its vision 2030 Plan, which aims at adding up to 50% value to the metals produced in the state, thereby opening up vast vistas for investment in the state… reports Asian Lite News
Naveen Patnaik, Odisha Chief Minister
Mr Naveen Patnaik, the Chief Minister Odisha, said the eastern state has shifted to a broad-based and inclusive economic growth from the pre-2000 era’s resource-dependent development.
He was addressing the 93rd Annual General Meeting of Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI). In the meeting, he highlighted the state’s industrial growth in the last two decades by perusing of sound industrial policies and transforming of the state by value-addition to the vast natural resources it is endowed with.
The session started with the welcome address by Dr. Sangita Reddy, President, FICCI, Joint MD, Apollo Hospitals, who spoke about the investor-friendly industrial climate of Odisha.
This was followed by a video presentation on how the state of Odisha, under the able leadership of Chief Minister Patnaik has transformed itself into an industrial powerhouse within two decades and how in spite of economic slowdown due to COVID-19, Odisha could get very high investments during this period.
The chief minister thanked FICCI for being the National Industry Partner for the 3rd edition of the ‘Make in Odisha’ Conclave
Hon’ble CM also stated that the state government is embarking upon the second phase of value addition through its vision 2030 plan, which aims at adding up to 50% value to the metals produced in the state, thereby opening up vast vistas for investment in the state.
The chief minister said the state is fast emerging as the ‘Manufacturing Hub of Eastern India.’
“The State is implementing path breaking technological reforms to reduce physical interface for availing Government services,” he added. “My Government’s transformational initiatives under ‘5T’ Charter and ‘MO SARKAR’ have played a major role in creating a conducive business environment in the State by inculcating professionalism and behavioural change in the State Government agencies.
“I am happy to inform all present here today, that as part of my government’s initiative to reduce regulatory burden on industries, new end-to-end online systems for over 30 Government to Business services have been developed by various departments of the State. To further ensure that the service delivery is prompt, the timelines for the services have also been included under the State’s Right to Public Services Act. The State has also developed a dedicated land bank with over one lakh acres of land available on a GIS-based platform for easy site selection by industries.
“Odisha has been recognised as an investment destination of choice over the years. Odisha was ranked number 1 in terms of attracting investments during April-September 2019, and is poised to continue this leadership position.
To attract new investments in the identified focus sectors, our officials have held discussions with institutions and industries from Japan, Republic of Korea, USA and Vietnam to showcase the business ecosystem and investment opportunities in the State. I am happy to note that the investor sentiment towards Odisha is extremely encouraging. Even during these difficult COVID pandemic times, I am happy to inform you that Odisha has been able to attract new investments of over Rs.1 lakh crore across multiple sectors.”
Concluding his speech, the chief minister thanked FICCI for being the National Industry Partner for the 3rd edition of the ‘Make in Odisha’ Conclave and requested them to nominate dedicated sectoral teams to work with the respective departments in the Government of Odisha especially in important sectors such as Food Processing, Chemical, Metal and metal downstream, Textile, Tourism and IT.
Industry leaders Mr. Harsh Pati Singhania, MD, JK Paper Limited and Mr. Sandip Somany, MD, HSIL were all praise for Hon’ble Chief Minister, Odisha for his visionary leadership and shared their experiences about robust industrial facilitation in Odisha and the support from the state government for industrial investments.
Mr Uday Shankar, President-Elect, FICCI offered vote of thanks to the dignitaries and thanked the Odisha Government for helping the industries during the testing times. He also thanked Hon’ble CM for considering FICCI as the National Industry Partner for the upcoming Make in Odisha conclave and assured all the support from FICCI.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for a worldwide “state of climate emergency” to tackle global warming. Five years after the Paris Agreement on climate change, the world is still not going in the right direction, he told the Climate Ambition Summit on Saturday co-convened by the UN and the governments of the UK and France, reports Xinhua news agency.
The Paris Agreement promised to limit temperature rise to as close to 1.5 degrees Celsius as possible. But the commitments made in Paris were far from enough to get there. And even those commitments are not being met, he noted.
“Carbon dioxide levels are at record highs. Today, we are 1.2 degrees hotter than before the industrial revolution. If we don’t change course, we may be headed for a catastrophic temperature rise of more than 3 degrees this century. Can anybody still deny that we are facing a dramatic emergency?” he asked.
“That is why today I call on all leaders worldwide to declare a state of climate emergency in their countries until carbon neutrality is reached.”
Some 38 countries have already done so, recognising the urgency and the stakes. All other countries should follow, said Guterres.
The recovery from the ongoing coronavirus pandemic presents an opportunity to set economies and societies on a green path in line with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, he said.
But that is not yet happening. So far, the members of the G20 largest economies in the world are spending 50 per cent more in their stimulus and rescue packages on sectors linked to fossil fuel production and consumption, than on low-carbon energy. This is unacceptable, he said.
“The trillions of dollars needed for Covid-19 recovery is money that we are borrowing from future generations. This is a moral test. We cannot use these resources to lock in policies that burden future generations with a mountain of debt on a broken planet.”
UN Climate Emergency
To achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, meaningful cuts are needed now to reduce global emissions by 45 per cent by 2030 compared with 2010 levels, he said.
This must be fully reflected in the revised and strengthened Nationally Determined Contributions that the signatories to the Paris Agreement are obliged to submit well before the UN Climate Change Conference next year in Glasgow, Scotland.
The UK has pledged to cut emissions by 68 per cent by 2030 compared to 1990. The European Union has agreed to cut emissions by at least 55 per cent by 2030 compared to 1990, he noted.
“These decisions deserve to be emulated. Every country, city, financial institution and company needs to adopt plans to reach net-zero emissions by 2050, and start executing them now, including by providing clear short-term targets. Key emitting sectors such as shipping, aviation and industry must also present and implement new, transformational roadmaps in line with this goal,” said Guterres.
“Technology is on our side. Sound economic analysis is our ally. Renewable energy is getting less expensive with every passing day. Climate action can be the catalyst for millions of new jobs, better health and resilient infrastructure.”
Global economic policies and finance must be aligned with the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals.
It is time to put a price on carbon; to phase out fossil fuel finance and end fossil fuel subsidies; to stop building new coal power plants; to shift the tax burden from income to carbon, from taxpayers to polluters; to make climate-related financial risk disclosures mandatory; and to integrate the goal of carbon neutrality into all economic and fiscal policies and decisions, he said.
The private financial sector must support companies to transform their business models, align its investments with the net-zero emissions goal and disclose its progress. Asset owners and managers must decarbonise their portfolios. International financial institutions and national development banks must help to mobilize private finance and private investment for developing countries. And developed countries must meet their commitment to providing 100 billion U.S. dollars a year to developing countries by 2020 to help them adapt, he said.
“We are not there yet. Our collective goal must be to surpass the $100 billion a year target in 2021 and to scale up international public finance in the period after. But today, adaptation represents only 20 per cent of climate finance. We need a breakthrough on adaption and resilience.”
This is a moment of truth. But it is also a moment of hope. More and more countries have committed to net-zero emissions. The business community is getting onboard the sustainability train. Cities are striving to become greener and more livable. Young people are taking on responsibility and demanding it of others, he said.
Climate action is the barometer of leadership in today’s world. It is what people and the planet need at this time, he said.
“We have the blueprint: the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement on climate change. But we all need to pass a credibility test: let’s make the promise of a net-zero world a reality now.”
Tata Group Chairman N. Chandrasekaran has said that the 2020s is set to be an Indian decade. For India to push further, he pointed out that it is vital that technologies like ‘Robotics and AI’ become part of the mainstay of manufacturing.
He added that the impact of Covid on innovation has been ‘all-pervasive’ and the models of working from home are making all companies rethink the future of work.
Addressing a session on “Inspired India: A Business Leader’s Perspective”, during Ficci’s 93rd Annual General Meeting, Chandrasekaran said: “My roots that are embedded in technology make me see the Covid pandemic and its impact on India in a very positive frame of mind. The 2020s belong to India.”
Elaborating further, Chandrasekaran said that self-evident trends like advancement of digital data and decoupling of China on the United States, fortify this belief.
“In all these trends I see tremendous, limitless opportunities in India. We have often struggled to grow manufacturing as a percentage of our GDP,” he said.
“We usually highlight issues like power, logistics, and labour. We have pointed out high-interest rates and have also understood regulatory overreach and interference.”
However, in the future, he said if we put this behind us and as an industry start acting by visionary scale, we will become a pivot to the new world order.
Chandrasekaran further called for focus on talent, enable data and bandwidth and the need to be a part of the new regulatory standards.
“I see a collaborative role between the industry and the government. The industry should be bold and start visioning all projects at scale and the government should enable this partnership and make India ready to participate in this new world,” said Chandrasekaran.
Besides, he cited the need to reimagine the whole technology blueprint nationwide.
Furthermore, Chandrasekaran stated that if India’s first plank for the 21st century’s growth is digital; the second plank is the new approach to global poly-chains.
The third plank for India, he said is environmental resilience.
In addition, Chandrasekaran said that energy, efficiency in mobility, solar manufacturing, and rethinking our food supply chain are areas to focus on as we emerge from the pandemic.
Julien Geffard, Director of Go-To-Market Strategy for its electric business in Europe
Ride-hailing major Ola on Friday announced the appointment of Julien Geffard as the Director of Go-To-Market Strategy for its electric business in Europe, as the company gears up to bring the first of its range of electric scooters to the European market in the coming months.
Geffard, who brings to the new role over 15 years of experience across some of the world’s leading automotive companies, will be based out of the company’s Amsterdam office.
Before joining Ola, he was the Global Commercial Director and a member of the Board of Management at Peugeot Motorcycles.
Geffard had a successful stint at Bentley Motors Ltd as their Head of Sales and then as Head of Retail Marketing, Europe. He had also worked with Alpine and BMW.
Julien Geffard, Director of Go-To-Market Strategy for Ola’s electric business in Europe
“As we gear up to bring the first of our range of electric vehicles to markets around the world, Julien’s expertise will be key to building our electric business across Europe,” Bhavish Aggarwal, Chairman and Group CEO, Ola, said in a statement.
In his role at Ola, Geffard will be responsible for building and growing Ola’s European operations for its electric business.
“Europe is a key market for us and our tech and digital expertise, coupled with the unique customer experience, will be key for us as we launch our products across Europe,” Geffard said on his appointment.
Ola said its electric scooter comes with sophisticated design and a banana shaped battery that is easy to remove and charge anywhere.
The company said it is in advanced stages of setting up a scooter manufacturing facility in India to cater to the global demand from customers around the world.
Once completed, it will have the capacity to produce over two million scooters a year, the company said.
The two-wheeler EV market in Europe has seen double-digit growth in 2020, with customers looking for differentiated products that are stylish, smart and lightweight, available at competitive prices.
Wicketkeeper-batsman Quinton de Kock has been named South Africa’s Test captain for the 2020/2021 season, Cricket South Africa announced on Friday.
de Kock will lead the Proteas in series against Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Australia respectively.
CSA Convenor of Selectors Victor Mpitsang is confident of de Kock’s leadership capabilities and the leadership he has shown so far and will spend the next few months finalising the appointment of the player who will take on the permanent role.
“We are satisfied, as the national selection panel, with the decision that we have made to ensure continuity within the team, while we work towards making the best decision for its future without the pressure of time constraints. Quinton (de Kock) is happy to continue in the role for the next season and is comfortable with the balance of the workload and we back him fully as a captain,” said Mpitsang.
“We are also pleased with the leadership group in the team and are cultivating a strong individual leadership culture at the same time, so that the team produces a sustainable stream of potential captains for the future,” he added.
CSA has also named the squad that will take on Sri Lanka in the two-match Test Series to be played over the traditional Boxing Day and the New Year’s windows. The fixtures will form part of the ICC World Test Championship (WTC).
Uncapped Sarel Erwee, Glenton Stuurman and Kyle Verreyne have been included in the squad to play two Tests against Sri Lanka, starting at Centurion on December 26, while Wiaan Mulder returns from injury. Kagiso Rabada and Dwaine Pretorius were not named, but could be added in the coming days as their recovery from injuries is monitored, said CSA.
South Africa Test squad: Quinton de Kock (captain), Temba Bavuma, Aiden Markram, Faf du Plessis, Beuran Hendricks, Dean Elgar, Keshav Maharaj, Lungi Ngidi, Rassie van der Dussen, Sarel Erwee, Anrich Nortje, Glenton Stuurman, Wiaan Mulder, Keegan Petersen, Kyle Verreynne.
Schedule
1st Test: December 26-30, SuperSport Park, Centurion
2nd Test: January 3-7, Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg
Walmart has announced that it will triple its exports of goods from India to $10 billion each year by 2027.
In a statement, Walmart said that its new export commitment is expected to provide a significant boost to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in India, alongside ongoing efforts such as the Flipkart Samarth and Walmart Vriddhi supplier development programs.
“The expansion in sourcing will include helping develop hundreds of new suppliers in categories such as food, pharmaceuticals, consumables, health and wellness, and general merchandise, along with apparel, homeware and other key Indian export categories,” it said.
“We see huge potential for Indian suppliers to grow their businesses by leveraging the unique scale and global distribution opportunity Walmart provides,” Doug McMillon, President and Chief Executive Officer of Walmart Inc said.
Kalyan Krishnamurthy, Chief Executive Officer of Flipkart Group said: “Flipkart is proud to work with thousands of Indian brands, MSMEs and artisans, with a focus on making them successful. We provide a platform that allows them to reach the pan-India market and refine their all-important branding, marketing, logistics and compliance capabilities for the global market, too.”
To accelerate its India exports, Walmart will strengthen development of the supply chain ecosystem in India, both by boosting existing exporters and by expanding the nation’s pool of export-ready businesses.
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The petrol price march towards all time high levels has been temporarily halted by the oil marketing companies (OMCs) as they chose to keep the retail rates of petrol and diesel static for the fourth consecutive day even though global oil prices remained firm with crude above $ 50 a barrel.
Accordingly, there was no change in retail price of auto fuels on Friday with price of petrol remaining at Rs 83.71 a litre and diesel Rs 73.87 a litre in Delhi. Across the country as well the price of the two petroleum products remained unchanged.
Surprisingly, OMCs have gone on a pause mode at a time when the news of successful coronavirus and expectations of a big pick up in demand had kept crude on the boil with prices breaching $ 50 a barrel mark.
Petrol price was very close to breaching the all time high level of Rs 84 a litre (reached on October 4, 2018) when it touched Rs 83.71 a litre on Monday. But the march has been halted ever since then with no price revision by the OMCs.
Global crude prices have risen almost $ 10 a barrel in the last one month to reaching over $ 50 a barrel now. But even at this level, it is far less than an average crude price of $ 80.08 a barrel in October 2018 when petrol prices reached highs of Rs 84 a litre in the national capital.
With Friday’s pause, fuel prices have now increased on 15 of the past 22 days with petrol price rising by Rs 2.65 per litre and diesel by 3.41 a litre.
Petrol price had been static since September 22, and diesel rates hadn’t changed since October 2.
Though retail pricing of petrol and diesel has been deregulated and oil marketing companies were following a daily price revision formula, the same was suspended for almost two months to prevent volatility in international oil markets from impacting fuel prices regularly during the pandemic.
India’s employment scenario, which witnessed a revival in the past few month post a lockdown-induced setback, has again witnessed a dip in November.
Data by the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) showed that November was the second consecutive month of contraction in the number of people employed.
“In October, the count of the employed had fallen by 0.1 per cent. In November, the fall was larger at 0.9 per cent,” CMIE said.
The decline in October was of 0.6 million. In November, this was much larger at 3.5 million.
The data noted that the recovery in employment, from the steep fall during the April lockdown was smart initially but it slowed down well before the recovery was completed.
In fact, the recovery quickly and progressively slowed down in July, August and September. Then, it reversed in October and November.
“It appears that the recovery phase is over and a decline is setting in again. We see this in the employment data and this could be a reflection of the economy as a whole,” CMIE said.
The contraction can be witnessed because unlike much of the official data that is available so far which is almost entirely based on the organised sector, the employment data collected by CMIE’s Consumer Pyramids Household Survey covers the organised and unorganised sectors since it is based on all kinds of households, CMIE said.
Employment in November 2020 was at 393.6 million, 2.4 per cent lower than it was a year ago, in November 2019.
In spite of the smart recovery, employment in each of the months since March 2020 has remained significantly lower than the levels in the corresponding months of 2019, as per CMIE. Employment has not reached the year-ago levels by any measure, it added.
“Interestingly, the number of persons who report themselves as unemployed and are also actively looking for work has also been declining,” it said.
