The shipping ministry is working to shift to an 80 per cent landlord model by the end of this decade to increase efficiency and reduce logistics costs at major ports, a senior government said on Saturday. In the landlord model, private players take over the operational aspects, while the port authority acts as a regulator and landlord. Speaking at CII Annual Business Summit 2024, Ports, Shipping and Waterways Secretary TK Ramachandran said Jawaharlal Nehru Port (JNPT) has become the first major port of the country to become 100 per cent landlord port, having all berths being operated on PPP model. The PPP (public-private partnership) model is considered an effective tool for attracting investment in the port sector. "We have 12 major ports, and we have a huge capacity...we want to shift to an 80 per cent landlord model by the end of this decade," Ramachandran said. He further said the four pillars that the Shipping ministry is working on to improve the cost and ease of doing busin

Cautioning against household savings getting invested in futures and options trade, Chief Economic Advisor V Anantha Nageswaran on Saturday said there is a need to reconsider sachetisation of F&O trade because it requires different financial literacy. Speaking at the CII's Annual Business Summit, 2024, Nageswaran said whenever financial sector development precedes national development the story hasn't ended well for other countries as well. Asian crisis 1997-98 is a very important example, he said. When we take pride in the fact that we have the world's largest trading volume in futures and options (F&O), we need to ask ourselves is that a sign of progress or a sign of concern, the CEA said. He said the financial sector has a responsibility to ensure that capital market grows in those areas where we can actually harness Indian household savings for productive purposes. Many of the people currently engaged in the market do not understand them The sachetisation of futures and ...

Says spike in India's trade and cooperation with Russia should not be considered temporary

India and Britain on Friday reaffirmed their commitment to conclude a mutually beneficial free trade agreement (FTA) at the annual UK-India Strategic Dialogue in London. Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra, who is on a visit to the UK, held discussions with his counterpart, Sir Philip Barton, Permanent Under-Secretary at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO). After their meeting, the FCDO said the two leaders reviewed the progress made on the UK-India 2030 Roadmap since the last strategic dialogue in January last year and looked ahead to the next phase of bilateral cooperation. The two reflected on good progress on the 2030 Roadmap since the last review, noting key areas where the UK and India have worked together to tackle some of the world's biggest challenges, the FCDO said in a statement. This included collaborating on the world's first malaria vaccine, working closely on India's successful G20 Presidency and increasing opportunities for students and entrepreneurs

The first inter-ministerial delegation from India held meetings from May 15-17 under the Intergovernmental Framework Agreement between the two countries concerning cooperation for the empowerment and operation of the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEEC).According to the Indian Embassy in Abu Dhabi press release, the IMEEC will provide effective alternate supply routes generating efficiencies and reducing costs. Indian Ambassador to UAE Sunjay Sudhir led the discussions with key entities like DP World UAE, AD Ports Group and UAE's Federal Customs Authority."The Indian delegation comprised of senior officials from Ministry of Shipping, Ports & Waterways, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Central Board of Excise and Customs and Deendayal Upadhyay Port, Kandla," the press release stated."They visited Khalifa Port, Fujairah Port and Jebel Ali Port where they held detailed discussions with the respective Port authorities for facilitating the movement of goods between ...

Subrahmanyam calls for reforms in tariff policy, ease of procedures

India exposure in such global ETFs could be capped at 20%

ONDC in 'serious discussions' with Amazon, Flipkart to join the network

The UN body also noted that surging demand for critical minerals presented new opportunities for developing economies but pointed to a need for innovation and policy and institutional reforms

India's forex reserves jumped USD 2.561 billion to USD 644.151 billion for the week ended May 10, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said on Friday. In the previous reporting week, the kitty had increased USD 3.668 billion to USD 641.59 billion after three consecutive weeks of decline. For the week ended April 5, the reserves had hit an all-time high of USD 648.562 billion following multiple weeks of rise. For the week ended May 10, the foreign currency assets, a major component of the reserves, increased by USD 1.488 billion to USD 565.648 billion, the data released on Friday showed. Expressed in dollar terms, the foreign currency assets include the effect of appreciation or depreciation of non-US units like the euro, pound and yen held in the foreign exchange reserves. Gold reserves increased USD 1.072 billion to USD 55.952 billion during the week, the RBI said. The Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) were up USD 5 million to USD 18.056 billion, the apex bank said. India's reserve posi

Panagariya stressed that in order to achieve this, it was important to reform labour laws and for markets to release capital to more labour-intensive industries

The signing of the Chabahar Port deal is a 'landmark' in India-Iran economic relations and it offers various future investment opportunities, including the development of subsequent phases of the facility, a top Iranian diplomat said in a note. These opportunities include development of the second phase of Shahid Beheshti Port as well as the third and fourth phases on BOT model, among others, Davoud Rezaei Eskandari, Acting Consul General of Iran in Mumbai, said in the note shared with PTI. India on May 13 signed a 10-year contract to operate the strategic Iranian port of Chabahar that will help it expand trade with Central Asia. The Chabahar Port on the Gulf of Oman - which New Delhi had proposed to develop way back in 2003 - will provide Indian goods a gateway to reach landlocked Afghanistan and Central Asia using a road and rail project called International North-South Transport Corridor, bypassing Pakistan. The long-term agreement was signed by Indian Ports Global Limited (IP

Some economists, including former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan, have said recently that India should focus on services sector rather than manufacturing as it has missed that opportunity

"For long, we have looked at Russia from a political or security perspective," Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar said at an industry conference

Subrahmanyam calls for financial sector with the 'muscle' to serve firms in India and across the world

He further said the oil price and special import arrangements that India has with Russia is also 'helping India tremendously in terms of keeping its import costs down'

The United Nations has revised upwards India's growth projections for 2024, with the country's economy now forecast to expand by close to seven per cent this year, mainly driven by strong public investment and resilient private consumption. The World Economic Situation and Prospects as of mid-2024, released Thursday, said, India's economy is forecast to expand by 6.9 per cent in 2024 and 6.6 per cent in 2025, mainly driven by strong public investment and resilient private consumption. Although subdued external demand will continue to weigh on merchandise export growth, pharmaceuticals and chemicals exports are expected to expand strongly. The 6.9 per cent economic growth projections for India in the mid-year update is an upward revision from the 6.2 per cent GDP forecast made by the UN in January this year. The UN World Economic Situation and Prospects (WESP) 2024 report that was launched in January had said that growth in India was projected to reach 6.2 per cent in 2024, amid robus

As of April, India imported more than 1.72 mn barrels per day from Russia

Container volume is expected to grow by 8 per cent to 342 million tonnes this fiscal despite the risk of a prolonged Red Sea crisis, CateEdge Ratings said on Thursday. The slated connection of the dedicated freight corridor to Jawaharlal Nehru Port in FY26, along with capacity additions by ports, is expected to drive growth in container volume over the medium term, it added. Cargo at Indian ports is dominated by 3Cs -- crude oil (termed as Petroleum Oil Lubricants (POL), coal and containers. These three commodities represent 74-75 per cent of total cargo throughput handled by ports. Over the past 3 years ended FY24, POL witnessed a moderate CAGR of 4 per cent while coal and container volumes witnessed 13 per cent and 9 per cent growth, respectively, CateEdge Ratings said. The rating agency said it expects coal cargo throughput at ports to grow at a CAGR of 2-3 per cent between FY24 and FY26, despite an anticipated decline in coal imports by 3-4 per cent due to increased domestic c

Apparel, footwear and gems & jewellery sectors set to post better results