Industrial production decline prompts call for differential manufacturing credit and coordinated trade policy support.
Decline in the Index of Industrial Production, especially in capital goods and manufacturing, prompts a request for a differential rate of credit for manufacturing and affordable domestic and dollar credit for exporters; sectoral interventions will follow a stock-taking exercise with Export Promotion Councils, a Board of Trade meeting, and consultations of a Government-Industry Task Force to inform the forthcoming Foreign Trade Policy and coordination with fiscal authorities.

Export growth reported with modest rise while trade deficit persisted; sectoral gains and declines noted, figures provisional.
India's merchandise exports in April 2012 were reported at US$ 24.50 billion against imports of US$ 37.9 billion, yielding a negative trade balance; engineering and basic chemicals recorded notable export growth while gems & jewellery and cotton textiles declined, and imports rose in petroleum products, machinery and coal but fell for gold, silver and precious stones, with the Commerce Secretary noting these are provisional estimates subject to revision.

Export of cotton free subject to prior contract registration with DGFT to monitor quantities and no export quota prescribed.
Export of cotton is permitted as free trade subject to mandatory prior registration of export contracts with the registration authority as a monitoring mechanism to track export quantities; this registration is administrative and no export quota has been prescribed for cotton under the policy.

Anti-dumping duty on imported raw silk targets dumped Chinese imports, imposing duties to protect domestic silk producers.
Imposition of Anti-dumping duty on specified grades of imported Mulberry raw silk addresses proven dumping from China by subjecting those imports to targeted protective duties, counteracting price distortion and protecting domestic producers for the affected grades.

Subsidy schemes for pulse imports increased domestic supply through designated agencies and supported state procurement efforts.
Government avoided direct imports of wheat and non-basmati rice while addressing pulse shortages by operationalizing subsidy schemes that authorised designated public agencies to import pulses and supply them either into the domestic market or directly to state governments, using agency-led distribution to stabilise supply and contain prices.

Export promotion of tea targets selected strategic markets with dedicated funding and enhanced promotional measures.
The government, citing competitive pressures from other producing countries, has chosen selected overseas markets based on Market Attractiveness & Potentiality and Ability of the Indian Tea Industry to compete, and committed dedicated funding for focused promotion. Measures include participation in international fairs, promotional support to exporters and associations, a Darjeeling Tea Trade Chain Integrity System to protect authenticity, media and PR activities, buyer-seller meets, exchange delegations, and assistance for additional transport and handling charges for certain export shipments.

Energy trade prospects: petroleum exchanges continue while power trade awaits transmission connectivity and intergovernmental decisions.
Bilateral engagement identified prospects for trade in petroleum products and potential trade in power, with joint working groups constituted to examine modalities. Petroleum trade is ongoing under current arrangements, while power trade is contingent on establishing transmission connectivity and no decision has been taken to create a transmission corridor.

Focus sector designation for leather exports enables duty concessions, duty credit scrips and capital goods import facilitation under FTP.
Focus Sector designation under the Foreign Trade Policy 2009-14 provides the leather industry with duty free import allowances linked to prior year export realization, duty credit scrips for notified leather products and finished leather, a zero duty EPCG facility for machinery imports, and a duty credit scrip for status holders for capital goods under actual user conditions; DIPP also implements an ILDP sub scheme funding CETPs and RO systems to support environmental infrastructure.

Commodity production support: government commodity boards provide financial and technical assistance to boost production, quality and exports.
Compiled state wise statistics for cardamom, tea, coffee, rubber and FCV tobacco show production, export, import and consumption trends with provisional estimates; productivity has risen for cardamom, coffee and rubber but declined for tea and tobacco. The Government, through Commodity Boards, administers Plan schemes offering financial and technical assistance for new planting, replanting, rejuvenation, quality upgradation, value addition and market promotion to enhance production, quality and exports.

Positive Net Foreign Exchange requirement: SEZ units must meet cumulative five-year NFE or face penal action under law.
SEZs reported rising aggregate export values while a notable share of declared export value comprised DTA earnings. SEZ units are subject to a Net Foreign Exchange (NFE) obligation, calculated cumulatively over a five year production period; failure to achieve positive cumulative NFE exposes units to penal action under foreign trade law. No explicit export targets are set for SEZs.

Tobacco regulation: COTPA and Tobacco Board oversight aim to limit production, protect risk groups, and discourage consumption.
Estimated tobacco production, consumption and exports declined while cultivated area contracted after an earlier rise; excise and customs receipts continued to be recorded across tobacco product categories. The Government received representations seeking bans or restrictions and enacted The Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Act to protect risk groups and discourage consumption, while the Tobacco Board regulates FCV tobacco crop size.

Establishment of spice export infrastructure to boost value addition and quality and improve international market access.
Government approved the establishment of Spice Parks to provide common cleaning, processing, colour sorting, grading and packing facilities to enable value addition and quality improvement; two parks are functioning and a Jodhpur park inaugurated. Additionally, seven Regional Quality Evaluation Lab-cum-Training Centres will be set up at principal port cities to test and evaluate spices for export, supplementing the central Quality Evaluation Laboratory in Cochin.

Mega Leather Cluster scheme expands infrastructure grants for the leather industry alongside targeted export incentive measures.
The Mega Leather Cluster (MLC) sub scheme, notified on 20 March 2012, replaces the earlier leather parks sub scheme and provides Government grants for different sizes of clusters to address infrastructure constraints in the leather industry; guidelines are hosted on the DIPP website. The leather sector is a Focus Sector under the Foreign Trade Policy 2009-14 and benefits from export promotion measures including duty free import of critical inputs relative to prior export FOB realization, duty credit scrips for notified products and finished leather, zero duty EPCG access for machinery imports, and a status holder incentive scrip for capital goods under actual user conditions.

Export promotion measures mobilize schemes and financial assistance to boost horticulture and cut flower exports abroad.
The Government outlines a regulatory and incentive framework to encourage agricultural and horticultural exports: administrative and financial support is channelled through Commodity Boards, Export Promotion Councils and APEDA, which implements assistance schemes for registered exporters. Central schemes identified include Market Development Assistance, Market Access Initiative, ASIDE, Vishesh Krishi and Gram Upaj Yojana, Focus Product and Focus Market Schemes, and Town of Export Excellence; these are supplemented by trade delegations and buyer-seller meets to facilitate market penetration and export promotion.

Trade agreement: bilateral MOU aims to double Indian tea exports to Pakistan, setting a clear export target by 2015.
India's 2010 tea exports to Arab countries and Pakistan totalled 75,255 thousand kgs valued at 9,246,844 thousand rupees, with major destinations itemised. Commercial conditions vary: Iraq and Egypt are normalising, Iran shows improving Rupee L/C trade confidence, while Syria and Libya remain unstable. A Memorandum of Understanding between the Indian Tea Association and Pakistan Tea Association dated 10 April 2012 targets an increase in exports to Pakistan from about 24 million kgs in 2011 to 50 million kgs by 2015.

L1B visa denial rates affect cross-border employee transfers and prompted bilateral and WTO-level consultations on trade measures.
Rising denial rates for new L1B petitions have constrained employers from transferring employees with specialized knowledge to the United States, prompting representations at ministerial and commerce secretary levels. Separately, the United States sought consultations under the WTO Dispute Settlement Mechanism regarding India's import restrictions on poultry and other products linked to avian influenza notification 1663, and consultations in Geneva allowed India to explain the notifications and answer US questions.

SEZ proposal for IT/ITES at Rajarhat: pending state government recommendation after corporate application.
Application seeks approval to establish a sector specific SEZ for IT/ITES at Rajarhat with proposed private investment and projected employment; further processing awaits the state government recommendation, which had not been received at the time of the parliamentary reply.

Export permission under FTP allowed without restriction, subject to government-imposed curbs to protect domestic agricultural supply.
Export permission under the Foreign Trade Policy allows fruits and vegetables to be exported without standing quantitative restriction, subject to government-imposed export restrictions when required to protect domestic availability and reasonable prices. The Government provides targeted export-promotion support through APEDA schemes for market development, infrastructure, quality, research and transport, supplemented by Ministry-level schemes (MDA, MAI, ASIDE, Vishesh Krishi and Gram Upaj Yojana, Focus Product/Market Schemes, Town of Export Excellence) and NHM-funded production and post-harvest interventions.

Trade facilitation with Portugal via India EU Joint Commission to expand commerce and resolve trade and investment issues.
The release provides India EU country wise export and import statistics for 2009-10, 2010-11 and Apr 2011-Jan 2012, identifies main commodity categories traded with Portugal (India's exports: textiles, iron and steel, manmade textiles, marine products, plastics, pharmaceuticals, machinery, leather goods, carpets; imports: machinery, electronics, ores and scrap, paper products, pharmaceuticals, non metallic minerals, transport equipment, leather, organic chemicals), cites DGCIS as source, and describes India EU Joint Commission and sub commissions as the institutional mechanisms for discussing and facilitating trade and investment with Portugal.

Import duty increase on gold leaves impact uncertain while export promotion measures include consignment diamond imports and relaxed carriage limits.
Export figures showed provisional increases through 2011-12 while the recent import duty increase on gold (March 2012) has an undetermined impact. The Government provides export promotion support under MDA and MAI and, under FTP 2009-14, permits consignment import of diamonds for certification/grading and re-export by specified agencies and raises personal carriage limits for exhibition and export promotion participants.