Input costs to drop on account of concessional duties on raw materials

Concessions have been given in sectors like pharmaceuticals, textiles, leather products, jewellery and engineering goods.

Question: I have been working in the Gulf for the past several years. My family in India is having agricultural land and is dependent on farming for their livelihood. There are reports that there is fertiliser shortage in India due to the recent crisis in east Europe. Will the Indian Government be able to alleviate the problems of farmers who are faced with a large increase in input costs?

The continuing geopolitical crisis has hit India and other developing countries which have a large number of people dependent on agriculture. This is because fertiliser and urea prices have shot up in the international market by upto 40 per cent. This increase is on account of the skyrocketing gas price which is 70 per cent of the cost of urea. The disruption in the supply chain has aggravated the situation.

However, the Indian government is currently well stocked with 30 lakh tonnes of DAP and 70 lakh tonnes of urea, well ahead of the kharif and rabi seasons of 2022. Several production units have been set up in the past few years which would make India self sufficient to meet the entire domestic demand. It is relevant to note that for the financial year 2022-23, the fertiliser subsidy provided by the government is ₹1.4 trillion. This subsidy figure may go up by about ₹600 billion in view of the price of urea increasing on account of the crisis in eastern Europe.

The Indo-UAE trade deal has brought tremendous benefits for India which is apparent from the fact that for the first time exports have touched $400 billion in 2021-22. Is India going to have more trade deals with other countries to boost its economy and create more employment opportunities?

Trade deals are being negotiated with the United Kingdom, Canada and Israel. Last month, a trade deal was concluded with Australia whereby import duties will be totally eliminated covering 96 per cent of the items which are traded.

Concessions have been given in sectors like pharmaceuticals, textiles, leather products, jewellery and engineering goods. As a result, the bilateral trade is likely to double to $50 billion per annum and create around one million jobs in the next five years.

The input costs of Indian manufacturers will be reduced on account of concessional duties on raw materials and intermediates such as alumina, gas and coal.

Indian pharmaceutical companies will now get regulatory approvals quicker in Australia.Technical collaborations and joint ventures in this sector are therefore expected to multiply in the coming months.

My NRI friends from the US. and UK are planning to set up an educational institution in India and purchase land to accommodate a large campus. Which are the areas in the educational field which need to be covered so as to make this enterprise rewarding both from the academic and financial perspectives?

New age management education is already gaining ground in India. Therefore, if you and your friends are entering this field you will have to compete with second generation Indian Institutes of Management.

Six IIMs were founded between 2008 and 2011 and additional seven such institutes have been recently set up. The new paths of learning are in the digital technology field. Courses pertaining to supply chain management and digital enterprise management are gaining ground in India.

Some of the promising educational institutes are concentrating in the field of upskilling and reskilling executives. In this format, data science, cyber security and blockchain technology are the most sought after specialised programmes. In fact, new institutes which are set up in India are attracting students from several African, South East Asian and Latin American countries.

H. P. Ranina is a practicing lawyer, specialising in tax and exchange management laws of India.

• Dubai