Policy Pulse #3 | June 23, 2022
This Week in Policy
Labour
ESI Scheme to be implemented in all of India
The Employees’ State Insurance Corporation, at its 188th meeting, has decided to extend full coverage of the ESI scheme to all districts in India. Currently, the scheme is partially implemented in 153 districts, and 148 districts are not covered by the scheme. The ESIC has also decided to set up 23 new 100-bed hospitals across the country. Read more
NSO releases quarterly PLFS bulletin
The National Statistics Organisation has released its quarterly periodic labour force survey bulletin for the period between January and March, 2022. The data shows a slight decline in the labour force participation rate (in urban areas) from the same period last year, from 47.5% to 47.3%, Encouragingly, however, it also shows a decline (in urban areas) in the unemployment rate from 9.3% to 8.2% over the same period. Read more | Report
Warehousing and Logistics
Centre extends concession period for MMLPs
The Centre is reported to have extended the concession period for its multi-modal logistics park scheme from 30 years to 45 years. The extended concession period is expected to attract more long-term investments in Indian infrastructure, by giving them a longer period to augment their earnings. The facility shall return to the government at the end of 45 years. Read more
Banking, Financial Services and Insurance
GOI issues Sovereign Gold Bonds
The Government of India, in consultation with the Reserve Bank of India, will be issuing Sovereign Gold Bonds (SGBs) in two tranches, through Scheduled Commercial Banks, recognised stock exchanges and other specified institutions. Read more
Net Direct Tax Collections for FY 2022-23 grown at over 45%
The figures of Direct Tax collections for the Financial Year 2022-23, as on 16.06.2022 show that net collections are at Rs.3,39,225 crore compared to Rs. 2,33,651 crore over the corresponding period of the preceding year, representing an increase of 45% over the collections of the preceding year. Read more
FinMin flags slowing growth, rising inflation
The Finance Ministry, as part of its Monthly Economic Review for the month of May 2022, has flagged growing inflation, rising fiscal deficit and a slowdown of growth in the Indian economy as challenges for policy makers in this financial year. The report states that the risk of stagflation is low, however, due to India’s prudent stabilisation policies. Read more | Report
Life Insurance companies to sell general insurance
The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India is reportedly mulling over permitting life insurance companies to offer health insurance policies, and is likely to issue draft guidelines on the matter. Read more
RBI extends timeline for application of credit card rules
The Reserve Bank of India has extended the deadline for application of its master directions on credit and debit cards, specifically for (a) the requirement of OTP-based consent for activation of credit cards, (b) ensuring that sanctioned credit limits are not breached without explicit consent of the cardholder, and (c) non-capitalisation of unpaid charges, levies and taxes for compounding interest, to October 1, 2022. The directions were previously to be implemented from July 1. Read more | Notification
Foreign Affairs
BRICS Summit this week
China is hosting this year’s BRICS Summit on 23-24 June in a virtual format. The Summit will be attended by Xi Jinping (China), Vladimir Putin (Russia), PM Narendra Modi (India), Cyril Ramaphosa (South Africa) and Jair Bolsanaro (Brazil). India is expected to resist possible efforts by China to create an alternative to a US-led global order. Read more
PM to visit Germany and UAE
PM Narendra Modi is set to visit Germany under invitation from Chancellor H.E. Mr. Olaf Scholz on 26-27 June 2022 for the G7 Summit, which is under the German Presidency this year. A few other democracies such as Indonesia, South Africa, Argentina and Senegal have also been invited. Read more
Trade and Commerce
India secures a few small victories at WTO meet
The 12th Ministerial Conference of the WTO, which concluded on 16 June, saw several rounds of heated debate and discussion. India’s major demands, which were in the areas of agriculture, fisheries and TRIPS, while not granted completely, have been met to a considerable extent. Read more
India, EU re-launch FTA talks after 9 year-lull
Piyush Goyal, Union Minister for Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs and Food & Public Distribution and Textiles, and Mr. Valdis Dombrovskis, Executive Vice-President of the European Commission, formally re-launched negotiations for the EU-India Free Trade Agreement (FTA), after a nine-year hiatus. Negotiations for a separate Investment Protection Agreement (IPA) and Geographical Indicators (GI) Agreement have also been launched. Read more
International North-South Transport Corridor takes off
The first ever transport of cargo through the new International
North South Transport Corridor - of wood laminate sheets from St. Petersburg, Russia to Nhava Sheva, India - has been dispatched through Iran’s state-run shipping company. The 7,200 km multi-modal strategic corridor shaves freight costs by 30% from the previous route for such freight, which ran through the Suez Canal, and brings down the time involved from 45-60 days to approximately 25 days. It is believed that the INSTC will give Indian companies access to markets in Central Asia and the Balkans. Read more
Agriculture and FMCG
Consumer Commissions to speed up complaint redressals
At the National Workshop on ‘Effective and Speedy Consumer Disputes Redressal’, Shri Piyush Goyal emphasized the need for speedy and affordable justice by Consumer Commissions. He urged the Commissions to explore how digital media can be used for issuing notices, replies and other documents to enable them to dispose cases within 3-5 months of filing. He also proposed using BIS and NABL accredited laboratories for timely resolution of consumer grievances which require product testing and analysis. Read more
UAE suspends export, re-export of Indian wheat
The Government of the United Arab Emirates has ordered a suspension of exports and re-exports of wheat and wheat flour from India for a period of four months. Following the suspension, Indian wheat sold to the UAE shall only be used for domestic consumption in the country. Read more
Healthcare
United States announced $122 million funding for Indian medical research institutions
The Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, USA has announced that it shall distribute funding of US $122.48 million to three Indian health research institutions - the Indian Council of Medical Research, the National Institute of Virology and The National Institute of Epidemiology - over the next five years. Such funding is intended to prevent avoidable epidemics, detect disease threats early and coordinate rapid and effective responses. Read more
Government mulls scrapping Air Suvidha requirements
With the COVID-19 pandemic in decline, India is reportedly considering scrapping requirements of registering under the Air Suvidha portal. The pre-arrival registration portal requires those arriving from abroad to register before flying into an Indian airport, and provide details such as their travel history and RT-PCR test results. A decision on scrapping the portal, however, is reported to be at least two months away. Read more
TMT
India primed for 5G launch
Telecom Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw (MeitY) has announced that 5G networks will be operational in 20-25 Indian cities and towns by the end of 2022. Readers will recall that last week, the Union Cabinet chaired by PM Narendra Modi gave its nod for for auction of over 72,000 MHz (72 GHz) of airwaves for a validity period of 20 years. Read more
Non-personal data likely to be dropped from data law
Non-personal data (anonymised data that cannot be used to identify an individual) is likely to be excluded by MeitY from the scope of the new data protection legislation that is currently in its final stages of drafting. The Joint Parliamentary Committee on Data Protection, which tabled its report last year, had recommended inclusion of non-personal data protection in the previously released Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019. Read more
M&E projected to grow at 17% in 2022: Report
India’s media and entertainment sector grew by 16.4% in 2021 to reach $21.5 bn, and is projected to grow 17% to become a $25.2 bn market in 2022, recovering to pre-pandemic level, according to a report released by EY-FICCI. Read more
Manufacturing
PLI Scheme for Telecom & Networking Products amended with upped incentive rates
Department of Telecommunications announced that design led manufacturing under Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for promoting Telecom and Networking Products manufacturing in India has been amended with an additional incentive rate of 1% over and above existing rates. The existing telecom PLI scheme has also been extended by one year. Read more
Sustainability
India ranks third globally for total renewable capacity additions in 2021
REN21’s Renewables 2022 Global Status Report revealed that India added 15.4 GW of renewable energy capacity in 2021, ranking only behind China (179 GW) and US (42.9 GW) in new additions. 13 GW of the total addition was solar, making India the second largest market in Asia for new PV capacity addition. Read more | Report
Upcoming Events
Agrochemicals Conference
June 23 | Taj Hotel Palace, New Delhi
FICCI is organizing the 11th edition of Agrochemicals Conference on 23rd June 2022 with the theme “Policy landscape for a flourishing Agrochemicals Industry”. The conference will have the likely presence of senior officials from the Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals, Department of Agriculture, Cooperation & Farmers Welfare, Government of India, captains from the industry, farmers, academicians across the globe. For details, see here.
India Sustainability Conclave 2022
June 24 | Hotel Ashok, New Delhi
SocioStory is organizing the India Sustainability Conclave on June 24 to bring forth how ‘regeneration’, particularly at the intersection of business innovation and brand building, can create a win-win wave of prosperity. The Chief Guest for the event is Narendra Singh Tomar, Minister of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare. For details, see here.
MSME Business Conclave 2022
June 27-July 1 | Virtual
FinancialExpress.com is hosting a week-long event to celebrate the contribution of small businesses to India and its economy, in celebration of MSMEs Day on June 27. The conclave shall bring together regulators, MSME associations, small business owners, bankers, and technology service providers for discussion on solutions for the growth of small businesses in India. For details, see here.
Public Health Summit
June 29 | Virtual
CII is organizing its 3rd Public Health Summit to explore challenges and opportunities in the public health sphere. The summit is aimed at decision-makers, professionals from different sectors, non-governmental organizations and private organizations/industries to work together in establishing population health and wellbeing through different innovative solutions, and comprehensive health promotion for all. For details, see here.
A Few Good Reads
Himanshu breaks down the findings of the latest annual Periodic Labour Force Survey in the Mint.
Adrija Roychowdhury writes in the Indian Express on India’s experiments with population control, and why it does not require a population policy.
G. Ananthakrishnan analyses India’s bottom rank on the Environmental Performance Index and the country’s environmental challenges in The Hindu.
Partho Dasgupta explains in Outlook Magazine the future impact of 5G on over-the-top (OTT) services.
Sheila Chang traces the debate in Singapore around granting social protections such as contributions to its Central Provident Fund for gig workers in The Ken.
Open Consultations and Notifications
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology is seeking comments on proposed amendments to the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 (available here). The deadline for sharing comments is July 6, 2022. For details, click here.
The Ministry of Food Processing Industries (GOI) is inviting applications under various schemes of Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana (PMKSY). A pre-bid meeting is scheduled to be held on 4 July, 2022 in Room No. 120, Panchsheel Bhawan, August Kranti Marg, New Delhi. The last date for submitting bids is 17:00 hrs on 10 August, 2022. For details, click here.
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