Exchange rate determination sets operative currency conversion rates for customs valuation of imports and exports effective August date.
Determination under the Customs Act sets specified conversion rates between listed foreign currencies and the Indian rupee, effective 4 August 2017, superseding the prior notification. Separate annexed schedules prescribe distinct rupee equivalents for imports and for exports-Schedule I by unit rates for major currencies and Schedule II by rates per one hundred units for certain currencies-establishing the operative exchange figures for customs valuation and export realisation of goods.

Free trade negotiations with African regional groups advance to deepen bilateral commercial ties and promote sectoral cooperation and investment.
Government measures to strengthen commerce with African countries employ bilateral review mechanisms and ministerial engagement, while negotiations proceed for a Free Trade Agreement with the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa, a Preferential Trade Agreement with the South African Customs Union, and a Comprehensive Economic Co-operation Partnership Agreement with Mauritius; trade promotion under the Market Access Initiative and sectoral cooperation events support export diversification and investment in areas such as agriculture, renewable energy, education and IT services.

Spices Board technical support pledged for state funded Spice Park projects, with an SDA to coordinate quality and export infrastructure.
The Central Government received a proposal for a Spice Park at Nizamabad and indicated the Spices Board will provide technical support if the State supplies land and funds; it approved a Spice Development Agency headquartered at Warangal to coordinate research, production, marketing, quality improvement and export activities. The Export Oriented Production, Export Development & Promotion of Spices scheme provides for infrastructure for common processing in Spice Parks, upgraded processing technology, quality evaluation labs for export testing, post harvest quality improvement assistance, and training in Good Agricultural Practices.

Monetary Policy Committee cuts policy repo rate 25 bps to 6.00%, maintains neutral stance to balance inflation and growth.
The Monetary Policy Committee cut the policy repo rate by 25 basis points to 6.00%, adjusted associated LAF rates, and maintained a neutral stance to balance the objective of achieving CPI inflation around 4% with support for growth. The action reflected very low headline inflation, moderating core inflation, surplus liquidity managed through MSS/TBs and CMBs, and downside growth pressures from weak manufacturing and corporate deleveraging, while acknowledging upside risks from HRA implementation, state fiscal actions and seasonal food-price spikes. Real GVA growth was retained at 7.3% with risks evenly balanced.

Round the clock operation of Petrapole Benapole ICP expedites cargo clearance and facilitates continuous bilateral trade across the border.
The Integrated Check Post at Petrapole-Benapole will operate round the clock from 01 August 2017; implementing agencies have issued operational instructions to enable 24x7 functioning, intended to expedite cargo clearance and support increased bilateral trade throughput.

Basic Customs Duty disparity persists; duty structure unchanged while government funds domestic natural rubber production measures.
Consumption of natural rubber rose in 2016-17, outpacing domestic production and creating a consumption-production gap. The Department declined industry requests to alter the duty regime, leaving the Basic Customs Duty on tyres unchanged relative to natural rubber duties. The Government supports increased domestic natural rubber production via the Rubber Board's "Sustainable and Inclusive Development of Natural Rubber Sector" scheme for plantation, research, technology and market development, while synthetic rubber operates in a delicensed and decontrolled sector with the Government as facilitator.

Rules-based multilateral trading system underpins India's push for a WTO solution on public stockholding and services facilitation
India affirms the rules-based multilateral trading system and commits to aligning domestic trade-related reforms with WTO obligations while pursuing national priorities. It stresses active multilateral negotiation to secure a permanent solution on public stockholding for food security to protect procurement and subsidised distribution, and advances a WTO proposal to facilitate trade in services as a comprehensive framework to tackle impediments to services trade.

Trade imbalance: Venezuela-dominated crude imports and foreign exchange controls hinder Indian exports and payment repatriation.
Trade between India and Venezuela shows a persistent trade imbalance caused by India's import reliance on Venezuelan crude oil and falling global oil prices reducing trade value. Indian exports have declined due to Venezuela's financial crisis and foreign exchange controls that impede repatriation of income; India has sought resolution of outstanding payments with no response and is targeting export-competent products to strengthen exports.

FDI in mobile manufacturing allows 100% automatic investment, with temporary sourcing relaxations and revised duty and GST treatment.
FDI up to 100 percent in mobile phone manufacturing is allowed under the automatic route. Press Note 5 of 2016 allows a government approved, time limited three year relaxation of domestic sourcing for state of the art technology entrants, after which sourcing norms apply. Many components and specified capital goods are already exempt from basic customs duty and excise/CVD/SAD; no exemption exists for repair parts. From 01 July 2017 BCD was applied to cellular phones and certain parts while inputs/raw materials for manufacture remain exempt, and both domestically produced and imported phones and parts attract 12% GST, with exemption changes to be addressed by the GST Council.

Foreign Trade Policy consultation invites student suggestions to shape proposed policy, emphasizing services trade and capacity building
The Minister invited IIFT graduating students to submit suggestions for the Proposed Foreign Trade Policy 2015-20, urged development of multidisciplinary experts in international business, economics and law to support India's trade negotiations, and emphasized the importance of trade in services including India's WTO submission on service trade facilitation; she also recommended industry government academia collaboration and highlighted institutional initiatives at IIFT to build capacity and broaden trade promotion.

Codex standards for spices create international benchmarks to harmonize national spice quality and safety standards worldwide.
Adoption of Codex standards for black, white and green pepper, cumin and thyme establishes international quality and safety benchmarks, enabling member countries to align national regulations with common reference points. These standards formalize spices as commodities subject to Codex standardization, promote harmonization of divergent national requirements, and provide a standardization mechanism developed by the dedicated Codex Committee on Spices and Culinary Herbs to guide trade and national regulatory alignment.

Marketing Development Assistance scheme provides lump sum support to export promotion bodies and is merged into Market Access Initiative.
The Marketing Development Assistance (MDA) Scheme provided lump sum support to Export Promotion Councils and Trade Promotion Organizations for assisting exporters' participation in approved export promotion events abroad and for undertaking export promotion activities in India and abroad, including reimbursement of air travel and rented space; the Scheme has been merged into the Market Access Initiative (MAI) Scheme.

Export assistance for spices expanded, focusing on production support, quality infrastructure and farmer training to boost exports.
Spices exports reached a record high in 2016-17 but the government does not fix export targets due to variable factors. The Spices Board implements the Export Oriented Production, Export Development & Promotion of Spices scheme providing assistance to cardamom cultivators for planting material, replanting, irrigation, curing and mechanisation, and runs programmes for Spice Park infrastructure, upgraded processing technology, quality evaluation labs, post-harvest quality improvement and farmer training in Good Agricultural Practices to meet export quality specifications.

Anti-dumping investigations expand: provisional and definitive duties imposed across multiple imports with accompanying export promotion measures.
The Directorate General of Anti-dumping & Allied Duties has initiated numerous investigations and imposed provisional and definitive anti-dumping duty measures across imports from multiple countries, with case counts reported by country and product category. These trade remedies are presented alongside export-promotion and facilitation measures-such as incentive schemes, credit support, authorization programs and a trade data dashboard-aimed at addressing the bilateral trade deficit with China and improving the balance of trade.

Trade facilitation compliance drives a national action plan to streamline cross border procedures and upgrade trade infrastructure.
Entry into force of the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) prompted a time bound National Trade Facilitation Action Plan adopted by the National Committee on Trade Facilitation, assigning prioritized short, mid and long term activities to regulatory agencies to create an efficient, transparent, risk based and digital cross border clearance ecosystem, while including a TFA Plus category for infrastructure augmentation; implementation will be overseen by a Steering Committee chaired by the Revenue Secretary and Commerce Secretary and reviewed by the Cabinet Secretary.

Export incentives for MSMEs expand transferable duty credits and concessional export credit to improve international competitiveness.
The government provides MSME export support through the Merchandise Exports from India Scheme offering freely transferable Duty Credit Scrips to offset export costs and central duties, double weightage for MSME exports under the Status Holder Recognition Scheme to obtain procedural privileges, an Interest Equalization Scheme to reduce export credit costs, a Special Advance Authorisation for apparel allowing pre import fabric authorisations and drawback for non fabric inputs, capacity building via the Niryat Bandhu mentoring scheme, and availability of EPCG, Advance Authorisation, DFIA, Duty Drawback and replenishment authorisations for MSME products.

Rate of exchange determination sets official currency conversion rates for customs valuation of imports and exports.
The Central Board of Excise and Customs prescribes the official rate of exchange for each foreign currency listed in two annexed schedules, specifying distinct conversion rates for imported and export goods, and supersedes the earlier board notification except as to prior actions; the listed rates are the determinative figures for conversion into Indian currency or vice versa for customs valuation purposes.

Regulatory framework strengthening: time bound issuance and upgrade of technical regulations to curb substandard imports and protect industry.
The ministerial review directed line ministries to coordinate with the Department of Commerce for time-bound issuance of new technical regulations and upgrades, stressing that inadequate domestic regulations allow substandard imports that damage domestic manufacturing, industry and employment.

Basic customs duty on cellular mobile phones and specified electronic parts expanded, while certain parts and inputs remain exempt.
Imposition of basic customs duty on cellular mobile phones and specified electronic goods and parts applies from 1 July 2017 by notifications issued 30 June 2017, covering finished phones and specified peripherals; exemptions continue for identified components (PCBA, camera module, connectors, display and touch assemblies, vibrator motors) and for inputs and raw materials used to manufacture parts of the specified electronics.

Export promotion monitoring: consolidated MIS data on authorisations, trade values and export obligation status to inform policy review.
Consolidated MIS report compiles All India, zone-wise and Regional Authority statistics on IECs, authorisations/scrips and CIF/FOB values, and provides RA and sector-level data on authorisations, FOB and duty saved/CIF values for Advance Authorisation and EPCG schemes, together with RA-wise export obligation status to support monitoring and review of the Foreign Trade Policy.