citi-news letterthe latest figure signalled strongest improvement in the health of the sector in...

Cotlook A Index - Cents/lb (Change from previous day)

30-11-2018 86.55 (-0.25)

30-11-2017 83.70

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New York Cotton Futures (Cents/lb) As on 04.12.2018 (Change from

previous day)

December 2018 77.16 (+0.52)

March 2019 78.84 (+0.16)

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04th December

2018

Govt clears Rs91,149 crore GST refunds to exporters

A.N. Jha appointed new finance secretary

MSME bodies in South form joint panel

Manufacturing PMI jumps to 11-month high of 54 in

November on strong demand

Cotton and Yarn Futures

ZCE - Daily Data (Change from previous day)

MCX (Change from previous day)

Dec 2018 22030 (+510)

Cotton 14755 (+245) Jan 2019 22280 (+570)

Yarn 24055 (+315) Feb 2019 22470 (+550)

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2 CITI-NEWS LETTER

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- RBI panel begins 3-day meet on interest rate



Manufacturing PMI jumps to 11-month high of 54 in November on

strong demand

Suresh Prabhu felicitates winners of InnoTex 2018

India can play crucial role in reforming WTO: FICCI


Jaitley pitches for easing trade barriers

Sebi overhauls settlement rules, introduces confidentiality clause

Revenue secretary says excise duty hike on crude needs 'analysis'

Bengal govt invites 18 LAC countries at ‘Bengal Global Business

Summit’

Gujarat loses top spot in e-way bills in Nov

Four-day textile fair from December 8

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Graphene unlocks new potential for 'smart textiles'

Chinese investment in Africa good for Africa's development: official

China, France to hold high-level economic, financial dialogue

Qatar to quit OPEC in Jan. 2019, says its energy minister

Karl Mayer to display new textile machinery at Heimtextil

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

NATIONAL

----------------------

GLOBAL

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3 CITI-NEWS LETTER

NATIONAL:

RBI panel begins 3-day meet on interest rate

(Source: The Hindu Business Line, December 03, 2018)

The six-member Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), headed by RBI Governor Urjit Patel,

began its three-day policy review deliberations on Monday amid expectations of status

quo on interest rate.

Experts are of the view that the RBI may not change the benchmark lending rate (repo)

despite moderation in economic growth and easing inflation.

In its last bi-monthly monetary policy, the RBI had kept the repo rate (at which RBI lends

to other banks) unchanged at 6.5 per cent with warning that volatile and rising oil prices,

and tightening of global financial conditions pose substantial risks to the growth and

inflation.

The MPC meet will continue till December 5. The decision of the MPC will be placed on

the RBI’s website in the afternoon of December 5.

Since the previous policy announcement, the rupee has appreciated against the US dollar

and moved above the psychologically crucial mark of 70.

Global crude oil prices too have softened significantly, slipping below USD 60 per barrel

from USD 86.

However, India’s economic growth slowed to 7.1 per cent in the September quarter after

peaking to an over two-year high in the first three months of this fiscal, as consumption

demand moderated and farm sector displayed signs of weakness.

The growth in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in July-September is the slowest in three

quarters but better than 6.3 per cent in the same period of the previous year.

The Indian economy grew by 8.2 per cent in the April-June quarter, according to data

released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO).

Retail inflation fell to one-year low of 3.31 per cent in October on the back of cheaper

kitchen staples, fruits and protein-rich items, official data showed.

Home

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4 CITI-NEWS LETTER


(Source: Live Mint, December 03, 2018)

The finance ministry said Rs6,053 crore worth GST refund is still pending with the

government and that is being ‘expeditiously processed’

The finance ministry on Monday said Rs91,149 crore has been issued so far to exporters

as GST refunds, which are 93.77% of total claims with the tax authorities.

In a statement, the ministry said Rs6,053 crore worth GST refund is still pending with the

government and that is being “expeditiously processed”.

“Total GST refunds to the tune of Rs91,149 crore have been disposed by Central Board of

Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) and state authorities out of the total refund claims of

Rs97,202 crore received so far. Thus, the disposal rate of 93.77% has been achieved,” the

ministry said.

Giving break-up for the refund figures, the ministry said that Rs48,455 crore of IGST

refunds have been disposed of as on 28 November, which is 95% of the total such claims.

As much as Rs2,473 crore worth of IGST refund claims are held up on account of “various

deficiencies” which have been communicated to exporters for remedial action.

With regard to refund of input tax credit claims, the ministry said of the total claims of

Rs46,274 crore, the pendency as on 3 December stood at Rs3,580 crore.

“Provisional/final order has been issued in case of (ITC) refunds amounting to Rs37,406

crore. In claims amounting to Rs5,288 crore, deficiency memos have been issued by

respective GST authorities,” the statement said.

The ministry said pending GST refund claims amounting to Rs6,053 crore are being

expeditiously processed so as to provide relief to eligible claimants.

“Refund claims without any deficiency are being cleared expeditiously,” it added. Efforts

are being made continuously to clear all the pending refund claims, where ever requisite

information is provided and found eligible, it said.

“Co-operation of the exporter community is solicited to ensure that they respond to the

deficiency memos and errors communicated by Centre and State GST as well as Customs

Authorities and also exercise due diligence while filing GSTR 1 and GSTR 3B returns as

well as Shipping Bills,” the statement added.

Home

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5 CITI-NEWS LETTER


(Source: Live Mint, December 03, 2018)

PM Narendra Modi led Appointments

Committee of the Cabinet cleared the

appointment of A.N. Jha to the post after

incumbent Hasmukh Adhia retired on 30

November

A N Jha, Secretary, Expenditure, has been

appointed as new Finance Secretary, a

government order said Monday.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi led Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has cleared

Jha’s appointment to the post after incumbent Hasmukh Adhia, a 1981-batch Gujarat

cadre officer of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), retired on November 30.

Fifty-nine-year old Ajay Narayan Jha, is a 1982-batch IAS officer of Manipur Tripura

cadre.

An alumnus of St Stephens College from where he passed with first class in Graduation

and post graduation in History, Jha is a recipient of World Bank scholarship to pursue

Masters in Economic Policy Management from McGill University in Canada. He is also

an MPhil in public administration from Delhi University.

Home

Manufacturing PMI jumps to 11-month high of 54 in November on strong

demand

(Source: Shishir Sinha, The Hindu Business Line, December 03, 2018)

Robust order inflow boosts companies to lift production, input buying

Factory production accelerated further in November as the manufacturing purchasing

managers’ index (PMI) rose to 54 against 53.1 in October. This index is prepared on the

basis of a survey which is conducted among purchasing executives in over 400 companies.

These companies are divided into 8 broad categories: Basic Metals, Chemicals & Plastics,

Electrical & Optical, Food & Drink, Mechanical Engineering, Textiles & Clothing, Timber

& Paper and Transport. Index over 50 shows expansion while below 50 mean contraction.

The index is prepared by IHS Markit and released along with a detailed report. This index

is widely quoted to explain the latest industrial situation.

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6 CITI-NEWS LETTER

According to the report, manufacturing conditions strengthened for the third successive

month in November, as healthier inflow of new orders encouraged companies to lift

production and input buying to a greater extent than in October. Cost inflation

moderated, but the revival in demand translated into improved pricing power among

producers who raised their charges at a quicker rate. Elsewhere, job creation was

sustained while the sentiment picked up.

The latest figure signalled strongest improvement in the health of the sector in almost one

year. Buoyed by strong demand conditions and higher sales, manufacturers increased

production at the second-fastest pace since October 2016. The rise was led by

intermediate goods firms, although robust growth was also seen in the consumer and

capital goods categories.

Pollyanna De Lima, Principal Economist at IHS Markit, said that the Indian

manufacturing sector continued to recover from the ground lost in August, with

November seeing the headline PMI climb to an 11-month high. Relatively weak demand

environment seen earlier in the year showed signs of abating, with clients unfazed by

another round of increase in output prices and placing more orders regardless.

Correspondingly, goods producers rebuilt raw material stocks to guard against possible

delivery delays and fulfil contracts.

Manufacturers further drew down their finished goods stocks to meet demand. This,

coupled with improved business sentiment, should ensure that production continues to

rise at a robust clip as the country heads towards 2019.

“Signs of rising confidence in the upturn were also provided by the trend for employment,

which continued to grow at one of the quickest rates seen in six years. Supply-chain

pressures remained weak, which, however, supported a softer rise in input prices,” she

said.

The survey highlighted better employment scenario. Job creation was sustained in

November, which panel members linked to strong inflows of new work. Despite easing

slightly from October, the pace of employment expansion was among the strongest

registered in the past six years. The sharpest rise was noted in consumer goods, followed

by capital and then intermediate goods.

The report mentioned that production growth in India jumped to over two-year high.

According to panelists, the upturn was supported by improved demand and better market

conditions. Rates of increase accelerated in the consumer and intermediate goods

categories, while a marginal slowdown was noted in capital goods sector. As was the case

for production, new businesses rose at the second-fastest pace since October 2016.

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7 CITI-NEWS LETTER

Anecdotal evidence highlighted successful marketing campaigns and stronger underlying

demand as the key factors boosting sales. For the fifth month in a row, growth was noted

in each of the three monitored sectors and led by intermediate goods makers.

Home

Suresh Prabhu felicitates winners of InnoTex 2018

(Source: Fibre2Fashion, December 03, 2018)

The winners of InnoTex 2018, a competition on innovative ideas/concept devised for best

design, method, process, product and cost reduction in any area from 'ginning to

garment', have been felicitated by the Union minister Suresh Prabhu. A total of ten

innovations were shortlisted after two rounds of the evaluation by the panel of judges.

For the first time in the history of Indian textile and clothing industry, an innovation

contest was organised jointly by Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI) in

association with Northern India Textile Research Association (NITRA). Sanjay K Jain,

chairman CITI, shared his thoughts on how the idea of organising an Innovation Contest

came and in fact it was first time in India that such a contest is organised for innovations

in the textile sector.

R Pothiraj received the first prize for his innovation on '32 per cent Reduction in Energy

Consumption in Running Airjet Looms', Dhivagar got second prize and Raj Kumar got

third prize for their innovations in 'Zero Defect of Spandex Miss Plating in Knitted Fabric'

and 'Computerised Vertical Embroidery Machine', respectively.

InnoTex promoted the ideas of innovators by enabling them to showcase their talent to

the industry leaders and get instant recognition. The contest also bridged the gap between

innovators and the end-user industry and guided the researchers about the actual

demand of the industry in these areas.

Home

India can play crucial role in reforming WTO: FICCI


India can play a crucial role in reforming the WTO by drawing nations to the discussion

table for finding a workable solution, as the country is set to host the G20 summit in 2022,

industry body FICCI said on Monday.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday highlighted the need for carrying out reforms

in the WTO at the G-20 summit in Argentina.

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8 CITI-NEWS LETTER

He said that reforming the WTO is very important and it is also necessary to carry forward

the dialogue on trade, services and promoting the global value chain in the agricultural

sector.

“With the G-20 nations agreeing for the required reforms in the multilateral trading

platform WTO, India’s role in this exercise will be critical in bringing together all the

countries to the discussion table for finding a workable solution.

“As the country will be hosting the G-20 summit in 2022, it can play an important role in

helping the positive results of the Argentina meeting deliver concrete results,” FICCI

President Rashesh Shah said.

The meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in

Argentina has shown positive outcomes. In all probability, it will succeed in defusing the

impending global trade war, which threatened to impact world trade in a major way, he

added.

Escalating tensions between the two major trading nations has been a cause of deepening

concern in terms of its adverse impact on the financial markets and economy across the

world, Shah noted.

“The very fact that no additional tariffs will be imposed by the US and both the two sides

will engage in negotiations, is a big relief for other trading nations, including India,” the

president said.

Home



Demand to drop move to define MSMEs on turnover criteria

Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) associations in South India have come

together to demand relief from the Centre.

“MSMEs have been undergoing severe hardship in recent years, which is turning out to

be an existential crisis for us in the current global market scenario,” said Basavaraj Javali,

Chairman of Southern MSME Committee and President of Kassia.

MSME concerns

“A few amendments being proposed in the MSME Act are also detrimental to our

existence,” he added.

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9 CITI-NEWS LETTER

In this background, the leading southern MSME associations, including Maharashtra and

Goa, have joined hands to raise the various issues and problems facing the sector with the

Centre seeking redress.

The associations that have come under the common umbrella are Karnataka Small Scale

Industries Association (Kassia), Federation of Small & Medium Enterprises of India

(FSMEI), Federation of Andhra Pradesh Small & Medium Industries Association

(FAPSMEA), Kerala State Small Industries Association (KSSIA), Tamil Nadu Small and

Tiny Industries Association (TNSTIA), Coimbatore District Small Scale Industries

Association (CDSSIA), Goa State Industries Association (GSIA) and Chamber of Small

Industry Associations, Maharashtra.

Preliminary meeting

“We met today in Bengaluru at a preliminary meeting to discuss in detail the issues to be

taken up with the government in the forthcoming summit scheduled to be held in January

or February,” said Javali.

“We play an extremely important role by providing employment to unskilled and semi-

skilled persons who would otherwise remain unemployed and may add to the social

problems,” he added. The committee flagged many issues at today’s meet.

“We are urging the Central government to drop the proposal for redefining the MSMEs

using the turnover criteria and to maintain status quo,” said V Gnanasekaran, President

of Coimbatore District Small Scale Industries Association.

Explaining the rate of loan interest charged on SME borrowers, A Padmanabha, co-

ordinator of the southern committee, said, “It should be on par with the interest charged

on agricultural loans. Banks should do away with the cumbersome procedures and delays

in sanction of loans, do away with the processing fee for annual renewals of SME

borrowers and quick and online processing of loan applications in a time-bound manner.”

Other demands

Other issues that figure prominently in the charter of demands are: mandatory display of

CGTMSE information, including status by the banks. Upfront guarantee fee must be

reduced to 0.5 per cent, so also annual service fee.

Revival of CLCSS to benefit technology upgradation, withdrawal of present NPA norms,

making it 180 days for SME borrowers with a holiday/moratorium of two years for new

units, are the other demands.

The government should withdraw the SARFAESI Act or at least exempt the units up to a

borrowing limit of ₹2 crore as this will help the micro and small industries to survive in

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10 CITI-NEWS LETTER

the face of grave crises. Purchase preference of 25 per cent for SMEs by the PSUs should

be strictly implemented, it said.

Payment due from medium and large industries and PSUs must be cleared within 45 days

as per the provisions of the MSMED Act 2006 to help SMEs to stay away from legal

entanglements. Eliminate red tape and create a common regulatory body for SMEs.

Create an exclusive category for SMEs in order to bring in better focus on the problems

and remove GST on labour charges.

Home

Jaitley pitches for easing trade barriers

(Source: The Hindu, December 03, 2018)

‘Consumers globally can get the best products and services at a competitive cost’

Union Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister Arun Jaitley on Monday made a strong

pitch for free global trade, stressing it was in the larger interests of consumers around the

world, and enabled them to get the best products and services at a competitive cost.

“India remains committed to improving all hindrances in trade facilitation and easing

trade across barriers. We are investing in our infrastructure and using technology to the

best possible level and are willing to inculcate and implement best practices from the

world,” he underlined.

The Minister’s remarks during his opening address at a meeting of the World Customs

Organisation’s policy commission here, assume significance at a time when protectionist

tendencies in the developed world have triggered trade wars and built barriers to free

movement of goods and services.

“From the point of view of consumers, they are entitled to goods and services that are

indeed the best and most cost-competitive… No nation can manufacture all products or

specialise in all forms of services. And therefore, trading across the barriers of nations is

an economic imperative of the time,” Mr. Jaitley said.

Initial resistance

Recalling the initial resistance from some countries to trade facilitation measures when

they came up on the World Trade Organisation’s agenda in 1996, the Minister said that

over time, every country realised the importance of the subject and its implications for

domestic reforms as well as the performance of individual economies.

“Nations across the world have realised that increase in trade itself gives an impetus to

the global economy (and their own),” Mr. Jaitley said.

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11 CITI-NEWS LETTER

It is this recognition that has led countries to invest a lot in airports, ports, railways and

other infrastructure to support trade in both goods and services.

“India has, of course, been at the forefront of increasing its capacity. And this is evident

from the fact that in the last three years, India has moved from 140 to 77 in the World

Bank’s ease of doing business rankings. On trading across barriers, we were ranked 140th

out of 190 countries just a few years ago. And within a year of all the reforms made within

our country, we have come to 80th position – that’s a great movement upward of 60

positions,” the Minister said.

Revenue Secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey said that India’s focus in improving customs

clearances is on the reduction in dwell time of cargo, transaction costs and bringing

transparency in rules and regulations with simpler procedures. This, he said, is in sync

with the WCO’s current focus theme of creating smart borders for seamless trade, travel

and transport.

However, Mr. Pandey said that the Customs department also needs to be effective and

lethal when required, even as it seeks to facilitate seamless movement at the borders.

“While all assistance is to be given for legitimate cross-border trade, dangers posed by

illicit trade are too damaging to be ignored. The key challenge for the Customs today is to

arrive at a convergence of facilitation and enforcement. The economic frauds cut at the

very roots of our nation and must be dealt with severely,” he said, stressing that the

solution lies in collaborative and co-operative management of borders, within a country’s

official machinery as well as between countries.

Home

Sebi overhauls settlement rules, introduces confidentiality clause

(Source: Economic Times, December 03, 2018)

Markets regulator Sebi has made the settlement rules more attractive to help fast-track

cases, by including confidentiality and lenient terms for approvers, but not to settle cases

of defaulters and fugitive economic offenders.

The regulator said it will not settle proceeding in case the alleged default has market wide

impact, caused losses to a large number of investors, or affected integrity of the market.

The new norms will become effective from January 1, 2019, the Securities and Exchange

Board of India (Sebi) said in a notification.

The guidelines are based on suggestions made by a panel headed by retired judge A R

Dave.

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12 CITI-NEWS LETTER

Under the new settlement rules, the regulator has introduced a confidentiality clause and

lesser settlement amount for those offering information about an ongoing or possible

violation.

Besides, the Sebi will give an opportunity to an entity facing possible charges and

enforcement actions in certain cases to file a settlement application within 15 days of such

a notice.

If an entity fails to file a plea after Sebi's settlement notice, any further settlement attempt

will be permitted only after the proceedings are completed at the regulator's end and the

matter is pending before a court or a tribunal.

Also, the settlement fees and charges have been increased, while the amount will be even

higher in cases of delayed filing of application.

There has been an increase in the number of cases being settled over the past few years

and the regulator is keen to further encourage this route to close cases that are not very

serious in nature.

As many as 200 cases were settled for a total amount of over Rs 30 crore in 2017-18, up

from 103 cases for Rs 13.5 crore in 2016-17 and 34 cases in 2015-16 for Rs 4.42 crore.

Under the rules, an applicant will need to make one application for settlement of all

proceedings that have been initiated or may be initiated and make full and true

disclosures about the alleged defaults.

A settlement plea will not be considered if an earlier application for the same alleged

default has been rejected or in cases involving outstanding funds for recovery under

securities laws.

In case of withdrawal of a settlement plea, a second chance would be given only if the

applicant agrees to pay at least 50 per cent more settlement amount.

Besides, the Sebi will not entertain settlement pleas for alleged defaults having

marketwide impact, loss to a large number of investors and those impacting integrity of

the market.

Also, the regulator will not settle cases involving wilful defaulters, fugitive economic

offenders and those having defaulted in payment of fees or penalty imposed under

securities laws.

A settlement application will need to be filed within 60 days of a show-cause notice and

within 120 days in exceptional cases having sufficient cause for delay, in which case the

amount would increase by 25 per cent.

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13 CITI-NEWS LETTER

It also provide for non-monetary settlement terms, besides a settlement amount and

these would include suspension of business activities, exit from management,

disgorgement of losses incurred by investors, restraint from being an officer or director,

cancellation, reduction or lock-in of shareholding, enhanced audit and procedures etc.

An applicant can seek benefits of confidentiality and lenient terms (in form of lower

settlement amount) by agreeing to help in investigation, provided he or she ceases to

participate in violation of securities laws, provides continued and true disclosure of

information and evidence and doesn't conceal, destroy, manipulate or remove relevant

documents required to prove the alleged violation.

This will be applicable if the information provided relates to a securities law violation that

has occurred, is ongoing or is about to occur.

In case such an applicant fails to comply with necessary conditions, Sebi will be be able to

rely upon the information and evidence submitted to it in any proceeding.

Besides, the confidentiality will not apply if a disclosure is required by law or if the

applicant has made a public disclosure or agreed for disclosure in writing.

Home

Revenue secretary says excise duty hike on crude needs 'analysis'

(Source: Economic Times, December 03, 2018)

Revenue secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey Monday declined to comment on reports of

government planning an excise duty hike on petroleum products following fall in crude

prices, saying an "analysis" is required on it.

In face of mounting public pressure, the Centre had in October cut excise duty by Rs 1.50

per litre on both petrol and diesel after a rally in global crude prices and also asked oil

NSE 1.42 % marketing companies to lower the retail prices by Re 1 each. It was emulated

by some states, mostly BJP-ruled states.

However, crude prices have corrected by over 30 per cent since then to under USD 60 a

barrel levels, which has lowered fuel prices correspondingly and technically made space

for a review. But retail price can still come down by over Rs 4 a liter, according to many

analysts.

"At this point in time I will not be able to say anything. These things require certain

analysis. Off the cuff it will not be appropriate to say anything," Pandey told reporters

when asked if government is planning such a move.

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14 CITI-NEWS LETTER

Last week media reports said every Re 1 cut in the excise duty results in a Rs 14,000 crore

hit on the government coffers and that given the falling crude prices it revert to the duty

structure to pre-October levels.

It can be noted government has already fiscal deficit target by October at 103.9 percent

and many analysts have warned of fiscal slippages beyond the committed 3.3 per cent.

According to the report the Centre is looking at a hike of Rs 1-2 on excise on oil product.

Meanwhile, when asked about a shortfall in GST collection, Pandey acknowledged that

there has been a Rs 4,000-crore decline in November, but stressed that it cannot be

extrapolated into a trend.

"In November we got Rs 4,000 crore less, but you have to see a long-term trend. Like in

the previous month, we had collected over Rs 1,00,000 crore. This month we have

collected Rs 97,000 crore," he said

Addressing the 80th World Customs Organisation (WCO) Policy Commissionerate

meeting, Pandey said India is at the cusp of a transformation following GST rollout

Chairman of the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs S Ramesh said the country

has committed Rs 5 crore to enhance the expertise of WCO, making it the maiden

contribution.

He said economic frauds need to be dealt with severely but admitted that enforcement is

a challenge.

Pranab Kumar Das, member (customs) at the CBIC, said the directorate of revenue

intelligence (DRI) is active on curbing smuggling and signing pacts with countries to get

hold of passengers' list in advance so as to have a better profile of the travelers.

Home

Bengal govt invites 18 LAC countries at ‘Bengal Global Business Summit’

(Source: K N N India, December 03, 2018)

Eighteen Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) countries have been invited to the fifth

edition of the Bengal Global Business Summit (BGBS) to be held in February 2019.

The invitation to the LAC countries, which is a first for the BGBS, was announced by Amit

Mitra, State Finance & Commerce and Industries Minister, while speaking at the

conference, ‘India-LAC Business Cooperation: Special focus on West Bengal’, organized

by Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC) in Kolkata.

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15 CITI-NEWS LETTER

Mitra said that there are a number of core competency areas that Bengal and the LAC

countries have in common, like leather, textiles manufacturing, information technology

(IT) and a few others, and so, in these, there is potential for investment which will be

beneficial for both sides.

The minister said “One company in Bangla has recently invested in Chile for the

manufacturing of mining machinery. And now it is time for the LAC countries to come

and invest big in Bangla.

About the foreign collaborations, Mitra said that six countries have already agreed to

partner Bangla in BGBS 2019, including Germany and Italy which Chief Minister Mamata

Banerjee visited in September this year.

The ambassadors from eighteen Latin American countries namely, Venezuela, Brazil,

Paraguay, Cuba, Colombia, Mexico, Guatemala, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Ecuador,

Argentina, Panama, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Peru, Suriname, Bolivia and

Uruguay were present at the meeting.

Home

Gujarat loses top spot in e-way bills in Nov

(Source: Niyati Parikh, Times of India, December 04, 2018)

Soon after generation of e-way bills was made mandatory in April this year, Gujarat

generated the highest number of e-way bills for interstate movement of goods and

remained the top state on this count in the country. However, in November, Gujarat lost

its top spot to Maharashtra and experts claim it is thanks to Diwali holidays and a subdued

movement of goods.

According to data provided by state commercial tax department, some 26.08 lakh e-way

bills were generated in Gujarat in November, which was marginally lower than some 26.13

lakh e-way bills generated in Maharashtra in the same month. The data further suggests

that the movement of goods dropped by an estimated 37.4% in November, against some

41.63 lakh e-way bills generated in the state in October.

Pointing at reasons for the decline in number of e-way bills, R R Patel, joint commissioner

– checkposts, commercial tax department – Gujarat, said, “Gujarat has retained the top

spot since the beginning in e-way bill implementation. However, in the month of

November, due to Diwali season, businesses were closed for nearly a week and therefore,

the movement of goods was limited.” Transporters have put the blame on the recessionary

trend which may have dented movement of goods. “Apart from the Diwali holidays, there

is an overall slow movement of goods due to a recessionary trend. This is visible across all

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16 CITI-NEWS LETTER

the sectors including fast moving consumer goods (FMCG), chemical and textile sectors,

among others. Festive season sales were dull this time and this was clearly visible with

limited movement of goods,” said Mukesh Dave, president, Akhil Gujarat Truck

Transporters’ Association (AGTTA).

During the initial two months i.e. in April and May, Gujarat retained top spot with the

highest number of total e-way bills generated including those for inter-state and intra-

state movement of goods. “The norms for intra-state movement of goods differ from state

to state. After e-way bills were made compulsory for intra-state movement of goods,

Gujarat has slipped to the second spot as more intra-state e-way bills are generated in

Maharashtra, due to which it has been taking the lead,” Patel said.

Home Four-day textile fair from December 8

(Source: The New Indian Express, December 04, 2018)

The event named ‘WEAVES’ will kick off from December 5 and conclude on December 8.

With an aim to promote the handloom industry of the State and to create a better market

for the weavers community, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Texvalley, the

largest wholesale textiles market at Erode, are jointly organizing a four day-long textile

fair at Erode.

The event named ‘WEAVES’ will kick off from December 5 and conclude on December 8.

WEAVES will be the first-of-its-kind event focusing on promoting the handloom industry

and would feature more than 250 plus exhibitors from across the State showcasing their

products.

Speaking about the event, M Ponnuswami, Chairman, CII Tamil Nadu, and Chairman and

Managing Director, Pon Pure Chemicals India Private Limited, said, “WEAVES will bring

together reputed personalities of the powerloom sector to interact and deliberate on

taking this industry forward.”

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17 CITI-NEWS LETTER

GLOBAL:

Graphene unlocks new potential for 'smart textiles'

(Source: Eureka Alert, December 03, 2018)

The quest to create affordable, durable and mass-produced 'smart textiles' has been given

fresh impetus through the use of the wonder material Graphene.

An international team of scientists, led by Professor Monica Craciun from the University

of Exeter Engineering department, has pioneered a new technique to create fully

electronic fibres that can be incorporated into the production of everyday clothing.

Currently, wearable electronics are achieved by essentially gluing devices to fabrics, which

can mean they are too rigid and susceptible to malfunctioning.

The new research instead integrates the electronic devices into the fabric of the material,

by coating electronic fibres with light-weight, durable components that will allow images

to be shown directly on the fabric.

The research team believe that the discovery could revolutionise the creation of wearable

electronic devices for use in a range of every day applications, as well as health

monitoring, such as heart rates and blood pressure, and medical diagnostics.

The international collaborative research, which includes experts from the Centre for

Graphene Science at the University of Exeter, the Universities of Aveiro and Lisbon in

Portugal, and CenTexBel in Belgium, is published in the scientific journal Flexible

Electronics.

Professor Craciun, co-author of the research said: "For truly wearable electronic devices

to be achieved, it is vital that the components are able to be incorporated within the

material, and not simply added to it.

Dr Elias Torres Alonso, Research Scientist at Graphenea and former PhD student in

Professor Craciun's team at Exeter added "This new research opens up the gateway for

smart textiles to play a pivotal role in so many fields in the not-too-distant future. By

weaving the graphene fibres into the fabric, we have created a new technique to all the full

integration of electronics into textiles. The only limits from now are really within our own

imagination."

At just one atom thick, graphene is the thinnest substance capable of conducting

electricity. It is very flexible and is one of the strongest known materials. The race has

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18 CITI-NEWS LETTER

been on for scientists and engineers to adapt graphene for the use in wearable electronic

devices in recent years.

This new research used existing polypropylene fibres - typically used in a host of

commercial applications in the textile industry - to attach the new, graphene-based

electronic fibres to create touch-sensor and light-emitting devices.

The new technique means that the fabrics can incorporate truly wearable displays without

the need for electrodes, wires of additional materials.

Professor Saverio Russo, co-author and from the University of Exeter Physics

department, added: "The incorporation of electronic devices on fabrics is something that

scientists have tried to produce for a number of years, and is a truly game-changing

advancement for modern technology."

Dr Ana Neves, co-author and also from Exeter's Engineering department added "The key

to this new technique is that the textile fibres are flexible, comfortable and light, while

being durable enough to cope with the demands of modern life."

In 2015, an international team of scientists, including Professor Craciun, Professor Russo

and Dr Ana Neves from the University of Exeter, have pioneered a new technique to

embed transparent, flexible graphene electrodes into fibres commonly associated with the

textile industry.

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Chinese investment in Africa good for Africa's development: official

(Source: Global Times/ Xinhua, December 04, 2018)

The current Chinese investment in Africa, most especially in infrastructure

development, is good for the continent to achieve economic and social transformation

on the continent, an official of African Development Bank (AfDB) said Monday.

"Chinese investments are highly welcome to Africa," Gabriel Negatu, director general of

AfDB East Africa regional development and business delivery office, told Xinhua in an

interview on the sidelines of the ongoing African Economic Conference that opened on

Monday.

Private investment from China, especially in transport, energy and industrial

development, would help Africa to speed up the implementation of a continental free

trade area, said Negatu.

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19 CITI-NEWS LETTER

"China has become Africa's great development partner, because the Chinese government

has been able to support heavy infrastructure projects like the Kenya Standard Gauge

Railway, among others," he said.

"It is us Africans who need to decide what it is that we want China to invest in. Today

the west is not able to support that kind of big infrastructure developments in Africa," he

added.

The 13th edition of the annual conference, organized by the United Nations

Development Program and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa is held

under the theme "Regional and Continental Integration for Africa's Development."

The conference that runs to Wednesday, focuses, among others, on initiatives for

accelerating progress in infrastructure integration, including the removal of barriers for

movement of people and goods and services across borders.

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China, France to hold high-level economic, financial dialogue

(Source: Global Times, December 04, 2018)

The sixth China-France High-Level Economic and Financial Dialogue will be held in

France on Friday, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson announced Monday.

Chinese Vice Premier Hu Chunhua and French Minister of Economy and Finance Bruno

Le Maire will co-chair the dialogue, spokesperson Geng Shuang said at a routine press

briefing.

"As agreed by the two sides, the issues to be discussed include the macro-economic

situation and global economic governance, trade and financial cooperation, as well as

connectivity and cooperation on agriculture, advanced manufacturing and major

projects," Geng said.

The dialogue was put in place in 2013.

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20 CITI-NEWS LETTER

Qatar to quit OPEC in Jan. 2019, says its energy minister

(Source: The Hindu, December 03, 2018)

“We don’t have great potential (in oil), we are very realistic,” Energy Minister Saad al-

Kaabi, who described himself as “Mr. Gas”, told reporters here. “Our potential is gas.”

Qatar will leave the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) next

month in order to focus on gas production, the Gulf state’s new Energy Minister Saad al-

Kaabi announced on Monday.

It has been a member of OPEC since 1961, and the decision to pull out after all these

decades comes at a turbulent time in Gulf politics, with Doha under a boycott by former

neighbouring allies, including Saudi Arabia for 18 months.

“Qatar has decided to withdraw its membership from OPEC effective January 2019 and

this decision was communicated to OPEC this morning,” he said at a press meet here.

Gas remains our top priority

Qatar said gas production would remain its top priority. “We don’t have great potential

(in oil), we are very realistic,” Energy Minister Saad al-Kaabi, who described himself as

“Mr. Gas”, told reporters here. “Our potential is gas.”

“I think it’s inefficient to focus on something that’s not your core business and something

that’s not going to benefit you long-term,” he added.

‘A political decision’

Some analysts saw Qatar’s withdrawal as a “political decision to oppose Saudi Arabia”,

which alongside the U.S. and Russia is the biggest producer in OPEC.

Saudi Arabia and allies have also imposed a blockade on Qatar.

In September, Qatar announced its plans to boost gas production to 110 million tonnes a

year by 2024. Its oil production is around 6,00,000 barrels a day, making it the world’s

17th largest producer of crude, according to WorldData.info. It also only holds around 2%

of the world’s global oil reserves, according to the CIA World Factbook.

Mr. Kaabi said that he would still attend OPEC’s Vienna meeting later this week, his “first

and last” as Energy Minister. That meeting is expected to set a policy for 2019 and despite

Qatar’s announcement, oil prices soared on Monday after Russia and Saudi Arabia

renewed a pact to cap output. The pact was cheered by oil traders. Although Qatar’s move

came out of the blue, analysts say it will have limited impact on the global market.

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21 CITI-NEWS LETTER

Karl Mayer to display new textile machinery at Heimtextil

(Source: Fibre2Fashion, December 03, 2018)

Karl Mayer, the innovative textile machinery manufacturer headquartered in Germany,

is set to display worldwide novelties around the topics of terry fabrics and curtains, at

Heimtextil exhibition, in stand K 65, hall 3.0. The international trade fair for home and

contract textiles will be held from January 8-11, 2019, in Frankfurt/Main, Germany.

The company has received from the organisers a stand located in the exhibition’s Trend

Forum. At the same time, an in-house show will take place at the company’s

headquarters in Obertshausen, which can easily be reached by shuttle bus, Karl Mayer

said.

Machines and new textile developments will be shown there. Karl Mayer will pool its

new activities in the field of weft warp knits for Heimtextil under the Weft.Fashion

brand. For this purpose, a new weft curtain article will be produced for the in-house

show. The trendy pattern is captivating due to an extravagant design in the currently

fashionable woven-like look. Sophisticated fancy yarn gives the warp-knitted weft

curtain a completely new face. For this article, Karl Mayer announces a new weft-

insertion warp knitting machine with an extremely attractive price-performance ratio –

entirely in line with Weft.Fashion: New home textiles manufactured with the benefits of

warp knitting efficiency.

Moreover, there will be a machine premiere for the terry segment: for the first time, Karl

Mayer will be showing its TM 4 TS-EL in a working width of 193” and in a gauge of E 28

in Germany. This efficient machine will reveal its high performance in Obertshausen by

producing a revolutionary textile novelty: a double-face warp-knitted terry fabric with a

soft velour layer made from microfibers on the outer face, and an absorbent surface

made from cotton on the inner side. This article for bathrobes is not only functional and

stylish, it also shows advantages in terms of environmental protection compared to

woven counterparts, and this is due to the machine technology used for its

manufacture. Karl Mayer’s solutions for a sustainable production of terry articles can be

found under Terry.Eco, and the company’s entire commitment to a clean production

stands under the heading Cleaner.Productions.

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