FICCI : Industry's Voice for Policy Change

Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI), organized ‘GLOBIZ-Connecting Business Globally’ from 21st Feb to 3rd March, with a vision to support Indian exporters and manufacturers from textiles, home furnishing, healthcare, pharmaceutical and other key sectors to globally reach out to new markets.

The virtual series of multi sector events focused on countries like Africa, Eurasia, ASEAN, Arabia and Pacific alliance regions. The objective was to provide a user friendly, technologically driven platform to Indian exporters and manufactures, ensuring quality interactions with buyers and offering real-time experience of the exhibition. This largest multi-sector event was supported by Ministry of Commerce & Industry and Ministry of External Affairs, Govt of India.

The 9-day virtual exhibition saw participation from over 250+ Indian companies from different prominent sectors and over 1500+ buyers from Eurasia, Pacific alliance Philippines, Vietnam, Arabia, Africa and many other countries with total 6000+ registered visitors.

Key highlights of the sessions:

India- ASEAN Healthcare Expo: The 3-days exhibition 22-24 Feb’ kickstarted with the inaugural session ‘India – ASEAN Healthcare Expo’ followed by panel discussion on ‘The New Era of Partnership in Healthcare: Telemedicine, Health Techs, Medical Devices, Pharmaceuticals and affordable healthcare services” on 22nd February 2021.

Mr Anant Swarup, Joint Secretary, FT (ASEAN), Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Government of India inaugurated the exhibition and shared that ASEAN is the central pillar of India’s Act East Policy and lot of collaboration opportunities exist between India and ASEAN. He also emphasised that India is looking to collaborate with ASEAN under Project Development Fund and is currently working on development of Multi-speciality hospitals in Cambodia and Myanmar.

Namaskar Arabia: Addressing the inaugural edition of Namaskar Arabia on 23rd Feb, the MEA Secretary said that both India and the Arab region are engaged in improvements and transformational changes in the economy, and the goodwill between the people provides great potential to take the economic engagement to a higher level.

Amb Bhattacharya said, “We are currently engaged in an era of transformation on both sides that helps us engage more deeply with each other. From a buyer-seller relationship we have developed a long-term strategic relationship, not only in oil and gas, but also in upstream and downstream investments.”

2nd Edition of Namaskar Eurasia Expo (Focus Uzbekistan)

Mr Manish Prabhat, Ambassador of India to Uzbekistan during the inaugural ceremony of ‘Namaskar Eurasia Expo’ on 24th Feb said that air corridors would play a critical role in deepening economic relations between India and Central Asian economies. FICCI has been instrumental in promoting a dialogue between key stakeholders and stands to play a pivotal role in actuating the corridors in the times to come.”

Namaskar Pacific Alliance

Mr Suresh Kumar, Joint Secretary- LAC, Ministry of Commerce, Govt of India during the inaugural ceremony on 1st March said, “India’s trade with the Pacific Alliance group has the potential to touch USD 30 billion in short span of time. He highlighted that the bilateral discussions and trade negotiations with Mexico and Colombia could lead to similar trade agreements that India has with Chile.”

Namaskar Africa

Mr Rahul Chhabra, Secretary-Economic Relations, Ministry of External Affairs, Govt of India during the inaugural ceremony of Namaskar Africa on 1st March said that the CFTA signals a great opportunity for Indian businesses for partnering with African counterparts to deepen their integration and accelerate their development.

“We do not have a donor-recipient relationship with Africa but consider our partner countries as development partners,” he said. “Out of 54 African countries we have Indian projects operating in 48 African countries with 75 projects worth USD 13 billion. This is the size of our commitment to the African Continent,” said the Secretary.

“We want to be forward-looking and forward-thinking to see how the partner countries can benefit from our collaborations,” said the MEA Secretary.

Dr Srikar Reddy, Joint Secretary, FT-AFRICA, Department of Commerce, Govt of India said, Africa looks at India as an opportunity for trade and investment, collaborations in new emerging technologies, especially in ICT, Consultancy, fin-tech, logistics, EdTech, health tech, and others. He also mentioned that the recovery of the global economy will largely depend on the effectiveness of vaccination efforts. Dr Reddy stated that India and Africa are connected by a historical association that has blossomed into a multifaced partnership with an emphasis on economic cooperation and human resource development. He further added that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made Africa a priority for India’s foreign and economic policy.

HE Dr Daniel Peter Othol, The Dean of the African Group of Heads of Missions in India & Ambassador of South Sudan said the relationship between India and Africa must be augmented to the level that will benefit Africa.

“We want India to mechanize the African agriculture, to build our social and physical infrastructure and the health and educational needs especially during the era of COVID-19. He further stated that there is an urgent need to boost the immunity of the population of Africa, therefore Africa is looking at India for vaccines,” he said.

The Free Press Journal | Feb 07, 2021

Madhya Pradesh and Belarus look to strengthen trade ties

Madhya Pradesh has recorded a 10 per cent compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) in the agro sector over the past decade and has a presence of around 2,800 generic drug-manufacturing companies. This is likely to interest business houses of Belarus that has a lot of commonalities with the Indian state.

Speaking at the ‘Belarus-Madhya Pradesh (India) Virtual Meeting & Discussion’, facilitated by FICCI in order to develop economic ties and trade relations, Sanjay Kumar Shukla, principal secretary, Department of Industrial Policy and Investment Promotion, reiterated the strategic location of Madhya Pradesh and pointed out the various promotional assistance that the government offers that could help Belarus businesses set up base in the state.

“The state government offers good promotional assistance. It’s the only state in the country with a tax-delinked investment promotion policy. Madhya Pradesh also offers special financial assistance for large-scale apparel units,” Shukla said.

Shukla added that the Madhya Pradesh Industrial Development Corporation (MPIDC), a single-window secretariat of the industry department, acted as the nodal agency.

Sangeeta Bahadur, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of India to the Republic of Belarus, said, “Belarus’s geographical position makes it a link between the East and the West. Think of it as a central point from which you can further expand your business to other lands.”

Ruslan Strahar, Deputy Chairman, Mogilev Regional Executive Committee, elaborated on the Mogilev region and said that it shares an open border with the Russian Federation and is called the “logistics hub” of that region.

Sanjay Bhayani, member, FICCI and director, India Operations, Avgol, said that FICCI had signed MoUs with the Belarus Chamber of Commerce to further strengthen economic ties.

The Free Press Journal | Feb 06, 2021

BHOPAL: Madhya Pradesh and Belarus look to further economic and trade ties, hold deliberations towards the goal

The state has recorded a 10 per cent CAGR (compound annual growth rate of the agriculture industry) over the last one decade and has the presence of 2,800 generic drug manufacturing companies. This is likely to interest business houses of Belarus that has a lot of commonalities with the Indian state.

Speaking at the Belarus - Madhya Pradesh (India) Virtual Meeting & Discussion facilitated by FICCI on Friday, Sanjay Kumar Shukla, Principal Secretary, Department of Industrial Policy and Investment Promotion, underlined the strategic location of Madhya Pradesh and also pointed out at promotional assistance by government that can help Belarus businesses to set up base in the state.

“State government offers good promotional assistance. It is the only state in the country with tax delinked investment promotion policy. MP also offers special financial assistance for large scale apparel units,” Shukla said.

Speaking further, he said Madhya Pradesh Industrial Development Corporation (MPIDC), a single window secretariat of industry department acts as the nodal agency. In order to ensure Ease of Doing Business, 40 services have been identified to be offered in a time bound manner.

Sangeeta Bahadur, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of India to the Republic of Belarus, said Indian businessmen and industry may think of Belarus as a small country (with half the population of Delhi), its geographical position makes it a link between East and West. “Think of it as a central point from which you can further expand your business to other lands,” she said.

Ruslan Strahar, Deputy Chairman, Mogilev Regional Executive Committee, elaborated on Mogilev region and said it shares an open border with Russian Federation and is called the logistics hub of the region.

Sanjay Bhayani, FICCI member and Director India Operations, Avgol, said that FICCI has signed MoUs with Belarus Chamber of Commerce to further strengthen economic ties.

Orissa Diary | Feb 05, 2021

Madhya Pradesh and Belarus look to further economic and trade ties

Mr Sanjay Kumar Shukla, Principal Secretary, Department of Industrial Policy and Investment Promotion, Govt of Madhya Pradesh today said that Madhya Pradesh has recorded a 10 per cent CAGR in agro growth over the last decade and has the presence of around 2800 generic drug manufacturing companies. This, he said, is likely to interest business houses of Belarus that has a lot of commonalities with the Indian state.

Speaking at the ‘Belarus – Madhya Pradesh (India) Virtual Meeting & Discussion’, facilitated by FICCI in order to develop economic ties and trade relations, Mr Shukla reiterated on the strategic location of Madhya Pradesh and also pointed out the various promotional assistance that the govt offers that will help Belarus businesses set up base in the state so that both the Mogilev Region (of Belarus) and Madhya Pradesh can grow in partnership.

“We would love to have Belarus companies set up their base here in Madhya Pradesh. The govt of Madhya Pradesh offers good promotional assistance. It is the only state in the country with tax delinked investment promotion policy. Madhya Pradesh also offers special financial assistance for large scale apparel units,” he said.

Mr Shukla further added that the Govt of Madhya Pradesh targets to provide required clearances in time bound manner to industries. The Madhya Pradesh Industrial Development Corporation (MPIDC), a single window secretariat of industry department acts as the nodal agency. In order to ensure real Ease of Doing Business for industries, 40 services have been identified to be offered in a time bound manner.

Ms Sangeeta Bahadur, Ambassador Extraordinary & Plenipotentiary of the Republic of India to the Republic of Belarus said that there is a huge business opportunity between Belarus and India. India is one of the strongest countries to come out of COVID successfully and Belarus will soon come out of the pandemic.

There is a potential, both in Belarus and Madhya Pradesh that can be further explored. Madhya Pradesh has much to offer in investment opportunities and trade is concerned, especially in agricultural products and food processing is concerned, she added.

“While Indian businessmen and industry might think of Belarus as a small country (with half the population of just Delhi), its geographical position makes it a link between the East and the West. Think of it as a central point from which you can further expand your business to other lands,” said Ms Bahadur.

Ms Bahadur also stressed on the need to enhance direct trade between both India and Belarus.

HE Mr Andrei I Rzheussky, Ambassador Extraordinary & Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Belarus to the Republic of India said that both the Indian and the Belarusian Embassies are greatly interested in developing business ties for both nations. The Embassy is a tool in the initial phase to bring businesses and two nations to a round table to discuss various growth opportunities.

Mr Ruslan Strahar, Deputy Chairman, Mogilev Regional Executive Committee, spoke on the need to increase regional cooperation. Elaborating on the Mogilev Region, he informed that it shares an open border with the Russian Federation and is called as the logistics hub of that region.

Mr Strahar said that Belarusian companies would be interested in setting up joint ventures. He also informed that the South-Eastern region of the nation has been set up as a special region that caters to business development.

Mr Sanjay Bhayani, Member, FICCI & Director India Operations, Avgol said that FICCI has signed MoUs with the Belarus Chamber of Commerce to further strengthen economic ties. Madhya Pradesh, he said, supports excellent infrastructure and has access to all trade corridors of the country. “Madhya Pradesh is an industry- friendly state with robust railway and road network and has a strong base of mineral resources. It is the leading producer of horticulture crop and is one of the leaders in food processing,” he said.

Mr Gennady Cherny, Director General of Mogilev Branch of BelCCI also provided a brief overview of trade & economic opportunities in Mogilev.

KNN | Oct 22, 2020

Govt soon to finalise air corridor between India & Central Asia

To strengthen India-Uzbekistan bilateral trade and investment opportunities, FICCI has organised the ‘India-Uzbekistan Business Forum’ webinar.

Manish Prabhat, Ambassador of India to Uzbekistan said that there is a need to take the strategic relations between Indian and Uzbekistan to newer heights that would translate into close cooperation into all areas, including trade, economy, and investments.

Addressing the webinar, Ambassador emphasized “We are working on the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) and Uzbekistan can also become its member. An air corridor between India and Central Asia is also being worked on. Indian carriers should also target direct flights to Uzbekistan.”

He highlighted the trade and investment opportunities for Indian companies, “Uzbekistan is providing a lot of investment opportunities in various greenfield and brownfield projects. There are tax benefits that Indian industries can avail of and various regions in Uzbekistan provide distinct possibilities for investments. There is a lot of untapped potentials, which both sides need to look into.”

He further stated “the government has set a $1 billion annual bilateral trade target between the two countries. We have reached only one-third of our target so far but there is a lot of potential which still needs to be tapped. The government is working on extending the Line of Credit between India-Uzbekistan along with establishing bilateral investment treaty and preferential trading arrangements.”

The ambassador said that despite the current pandemic, the trade between the two countries was rising continually. The government of Uzbekistan, in July, further simplified its import procedures for the medical equipment and pharma sector.

Dilshod Akhatov, Ambassador of the Republic of Uzbekistan to India said that India occupies a special place in Uzbekistan’s foreign policy. “Economic and trade potential of both countries are not fully utilized, and we need to mutually increase our volume of qualitative trade through improvement in bilateral trade,” he added.

He said that a joint feasibility study for a preferential trade agreement will contribute significantly to further improve trade and business.

“We are looking forward to establishing much stronger relations in sectors like agriculture, energy, pharmaceuticals, textiles, leather, ICT, and tourism. Uzbekistan is highly interested in the implementation of joint projects in the fields of pharma, healthcare, education, and social and infrastructure developments,” he added.

Dr Adarsh Swaika, Joint Secretary, Eurasia Division, Ministry of External Affairs, Govt of India said that economic partnership cannot be seen in isolation but through the prism of our overall bilateral relationship.

NDTV | Aug 22, 2020

Will develop network to Russia, Central Asia in a few months: IndiGo official

IndiGo will develop a flight network to Russia and the Central Asian countries during the next few months, a senior official of the airline said on Friday.

While scheduled international passenger flight services remain suspended in India since March 23 due to the Coronavirus pandemic, special international flights have been operating with the permission of aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

During the last few weeks, IndiGo has operated passenger charter flights and cargo charter flights to countries like Russia, Uzbekistan, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, its Chief Strategy and Revenue Officer Sanjay Kumar said.

"The last couple of weeks have given us a great learning on the potential of these markets, which were kind of unexplored from our point of view so far," Kumar said at a webinar titled ''The Way Forward for Developing India-Central Asia Air Corridor'' that was organised by industry body Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI).

"I think we will be able to build up some kind of portfolio of routes and network into these markets going forward in the next few months'' time," he added.

Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan are part of Central Asia. India has never operated scheduled international flights to Central Asia or Russia.

Talking about the charter flights operated to Russia and the Central Asian countries amid the pandemic, Kumar said, "We were quite surprised with the potential of the market because one-way the flight is going full load and on the other way it is coming empty and despite that, we were able to cover all our operational costs from both ends," he added.

"I think we will be able to put more and more emphasis going forward looking at the potential of the regular flights into these markets - both on the cargo side and on the passenger side," he said.

Since July, India has established air bubble arrangements with countries like the US, the UK, France, Germany, the UAE, Qatar and the Maldives.

Under a bilateral air bubble pact, airlines of both the countries can operate international flights with certain restrictions.

Scheduled international passenger flights continue to remain suspended in India since March 23 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

On August 18, Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said on Twitter air bubbles have also been proposed with our neighbours Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Nepal and Bhutan.

He said India is negotiating air bubble arrangements with 13 other countries.

"These countries include Australia, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Nigeria, Bahrain, Israel, Kenya, Philippines, Russia, Singapore, South Korea and Thailand," Mr Puri added.

ANI | Aug 22, 2020

"India at advanced stage of negotiation with Uzbekistan for export, import of agri products"

Yahoo News | Aug 22, 2020

"India at advanced stage of negotiation with Uzbekistan for export, import of agri products"

Though India's combined annual trade with Central Asia is less than USD 2 billion, the level of trade does not reflect the political will that the country enjoys with Central Asian countries, said Manish Prabhat, Joint Secretary (ERS), Ministry of External Affairs.

Speaking at a webinar titled 'The Way Forward for Developing India-Central Asia Air Corridor', organised by FICCI held on Friday, he said, "The combined annual trade with Central Asia is less than USD 2 billion. The level of trade does not reflect the political will that we enjoy with Central Asian countries."

Prabhat, who was recently appointed as Indian Ambassador to Uzbekistan, further said that India is at an advanced stage of negotiation with Uzbekistan for export and import of agricultural products.

Indian Ambassador to Kazakhstan Prabhat Kumar said that Central Asian countries are in the position to support air traffic from India. He further laid emphasis on the potential of markets between India and Kazakhstan.

Vandana Aggarwal, Senior Economic Advisor, Ministry of Civil Aviation, said that establishing an air corridor will be very useful in passenger growth and goods traffic. "Central Asian countries need to look at ways to ease regulation of our carriers in terms of landing rights, parking, etc.," she said.

She also said that India has been looking at the digitisation of documents for seamless connectivity with the region.

Karlygash Omurbayeva, Regional General Manager, Gulf and Indian Subcontinent, Air Astana, proposed air bubble agreements with Kazakhstan. She said that Air Astana has started flights to a few European countries during this pandemic and hoped India will be amongst those first group of countries to join them.

Speaking on the need for paperless transactions amid the COVID-19, Sanjiv Edward, Chief Commercial Officer, Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL), said, "Paperless transactions for business have become all the more relevant in these challenging times."

Vipin Vohra, Airfreight Convenor, Federation of Freight Forwarders Association in India (FFFAI); Chairman of Continental Carriers Group of Companies and Chairman, TNX Continental Pvt. Ltd., spoke on the need to inter align with airlines and establish bilateral agreements between Indian and Central Asian airlines to enhance air connectivity.

Business World | Aug 22, 2020

"India at advanced stage of negotiation with Uzbekistan for Export, Import of Agri products"