Indian sugar exports poised to hit record 5 million tonnes this year #SugarExports #Sukumarbalakrsihnan #Sukumar #Balakrishnan

India, the world's biggest sugar producer, is expected to cross its own export record this year. This is attributed to a flurry of overseas sales in the past few months driven by attractive global prices, said trade and industry officials on Tuesday.

In the new season, which began on October 1, 2019, sugar mills in India have done deals to export 2 million tonnes, raising hopes that the country would sell at least 5 million tonnes globally in the season of 2019/20, over 30 per cent higher than previous year.

"Looking at the current trend, I can tell you with a lot of confidence that we'll be able to export at least 5 million tonnes this year," said a New Delhi-based dealer from the Indian unit of a global trading firm.

At 5 million tonnes, Indian exports would exceed their previous peak of 4.96 million tonnes which was shipped in 2007/08 as per the trade and industry data. This was spurred by a rally in international prices, a weak Indian rupee and a clutch of government subsidies which made exports lucrative.

"Compared to last year, exports got the momentum this year from the start of the season due to an improvement in sugar prices," said Mr Rahil Shaikh, managing director of MEIR Commodities India.

The strong rise in exports from India, also the world’s biggest sugar consumer, could weigh on benchmark prices in New York and London and trim the market share of rivals - Brazil, Thailand and Australia which are the world’s top sugar suppliers.

Higher sugar shipments from India also expected to intensify the dispute at the World Trade Organization (WTO).

Brazil has already mentioned that India's subsidies for sugar exports were not in line with WTO rules and would impact free competition in the global market. Brazil, Australia and Guatemala have questioned the subsidies at the WTO.

India, grappling with surplus sugar supplies, has approved a subsidy of Rs 10,448 (US$ 145.58) per tonne for exports in 2019/20 season - a move that encouraged mills to clinch overseas sales deals early this year.

Traders have contracted to export raw sugar at an average of US$ 300 per tonne and white sugar at US$ 330 per tonne on a free-on-board (FOB) basis, said three dealers directly involved in the deals. However, they did not wish to be identified in line with their organisations' policy.

In contrast to the 2 million tonnes of exports contracted so far this year, in the first three of the 2018/19 season Indian mills were only able to sell about 850,000 tonnes of sugar.

Successful launch of two BrahMos missiles from land and air platforms #DRDO #Sukumarbalakrishnan #Sukumar #Balakrishnan

Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO), Indian Air Force (IAF) and BrahMos jointly successfully conducted two BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles tests today, one each from land and air platforms.

The first missile launch was from a land based mobile launcher, where most of the components were indigenous, including the missile airframe, fuel management system and DRDO designed seeker.

The second launch of the missile was carried out by Indian Air force (IAF) from SU-30MKI platform against a sea target. The test conducted in user configuration, revalidated the ship attack capability of the advanced air-launched cruise missile. During the test, the missile was gravity dropped from the air combat platform's fuselage and the two-stage weapon’s engine fired up and the missile straightaway propelled towards the intended target positioned at the sea, piercing it with pinpoint accuracy.

Earlier on May 22, 2019, IAF had successfully tested the missile against a land-based target in the Car Nicobar Islands region. The BrahMos Air Launched Cruise Missile (ALCM) promises to bolster the air combat capability of IAF from stand-off ranges.

Secretary, Department of Defence R&D and Chairman, DRDO Dr G Satheesh Reddy congratulated the DRDO, BrahMos and Air Force teams for the successful tests. Director General BrahMos Dr Sudhir Mishra, Defence Research & Development Laboratory Director Dr Dashrath Ram, and Director Integrated Test Range Dr Binoy Kumar Das were present during the trials.

India co-living market size to grow more than double by 2025: report #Market #Sukumarbalakrishan #Sukumar #Balakrishnan

By 2025, market size of co-living across India's top 30 cities is expected to grow more than double and reach US$ 13.92 billion from current US$ 6.67 billion. The demand for co-living market, in terms of beds, is anticipated to grow to 5.7 million from 4.19 million, whereas, the share of private beds likely to increase from 15 per cent to 30 per cent of the total demand in co-living segment, according to a Cushman & Wakefield India report.

With inflow of investments from national and international institutional in investors, bringing in much needed seed capital and future funding rounds, the said market is evolving at a rapid pace. The increase in investments would allow the new business model to thrive and achieve scale in India.

Mr Anshul Jain, Country Head & Managing Director-India, Cushman and Wakefield said, "Co-living is an evolving sector and is expected to grow more than 2X by 2025 in the top 30 cities which are the major economic centres in the country…Furthermore, as the business evolves, co-living shall transform the face of the rental housing market in urban centres, similar to what we are witnessing with flex-working in the office rental space".

The operators of such facilities are tying up with the developers for built-to-suit property option which is an upcoming trend likely to prevail in sector. Operators are opting for ready to move in properties, which are refurbished and renovated as per their requirements, are showing preference towards properties having 50-60 room.

PE/VC funding more than doubles to US$ 4.8 billion in November #PE/VC #Fund #Sukumarbalakrishnan #Sukumar #Balakrishnan

Private equity (PE) and venture capital (VC) investments in India stood at US$ 4.8 billion in November which is more than the double from US$ 1.8 billion in the year earlier, according to a report by the Indian Private Equity and Venture Capital Association and consulting firm EY.

The PE/VC investments in the country rose to US$ 44.2 billion during the 11 months to 30 November in 2019. This is 18 per cent more than the previous high of US$ 37.4 billion recorded in 2018.

"PE/VC investments in 2019 have clocked over US$ 44 billion till date and could end up at US$ 48-50 billion mark for the year. This is a very significant figure, with PE/VC investments at 1.7-1.8 per cent of GDP, we are almost on a par with China and the global average for PE/VC investments to GDP ratio," said Mr Vivek Soni, partner and national leader (private equity services) EY.

"A significant part of the growth in 2019 has come from the robust investment flow in the infrastructure and real estate sectors (one-third of all investments in 2019), driven by strong interest from yield-hungry global pools of capital in the form of pension funds and sovereign wealth funds, as also by policy reforms and introduction of new investment structures like InvITs and REITs by the Indian government," he added.

In terms of volume, there were 94 deals in November as compared to 68 deals in the year-ago period. While the highest investment flowed into the financial services sector at US$ 1.9 billion, the life sciences sector got US$ 1.2 billion, sector's highest ever value of PE/VC investments in a month. Media and entertainment sector witnessed the third highest investment at US$ 631 million.

There was also increase in number of large deals (value greater than US$ 100 million), as 12 large deals worth US$ 3.8 billion was recorded in November, as compared to just five large deals worth US$ 950 million in November 2018.

The largest deals witnessed in November consist of Alibaba Group's and Softbank's US$ 1 billion investment in Paytm, followed by US$ 627 million in Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd by a group of investors, including GIC and Morgan Stanley, and Unison Capital Partners' buyout of Kyowa Pharmaceutical Industry (Lupin's Japan business) for US$ 525 million from Lupin Ltd.

The value of PE/VC exits, too, doubled with November observing 15 exits worth US$ 1.4 billion, compared to 11 exits worth US$ 676 million in the year-ago period. The reason behind this is mainly because of two large open market deals accounting for US$ 1 billion of total exits in November-Bain Capital's and GIC's sale of their combined stake of 14.6 per cent in Genpact Ltd for US$ 625 million, followed by Carlyle selling its 3 per cent stake in SBI Life Insurance Co. Ltd for US$ 393 million.

"While exits have been subdued for most of 2019 with year-to-date exits aggregating to US$ 10.5 billion compared to US$ 27 billion in the same period last year, activity has picked up slightly with the revival of deals in the open market on the back of improvement in capital market sentiment," said Mr Soni.

The value of open market exits was the highest in the last two years during the month at US$ 1.1 billion across five deals, accounting for 82 per cent of total exits by value. Though open market exits witnessed a recovery in conjunction with improvement in capital market performance, there were no PE-backed initial public offerings (IPOs) for three reduced to US$ 172 million during the month, compared to US$ 398 million in November 2018.

Vedanta set to invest Rs 60,000 crore in India over 3 years, promises more FDI #Vedanta #Sukumarbalakrishnan

Vedanta Resources Chairman Mr Anil Agarwal said the company is planning to invest around Rs 60,000 crore (US$ 8.58 billion) in the upcoming 2-3 years.

The company is also expecting a top line of US$ 30-40 billion and a bottom line of US$ 10 million in 4-5 years, Agarwal said.

"I am committed to India. I have already invested US$ 35 billion in India in the past 10 years. I have bought 13 companies so far including Hindustan Zinc, Balco, Sesa Goa and Cairn and all of them are doing well. I hope to invest Rs 60,000 crore (US$ 8.58 billion) in the next 2-3 years," he said.

Though, any further details on how the company plans to utilise these funds were not given, but the interest to acquire a few public sector companies was shown.

"We currently have the best in class assets, and we are looking at many more nationalised companies. I want to tell the government that it should not depend on foreigners but depend on us. They (foreign investors) want to make money but we want to make the country. If government depends on us, we will also bring in foreign investment," Mr Agarwal added.

He further said that the company is strongly interested in the glass and optical fibre and cable industries.

"Sterlite Tech is doing a good work in optical fibre. I am now keen on developing the glass industry which will be used in electronics. We are developing the glass used in mobiles, TV sets and computers in countries like Korea, Taiwan and Japan. If the atmosphere in India is conducive, we will get to do that here as well. This will give a boost to the electronics industry," he added.

When asked about the growth the company is expecting by FY2024-25 he said, "we are hoping to have a USD 30-40 billion of revenues and a profit of USD 10 million."

He added that as a part of his commitment to the country the aim was to take care of 10 crore children and 5 crore women and give back 75 per cent of wealth to the society.

"I am committed to India and the company has already paid Rs 2 lakh crore (US$ 28.62 billion) in tax in the last 6 years. This contribution is however very small," Mr Agarwal added.

Cipla acquires brand, trademark for anti-diabetic drug Vysov in India #Cipla #Sukumarbalakrishnan

Cipla Ltd, a homegrown pharma major, has acquired brand name and trademark rights for Vysov for anti-diabetic drug Vildagliptin for Indian market from Novartis, stated by Cipla on Monday. However, the acquisition amount has not been disclosed.

The company disclosed in a regulatory filing that Cipla has been co-marketing Vildagliptin with Novartis under brand names Vysov and Vysov M (Vildagliptin plus Metformin).

"Owing to the increased affordability of Vildagliptin it is more accessible for better management of the disease. Cipla's acquisition of the trademark rights of Vysov will enable us to contribute to easier access of the drug in India," Cipla Executive Vice-President & Head India Business Nikhil Chopra said.

The company said, in India, the products have witnessed a strong demand for last couple of years and are currently unavailable across the country. Vildagliptin is backed by strong clinical data and is therefore a widely prescribed antidiabetic medicine for adults with type-2 diabetes mellitus, it added.

According to the IQVIA MAT data of November 2019, the market size of Vildagliptin stood at Rs 818 crores (US$ 117.04 million), the company said.

Amendments approved in interest subvention scheme for MSMEs #MSMEs #Sukumarbalakrishnan

The Minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises and Road Transport & Highways, Shri Nitin Gadkari approved the changes in the Interest Subvention Scheme for MSMEs, in a meeting held here today to review the functioning of the scheme. The improvements are set to provide momentum giving fillip to the MSME sector. The Interest Subvention Scheme for MSMEs was launched by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi in November 2018. The modifications in operational guidelines carried out are based on suggestions made by various stakeholders, including banks and lending institutions who had brought to light operational difficulties which were hindering a smooth rollout of the scheme.

The details of the improvements / modifications are as below: -

1. Settlement of claims based on internal / concurrent auditor certificate and submission of statutory auditor’s certificate once by June 30, 2020;
2. Acceptance of claims in multiple lots for a given half year by eligible institutions;
3. Requirement of Udyog Aadhar Number (UAN) is dispensed with for units eligible for GST.

Unit not required to obtain GST, may either submit Income Tax Permanent Account Number (PAN) or their loan account must be categorised as a MSME by the concerned eligible institutions;

4. The last date of submission of claims for half-yearly period ended March 31, 2019 has now been extended till December 31, 2019.
5. Trading activities without UAN have been made eligible.
6. 50 per cent of the estimated claim amounts may be released to eligible institutions (at least to those belonging to Public Sector Banks), based on data / information to be furnished by them and the Utilisation Certificate duly certified by respective statutory auditor to submitted by June 2020.

Speaking about the decision Shri Gadkari said, "It is expected that the modifications in the scheme guidelines will lead to fulfilment of objectives of the scheme, i.e. to increase productivity in MSMEs through access to credit at reduced cost". He also added that the Government is committed to enhancing credit to MSME sector and the implementation of the scheme is being closely monitored to help MSMEs get incremental credit of up to Rs 1 crore (US$ 0.14 million) with Interest Subvention of 2 per cent by Government.

New Guidelines and Simplified Approval Process for Coal Projects; to Enhance Ease of Doing Business

In sync with the Government's commitment for 'Ease of doing business', the Ministry of Coal has decided to simplify the process of clearance for Coal Mining Projects. This will not only expedite operationalisation of already allotted coal blocks, but also encourage prospective investors/bidders in future auctions.

The Ministry of Coal has re-engineered the Mining Plan preparation and approval process. This is likely to slash the approval period substantially from existing 90 days to about 30 days. The re-engineering process includes simplification of guidelines& format for preparation of Mining Plan, amendments in relevant provisions of Mineral Concession Rules, 1960 and approval process.

The proposed simplified guidelines and format not only reduce the mining plan formulation time but also make the document lighter and easier to comprehend. This will further facilitate hosting the soft copy in an accessible data base.

The proposed system of mining plan preparation and approval allows the lease to get the mining plan prepared by Mining Plan Preparing Agency (MPPA) and get it certified by Mining Plan Certifying Agency (MPCA) and submit the mining plan to Ministry of Coal for approval. This will improve the quality &reduce time for detailed scrutiny.

To ensure the quality of preparation of Mining Plan, Government approved accrediting body will accredit agency(s) consisting a team of multi-disciplinary background, which will be recognised for preparation of mining plan and for certification (i.e. scrutiny from geo-mining & techno-administrative angles),Government will accredit agency(s) consisting of multi-disciplinary domain experts, who will certify that the mining plan prepared by MPPA, is in line with the prevailing guidelines and is complete in all respects. On certification by the MPCA, a committee in government will consider the Mining Plan for approval and Government will dispose application of within the stipulated period.

In the next phase to further ease the system, the entire Mining Plan approval process is proposed to be made online for application, processing and approval. This system will ultimately interact with PARIVESH portal of MoEF & CC and similar portals of other related ministries and organisations of the Central and State Governments.

India Among top 10 Improvers in EODB; India Ranks 63 RD Among 190 Countries; 21,778 Start-ups Recognised Under Start-up India Initiative

India's remarkable jump in World Bank's Ease of Doing Business Report 2020.

India ranks 63rd among 190 countries improving by 14 ranks from its rank of 77 in 2019. India has improved its rank in 7 out of 10 indicators and has moved closer to international best practices. The 2020 edition of the Report acknowledges India as one of the top 10 improvers, third time in a row, with an improvement of 67 ranks in 3 years. It is also the highest jump by any large country since 2011.

Startup India- reaching new heights, making India a global leader in Innovation

A total of 21,778 startups are now recognised under the Startup India Initiative, of which 2,912 startups have been recognised since 1st June 2019.
The Startup India Hub has 3,42,614 registered users of which 21,540 users have been added since 1st June 2019. With the amendment in Section 54GB of Income Tax Act on August 1st, 2019 the condition of minimum holding of 50 per cent of share capital or voting rights in the startup has been relaxed to 25 per cent.

India's remarkable jump on the Global Innovation Index

In the past 4 years India's rank in the GII has improved from the 81st rank in 2015 to the present 52nd rank in GII 2019 report. India became the first developing country to launch the Global Innovation Index (GII) in association with World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) and Confederation of India (CII).

In order to promote innovation the following measures have been taken:

Final Patent (amendment) Rules, 2019 - published on 17th September 2019 amending The Patents Rules, 2003 has led to significant simplification of rules, especially for startups and MSMEs.

The Patent (Second Amendment) Rules, 2019 published to reduce fees for small entity/MSMEs for processing of patent applications under various sections of the Patents Act, 1970 will incentivise MSMEs to file for more parents.

In order to promote export, the Department of Commerce has undertaken various measures:

Export Credit Guarantee Corporation (ECGC) has introduced a new Export Credit Insurance Scheme (ECIS) called 'NIRVIK' for exporters in which increased insurance cover for export credit has been extended by banks from existing average of 60 per cent to 90 per cent for both Principal and Interest.

Accounts with limits below Rs 80 crore (US$ 11.45 million), the premium rates will be moderated to 0.60 per annum and for those exceeding Rs 80 crore (US$ 11.45 million), it will be 0.72 per annum for the same enhanced cover. It is expected that the initiative will cost about Rs 1,700 crore (US$ 243.24 million) per annum. It will provide comfort to banks, bring down the cost of credit due to capital relief, less provision requirement and liquidity due to quick settlement of claims and will ensure timely and adequate working capital and relief to MSMEs.

To enhance ease of doing business, Deemed Export drawback has been allowed on All Industry Rate of drawback schedule.

An online portal for filing applications under 'Transport and Marketing Assistance (TMA)' scheme for Specified Agriculture Products has been launched.

Easing Exporters' claims with ECGC through transparency

A database has been prepared by ECGC for all pending claims and online access on status of claims has been provided. This will be a critical tool for providing information access to exporters.

The online "Origin Management System" gives single access point for all exporters, for all Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) Preferential Trade Agreements (PTAs) and for all agencies. India has 15 FTAs/PTAs and 7 lakh 'Certificates of Origin' are issued annually. The platform will be made live for FTAs as per the concurrence of the concerned partner countries. This process is electronic, paperless and transparent with real time tracking of FTA utilisation at product level and country level. It will also lead to reduced transaction cost and time.

Scheme for Remission of Duties or Taxes on Export Product (RoDTEP) formulated to replace existing Merchandise Exports from India (MEIS) scheme. This will be a WTO compliant scheme for promotion of exports. Textiles and all other sectors which currently enjoy incentives up to 2 per cent over MEIS will transit into RODTEP from 1.1.2020. RoDTEP will span all sectors and the revenue foregone will be about Rs 50,000 crore (US$ 7.15 billion).

Infusion of funds for Export Support

A capital of Rs 389 crore (US$ 55.66 million) has been infused into Export Credit Guarantee Corporation (ECGC) on 21st June 2019. This will provide extra support to exports to emerging and challenging markets like Africa, CIS, Latin America and Asian countries.

A Grant-in-aid (corpus) of Rs 300 crore (US$ 42.92 million) has been contributed to National Export Insurance Account (NEIA) trust on 21st June 2019, thereby, enhancing its risk-taking capacity to support project exports in challenging markets.

Boost to Gem and Jewellery exporters by resolution of various issues like removal of the requirement of paying IGST on re-import of goods which were exported earlier for exhibition purpose/consignment basis. Allowing partial discharge of bonds executed by nominated agencies/banks for import of gold to be supplied to jewellery exporters, thereby enabling nominated agencies/banks to release bank guarantee of jewellery exporters who have fulfilled their export obligation has helped in release of blocked working capital.

National Logistics Policy, 2019

The National Logistics Policy is being prepared with the aim to bring down total logistics cost from 14 per cent to 9 per cent of country's GDP. The policy aims to boost business competitiveness, drive economic growth and make India a global logistics hub.

The Multi-Modal Transportation of Goods Bill, 2019 has been finalised for approval. This aims at facilitating the movement of goods for exports, imports and domestic trade. It will help to fix accountability and liabilities for violation of its provisions.

Skilling for Logistics Sector

34 Qualification Packs (QPs) for skill development of manpower engaged in Logistics Sector have been developed and finalised in collaboration with Logistics Skill Council. This is the first time that such qualification packs have been developed.

Implementation of Agriculture Export Policy

The Agriculture Export Policy has been approved with an outlay of Rs 206 Crores (US$ 29.47 million) for 2019-20. In order to establish linkage between FPOs and the exporters a portal has been created by Agricultural & Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA). About 740 Farmers Producer Organisation (FPO) have been registered under Farmers Connect Portal.

Schemes for backward regions

Budgetary Support under GST Regime to the units located in Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and North Eastern States including Sikkim has been made. Rs 1,700 crore (US$ 243.24 million) has been authorised by Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) to Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs (CBIC) for disbursement to eligible industrial units. Rs 1,692 crore (US$ 242.09 million) already been disbursed by CBIC under the Scheme till 15th November 2019. During the last 6 months, Rs 86 crore (US$ 12.31 million) was disbursed to 420 industrial units under the Special Package to the Himalayan States.

Ensuring level playing field for domestic industry and farmers

For Antidumping the average number of days taken for initiation of anti-dumping investigations has come down to 32 days in 2019 (up to 1st November) as against 259 days in 2016

Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) for the first time ever initiated 2 cases of bilateral safeguards to protect domestic industry from injury. No bilateral safeguard has ever been initiated in the past by DG Safeguards/Directorate General of Anti-Dumping and Allied Duties.

There has been significant drop in the number of days taken to initiate two cases of Global Safeguards. In 2019, the average number of days taken is just 61, as compared the standard 75 days.

In order to ensure interests of the Indian industry and farmers in FTAs India successfully laid out its stand in Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) India's key concerns were not addressed. India took a strong stance to protect the interest of domestic producers. This decision will help vulnerable sectors including farmers and the dairy sector as well as small manufacturers, who would have been threatened by RCEP rules.

India has also secured agreement for review of ASEAN FTA (ASEAN-India Free Trade Area-AIFTA) after repeated follow up. This will help in removing rules that affect Indian producers and exporters and will also promote Indian exports and Make in India.

Steel Import Monitoring System (SIMS)

The SIMS will facilitate the Steel Industry by providing advance information about steel imports to all stakeholders including Government, steel industry and steel importers for effective policy interventions. Importers of specified steel products will register in advance on the web portal of SIMS providing necessary information. The registration will be online and automatic, and no human intervention is required.

SIMS has been notified with effect from 1st November 2019.

Trade Facilitation Measures

The completion of negotiation of India-Mauritius Comprehensive Economic Cooperation and Partnership Agreement (CECPA) will enable trade promotion between the two countries.

Improving Trade with Bangladesh - Besides the four operational Border Haats across India-Bangladesh border in Tripura and Meghalaya, construction of three Border Haats in Meghalaya, out of six already identified locations (two in Tripura and four in Meghalaya) has been completed.

Merger of Council of Trade and Development and Board of Trade: providing a common platform for addressing stakeholder concerns
This common platform, comprising of representatives from industry, export promotion councils, Government of India and State Governments and representatives from Banking and Finance Sector is playing a critical role in addressing export related concerns, with a focus on addressing these on a priority basis. The first meeting of this common platform took place on the 6th of June 2019.

Special Economic Zone (Amendment) Bill, 2019; first legislation passed by newly formed Government
SEZ (Amendment) Bill 2019 became the first legislation of the newly formed Government to be passed by the Parliament. This will enable any entity to set up a unit in SEZs, including Trusts. This will help boost investments and create new export and job opportunities.

Investments of US$ 1.1 billion has been proposed since the ordinance was promulgated earlier this year.

Better facilities for employees: SEZ units allowed to create facilities/amenities like creche, gymnasium, cafeteria for their exclusive use as a measure towards ease of doing business.

Promoting Foreign Direct Investment

100 per cent FDI has been allowed under the automatic route for coal mining activities including associated processing infrastructure.
100 per cent FDI under automatic route has also been allowed in contract manufacturing.

Providing more flexibility and ease of operations to Single Brand Retail Trading (SBRT) entities. All procurements made from India shall be counted towards local sourcing, whether goods are sold in India or exported. Online retail trading permitted up to two years prior to opening brick and mortar stores.

Boost to Make in India in Government Procurement

Progressive amendments have been made to favour local suppliers like procurement up to Rs 50 lakh (US$ 0.07 million) has been exclusively reserved for local suppliers (except in certain cases). Only local suppliers eligible to bid for procurement of items, where there is sufficient local capacity and local competition, irrespective of purchase value.

Bicycle Development Council constituted for the benefit of Bicycle Industry

The Indian bicycle industry is the world's second largest bicycle industry. To develop the Bicycle industry and small part manufacturers towards global standards a Bicycle Development Council has been constituted.

National Institute of Design (Amendment) Act, 2019

Amendment to National Institute of Design (NID) Act was moved for consideration and passing in the Rajya Sabha on 6th August 2019 to confer Institute of National Importance status to the four new NIDs Rajya Sabha has passed the Bill. It will be introduced in the forthcoming session of the Lok Sabha for consideration and passing. The four new NIDs at Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Assam and Haryana to be declared as Institutions of National Importance on the lines of NID, Ahmedabad. NIDs, Madhya Pradesh and NID, Assam have commenced academic session of 2019-20 from 29th July 2019.

Establishment of the National Traders' Welfare Board (July 26th, 2019)

A long pending demand of traders has been fulfilled with the constitution of the Board to understand the issues and problems faced by traders and employees in their day to day business operations and for their welfare. The Board shall have a number of representatives from Traders' Associations as members.

MG Motor bullish on India, to invest Rs 3,000 crore more

A British automobile brand, Morris Garages (MG), which is now owned by SAIC of China, is planning to invest Rs 3,000 crore (US$ 429.25 million) more in the country and is positive about the growth Indian market, a company official said.
As of now, the MG Motor India has spent Rs 2,000 crore (US$ 286.16 million) in the country and begun manufacturing operations at its plant at Halol in Gujarat, the official said.

"We are committed to India and have started our journey in July this year. We have a long-term plan for the country and will make further investment of Rs 3,000 crore (US$ 429.25 million)," MG Motor India chief commercial officer Mr Gaurav Gupta said.

He further added that so far, the company has sold around 13,000 units of its internet SUV, MG Hector. Mr Gupta said that the company plan to launch an electric internet sport utility vehicle and will have a total of four models by July 2021, all in the SUV segment.

The company witnessed a good response from the customers, thus, had to raise its production levels from November onward, he said, adding that the car manufacturer would focus on the SUV segment as it is quickest growing and in tandem with the global trend.

He added that the company also aims on increasing its customer service centres and around 250 showroom-cum-workshops will be put in place by March 2020.

"In MG, we strive to attain for a balanced work force and diversity is core to the ethos of the company", Mr Gupta added.