According to a SBI Research report, hiking import duties may lead to inefficiency. The central government had recently hiked import duties on a slew of products to boost local manufacturing Since the beginning of 2000, successive governments have been eyeing a quarter of the GDP to come from manufacturing by 2025 but not much has moved in that direction.

Between 2004 and 2017, the incremental gain in the country’s manufacturing global share is a low 1.5 percentage points to 3 per cent, while China has gained a whopping 18 per cent share, SBI Research said in a report on Monday.

The report also noted that even with such a negligible gain, the country is the sixth-largest manufacturing economy globally, controlling 3 per cent of global output. A mere 1 per cent hike in import duties leads to a USD 2 billion worth decline in imports on average, the report said.

In the export basket, the highest share is of consumer goods, followed by intermediate goods and these two attract the highest tariffs in the import basket, thus making a case against the fact that higher import tariffs have not protected these industries, according to the report.

On the contrary, the report said, other countries with much lower tariff structures than ours have built strong manufacturing bases, which have helped them in exports. High tariffs are impacting the country’s position in global value chains, wherein both backward and forward integration is needed.

Though our higher import duties are primarily due to poor forward supply chain linkages, it can actually boomerang on us creating a self-sustaining manufacturing base. This is because only by enhancing manufacturing competitiveness, we can increase our exports and not by raising tariffs, it noted.

Further, the report said successive data-prints show manufacturing production growth has been dismal in the late 1990s through the early 2000s.

Future Retail has urged the BSE and the NSE to ignore Amazon’s letter regarding the Singapore-based Emergency Arbitrator’s (EA) interim award, which has directed the Kishore Biyani-led Future Group to put on hold its Rs 24,713-crore deal with Reliance Industries. Amazon has sought damages of Rs 1,431 crore plus interest against its investment in Future Coupons.

The letter is being seen by legal experts as an effort to distance itself from the agreement between Biyani and Amazon, called Amazon’s contention to the EA as entirely misconceived. While maintaining that the interim award is not legally enforceable in India, as the deal with Reliance is in line with local laws. The EA order accepts Amazon’s contention that two separate shareholder agreement(s), one between Amazon and Future Retail’s promoters and another between Future Retail and its promoter constitute one single integrated transaction and that by such a composite transaction Amazon has an interest in and rights against Future Retail.

Myntra and LenzingEcovera™ fiber brands have joined forces for the upcoming festive season to provide clothing made entirely of eco-friendly viscose fiber.

The collaboration has invigorated Myntra’s in-house fashion brands to develop an environmentally responsible apparel line for both men and women.

Myntra’s brands Roadster, Dressberry, Mast &Harbour and House of Pataudi have had the most innovative minds work to build a wide range of designs for the collection. The outfits will be reasonably priced and cater to a diverse taste in fashion for buyers across India.

The LENZING™ ECOVERO™ fibres are derived from certified renewable sources of wood using a responsible production process meeting high environmental standards. What’s more, the viscose fibre is certified with the EU Ecolabel that is awarded to products and services meeting stringent sustainability requirements throughout their life cycle.

This collaboration will further enhance Myntra’s commitment towards the ecosystem.”

During the recently concluded Great Republic Day Sale, hosted by Amazon India from January 20-23, nearly 88,000 Small and Medium Business (SMBs), artisans, weavers and women entrepreneurs received orders from customers in over 5,000 pin codes across the country. Around 65 per cent of these sellers were from non-metro cities.

Further, over 10,700 sellers received their highest-ever single day sales during the shopping event. Artisans and weavers who sell their unique handmade collection through Amazon Karigar and women entrepreneurs from Saheli program witnessed a growth of 1.2X respectively over their average daily sales. Start-ups and brands under the Launchpad program witnessed a growth of 1.12X over average daily sales.

The company claims that customers from over 700 pin codes ordered on Amazon.in. Some of the most bought products included Orthopedic Mattresses, Organic Tea, DTH connections and Tubular Batteries.

Through its own investigation, GOTS has finally obtained substantial documentary evidence confirming rumors about systematic fraud abusing the Indian government certification system of organic cotton production. During surveillance audits by GOTS accreditation body IOAS attended by GOTS experts, they detected fake raw cotton transaction certificates (TCs).

These TCs had been created by fraudsters using APEDA (Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority of the Indian Government) templates with fake QR codes which led to a cloned APEDA website to pretend the TCs were authentic. GOTS has assured knowledge of 20.000 metric tons of fake material.

GOTS reported that it accepts raw organic cotton if it is certified to any of the IFOAM Family of Standards. In India, the nodal agency to certify organic raw cotton for export is APEDA. Their system is similar to GOTS’, where TCs are issued by their Certification Bodies (CBs) and carry information about certified produce (volume, transport details, buyer, seller, etc.).

GOTS has instructed its’ approved CBs to cancel all upstream TCs issued based on wrongly issued TCs in order to prevent affected goods from being sold with GOTS labels. A certification ban (CB) on 11 companies was imposed and the contract with one approved CB was terminated.

GOTS has submitted all facts to APEDA urging an investigation, criminal prosecution, and improvement. All GOTS-certified organisations have been informed on the matter and are being provided guidance accordingly.

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Amazon posted very strong sales during its Prime Day event held in the country in August and its ongoing Diwali sales were also off to a good start.

The US-based online retailer posted a 37 per cent YoY growth in international sales to $25.2 billion in the quarter ended September 30, while profits from the international segment shot up to $407 million.

In comparison, Amazon’s international sales in the third quarter of 2019 stood at $18.3 billion on a loss of $386 million. Olsavsky said high volumes and leverage in markets like the UK and Germany were creating profits in the international segment ahead of schedule.

He added that investment in its international business, including in India, should get back to previous levels once the pandemic subsides.

Its international business has turned profitable only after the Covid-19 pandemic, having made a rare operating profit of $345 million in the second quarter.

Overall, Amazon reported record sales in the three-month period, with revenue growing by 37 per cent to $96.2 billion and profit almost trebling to $6.3 billion, on strong sales, resurgence of digital advertising and robust performance of its cloud computing business, Amazon Web Services.

Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) has launched a limited edition collection of two-layered ‘Happy Diwali’ printed face masks made of pure Muslin fabric. KVIC also plans to launch Christmas and New Year special masks in the coming days. The muslin face masks are priced nominally at Rs 75 a piece and are available for sale through the Khadi outlets in Delhi and online through KVIC’s e-portal www.khadiindia.gov.in.

Like other variants of Khadi face masks, these are skin-friendly, washable, reusable and bio-degradable and economical that suits all pockets. They have two layers of pure white Muslin fabric. The sparkling red piping on the masks adds to the style quotient as it has been designed to gel with the festive attires.

Vinai Kumar Saxena, Chairman, KVIC said, these face masks have added variety to its range of face masks that also include Cotton and Silk masks. They are also creating employment for Khadi artisans.

These masks retain moisture content inside, while providing an easy passage for the air to pass through. Their fabric is hand-spun and hand-woven that is extremely soft on skin and is comfortable for long-duration use.

Reliance Retail posted a 14 per cent decline in operating profit while revenue remained flat as many shoppers stayed indoors or preferred local shops and online buying instead of crowding large retail stores.

Reliance’s retail division, which runs 12,000 stores selling products across groceries, consumer electronics and apparel, posted sales of Rs 41,100 crore with earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) at Rs1,986 crore. The growth, however, was strong compared to sequential quarter revenues growing 30 per cent and EBITDA increase 8 per cent against the June quarter. During the second quarter, the company opened 232 new stores and said it will accelerate further as operating curbs are being lifted.

In August, Reliance Retail Ventures agreed to buy the retail assets of Future Group in a deal that will see five listed entities, including Future Retail, folded into Future Enterprises FEL), which currently houses the group’s retail back-end infrastructure. The retail business will then be transferred to Reliance in a slump sale for nearly 25,000 crore. However, Amazon which has an indirect stake in FRL has contested the deal and has even received a ruling in their favour from the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) to halt the deal.

This deal requires approvals from Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), Competition Commission of India (CCI) and National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) in addition to no objection certificates from creditors and minority shareholders.

Textile major Arvind Ltd’s business was impacted due to COVID-19 and lockdowns throughout the quarter, resulting in poor sales and losses. The company reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 6 crore for the quarter ended on September 30, 2020, as against a net profit of Rs 50 crore it reported in the corresponding period last year. Total income during the quarter declined to Rs 1,319 crore, as against Rs 1,974 crore it reported in the corresponding quarter a year-ago.

Arvind is a leading player in India’s textile and apparel market. It owns several private labels and licenses for international brands in India. Its headquarters are in Naroda, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India, and it has units at Santej. The company manufactures cotton shirting, denim, knits and bottomwear fabrics. It has also recently ventured into technical textiles when it started Advanced Materials Division in 2011.