C-DOT develops CCSP (C-DOT Common Service Platform) to make smart cities more efficient, economical and future proof

New Delhi: Government of India’s announcement of Smart Cities project in mission mode has generated a lot of interest. The concept of smart cities is incomplete without intervention of communication and Information Technology.
A network of wireless sensors, a reliable public communication infrastructure and innovative applications working on big data and analytics will help us realise smart cities. Innovative local solutions will have to be found for local problems. Though this offers great opportunities to industry, including, MSMEs and start-ups. But adoption of standards will ensure that solution developers do not reinvent the wheel but devote their energies to the actual building of product and on innovations. Further, the interoperability will be another dividend of a standards based approach.
Telecommunications Standards Development Society, India (TSDSI), the Indian telecom Standards Development Organisation (SDO) and European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI), an established and highly respected, 29 years old telecom SDO have joined hands to unroll a collaboration project on ICT Standardisation in an endeavour of creating awareness about telecom standards and promoting their wider adoption that
Recognising C-DOT’s R&D strengths, an India - European Union project called ‘India-EU Cooperation on ICT-Related Standardisation, Policy and Legislation’ is organising a workshop on “Future proof smart cities with a common service layer: a standards driven approach” at C-DOT campus at Mehrauli, New Delhi on 21st April 2017. Some of the global smart cities will be sharing the standards driven approach they have adopted for building smart cities in their countries.
The workshop aims to provide a platform where foreign and Indian experts from IoT and M2M forums, academia, R&D, industry and senior officials from Ministries of Communications, Urban Development and Electronics and Information Technology and cities named in Indian Smart Cities project can interact to share knowledge and experiences. It is also planned to enrich the interaction by inviting City Councillors from Europe and Korea who have actually implemented smart city projects in their respective cities.
C-DOT’s offering:
C-DOT has developed CCSP(C-DOT Common Service Platform), the oneM2M standards compliant common service platform which can be deployed on any off-the-shelf generic server platforms or cloud infrastructure. The business application providers can deploy their oneM2M compliant applications in either co-located infrastructure or on any public or private cloud.
Using the CCSP platform from C-DOT, the smart cities can reap all the benefits of using a standards compliant horizontal service layer and thus be more efficient, economical and future proof.
Along with the CCSP C-DOT has also developed various oneM2M indigenously designed hardware nodes like AND (Application Dedicated Node), ASN (Application Service Node) and MN(Middle node).
To effectively showcase the strength of the platform, C-DOT has also developed various applications like Smart Living, Smart Street Light, Carbon Footprint Monitoring Application and Power Monitoring which are fully oneM2M compliant.
C-DOT has also participated in two international interoperability events where the CCSP and the ADN were tested for interoperability with many other oneM2M compliant nodes from various international organisations like Interdigital, Herit, Huawei, HPE, NTT, KETI, LAAS-CNRS etc. C-DOT also participated in the conformance testing with ETSI.
Brief on P.D.O. (Public Data Office)
C-DOT PDO is ready to bring yet another revolution by taking internet connectivity to every nook and corner of the country like it did in the 1980s when PCOs changed the Indian telecom scene in by taking telephones to rural India. C-DOT hopes that PDOs would bring next telecom revolution by taking internet connectivity to the masses. Like PCOs, the PDOs would enable small shop owners increase their income by selling data vouchers. This will also encourage village-level entrepreneurship and provide strong employment opportunities, especially in rural and semi urban areas.

GST reform an act of courage, says IMF chief Christine Lagarde

Washington: The introduction of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) reform is an act of courage by the Government of India, said Ms Christine Lagarde, International Monetary Fund Chief. The decision is expected to yield positive outcomes for the country in the future. The Indian economy has shown significant development and has a clear determination to continue and sustain growth going forward. The IMF has forecasted a 7.2 per cent growth for the country in 2017. GST will replace central excise, service tax, Value Added Tax (VAT) and other local levies to create an uniform market. It will boost India’s GDP growth by approximately 2 per cent, and will help in reducing tax evasion.

Amazon gets RBI nod for e-wallet in India

Bengaluru: Amazon India has received the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) approval to launch its own digital wallet in India, paving the way for the American online retail giant to gain a slice of India’s fast-growing digital payments business.
Amazon India, which had applied for what is called a Prepaid Payment Instrument (PPI) licence nearly a year ago, will now look to take on established rivals such as Paytm and Freecharge as it prepares to launch a prepaid wallet service that will be broader in scope than its Pay Balance service and will not be restricted to Amazon-based transactions.
In December, Amazon had launched its Pay Balance service in order to boost cashless transactions. While Pay Balance works in a similar manner to other mobile wallet services, it was restricted to transactions on Amazon.
Amazon confirmed the development, but did not comment on the broader scope of what its wallet service could look like and whether it would cover areas such as bill payments.
“We are pleased to receive our PPI licence from the RBI. Our focus is providing customers a convenient and trusted cashless payments experience. RBI is in the process of finalizing the guidelines for PPIs. We look forward to seeing a continuation of the low-limit wallet dispensation with simplified KYC (know-your-customer norms) and authentication. This will allow us to help customers adopt digital payments at scale and thereby contribute towards making India a less-cash economy,” said Sriram Jagannathan, vice-president of payments at Amazon India.
Amazon’s new wallet service will look to address a vital problem in the world of payments — like other wallet services such as Paytm, it will help customers bypass the two-step authentication process for online payments using credit or debit cards and makes the process smoother for online shoppers, thus plugging a key gap in the payments process that reduces the risk of loss of business from online shoppers.
In September, mobile payments start-up PhonePe Internet Pvt. Ltd, which is owned FLIPKART (Amazon’s biggest rival in India), launched an app based on the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) platform, which was a key bet for Flipkart, given how payments are still largely an unsolved problem in both online and offline commerce.
Amazon received the PPI licence in late-March. The development comes weeks after the RBI issued guidelines on issuance and operation of PPI licences, indicating potentially stricter norms for mobile wallet players as the central bank looks to ramp up focus on security and customer protection.
RBI raised the minimum capital requirement for digital wallet operators by nearly five times and introduced a directive for full compliance with Know-Your-Customer (KYC) norms, among other new guidelines, causing an outcry among top digital payments firms.
Following the guidelines, top leaders from the payments industry met RBI officials to discuss some of the clauses, including the KYC mandate, which they argued would act as a deterrent towards expanding the digital payments business.
“We hope the government and RBI would continue to encourage multiple ways to shift consumers from cash behaviour by recognising the value of digital wallets, used especially for making small value payments to large merchants like e-commerce, government, IRCTC, utility or insurance companies,” said Amazon’s Jagannathan.

Petrol, diesel prices to change daily from 1 May

Mumbai/New Delhi: Petrol and diesel prices in some cities will now see daily change in sync with international rates, according to two officials from oil marketing companies.
This will be effective 1 May in five cities including Puducherry and Visakhapatnam, Udaipur, Jamshedpur and Chandigarh as part of a pilot project. This will be extended to other parts of the country after an assessment of consumer response.
Diesel and petrol prices move in tandem with the price of crude oil in most countries. In January, Mint reported that the fuel retailers plan to introduce dynamic pricing in India this year.
“We have been piloting dynamic pricing at a few of our retail outlets for some months now, and the response has been encouraging. This has allowed us to go ahead and introduce it formally,” an executive director from an oil marketing company said on condition of anonymity as he is not allowed to talk to reporters.
Currently, state-run fuel retailers—Indian Oil Corp. Ltd (IOCL), Bharat Petroleum Corp. Ltd (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corp. Ltd (HPCL)—revise petrol and diesel prices on the 1st and 15th of every month based on average international price of the fuel in the preceding fortnight and the currency exchange rate.
“Due to the fortnightly revision of fuel prices, petroleum dealers were applying breaks (not lifting fuel daily) on uplifting of fuel. If the prices go up on the 1st or 15th of every month, there would be a rush to uplift products, else, the upliftment would be impacted. This would result in losses for OMCs and we wanted that this price predictability should go away. So dynamic pricing will be a good bet,” said a senior official from an oil marketing company on the condition of anonymity.
Shares of Indian Oil fell 0.07% to Rs408.90 on BSE, Bharat Petroleum rose 1% to Rs717.60, Hindustan Petroleum rose 1% to Rs542.45 while India’s benchmark Sensex fell 0.49% to 29,643.48 points.
Although state-run fuel retailers have the capability to revise petrol and diesel prices on a daily basis, what needs to be monitored is how consumers react to price volatility, industry experts say.
“If there is heightened volatility in global markets due to geopolitical developments, it could get reflected in domestic retail prices too. Therefore, companies are doing the right thing in testing the model in pilot projects to see how its impact and consumer response. In the medium- to long-term, daily price revision may be a good idea as is practised elsewhere,” said R.S. Butola, a former chairman of Indian Oil.
Indian Oil chairman B. Ashok and Hindustan Petroleum chairman and managing director M.K Surana didn’t immediately respond to phone calls seeking comment.
Besides, global fuel prices and currency exchange rate, central and state taxes account for a major part of the fuel prices. It accounts for half of retail petrol price and 46% of retail diesel price. The central government collected Rs64,509 crore from petrol as excise duty in 2016-17 up to end-February, 20% more than what was collected in the whole of FY16. Excise receipts from diesel jumped 36% in the same period to Rs1.37 trillion.

FRBM panel sets 2.5% fiscal deficit target by FY23

New Delhi: A Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) panel has recommended a fiscal deficit target of 2.5 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP), revenue deficit of 0.8 per cent and a combined Centre-state debt ceiling of 60 per cent for fiscal year 2022-23, the end point of its six-year medium-term fiscal road map.
These and other recommendations form part of the draft debt management and fiscal responsibility Bill, which, if accepted by the Narendra Modi government, will replace the existing FRBM Act.
With an aim to provide flexibility to policymakers within the fiscal framework, the panel, headed by former Member of Parliament and Revenue and Expenditure Secretary N K Singh, has suggested a steady target of three per cent from FY18 to FY10 and has also recommended certain strict ‘escape clauses’ which will allow the government deviate from the fiscal road map by 0.5 per cent for any given year.
The panel, whose rather comprehensive report was made public on Friday, also suggested the setting up of a ‘fiscal council’, an independent body which will be tasked with monitoring the government’s fiscal announcements for any given year, providing its own forecasts and analysis for the same as well as advise the finance ministry on triggering the escape clauses.
“The maxim ‘you cannot spend your way to prosperity’ is now widely accepted. Fiscal policies must, therefore, be embedded in caution rather than exuberance; in restraint than profligacy,” the committee stated in the opening lines of its report.
“The committee recommends a path of medium-term consolidation, where the fiscal deficit is envisaged to be on a glide path, to be reduced to 2.5 per cent of the GDP, consistent with reducing the Centre’s debt to 40 per cent by FY23,” the panel said. For the states, it envisages a combined debt at 20 per cent of the GDP.
The panel’s report also contains a lengthy note of dissent from panel member and Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian, which states that the focus of policymakers should be on reducing primary deficit rather than fiscal deficit. In what could be a first, the other members of the panel have authored a rejoinder to Subramanian’s note.
The other members of the panel are former finance secretary Sumit Bose, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Urjit Patel, and Rathin Roy, director of the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy. The panel had submitted its report to Finance Minister Arun Jaitley before the 2017-18 Union Budget.
“The FRBM Committee has had detailed discussions with experts and shareholders. We have put the report out for feedback and consultation from public,” Finance Secretary Ashok Lavasa told reporters. “We will examine the recommendations and take a decision,” Lavasa said and added that repealing the existing FRBM Act and replacing it with the new proposed law is an option the Centre would consider.
“Next-generation frameworks are characterised by institutional development and some degree of fiscal flexibility to respond to shocks. The latter is incorporated under an escape clause wherein temporary and moderate deviations from the baseline fiscal path are permitted under exceptional circumstances and in reaction to external shocks,” the panel said, justifying its recommendation of escape clauses.
To ensure these escape clauses are not misused by the government of the day, the panel said they have been defined very narrowly and specifically, unlike the existing FRBM Act wherein the definition of “exceptional circumstance” is defined very opaquely and is liable to misuse.
The escape clauses are proposed for overriding consideration of national security like acts of war, calamities of national proportion and collapse of agriculture severely affecting farm output and incomes. They are also proposed for “far-reaching structural reforms in the economy with unanticipated fiscal implications” and if a sharp decline occurs in real output growth of at least three percentage points below the average for four preceding quarters.
“The deviation from the stipulated fiscal deficit target shall not exceed 0.5 percentage points in a year,” the panel said and added that RBI chief Patel is in favour of 0.3 percentage points.
According to the panel’s recommendations, the escape clauses can be invoked by the Centre after formal consultations and advice of the fiscal council and provided it is accompanied by a clear commitment to return to the original fiscal target in the ensuing fiscal year.
One of the original terms of reference given to the panel was to examine the feasibility of a fiscal deficit range. That has been rejected by the panel as most major economies do not have such a provision and that flexibility has been provided in terms of escape clauses and holding of the deficit target at three per cent for three consecutive years.

Cabinet panel clears decks for listing of 11 PSUs, including IRCTC

New Delhi: To abide by the mandated 25% public shareholding in companies and unlock their value, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on Wednesday approved listing of 11 central public sector enterprises (CPSEs) in the equity market.
The list includes railway subsidiaries Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd, IRCON International Ltd, Indian Railway Finance Corp. Ltd, Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Ltd (IRCTC) and RITES Ltd.
Finance minister Arun Jaitley had announced in his budget speech on 1 February the government’s intention to list railway PSEs.
The other PSEs cleared for listing on stock exchanges include three defence ministry enterprises—Bharat Dynamics Ltd, Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers Ltd and Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd—MSTC Ltd and Mishra Dhatu Nigam Ltd under the administrative control of the steel ministry, and North Eastern Electric Power Corporation Ltd under the power ministry.
CCEA also approved a discount of up to 5% of the issue price for retail investors and eligible employees of the 11 CPSEs with a view to ensuring wider participation by small investors in the disinvestment programme.
The government said in a statement that the stake sale may include offers of fresh shares for raising resources from the market. “However, actual disinvestment in respect of each CPSE along with the mode of raising resources has been delegated for decisions on a case-by-case basis to the Alternative Mechanism, headed by the finance minister,” it added.
The so-called Alternative Mechanism is a group of ministers headed by Jaitley which decides on the modalities of stake sale in public sector units.
The government set a target of mobilizing Rs46,500 crore from the sale of minority stakes and Rs15,000 crore from strategic disinvestment in the 2017-18 budget.
Under the new disinvestment policy, unveiled in the 2016-17 union budget, CPSEs having a positive net-worth, no accumulated losses and having earned profits in three preceding consecutive years are required to achieve mandatory listing norms of 25% public holding. It also spelt out the mechanism and procedure for time-bound listing of CPSEs.
After the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (Dipam), along with the administrative ministry, identifies eligible CPSEs and takes CCEA approval, an inter-ministerial group (IMG) is to be constituted for the appointment of advisors/intermediaries within eight weeks from the date of constitution of the IMG.
Also, the listing of the CPSE on the stock market needs to be completed within 165 days of the administrative department giving its nod.

India and Bangladesh to sign US$ 9-billion investment pacts

New Delhi: Agreements and memoranda of understanding (MoUs) worth $9 billion of investments into Bangladesh will be signed between the Indian public and private sectors and the Bangladeshi side on Monday. The 12 agreements will include an MoU of $2 billion in investments in the Bangladeshi power sector by Adani Power, a subsidiary of the Adani Group.
Agreements on the anvil
12 MoUs worth $9 billion in investments in Bangladesh to be signed on Monday
These include one MOU of $2 billion for investments in the Bangladesh power sector by Adani Power
Agreements by Reliance Power and NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam
Agreement between Container Corporation of India and Container Corporation of Bangladesh
India committed a $4.5-billion line of credit for implementation of infrastructure projects in Bangladesh
Agreements will be signed for investments in Bangladesh by Reliance Power and NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam. An agreement will also be inked between the Container Corporation of India and the Container Corporation of Bangladesh.
The agreements will be signed in the presence of Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, currently on a four-day visit to India, at a Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) event here on Monday.
On Saturday, India committed to a $4.5-billion line of credit for implementation of infrastructure projects in Bangladesh, and another $500 million for Dhaka’s defence procurements. In all, the two sides signed 22 agreements across an array of sectors. By the end of the Bangladeshi PM’s visit, as many as 34 agreements would have been signed.
This is the third line of credit to Bangladesh in the past six years, and the largest. For this line of credit, Delhi and Dhaka have identified 17 infrastructure projects. These comprise upgradation of three ports, one airport, new power transmission lines and railway lines.
Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar said on Saturday the message was that “India has a very positive and effective infrastructure development assistance programme”. He said there was a lot of emphasis from the ministry of external affairs for faster delivery on projects.
In October 2016, Chinese President Xi Jinping had visited Dhaka and promised Chinese investments worth $20 billion. Nearly all of India’s neighbours complain of Delhi being laggardly, as compared to the Chinese, in executing its infrastructure projects.
Some of the bigger investments by Indian companies will be in the power and energy sectors. India supplies 600 Mw of power to Bangladesh through two existing interconnections at Bheramara-Baharampur and Tripura-South Comilla. Another 500 Mw will be provided by India through the Bheramara-Baharampur interconnection.
The two sides have agreed to set up additional interconnection between Bornagar in Assam and Parbatipur in Bangladesh, and also Katihar in Bihar, for power evacuation facilities from which Bangladesh can draw 1,000 Mw of power. The two sides are also discussing supply of 340 Mw from various NTPC stations.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Saturday he hoped more Indian private sector investments in Bangladesh’s power sector would follow, including possibilities of joint ventures.
On Sunday, Hasina visited Ajmer Sharif to pay her respects at the shrine of Khwaja Moinudding Chishti, a 12th century Sufi saint. She concludes her visit on Monday evening. Her party, the Awami League, said on Sunday they planned a felicitation for her successful visit to India.
Also, however, in Dhaka, Bangladesh’s opposition leader Khaleda Zia accused Hasina of “selling out” the country to India, to translate into reality a “dream of staying in power for life”. Zia, 71, and Hasina, 69, are known as the ‘Battling Begums’ for a bitter rivalry for over three decades.

The Minister of Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation Shri Venkaiah Naidu today launched 352 housing projects in 53 cities

This is the First largest private investment initiative in affordable housing
The Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Associations of India (CREDAI) members to invest over Rs.38,000 cr to build over two (2) lakh affordable houses
Over one lakh units to be built in Maharashtra, 41,921 houses in National Capital Region, 28,465 in Gujarat, 7,037 in Karnataka, 6,055 in UP
Cost of construction of these houses to be in the range of Rs.15 lakh to Rs.30 lakh per house
New Delhi: The Minister of Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation Shri M.Venkaiah Naidu today launched 352 housing projects in 53 cities in 17 States across the country with an investment of over Rs.38,000 cr to build over two lakh (2) houses..
These housing projects to be taken up by the members of Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Associations of India (CREDAI) across the country is the first major private investments initiative into affordable housing. These projects were launched at a function in Gandhinagar, Gujarat today. As per the details furnished by CREDAI today, the cost of construction of these affordable houses will be in the range of Rs.15 lakh to Rs.30 lakh with average cost of construction coming to Rs.18 lakh per house.
The event was held in the backdrop of several initiatives by the Government of India to promote affordable housing for Economically Weaker Sections, Low and Middle Income Groups including sanction of ‘infrastructure status’ for the housing sector. The new President of the CREDAI (Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Associations of India) took charge of the confederation at the glittering function attended by the Chief Minister of Gujarat Shri Vijay Rupani, Gujarat Deputy CM Shri Nitinbhai Patel, Gujarat Minister of Urban Development Sh Shankar Chaudhary, outgoing President of CREDAI Sh Gitambar Anand and more than 3000 delegates from across the country.
Speaking on the occasion, Shri Venkaiah Naidu complimented CREDAI and its members for coming forward to invest in affordable housing projects and assured them that his Ministry and Central Nodal Agencies like the National Housing Bank and HUDCO will extend full cooperation in reaching the benefits prescribed under PMAY (Urban) to the beneficiaries who join the projects launched today.
Details of affordable housing projects launched today for implementation are:
State/cities
No of affordable houses to be built
Investment (Cr)
Maharashtra
(Mumbai,Nagpur, Ahmednagar,Jalna, Banm,Nashik, Malegaon,Pune, Satara, Solapur)
1,03,719
15,576
Gujarat
(Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar,Rajkot, Mehsana,
Bharuch, Bhavnagar,Navsari, Modasa,Palanpur,
Swarnakantha,Vadodara, Vapi,Surat)
28,465
9,525
National Capital Region of Delhi
41,921
6,211
Karnataka (Bengaluru, Gulbarga, Hubli)
7,037
1,679
Uttar Pradesh (Agra, Allahabad,Bareily, Jhansi,
Kanpur and Varanasi)
6,055
1,108
Rajasthan(Ajmer, Jaipur,Jodhpur)
4,406
389
West Bengal (Kolkata)
2,955
663
Goa
1,932
464
Telangana (Hyderabad)
1,784
663
Madhya Pradesh (Indore, Ujjain)
1,517
284
Kerala (Trivendrum, Calicut, Kochi, Ernakulam)
1,372
186
Assam (Guwahati)
860
145
Tamil Nadu (Chennai, Coimattore, Tiruchirapalli)
834
145
Odisha (Bhubaneswar)
520
53
Chattisgarh (Raipur)
244
26
Andhra Pradesh (Tirupati)
50
10
Shri Naidu said while Mahatma ensured political freedom for our country, Sardar Patel ensured its unification, Shri Modi is now working on giving content and real meaning to these accomplishments through building a New India.
The Minister said such a New India has no meaning if we don’t ensure houses for all and that too in a specific time frame. He said that the Prime Minister Shri Modi has set the year 2022 as the deadline for roofing all Indians.
Shri Naidu said that within a short span of just 21 months since the launch of PMAY(Urban) in June, 2015, his Ministry has earlier approved construction of 17.73 lakh affordable houses for urban poor with an investment of Rs.95,660 cr in 30 States and Union Territories.. For building these houses, central assistance of Rs.27,879 cr has also been approved, he said.
These approved projects are to be executed with assistance from central and state governments and beneficiary contribution under the four components of PMAY (Urban). Under this urban housing mission, central assistance in the range of Rs.1.00 lakh to Rs.2.35 lakh will be provided to each beneficiary. PMAY (Urban) was launched by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi on June 25, 2015.
The Government of India on December 31, 2017 extended the Credit Linked Subsidy Scheme component of PMAY (Urban) to Middle Income Groups with annual incomes in the range of Rs.12 lakh to Rs.18 lakh under which interest subsidy of 4% and 3% on housing loans will be provided. With this, beneficiaries belonging to EWS, LIG and MIG with annual incomes up to Rs.18 lakh have been brought under the ambit of PMAY (Urban) opening up substantial investment opportunities for developers both at the bottom and middle of the pyramid.

Horticulture exports jump in Apr-Feb

Mumbai: India is stepping up horticulture (fruit and vegetables) exports with improvements in quality and a focus on a market-specific approach.
The data compiled by the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (Apeda) show India’s exports of fresh fruit have jumped 20.95 per cent in volumes and 17.4 per cent in value during the period between April 2016 and February 2017.
This shows a sharp reversal in trends until last year, when importers overseas were monitoring the quality of horticulture products from India. Many buyers in the European Union and West Asia had suspended imports of fruit and vegetables from India on grounds of quality.
Horticulture has a 10 per cent share in India’s agri and processed food exports recorded by Apeda.
“India has become quality-conscious. Indian horticulture products like fruit and vegetables were not allowed in a number of countries earlier. For example, grapes and mangoes from India were not exported to the European countries. But, market access has been provided now. Most importantly, Indian exporters are focusing on organic products, which have greater demand overseas and also fetch higher realisations. All these have helped India perform well. Still, India is nowhere near its potential and we can look forward to a big jump in horticulture exports,” said Ajay Sahai, director-general and chief executive officer, Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO).
India’s exports of fresh vegetables declined to 699,600.34 tonnes in 2015-16 from 953,731.22 tonnes in 2013-14.
“We have been working closely with farmers in Maharashtra. We train and help them to adopt the best technologies in cultivating grapes. Over the years, we have been able to build a strong farmer outreach programme, having moved up from 12 growers in 2004-05 to more than 600 today. Each year, we are seeing an increase in the number of farmers approaching us for advice in cultivating exportable grapes,” said Ashok Sharma, managing director and chief executive officer, Mahindra Agri Solutions Ltd, an agri arm of Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M).
The entry of large companies including M&M into the farm-to-fork business has helped grapes exports. India’s fresh grapes exports shot up to 156,218.34 tonnes in 2015-16 from 107,257.81 tonnes in the previous year.
“Apart from fresh fruit, India must explore exports of processed horticulture products,” said a senior industry official.
India’s exports of cereals have declined or witnessed marginal growth with shipments of basmati rice falling by a marginal 3.4 per cent in volumes and over 14 per cent in value in the period between April and February.
Exports of non-basmati rice, however, rose by a marginal 2.2 per cent and 4.94 per cent in volume and value terms, respectively.

SAIC signs deal with General Motors to take over Halol plant

New Delhi: China’s largest automaker SAIC Motor Corp has signed a deal with General Motors to buy its GM India’s Halol plant in Gujarat, the company said in a filing with the Shanghai Stock Exchange on Wednesday.
The company did not disclose anything more on the agreement in its Shanghai filing.
The Shanghai-based manufacturer and the American giant had been in talks regarding the handover of the plant, where GM India started making Opel cars in 1996, and Chevrolets from 2003. The facility with an annual production capacity of 110,000 volumes was underutilised over the last few years due to its falling sales and failure to revive with no good product mix.
Last year, Detroit-headquartered General Motors pulled back its $1 billion investment in India amid falling sales and consequent plunge in market share. The company will end operations at the Halol plant on April 28.
SAIC, formerly Shanghai Automotive Industrial Corporation, will take over the plant’s operations as it plans to enter India soon. The Competition Commission’s had already given approval to SAIC Motor HK, part of China’s SAIC Motor Corp, in January this year to acquire certain assets of the Halol plant.
In China, SAIC Motor Corp makes cars in joint ventures with General Motors Co and Volkswagen AG in addition to own-brand vehicles. The company in its Shanghai Stock Exchange filing also reported a 7.4% jump in 2016 profits, though missing its own expectations marginally.
Meanwhile, General Motors India will continue making cars at its Talegaon factory near Pune which has annual capacity of 170,000 volumes. The Chevrolet India-parent last month also signed a three-year wage agreement with 2,500 workers of the Talegaon plant. Under the wage pact for the period April 1, 2017 to March 31, 2020, the average salaries of the employees will go up by Rs 22,000 at the end of the period.
Detroit is also taking a good second look at GM’s India plans now, since none of its recent products have failed to steer a turnaround for the company.