Budget harnessed new technologies!

Data is the new oil

FM clarified her vision & an essence of the proposed budget 1920-21. She said this budget is not Industry or Sector specific! All those necessary & needed areas are being addressed and that would vibrant economy to run every industry & commerce better to reach our short term target of US$5tn economy size.

New Economy:

The new economy is based on innovations that disrupt established business models. Artificial intelligence, Internet‐of‐Things (IoT), 3D printing, drones, DNA data storage, quantum computing, etc., are re‐writing the world economic order. India has already embraced new paradigms such as the sharing economy with aggregator platforms displacing conventional businesses.

G&J industry welcomes measures to boost MSME Sector, Establish bullion exchange at GIFT City

The Finance Minister today in her Union Budget for fiscal year 2020-21 presented a gamut of initiatives, which cheered the entire gems and jewellery industry in the country. The government proposed to reduce the import duty on platinum from existing 12.5 percent to now 7.5 percent. Also, the proposal for establishing a bullion exchange at GIFT City is an encouraging move to attract international bullion trading.

The Gem and Jewellery Exports Promotion Council of India (GJEPC), Chairman, Mr Pramod Kumar Agrawal, said, “We welcome the Union Budget announced by the Finance Minister. It certainly has measures to boost domestic consumption and to put the overall economy on growth trajectory. We strongly believe that the government is determined to make India a USD 5 trillion economy. ”

Reaction of GJ Fraternity on Budget

Key players of GJ (Gem & Jewellery) industry & trade fraternity have expressed their reactions & view on Budget 2020-21. Let’s peep up!

Somasundaram PR, Managing Director, India, World Gold Council, “Measures to boost farmers’ income and reduce taxes for the middle class will boost purchasing power and consumer confidence, which will benefit jewellery industry as well. Focus on the next wave of digital revolution will add impetus to digital gold products. The unmistakable thrust towards transparency sets the long term direction for the trade which will see many policy and market-led changes.

In this context, the establishment of regulated International Bullion exchange in GIFT City in India is a positive step towards making gold a mainstream asset class. With its unique locational, infrastructural and regulatory advantages as an IFSC, GIFT city is well placed to build a fair, efficient and transparent bullion trading ecosystem. An organised bullion trading system will benefit the entire supply chain particularly, small players and exporters.”

India Jumps up 79 positions in WB Doing Business

The Union Minister for Finance &Corporate Affairs, Smt Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Economic Survey 2019-20 in Parliament today. The FM informed that India has jumped up 79 positions in World Bank’s Doing Business rankings, improving from 142 in 2014 to 63 in 2019. It has progressed on seven out of the 10 parameters.

The Goods and Service Tax (GST) and the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) top the list of reforms that have propelled India’s rise in rankings. However, it continues to trail in parameters such as Ease of Starting Business (rank 136), Registering Property (rank 154), Paying Taxes (rank 115), and Enforcing Contracts (rank 163).

124K New Firms Created in 2018!

The Union Minister for Finance &Corporate Affairs, Smt Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Economic Survey 2019-20 in Parliament. The Survey stated that as per World Bank’s Data on Entrepreneurship, it is seen  that India ranks third in number of new firms created. The same data shows that new firm creation has gone up dramatically in India since 2014.

While the number of new firms in the formal sector grew at a cumulative annual growth rate of 3.8 per cent from 2006-2014, the growth rate from 2014 to 2018 has been 12.2 per cent. As a result, from about 70,000 new firms created in 2014, the number has grown by about 80 per cent to about 1,24,000 new firms in 2018.

Promoting Pro-Business Policy!

Pro-Crony Policies Erode Wealth & Destroy Value in Economy

The Economic Survey 2019-20 says India’s aspiration to become a $5 trillion economy depends critically on promoting “pro-business” policy that unleashes the power of competitive markets to generate wealth, on the one hand, and weaning away from “pro-crony” policy that may favour specific private interests, especially powerful incumbents, on the other hand. The Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs, Smt Nirmala Sitharaman tabled the Economic Survey 2019-20 in Parliament. The Survey said that economic events since 1991 provide powerful evidence supporting this crucial distinction.

The Survey stated that creative destruction has increased significantly after reform. The liberalization of the Indian economy in 1991 unleashed competitive markets and enabled the forces of creative destruction, generating benefits that we still witness today. Creative destruction brings new innovations in the market that serve people better than the old technologies they displace. It brings new firms into the markets, which compete with existing firms and lower prices for consumers.

Key Reforms Initiated for Faster Growth of MSME Sector

The Government is committed to support the Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSME) which is an important sector of the Indian economy that fosters entrepreneurship and generates employment opportunities at lower capital cost.

The Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs, Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman tabled the Economic Survey 2019-20 in Parliament today.  The Economic Survey gave a detailed analysis of all the measures undertaken to support the MSME sector in India to ensure better credit flow, technology up-gradation, ease of doing business and market access.

Ethical Wealth Creation, a Key to be US$ 5tn Economy

Theme of the Economic Survey 2019-20 - Enable Markets,

Promote 'Pro-Business' Policies and Strengthen 'Trust' in the Economy

With the vision of 'Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas', Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi in his Independence Day 2019 speech highlighted that only when wealth is created will wealth be distributed. The Economic survey 2019-20, tabled by Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs, Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman in the Parliament, makes an attempt to craft a framework of policies that can foster wealth creation in India, which in turn, would set the economy firmly on an upward growth trajectory.

The Survey revolves around the theme of enabling markets, promoting 'pro-business' policies and strengthening 'trust' in the economy. It maintains a balanced optimistic stance and makes an attempt to put to rest any skepticism about the benefits accruing from a market economy, both in economic thinking and policy-making.

Rupa Dutta graces CFC ground-breaking at Bow Bazar

 Ground-breaking ceremony of Common Facility Centre (CFC) at Bow Bazar in Kolkata was held today in the presence of Smt. Rupa Dutta (Economic Advisor, Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Government of India), Shri Senthil Nathan (Deputy Secretary, Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Government of India), Shri Pramod Agrawal, Chairman, GJEPC; Shri Prakash Pincha, Regional Chairman, Kolkata, GJEPC, along with others.

GJEPC is setting up a Common Facility Center at Bow Bazar with a view to enhance the productivity and quality of products, especially the small gem and Jewellery units set in Bow Bazar and its surrounding areas.

Gold Tariff value notified

According to the Tariff Notification No: 17/2020-CUSTOMS (N.T.), in exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (2) of section 14 of the Customs Act, 1962 (52 of 1962), the Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs, being satisfied that it is necessary and expedient so to do.

Hereby makes the following amendments in the notification of the Government of India in the Ministry of Finance (Department of Revenue), No. 36/2001-Customs (N.T.), dated the 3rd August, 2001, published in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part-II, Section-3, Sub-section (ii), vide number S. O. 748 (E), dated the 3rd August, 2001, namely:- In the said notification, for TABLE-1, TABLE-2, and TABLE-3 the following Tables shall be substituted, namely.