Wt/tpr/M/313/Add. 1 31 July 2015
PART II: REGARDING THE GOVERNMENT REPORT (WT/TPR/G/313)
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| PART II: REGARDING THE GOVERNMENT REPORT (WT/TPR/G/313)
2. Economic Environment 2.6 Major challenges Page 10 (Para 4) The Government's "Make in India" initiative aims to promote the country as an investment destination, spur manufacturing and promote employment. It also envisages the development of infrastructure including i-ways besides highways, ports, optical fibre networks, gas grids and water grids. Question 16: a.What are the specific goals, strategies and concrete measures of the "Make in India" initiative? b.Does the Government of India provide any investment or industrial cooperation opportunities for foreign countries to participate in the "Make in India" initiative? To compete with China, are there any investment incentives to attract foreign investors? Reply (a) & (b): India has a policy of attracting investments into the country. Details are available at http://www.makeinindia.com. III. The new reform agenda (3) Reforms in FDI Policy Page 12 (Para 3) The Government has liberalized the FDI policy in the defence sector by raising the FDI cap from 26 to 49%. Further, FDI above 49% has also been allowed subject to approval by the Cabinet Committee on Security, to allow access to modern and "state-of-art" technology. 100% FDI under the automatic route has been allowed in specified rail infrastructure projects. The Indian Parliament has recently passed the Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill 2015 which, among others, raises the FDI cap in the insurance sector from 26 to 49%. It was announced in the Budget 2015-16 that in order to further simplify the procedures for Indian companies to attract foreign investments, there would no longer be any distinction between different types of foreign investments, especially between foreign portfolio investments and foreign direct investments; instead there would be a composite cap. The sectors which are already on a 100% automatic route would not be affected. Question 17: Would India please provide an update on its simplified procedures for attracting foreign investments? Reply: DIPP has recently issued a Consolidated FDI Policy Circular dated 12, May, 2015 giving details on policy and FDI caps across sectors. It can be accessed at the following link: http://dipp.nic.in/English/Policies/FDI_Circular_2015.pdf Thailand QUESTIONS REGARDING THE SECRETARIAT REPORT 2. TRADE AND INVESTMENT REGIME Page 32 (paragraph 2.36) Question 1: India's FDI Policy as launched in the Circular on Consolidated FDI Policy, has specified prohibited sectors and permitted sectors for FDI. In this connection, Chapter 6: Sector Specific Conditions on FDI, stipulated that in sectors/activities not listed under neither the prohibited sectors nor permitted sectors, "FDI is permitted up to 100% on the automatic route, subject to applicable laws/regulations; security and other conditionalities". Does this mean that foreign investors can invest in all other sectors up to 100%? Are there any other regulations concerning limitations on FDI that should be made aware to foreign investors? Reply: Details of FDI policy and the related sectoral conditions are available in the updated Consolidated FDI Policy Circular of 12th May, 2015 (that can be accessed at http://dipp.nic.in/English/Policies/FDI_Circular_2015.pdf) 3. TRADE POLICIES AND PRACTICES BY MEASURE Page 47 (Table 3.8) Question 2: Please provide the rationale behind India's import prohibitions on Telephone sets (HS 8517). Furthermore, please clarify the statistics from the World Trade Atlas, where in contrast to the measure of import prohibition for Telephone sets, the statistics indicated that the products were indeed imported into India during 2012-2014. Reply: Import of telephone sets under HS Code: 8517 is "free". However, import of "GSM mobile handsets" (classified under ITC (HS) code "8517") without International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) No., with all zeroes IMEI, duplicate IMEI or fake IMEI is "Prohibited". Further, import of "CDMA mobile handsets" (classified under ITC (HS) code "8517") without Electronic Serial Number (ESN)/Mobile Equipment Identifier (MEID), with all Zeroes as ESN/MEID, duplicate ESN/MEID or fake ESN/MEID is "'Prohibited". 4. TRADE POLICIES BY SECTOR Page 102 (paragraph 4.16) Question 3: With regard to the price support scheme (PSS), Thailand understands that India sets a minimum support prices (MSP) for major commodities and have government-designated agencies (Food Corporation of India) intervene in the market to purchase at the MSP when prices of the relevant commodities fall below the MSP. While under the market intervention scheme (MIS), other State-designated agencies purchase perishables not covered under the MSPs at a market intervention price (MIP) when prices decline. Please elaborate on how the minimum support price, market intervention price, and export price are determined. Reply: Minimum Support Price (MSP): MSP for a particular commodity is decided and fixed taking into account various factors including the cost of production, overall demand- supply, prices in domestic and international markets, inter crop price parity, the likely effect of the price policy on the rest of the economy, terms of trade between agriculture and non-agriculture sectors and rational utilization of natural resources, namely, land and water. Market intervention price (MIP): MIP is decided by a committee consisting of representatives of the Ministry of Agriculture, State Governments, National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED), Ministry of Finance and the Directorate of Economics & Statistics (under Ministry of Agriculture) taking into account the cost details furnished by States/Union Territory Governments. QUESTION REGARDING THE REPORT BY THE GOVERNMENT Page 12 (paragraph 3.3) Question 4: To promote India as an investment destination and achieve trade policy goals, the government of India had established 352 Special Economic Zones by the end of 2014. The Government furthered its efforts with launching of the "Make in India" programme covering 25 industrial and service sectors. Please elaborate the differences between incentives of the Make in India initiative and the Special Economic Zones. Reply: "Make in India" programme recently launched by the Govt. of India is targeted towards making India an investment destination and global hub for manufacturing, design and innovation ‘Make in India’ recognizes ‘Ease of doing business’ as most important factor and in addition Government intends to develop industrial corridor and smart cities to provide infrastructure based on state of art technology. This programme has identified 25 sectors in manufacturing, infrastructure and service activities. A number of initiatives have been included in the budget 2015-16 to strengthen and improve investment environment. No specific incentives have been extended under the initiative. Incentives extended to SEZs are restricted to SEZ Developers/Co-developers/Units only. List of incentives under SEZ scheme may be seen at Annexure. Page 14 (paragraph 4.4) Question 5: India has a policy of creating and exporting value-added agricultural and high technology products that are important to regional value chains; Complimentarily, Thailand has a policy to link value chains with other countries, including India. In this regard, please identify the particular processed agricultural products that are of India’s focus. Additionally, please provide more details on the Cold Storage Chain Logistics Policy. Reply: India is manufacturing and exporting Meat products, Egg powder, Basmati Rice, Food preparations, Biscuits and Cereal based products, Sugar confectionery, Fruits and Vegetable products, Dehydrated Onion, Mushrooms, Orange and Pineapple juice, Guar gum, Soya products, Gherkins, Honey and Alcoholic Beverages, etc. To arrest post harvest horti/non-horti losses, the Ministry of Food Processing Industries is implementing a Central Sector Scheme of Cold Chain, Value Addition and Preservation Infrastructure since 2008-09 throughout the country. Under this scheme, assistance is provided for setting up integrated cold chain infrastructure in the country. OTHER QUESTIONS Question 6: Report from Kingsman on 19 February 2015 stated that the Government of India approved the subsidization of sugar for export. Please provide information related to this measure. Reply: The model of the Indian sugar industry is quite different from the models in many other parts of the globe. The sugar mills in the country neither own the sugarcane fields nor undertake contractual cultivation. The raw material for the sugar industry viz sugarcane, is cultivated by an estimated 5 million farmer families who are low income and resource poor on individual land holdings which are extremely small and scattered and in general range from 0.5 to 2 hectares. The interventions by the government is to facilitate payment of arrears to farmers by the sugar mills. Annexure Fiscal benefits and duty concession offered to SEZ Developers and units: (I) THE INCENTIVES AND FACILITIES OFFERED TO THE UNITS IN SEZS FOR ATTRACTING INVESTMENTS INTO THE SEZS, INCLUDING FOREIGN INVESTMENT INCLUDE:-
(ii) The major incentives and facilities available to SEZ developers include:-
Trinidad and Tobago Report by the World Trade Organization (WTO) Secretariat (WT/TPR/S/313) SECTION 3: Trade Policies and Practices by Measure (3.1) Measures Directly Affecting Imports (3.1.1) Customs procedures and requirements Paragraph 3.29 (page 35): It is noted that India has undertaken several initiatives to improve customs procedures and as such facilitate trade. For example, India has begun self-assessment activities where importers/exporters are required to declare the correct description, value, classification, etc. of goods and assess the customs duty leviable on imports/exports. Additionally, several services have been made available online, for example, registration for importer/exporter codes and the online processing of bills on entry.
Reply: Over the years, India has been taking several initiatives autonomously to improve customs procedures and facilitate trade. For example, self-assessment in Customs had been introduced with an objective to curtail time of clearance and the associated costs by relying on the declarations filed by importers and exporters. Subjecting only those consignments that are perceived to be risky to re-assessment resulted in faster clearance of balance consignments. (3.1.10) State trading Question (Paragraph 3.55 (page 52): The Report makes notes of the exclusive rights accorded to import 11 agricultural products. Will the rights of these products be given to another STE? If so, are there any intentions to not have these products controlled permanently by an STE in the future? Reply: As per the current policy, the products which are under the STE category can be imported only by the concerned STEs or by other entities given NOC by these STEs. Over the years, India has been making necessary changes in the STE policy from time to time. (3.1.5) Other charges affecting imports In this section, the Report highlights that India imposes several charges other than customs duties on imports. These charges include anti-dumping duties, education cess charges, special additional duties (SADs), etc. In table 3.5 on page 43, it was revealed that these charges can cause the final import tax of a product to increase significantly. For example, for manufacturing products, the average applied customs duty is 12.1% however, when other import charges are added, this increases the total charge to an average of 28.1%.
Reply: India is in the process of introducing the Goods and Services tax, which will streamline a number of duties, both for domestic transactions and imports. (3.2) Measures Directly Affecting Exports (3.2.6) Export Support and Promotion (3.2.6.1) Special Economic Zones (SEZs) (a) Paragraph 3.136 (page 68): It was noted that the benefits accorded to firms established in a SEZ have remained largely unchanged since India's previous Review with few exceptions. Are there any plans to introduce additional measures to improve benefits accorded to firms established in a SEZ? If yes, what are these measures? Reply: Since 2012, Minimum Alternate Tax (MAT) has been introduced on the book value of the profit of the SEZ units, thereby nullifying the benefit of income tax exemption being availed by such units. So far as future benefits are concerned, it would be difficult to predict the same. (3.2.6.3) Drawback Schemes Paragraph 3.146 (page 71): Given that the framework of drawback schemes has been largely unchanged since India’s last Review, are there any intentions of completely removing the this system? Reply: Drawback schemes rebates the central indirect taxes on inputs used the export product and is as per the WTO ASCM. (3.3) Measures Affecting Production and Trade (3.3.5) Intellectual Property Rights (3.3.5.1) Introduction Paragraph 3.207 (page 84): What are the reasons for the mentioned fall in the rank of the Global Innovation Index 2014? Reply: The Global Innovation Index (GII) measures national innovation performance based on a set of variables related to both innovation input and output. The innovation input index is a function of institutions, human capital and research, infrastructure, market sophistication and business sophistication. The output index considers knowledge and technology outputs as well as creative outputs. GII which is calculated on above indices, may not be conclusive for comparing annual positions of any country over consecutive years as the methodology of evaluation gets modified every year. Scores and rankings from one year to the next are not directly comparable. Each ranking reflects the relative positioning of that particular country/economy on the basis of the conceptual framework, the data coverage, and the sample of economies-elements that change from one year to another. Therefore, making inferences about absolute or relative performance on the basis of year-on-year differences in rankings may not present a clear picture. 4: Trade Policies by Sector (4.3) Services (4.4.1) Financial Services (4.4.1.1) Banking (4.4.1.1.2) Commercial Banks Paragraph 4.63 (page 112): The Report states that domestic banks are mandated to specifically open branches anywhere annually, provided that 25% of the branches are open in rural India. Is there are parallel stipulation for foreign – owned banks? Reply: The general permission granted to domestic scheduled commercial banks for opening branches in India is not applicable to branches of foreign banks. The guidelines on branch authorisation presently applicable to domestic scheduled commercial banks and as amended from time to time would generally be applicable to Wholly Owned Subsidiaries (WOSs) of foreign banks. However, WOS would require prior approval of RBI for opening branches at certain locations that are sensitive from the perspective of national security and the general permission would not be applicable to opening of branches in such centres. (4.4.3) Transport (4.4.3.2) Air Transport Paragraph 4.136 (page 128): Trinidad and Tobago enquires why the decision was made for passengers who are embarking/disembarking from the north-eastern region to be exempted from the passenger service tax as opposed to passengers from other regions? Reply: As has been indicated in the relevant notification itself, the Central Government had decided to exempt passenger service tax for passengers who are embarking/disembarking from the north-eastern region as opposed to passengers from other regions, mainly in the public interest. Turkey THE SECRETARIAT REPORT 2.2.2 Trade policy goals, 2.4.2.1 Policy and 2.4.2.2 Incentives, pg. 26, 33 and 34, para. 2.13, 2.41 and 2.43 The Secretariat report mentions multiple times about the "make in India" campaign initiated by the Government. It is reflected in the report that the campaign aims to raise foreign investment, as the report maintains: 2.13. Increasing India's share in global exports remains the main thrust of the Government's trade policy goals. The main goal of the FTP 2009-14 was to make India a global player in World trade by doubling its share of global trade by 2020. (…) Its goal is to make India a significant participant in international trade and to raise India's share of global exports from 2% to 3.5% by 2020. This is expected to be achieved by providing a sustainable and stable policy environment for foreign merchandise and services trade; linking rules, procedures and incentives for trade with other recent initiatives such as "make in India", "digital India" and "skills India"; promoting the diversification of India's exports by assisting key sectors to become more competitive; and creating an architecture for India's engagement with key regions of the world. (…) 2.41. Most recently (on 25 September 2014) as part of the "Make In India" campaign, the Government raised the FDI limit in defence from 26% to 49% and permitted portfolio investment in defence up to 24% through the automatic route. In addition, up to 100% FDI will be permitted in defence industries for "modern state-of-the-art technology" on a case-by-case basis. (…) and 2.43. A number of investment incentives are provided both by the central and State Governments to encourage investment in certain regions or activities (Section 3.3.1). In September 2014, the Government launched the "Make in India" programme which encourages investment in industry and services." It is stated in the report that the target is to increase exports via increasing foreign investment. From examining the relevant webpage (www.makeinindia.com) it is seen that a total of 25 sectors including automobiles, aviation, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, construction, machinery and media entertainment is included among the target sectors. Could the Delegation of India detail the "make in India" project? Are there any requirements like using local content or sharing know-how in order to benefit from the said programme? Reply: Complete details about the "Make in India" initiative are available at : http://www.makeinindia.com. 2.3.2.1 Regional Trade Agreements, pg.30, para.2.24 It is stated in the Report that "There have been concerns expressed in recent years regarding the potentially negative impact of RTAs, notably on Indian industry. The Department of Commerce recently conducted an internal analysis of various FTAs, and found that the utilization of several FTAs by India's FTA partners was not significant. Given the low impact of FTAs on Indian industry, it is not clear what the immediate benefits of existing FTAs are and what if any implications for India's policy there may be on its current RTA negotiations. According to the authorities each negotiation is driven by the overall balance of interests with the specific trading partner". Could India kindly provide details about concerned negative impacts of RTAs mentioned above? Have the Indian authorities had an analysis in order to detect the problems leading to this negative impact? Reply: The internal analysis has only covered countries in East Asian region which whom India has an FTA. It is for the trading partners to analyse the level of preferential imports vis a vis the total imports into India. However, some of the possible reasons could be the low level of awareness among exporters of the FTA, administrative issues such as the procedure for obtaining the certificate of origin, tariff liberalization may not have been completed etc. The Government of India is engaged in the task of increasing the awareness of the FTAs for the domestic stakeholders. In this context, the Government of India has conducted FTA outreach programmes across the country, facilitated the development of a trade information portal and disseminated information on FTAs on its website. 2.4.1.1. Compulsory Industrial Licensing, pp. 32, para. 2.33. It is stated in the report that "In November 2011, the DIPP also notified the National Manufacturing Policy (NMP) whose overall goal is to raise the share of manufacturing in GDP to 25% and create 100 million jobs over a decade or so. To implement the policy, national investment and manufacturing zones (NIMZs) have been created which provide infrastructure, land use on the basis of zoning, clean and energy-efficient technology and social infrastructure and skill development facilities. The NIMZs are to be declared industrial townships with their own planning and investment clearance facilities. According to the authorities these will be different from special economic zones (SEZs) in terms of size, infrastructure, governance structures related to regulatory procedures, exit policies and fiscal incentives. The NIMZ will be much larger – a minimum of 5,000 hectares, compared to 500 hectares for a SEZ – although sector-specific NIMZs can be as small as 50 hectares; incentives for the NIMZ will include assistance with water and environment audits, easing access to finance, rationalization and simplification of business regulations, as well as for acquiring technology, compared to tax incentives provided for SEZs." Could India provide a clarification regarding the effects of creating National Investment and Manufacturing Zones on raising the share of manufacturing in GDP as stated in the Report? Reply: Government has granted "in-principle" approval to a total of 20 National Investment and Manufacturing Zones (NIMZs), out of which 12 NIMZs are located outside the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) region. These are: (i) Nagpur in Maharashtra (ii) Prakasam in Andhra Pradesh (iii) Chittoor in Andhra Pradesh (iv) Medak in Telangana and (v) Tumkur in Karnataka (vi) Kolar in Karnataka (vii) Bidar in Karnataka (viii) Gulbarga in Karnataka (ix) Kalinganagar, Jajpur District in Odisha (x) Ramanathapuram District of Tamil Nadu (xi) Auraiya District in Uttar Pradesh and (xii) Jhansi District in Uttar Pradesh. Under phase-I of the DMIC project, 8 Investment Regions have also been accorded 'in-principle' approval of Government for setting up as NIMZs as per guidelines approved by the Government. These are (i) Ahmedabad-Dholera Investment Region, Gujarat; (ii) Shendra-Bidkin Industrial Park city near Aurangabad, Maharashtra; (iii) Manesar-Bawal Investment Region, Haryana; (iv) Khushkhera-Bhiwadi-Neemrana Investment Region, Rajasthan; (v) Pithampur-Dhar-Mhow Investment Region, Madhya Pradesh; (vi) Dadri-Noida-Ghaziabad Investment Region, Uttar Pradesh; (vii) Dighi Port Industrial Area, Maharashtra; and (viii)Jodhpur-Pali-Marwar Region in Rajasthan. The effect of this policy on increasing the share of manufacturing in GDP and creation of jobs would be realised in due course. 3.1.4.1 Trade Policies and Practices by Measure – Measures Directly Affecting Imports – Tariffs - Applied Tariffs, pg. 38, para. 3.18 It is highlighted in the Secretariat Report that "…However, the "effective" tariff rate at any given time of the year, can be considerably different from the statutory rate due to general and "end user" based exemptions which lower the standard rate for certain users and adjustments made to the tariff through notifications issued in the Gazette of India which may lower or raise the standard rate. The effective tariff can therefore vary throughout the year due to these changes which add to the complexity of the tariff and uncertainty for traders." Could India kindly explain whether there are any preparations for a plan/programme to eliminate this complexity in applied customs duties in terms of "effective" and "standard" rates? Reply: The statutory rate of duty is the rate prescribed under the Customs Tariff Act, 1975. However, under Section 25 of the Customs Act, 1962, the Central Government is empowered to grant exemption from the tariff rate of duty [effective rate of duty]. Accordingly, keeping in view the interests of the industry and consumers and emergent conditions, the government specifies "effective" rates of duty. 3.1.4.1 Trade Policies and Practices by Measure – Measures Directly Affecting Imports – Tariffs - Applied Tariffs, pg. 40, para. 3.22 It is underlined in the Secretariat Report that: "The simple average applied MFN tariff in 2014-15 is 13%, up from 12% at the time of the last Review (2010-11). The overall increase is mainly due to a rise in tariffs in agriculture (WTO definition), whose overall average at 36.4% remains considerably higher than the average for non-agricultural products (9.5%). The increase in the average tariff for agriculture is mainly due to an increase in tariffs for cereals and preparations thereof (from 30.4% in 2010-11 to 40.9% in 2014-15), oilseeds and fats (from 18.5% to 33.2%), and sugars and confectionary (from 33.4% to 41%). Above average tariff protection is also found in a number of other products such as beverages, spirits and tobacco (77.5%), and coffee and tea (74.8%)." Considering the abovementioned escalations in applied MFN tariffs, could India kindly state the main motive in getting relatively more protectionist in "sensitive" products in the course of time? Reply: India has been unilaterally reducing its tariffs on both agricultural and non-agricultural goods. Applied MFN on non-agricultural goods is less than 10%. For certain items the effective import tariffs are changed as a response to price volatility in the domestic market and a measure of balancing the interests of consumers and farmers. Moreover, these revisions in tariffs are well within India's WTO commitments. 3.1.5 Trade Policies and Practices by Measure – Measures Directly Affecting Imports – Other Charges Affecting Imports, pg. 43, para. 3.29 It is specified in the Secretariat Report that "The addition of these duties and charges to the applied tariff raises the actual duty paid by the importer significantly above the effective applied tariff rate. All imports, unless exempt, must pay the effective rate of customs duty, plus the AD, plus any cess applicable, and the Education and Higher Education Cess; the 4% SAD is then calculated as a share of this final value. As a result, the overall average applied tariff including such charges rises from 13% to 28.3%, with the final duty charged for agricultural products (WTO definition) rising from 36.4% to 46.1% and for non-agricultural products from 9.5% to 25.6%." Bearing in mind that duties and charges mentioned above may constitute noteworthy barriers on imports, could India kindly express its perspective about these duties and charges from aspects of trade liberalization and ease of doing business? Reply: Additional Duty of Customs (CVD) is levied at a rate equivalent to the rate of excise duty charged on the domestic production of a similar item. Similarly, Education Cess and Higher Education Cess charged as a percentage of the Excise Duty for domestic goods was also charged on similar imported goods. However, w.e.f 01.03.2015, Education Cess and Secondary & Higher Education Cess leviable on all excisable goods has been fully exempted. Simultaneously, the standard ad valorem rate of duty of excise (i.e. CENVAT) has been increased from 12% to 12.5%. Similarly, Special Additional Duty (SAD) is charged on imported goods in lieu of sales tax/value added tax charged on the domestic sale of goods. Both these taxes are in the nature of equalizing taxes and thus would apply to imported goods so as to provide a level playing field for domestic industry. Hence, there are no additional charges on the imports and completely in conformity of global practices. 3.1.6 Tariff concessions, pp. 44, para. 3.31 It is mentioned in the report that: "Under Section 25 of the Customs Act, 1962, the central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, exempt generally or absolutely or subject to any stated conditions, imports from the whole or part of the customs duty leviable. The majority of such tariff concessions are announced with the Annual Budget through a notification by the Ministry of Finance (Department of Revenue) and are provided under the various schemes to encourage exports and investment (Section 3.3.1). However, tariff concessions and exemptions may also be announced throughout the year through notifications issued in The Gazette of India. The concessions can be either product- and tariff-line-specific but many are also based on end-or industrial-use and therefore difficult to include in the overall analysis of the tariff." Given the difficulty of including tariff concessions applied by India in the overall analysis of the tariff, could India explain how it ensures that these concessions are not constituting non-tariff barriers to trade? Reply: Information regarding charges, taxes, levies and fees to be paid by importers/exporters are be accessed at http://cbec.gov.in and at https://www.icegate.gov.in. A Tax Calculator is also available on both the websites. This makes India's tariff regime transparent and predictable. 3.1.9.5 Trade Policies and Practices by Measure – Measures Directly Affecting Imports – Import Prohibitions, Restrictions and Licensing – Other Import Restrictions, pg. 51, para. 3.53 It is indicated in the Secretariat Report that "Certain items, including new motor vehicles and second-hand cars (less than three years old) must be imported through specified ports (Chennai, Kolkata, and Mumbai for new vehicles and Mumbai for second-hand cars)." Could India kindly indicate the prevailing motives behind determining a limited number of designated ports for the import of a specific product that might be considered as a non-tariff barrier? Reply: Most of the items are allowed to be imported from all Custom designated ports, port restriction criteria has been introduced for few items where parameters like assessment of value, duty, compliance to quality, and other parameters cannot be assessed in all ports. The designated ports ensure quick clearance of the goods for imports and exports purposes. 4.4.1.2 Insurance, p. 115, para. 4.81 "In accordance with the 1938 Insurance Act, as amended, insurance services may only be carried out by an Indian insurance company, meaning any insurer formed and registered in India under the Companies Act 2013, whose sole purpose is to carry out life insurance business or general insurance business or re-insurance business." Regarding this paragraph, could the government of India explain what is meant by the term "Indian insurance company"? Is it possible to be registered as a joint stock company under Indian legislation, or are there other rules for registration? Reply: Section 2(7A) of the Insurance Act, 1938, as amended, defines Indian Insurance Company and details are available at www.irda.gov.in. Indian Insurance Company can be a joint venture company but the aggregate holdings of equity shares by foreign investors, including portfolio investors, should not exceed forty-nine per cent of the paid up equity capital of such Indian Insurance Company. 4.4.1.2 Insurance, p. 115, para. 4.83 "In accordance with the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (Obligations of Insurers to Rural and Social Sectors) Regulations 2002, insurers must place a certain percentage of their policies with the rural and social sectors. This restriction has remained unchanged since 2011. … Out of 23 private life insurance companies, 21 fulfilled their social sector obligations during 2013 14, and the IRDA initiated penal action against the two non-compliant insurers…" Could the government of India give more information about its insurance market policies and these penal actions targeting the private life insurance companies which did not correspond to percentage limitation while placing their policies? Reply: In case an insurer fails to comply with the provisions of this Regulation, it shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding twenty-five crore rupees in terms of section 105B of the Insurance Act, 1938 as amended. 4.3. Manufacturing, pp. 110, para. 4.51. As mentioned in the Report, "In December 2006, the Department of Heavy Industry issued an Automobile Mission Plan 2006-2016 as a road map for future development of the industry. The Plan has various suggestions for policy interventions. Automobile manufacturing is subject to various technical regulations." Could India elaborate on the specifics of the Automobile Mission Plan? Given that it has been almost ten years since its issuance; would it be possible to elaborate on its effects on the development of the automotive industry during this period? Reply: The Automotive Mission Plan has resulted in the following major initiatives taken by Government to support the Automotive industry development: a.NATRIP project b.Setting up of the Automotive Skills Development Council in partnership with Ministry of Heavy Industry for skilling people employed in the entire automotive value chain ranging from component manufacture to vehicle assembly, sales and marketing, servicing, finance, insurance, etc. c.Introducing of the FAME Scheme to enable faster adoption of electric and hybrid vehicles on a pan-India level. THE GOVERNMENT REPORT 2.4.5 Services Trade, pg. 8, para. 2.23 It is stated in the Government Report that, "India has a huge potential in exports of other business services like Management Consultancy, professional services such as Accountancy, Architectural and Engineering Services, Medical Value Tourism, Audio-Visual Services, R&D Services, Wellness Tourism Services, Recreational Services, Financial Services, Construction Services and Health Related professional services." Could India kindly provide information whether it has any special programs implemented towards the development of professional services like medical value tourism and audio-visual services? Reply: For development and promotion of international trade in services including those of professional services like medical value tourism and audio-visual services, the Government of India follows a multi-pronged strategy of negotiating commercially meaningful market access through multilateral, plurilateral and bilateral trade agreements, trade promotion through participation in and organization of international fairs/exhibitions, focused strategies for specific markets and sectors, increasing competitiveness through domestic regulatory reforms and provision of fiscal benefits through schemes like Service Exports from India Scheme (SEIS). The SEIS shall apply to many service sectors including professional services like medical value tourism and audio-visual services. The details of the SEIS are available at the website of the Department of Commerce (http://www.commerce.nic.in). As far as domestic reforms are concerned, these are targeted at improving the competitiveness of the domestic service sectors so as to help us increase our engagement in international trade. 2.6.1 Agriculture and Food Security pg. 10, para. 2.31 It is stated in the Government Report that, "Given the limited scope to increase the area under production, future agricultural growth is contingent on increasing agricultural productivity. This is necessary not only to ensure reasonable returns to farmers but also to bolster food security including availability and affordable access. Measures are required to increase the irrigated area, improve the efficiency of existing irrigation systems and promote agro-based industry for value addition. Moreover, the agriculture and food sectors need huge investment in research, education, extension, fertilizers, and laboratories to test soil, water, and commodities, and warehousing, and cold storage." Could India kindly provide further information about the details of above mentioned agricultural approach? Are there any specific initiatives, projects, programs etc.? Reply: The 12th Five Year Plan (2012-17) aimed at an average annual growth rate of 4% in agriculture and allied sectors. The Plan recommended improvements in agri-investment, income, product and productivity, promotion and extension of modern technologies, resource-use efficiency for sustainable agriculture. To achieve the objectives envisaged in the 12th Plan period, 51 schemes of the Department of Agriculture & Cooperation have been reviewed and restructured into 11 missions/Schemes. The five Missions are National Food Security Mission (NFSM), Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture Mission (MIDH), National Mission on Oil Seeds and Oil Palm (NMOOP), National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA), and National Mission on Agricultural Extension & Technology (NMAET). Five central sector schemes which are being implemented are National Crop Insurance Programme (NCIP), Integrated Scheme on Agriculture Census & Statistics (ISAC&S), Integrated Scheme of Agriculture Marketing (ISAM), Integrated Scheme of Agriculture Cooperation (ISAC) and Secretariat Economic Service. Further, Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) is being implemented as a State plan scheme to promote public investment in agriculture and allied sector. 4.1 Trade Policy – Foreign Trade Policy – Overview, pg. 14, para. 4.5 and The Secretariat Report – 3.1.9.2 Trade Policies and Practices by Measure – Measures Directly Affecting Imports – Import Prohibitions, Restrictions and Licensing – Import Licensing and Restrictions, pg. 50, para. 3.49 It is stated in the Government Report that "India has deliberately kept governmental intervention in trade policy to the minimum even during the peak of the global economic crisis. While several countries resorted to various forms of protectionist trade measures such as liberal doses of subsidies to their enterprises, restrictions on imports, fiscal incentives, and promoting the purchase of domestically produced goods and services, India, on the other hand, resorted to few trade restrictions during the crisis; and even these measures were temporary and quickly dismantled." It is expressed in the Secretariat Report that "Imports of certain goods such as cashew kernel (HS 08013210 and 08013230)35, areca nuts (HS 0802 80)), and marbles (HS 25151100 and 25151210 – from 20 November 2014) 36 are subject to import restrictions depending on their import price (Table 3.9). These imports are restricted (i.e. subject to a licence) when the c.i.f. price is lower than the minimum import price." In this context, it is worth mentioning that the restriction implemented on marble import through import licensing (minimum price and quotas) has been in effect since 2009, meaning the onset of the global economic crisis. Could India kindly declare whether the elimination of abovementioned restriction is considered in the near term? Reply: India maintains import quota on Marble and similar stones on the ground of "Conserving exhaustible natural resources". These items have been notified to WTO in 1997 (WT/BOP/N/24 dated 22.05.1997) by India under Article XX(g). India has been liberalising the import quota over the last few years. United States of America Yüklə 1,57 Mb. Dostları ilə paylaş:
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