Page 43 - Plastics News June - 2020

Kolkata can be 'leader of the East', if it focuses on Manufacturing says Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said there's a need to
revive the manufacturing sector in West Bengal and that
Kolkata, the state capital, can again become the 'leader
of the East'. During his virtual address at the annual
plenary of the Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC), Modi
said Kolkata can again lead the industrial resurgence of
eastern India. Stressing on the much-needed revival of
the manufacturing sector in Bengal, Modi said Kolkata
can become the hub of the east and north-eastern
businesses. “This is not the time for conservative
decisions. It is the time for bold measures and bold
investments,” he said. Claiming Bengal's jute industry
can reap maximum benefits from the Centre's initiatives,
the PM said: “Jute industry can walk on its path of said, quoting Vivekananda. The pitch for a self-reliant
revival. All of you will be proud to see when the whole India has to be realised by setting up “globally
country will carry bags made of jute in Bengal.”He also
added: “Indian economy has to shun a command and competitive supply chains” and industry captains have
to “bring all stakeholders on board” and also “hand-hold
control approach, and move towards plug-and-play
them” if required, the PM said. He then drew the ICC's
models.” “The simplest method to be worked upon at attention to Bengal's handicraft business and self-help
present is to induce Indians to use their own produce and groups urging the ICC to 'hand hold' such groups.
get markets for Indian artware in other countries,” Modi

Government proposes 15% 'covid tax' draws ire from Industry end-users
The Government of India's proposed 15% COVID tax on Plastic Manufacturers Association had also written to the
all chemical and petrochemical imports, to protect the higher officials in the Ministry. In a letter to the
domestic industry in the current fiscal year ending March government on 15 April, the AIPMA complained against
2021 as the south Asian nation battles the coronavirus the imposition of additional import tax. In a separate
pandemic has drawn an ire from the trade industry and
end users alike. Downstream end-users, however, have
posed strong opposition to the measure dubbed as
“covid (coronavirus disease) tax” - which was supposed
to take effect for 11 months from May 2020 - as this will
translate to higher cost of production. The proposed
provisional duty would be applicable on all imports
under India's free trade agreements (FTAs) and would
also cover both organic and inorganic chemicals,
plastics, rubbers, man-made filaments and staple fibres.
Industries in India are slowly clawing back to life as the
nationwide lockdown of more than two months is due to
end by June.

“The Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals is
still holding stakeholder consultations for this letter to the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers on 24
proposal,” said a government official. The government April, the Aluminium Association of India (AAI) had asked
had initially rolled out the plan to tax chemical and the government to drop the new import tax, citing it
petrochemical imports in early April, but was not would be “detrimental to the sustainability of the
implemented given strong opposition from downstream already ailing sector”.
industries and associations. The trade body All India

June 2020 43 Plastics News