Economy

The draft of National E-commerce Policy for Export Promotion is the Government’s most timely initiative but requires many improvements, said Ganesh Kumar Gupta, President of the Federation of Indian Export Organizations (FIEO).

The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) has welcomed further reduction in GST rates, calling it a big boost for the Indian real estate sector as it will help propel the demand in housing.

Tenders have been issued for 2,998 projects of worth Rs.115,027 crore for India’s 100 Smart Cities, all of which now have Special Purpose Vehicles in place, said the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.

The Indian façade industry worth Rs.15,000 crore and is growing at 20% annually while the global façade market to reach US$340 billion by 2024, says ANAROCK's Fenestration Industry Report.

The Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, said technology is bridging the gap between the haves and have-nots in India while the Government looks forward to a US$10 trillion economy.

India and ASEAN have enhanced their bilateral trade target to US$200 billion but removal of traffic barrier is crucial to achieve this, said Minister of State for Commerce & Industry, C R Chaudhary.

The Canadian business community is focusing on India’s infrastructure development, information and communication technology, advanced manufacturing, financial services, tourism, business immigration, education and skills development.

India’s prepaid card market is forecast at US$133.9 billion by 2023 from US$38.6 billion in 2019, a CAGR of 36.5%, according to a report by the Dublin-based ResearchAndMarkets.com.

Commerce and Industry Minister, Suresh Prabhu, has expressed the hope that the ASEAN member nations and India will collectively work in a determined manner to ensure early conclusion of a Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement.

The keenly-awaited meeting of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council, which was supposed to deliver a final decision on the differential tax rates on real estate 20th Feb 2019, hopes to reach a consensus on the 24th.