Laying the foundation for take-off

What are the reforms needed in 2015 to help achieve eight per cent-plus growth?

During 2014 India's prospects have improved somewhat.Inflation is declining steeply, fiscal and external imbalances are lower, and India appears to be in a better position to handle global volatility. While much remains to be done, sentiment about India has changed, reforms are on the anvil and the macro situation has been stabilised. The platform for transformation is being laid.

With inflation declining more rapidly than was anticipated - due to declining global commodity prices - the focus must shift to accelerating growth. Increasing the growth rate to the six per cent-plus in 2015 that the finance minister is predicting should not be that difficult. India's incremental capital output ratio (ICOR), which measures the return on capital invested, has risen sharply from around four in the period 2004-2009 to over six in the last five years. Reducing the ICOR to around five by quicker decision-making to complete projects, and better coordination among ministries and PSUs to improve capacity itself would do this without even an increase in India's investment rate. But India needs to raise itself to a much higher eight per cent-plus growth path. For this, reducing the ICOR is not enough; the overall investment rate must rise - with an increase in both public and private investment.

In the medium term, a good GST will help raise the tax intake as it helps widen the tax base. But, as international experience shows, this takes three to four years. What to do in the interim? How to raise public investment without compromising the fisc is the key question that must confront the finance minister. We don't need more PSU investment - that is a path towards uncompetitive growth. One solution is to put in place a much more ambitious disinvestment programme with the revenues raised earmarked for public goods investment. With lower international fuel prices a special levy to finance an accelerated transport investment programme would be another option. Finally, special infrastructure bonds could be raised for smart cities and the power sector. All these options should be on the front burner.

For reviving private investment the PM's "Make in India" campaign has the right ring to it. With India's manufactured exports forming less than 1.5 per cent of global manufactured exports India could easily expect to double its global share if it were to become more competitive. China's share is over 15 per cent of global manufactured exports - some ten times India's share. So the room for growth in exports even in a sluggish global market remains huge. India does not need to choose between producing for the domestic market or for exports. Competitive industries - such as car parts, motorcycles, engineering goods, gems and jewellery - produce for both the export and domestic markets. Make for India is a subset of Make in India, not a substitute for it.

Much of what is needed for a successful "Make in India" lies in more competitiveness through structural and micro reforms - factor market reforms, better infrastructure and ease of doing business. This will bring in the FDI and domestic private investment for a major growth push like we saw in the 1990s. The GST that the finance minister is spearheading will also stabilise our finances and create a larger domestic market more attractive for foreign and domestic investors.

But India also does need to rethink its exchange rate and macroeconomic policy for a successful "Make in India" campaign. India has always erred on the side of a more overvalued rupee. The RBI's latest calculations of movements in the real exchange rate using the new CPI index show that the rupee was seriously overvalued by over 20 per cent between July 2009 and July 2013. It was during this period that the economy slowed sharply, the CAD rose alarmingly and eventually the rupee corrected sharply, first overshooting to almost Rs 70 to the dollar but eventually settling around Rs 60. Since then the rupee again appreciated in real terms as domestic inflation remained well above world inflation. The rupee is once again correcting to more realistic levels of Rs 64-65 to the dollar.

For a "Make in India" campaign India needs more FDI and less FII. The latter helps keep the rupee high, hurts exports and encourages imports. India has been obsessed with a strong-rupee policy as if it signifies a strong economy. The East Asian countries - especially China - have instead followed for a long time a policy of keeping their currencies undervalued by anywhere from 10-30 per cent. A strong rupee is also seen as necessary for lower inflation. But as we have seen, inflation has much more to do with commodity cycles, food policy and high fiscal deficits - not the exchange rate. There remains however a strong corporate, banking and importer lobby for a "strong" not a weaker rupee. This will have to change to make our macro policy consistent with the structural and micro reforms for Make in India.

The new body that the PM promised on August 15 on the ramparts of the Red Fort to replace the dead-end Planning Commission must now be brought out to take such campaigns and reforms forward. Why not call it a National Transformation Commission to signal the many transformations India needs over the next decade and a half to help reap our demographic dividend and emerge as the globe's third largest economy by 2030? Let us lay the foundations for that in 2015.

Asia's democratic arc

It is in the context of Asia's growing strategic competition that we need to view the importance of Narendra Modi's Act East Policy, Shinzo Abe's victory in Japan's elections and President Obama's forthcoming visit

The India-US-Japan trilateral meeting was convened on December 20, 2014 after a long hiatus. While this official-level engagement did not make media headlines, the re-initiation of this forum is a significant response to the changing security dynamic in Asia.

Asia today stands at a crossroads. It is increasingly becoming the locus of economic power but is also witnessing major geopolitical realignments, growing strategic competition and destabilising unilateral assertions based on unsettled historical differences.

The absence of regional security architecture to mediate these complex trends is Asia’s single-most pressing concern. There are several constraints that impede progress. To begin with, there is a clash of normative systems among states. Power elites in a few select countries foster a false dichotomy between universal and Asian values. The desire for hegemonic dominance suppresses the region’s inherent multipolarity. And there are divergent notions of geographically limited regionalism versus balanced and inclusive architecture.

Europe’s experience of building economic and security structures during the intense polarisation of the Cold War hardly fits in today’s Asia.

In spite of the region’s multiple contradictions, there has been some expectation since 2005 that theEast Asia Summit (EAS) process anchored by Asean will eventually evolve into a leaders-led regional security forum, not least because it encompasses all relevant and consequential actors within its ambit. However, hopes are fast receding for “Asean centrality”-based architecture even as regional disequilibrium accelerates. Existing Asean-led forums remain uncoordinated and limited to non-traditional security issues. Talk of “multiple overlapping” institutions, equating partial with inclusive frameworks, only serves to marginalise the EAS further.

In the absence of a regional organisation to address security issues, traditional rivalries and realignments dot the East Asian landscape. Russia and China have converged to forge an energy partnership and have deepened defence ties. South Korea, nominally an ally of the US, is now economically aligned with China and has made common cause with Beijing against Japan in Northeast Asia. China’s economic leverage has effectively neutralised Asean. This trend has significantly enlarged the strategic space for China, whose grey zone actions and territorial assertions have triggered “hedging” impulses among regional powers in the first place.

Meanwhile, the US appears unlikely to accommodate China’s shortcut to great power status by conceding the latter’s dominance in the western Pacific, but anxieties about US resolve will persist, with or without a sustained US commitment to its “rebalance” strategy. At the same time, US-sponsored economic arrangements (TPP) can adversely impact Asean-led attempts at economic integration (RCEP). The US is being perceived as falling short of innovative ideas and credible contributions to redress the Asian power imbalance.

It is in this context that we need to view the importance of PM Narendra Modi’s Act East Policy, the resounding victory of PM Shinzo Abe in snap elections in Japan and the forthcoming visit of President Barack Obama. India’s choice of Mr Abe and Mr Obama as chief guests for consecutive Republic Days sends out a message that will resonate across Asia.

Mr Abe’s renewed mandate promises to alter the political landscape not only in Japan but also in “broader Asia”. He has pledged to restore Japan’s economic vitality, amend its pacifist constitution and make “proactive contributions” to regional peace and stability. Even relatively limited legislative changes lifting restrictions in the domain of collective self defence will have a significant impact on power equations in Asia, as will Mr Abe’s continued engagement of Southeast Asian countries and his strong advocacy of Indo-Pacific strategies.  

There are striking similarities between Mr Abe’s approach and the attention devoted by his Indian counterpart Mr Modi to strengthening transformative partnerships with like-minded countries in the Asia Pacific.

In the course of recent summit meetings, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has signalled his intention to revive India’s historical role across the Asia Pacific, from forging new strategic ties to scaled-up contributions to the regional power equilibrium. In his own words, since he assumed office “no region has seen more intense engagement on India’s part than the Asia Pacific — because we understand how deeply our future is linked to this region”. He has urged regional powers to buttress economic integration and growing prosperity with strong regional institutions that underpin peace and stability by ensuring universal respect for international law and global norms.

President Obama’s unprecedented second state visit to India next month provides another opportunity to revive the strategic drivers of India-US relations. Operationalising civil nuclear cooperation as well as the defence technology and trade initiative is an important priority for both countries. India and the US need to remove irritants to their growing economic relations and renew their defence cooperation framework with a more comprehensive ten-year agreement covering maritime security across the Indo-Pacific, defence exchanges and defence industrial ties.

Against this backdrop, the India-US-Japan dialogue held last week delivered substantive outcomes, from initiatives for regional economic connectivity to advancing shared security interests. With greater momentum behind both India-Japan and India-US components, comfort levels have grown. Trilateral interactions are to be intensified in the margins of regional meetings. This engagement must now be sustained and, eventually, raised to the ministerial level.

While there are nodes of convergence in the strategic outlooks of India, Japan and the US, all three countries will face considerable endogenous challenges: defence cooperation for Japan, fragmented attention and diminishing capacity for the US and hesitation about special partnerships for India. It is, therefore, important for the three to invest as much in each other’s economic growth and prosperity as in meeting security challenges. If the leading democratic powers in the Asia Pacific can step up their economic reinforcement and synchronise their defence and security ties, this would constitute a major stepping stone for bringing about a favourable balance of power in the region. That in turn can uplift Asean’s flagging self-confidence and create the basis for a balanced multipolar security architecture for Asia.

Indian e-commerce to hit $100 bn value by 2019: Assocham

Study conducted with PwC pegs 35% CAGR for industry over next 5 yearsThe Indian e-commerce industry is likely to clock a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 35 per cent and cross the $100-billion mark in value over the next five years, a study conducted by Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham) along with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) has said. According to the study, the Indian e-commerce industry is valued at $17 billion now.

Continuing on the strong growth momentum of 2014, the e-commerce industry is estimated to see a 67 per cent increase in the average annual spending on online purchases per individual in 2015, to Rs 10,000 from Rs 6,000 in 2014, the study said.

Additionally, with improvement in infrastructure such as logistics, broadband and internet-ready devices, there is likely to be a significant increase in the number of consumers making purchases online, the study said. It estimates around 65 million consumers in India to buy online in 2015, as against around 40 million in 2014.

“With nearly one-third of internet users already making purchases online, the e-commerce growth will rely more on increased spending from existing buyers than first-time online buyers,” the study titled 'Evolution of e-commerce in India - Creating the bricks behind the clicks' said.

While there have been concerns over steep discounting by e-tailers, the study said, these flash sales and daily deals have played a major role in contributing to the growth of e-commerce. The increasing adoption of smartphones and tablet consumers has also aided to the e-commerce growth.

“The steady growth in the number of web shoppers also is helping to boost e-commerce sales,” the report said. “Many consumers will prefer the web to bricks-and-mortar retailers in large part because of online deals, about 52 per cent of shoppers said they made purchases online rather than in stores because online retailers offered better deals.”

Among popular shopping categories, the study showed that apparel sales capture the biggest share of Indian e-commerce retail, along with computer and consumer electronics. The two categories are likely to continue fueling the market in the future as well.In 2015, computer and consumer electronics and apparel and accessories are together estimated to account for 42 per cent of total retail e-commerce sales, as against 39 per cent now, it said.

Travel and tourism are also fast growing segments with as much as 75 per cent of the total industry having migrated to online commerce. Among other things, a major portion of services such as air, train, bus, movie ticket bookings, hotel reservation and tour packages have moved to the internet.

The report added that between 2017 and 2020, the e-commerce industry could spend around 2-6 per cent of the revenue on warehousing and sortation centers, which would translate to $450-900 million.

“The industry is expected to spend an additional $500-1,000 million in the same period on logistics functions, leading to a cumulative spend of $950-1,900 million till 2017-2020,” the study said.

On the employment front, the report estimated the e-commerce industry to employ an additional 100,000 people in warehousing and logistics, over the around 25,000 persons working in the segment currently.

A template for teacher education

None of our Teacher Education programmes has ever seriously tried to achieve a clear and convincing enough understanding of what one tries to achieve through education. It always has been a rhetoric of larger aims and working for myopically understood parental and market aspirations

All curricula are situated in contexts and are simultaneously guided by ideals. Therefore, an understanding of and a balance between the two is essential.

We have succeeded in creating an education system that discourages good education in every possible way. It is largely apathetic to the quality of education and the fate of children. The mindset that governs thinking and the actions of the functionaries of education in the government are to somehow manage the naukari and to reap the benefits of the job on the basis of seniority. The thought of doing a good job rarely comes to mind if it ever does. The idea of reform and improvement remain at the level of rhetoric. In this system, any teacher who wants to work for good education has to work on his or her own and without much support. He or she also has to overcome varied forms of resistance.

Obstacles before the teacher

In schools, the quality of education revolves around issues such as a school uniform, heavy school bags, mark sheets and some semblance of having the English language and infrastructure in place. Parents are conscious of the need for quality education, with upward mobility in the form of well-paying jobs being uppermost in their minds. This is a legitimate expectation, but parents and schools see the path to well-paying jobs through so-called English medium and high-fee charging schools. From there it moves on to children studying in private universities, now a dime a dozen, and which all proclaim to produce leaders.

Children’s lives, even in the rural areas, now revolve around television and in various activities on the mobile phone. Hence, the motivation to ensure that a child has a worthwhile education enabled by a wholesome learning experience has to be created by the teacher. Even if the child is a natural and enthusiastic ‘learner’, that all learning is equally worthwhile is an unexamined assumption. Therefore, the teacher has to direct the efforts of the child towards this goal. This is a difficult job.

Let’s focus on the teacher. In the general atmosphere of economic competition and consumerism, a teacher legitimately desires leading a good economic and social life. The teacher has to constantly fight with her visibly low status in society, which saps her enthusiasm for good teaching.

Education is increasingly becoming centric to the government’s thinking in order to realise the desire for India’s economic competitiveness in a globalised world. Thus, the purpose of education can be well served by having a layered education system. One part of that system can take the responsibility of mass producing “narrowly skilled” people with a limited vision of life and completely sold out on shining promises of consumerist hedonism. Another part could produce a limited number of people who can think relatively better regarding skills and theoretical knowledge, but still remain wedded to promises of economic growth.

Obviously, in each point mentioned in the system, namely the parent, the child, a teacher’s ambitions and the government, there exists many alternative ideas and serious efforts as well. I have painted this grim picture in order to claim that this is the dominant mood and in spite of there being many people who want to do something better. The purpose of citing these instances is not to deny the positive aspect, but to make the point that a teacher has to work in an adverse scenario and be on the lookout to identify genuine elements in the system to collaborate and work with.

The ideals

The issue is this: what is the kind of Teacher Education (TE) curriculum needed that can help a new teacher enter this scenario with confidence and to work effectively? The context-centric thinking has a natural tendency to privilege status quo without the thinker being conscious of this problem. One starts thinking of ways of survival in the face of adverse elements in the context and loses sight of the larger purpose, thereby reinforcing the context as it is. This is producing a tendency to take the context as given and planning education that seems possible in the given limitations. In the process, the limitations gain acceptance while the quality of education becomes a variable to be adjusted with them. The teacher has to strive for quality; not only for survival.

But why should the teacher struggle? It is much easier and personally beneficial for him to go along with the system. What motivation could there be to challenge it? And, strive for what? What should he try to achieve? What are the kind of tools to be used? These abstract questions are very pragmatic ones if we are to develop an effective TE curriculum.

One definite requirement to work well is to have an idea of what one is working for and an ability to divert one’s efforts towards enabling worthy goals and a vision. Therefore, a personal examination of goals and vision proposed by the system is essential in order to create commitment for a task. This requires a reasonable amount of intellectual autonomy; it may be weak and limited autonomy perhaps, but autonomy nonetheless.

A teacher needs to build an intellectually, ethically and socially satisfactory, if not exciting, life for herself as a thinking being. Also, a possibility for continuous personal development is essential in order to contribute towards creating good education. Usually, creating opportunities for such development is supposed to be the job of the system; but in the situation we have, the poor teacher has to fend for herself.

A commitment to good education will also require an understanding of the need for education in people’s lives and society, and a reasonable dose of dreams. People seem to be creatures of dreams to a large extent, and there is no contradiction between being creatures of dreams and being situated in socio-political reality as embodied creatures. The trick is to create dreams that have intellectual conviction as well as pragmatic possibility.

The need for capabilities to teach is obvious enough. But these capabilities have to be rooted in what one wants a child to achieve through education, an understanding of the child, and the society in which both the child and the teacher live. This demands a serious theoretical understanding of the same, boring and age-old questions: Why teach? What to teach? And, how to teach?

Practical skills

None of our TE programmes has ever seriously tried to achieve a clear and convincing enough understanding of what one tries to achieve through education. It always has been a rhetoric of larger aims and working for myopically understood parental and market aspirations. This confusion has made education non-serious to both — a case of na khuda hi mila na wisaal-e sanam. We are prone to see the failure of TE in the lack of practical skills. However, a deeper analysis is likely to show that the failure is primarily theoretical. Practical skills, however well taught, usually do not answer the question “why” and, therefore, do not generate conviction and commitment — essential ingredients in good teaching. There is a reasonable unexplored possibility that adequate understanding of and conviction in the “why” along with guidance in teaching skills may produce a variety of viable methods. Therefore, the issue is not where to start from — is it theory or from practice? It is to traverse the whole continuum whatever one’s chosen starting point is. If one starts at theory, then it is about bringing it right down to the classroom level and in terms of actual skills; if starting with classroom work, it is about taking it to issues of serious theoretical understanding. A half-finished or half-hearted job, irrespective of the starting point, will remain unsuccessful. A display of bias in any direction will also be counterproductive.

In concrete terms, a teacher has to have a range of capabilities. A tentative first listing could look like this: capability to teach all school subjects at the primary level and at the least, one at the upper primary level. This will involve practical activities, the use of materials, and connecting with children. It will also demand an understanding of the subject in terms of its content, epistemology and rationale in the curriculum; adequate understanding of the curriculum and its rationale. It will necessarily involve understanding the aims of education, the need for education in an individual’s life and in social life; a convincing dream of a desirable society and living a satisfactory life. And situating oneself and the child in this dream; self-confidence and a conviction to work in an either indifferent or adversarial education system; a professional conviction that one can find ways for personal growth and development as a teacher, and a capability to generate episodes of reasonable success in order to keep that hope alive.

What kind of curricular content and institutional experiences will develop these qualities is what will have to be worked out seriously, with care and in detail. It seems that without these capabilities, teacher education is unlikely to have any effect on the system. We also have to discard the rhetoric of “change agents” and replace it with an unglamorous idea of doing one’s job adequately to one’s personal and social satisfaction, and as a plain and simple worker.

Development challenges Implications of India's declining fertility rate

The latest official birth rate data indicate that fertility is declining at a faster rate than expected, implying that Indiawill reach the point at which population stabilises a little earlier than anticipated. The numbers compiled through theSample Registration Survey conducted by the Registrar General of India show that the overall fertility rate (the average number of children borne by a women in her lifespan), which was 3.6 at the beginning of the 1990s, has come down to just 2.3 in 2013 - a mere 0.2 points short of reaching the "replacement rate" needed to maintain the population at more or less a constant level. At current rates, the country can hope to reach peak population somewhere between 2020 and 2022, rather than in 2025 as was projected earlier. Essentially, the crude birth rate (CBR) - the number of births per 1,000 people - has dropped to 21.4 in 2013, a perceptible fall of 0.2 points in a single year. Predictably, it is the highest in Bihar (27.6) and the lowest (14.7) in Kerala. Just nine states, mostly in the north and east, have not yet reached the replacement level of 2.1; in at least eight states the average number of children per family has gone down below two.

This is the result of several factors. The government officially stopped fixing family planning targets way back in 1996, but states continued to offer cash incentives to women for undergoing sterilisation, and are also holding mass sterilisation programmes. It is a sad reflection on female empowerment that more complex female sterilisation programmes are being held rather than the simple vasectomies. That said, however, the real reason for the decline in the fertility rate is economic. Economists argue increasing prosperity and public health reduce the need to have more children to ensure security in old age. Also, the global experience is that higher female literacy - a proxy for general female empowerment - is associated with fewer children per family.

The implications of a sustained shrinkage in the fertility rate are many and quite far-reaching. At present, a younger India has an advantage over the ageing West. Nearly half of the country's population is below the age of 25 and more than 65 per cent under 35. Indications are that in 2020 India's average age will be 29, compared to 37 in China and 48 in Japan. However, this demographic dividend can be capitalised upon only if these young people are educated, healthy and employable. Seen this way, the challenges during the current demographic transition phase seem even more daunting. Not only must education and health standards be raised substantially, the rate of employment generation, too, needs to be increased to keep pace with growing demand. The existing wide disparity in the quality of life in urban and rural areas needs to be reduced to enhance the employment chances of rural youth as well. The demographic dividend will not last as long as expected. So there is no time to lose, if India is to take advantage of it. Education and labour reform must happen immediately.

TRENDS AND DEVELOPMENT IN STEEL SECTOR

Steel sector trends

• India is currently the 4^th largest producer of crude steel in the world as against its 8^th position in 2003.

·         India continues to maintain its lead position as the world’s largest producer of Direct Reduced Iron (DRI) or Sponge Iron.

·         The steel sector contributes  nearly 2% of the country’s GDP and employs over 6 lakh people.

·         The per capita consumption of total finished steel in the country has risen from 51 kg in 2009-10 to about 60 kg in 2013-14.

Production and Consumption of Steel

·        Capacity for crude steel production expanded from about 75 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) in 2009-10 to about 101.02 mtpa in 2013-14.

·        Crude steel production grew at 7% annually (CAGR) from 65.84 million tonnes in 2009-10 to 81.69 million tonnes in 2013-14.

·        Production for sale of total finished steel (alloy + non-alloy) stood at 87.67 million tonnes during 2013-14, as against 60.62 million tonnes in 2009-10, an average annual (CAGR) growth of 9%.

·        Real consumption of total finished steel (alloy + non-alloy) has grown at a CAGR of 7.2% during the last five years.

·        Domestic real consumption of total finished steel (alloy + non-alloy) was at 74.09 million tonnes in 2013-14 and increased by 0.83% on a year-on-year basis.

·        Export of total finished steel (alloy + non-alloy) during 2013-14 stood at 5.98 million tonnes while import of total finished steel (alloy + non-alloy) during 2013-14 stood at 5.45 million tonnes.

·        India was a net exporter of total finished steel in 2013-14.

MAJOR INITIATIVES AND ACHIEVEMENTS

Ø  The Steel & Steel Products (Quality Control) Orders, 2012, have come into effect from 1^st Oct 2014 on all 15 products having direct bearing on safety & security on human beings and infrastructure.

Ø  Expansion of two steel plants namely IISCO, Burnpur and Rourkela Steel Plant are ready to be dedicated to the nation, thus adding about 4.7 million tonnes of crude steel capacity.

Ø  Active engagement with Ministry of Mines, Coal and also Ministry of Environment and Forests has been undertaken for simplification of procedures.

Ø  Facilitated the formation of Indian Steel Association (ISA) to articulate the needs and aspirations of the steel sector of the country.

Ø  As a major step towards ensuring long term security in the supply of coking coal, ICVL has taken over the operating coal mine and coal assets of Rio Tinto in Mozambique.

Achievements and Initiatives of Ministry of Textiles during 2014

Year End Review 2014 The new government, under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has stressed an economic vision based on increasing production, export and generating employment giving particular attention to: ·        Generate productive employment opportunity for the youth ·        Inclusive and participative growth ·        Skill, Scale and Speed ·        Make in India brand. ·        Zero defect - Zero Effect (on environment) ·        Adarsh Gram India’s textiles and clothing industry is one of the mainstays of the national economy. It is also one of the largest contributing sectors of India’s exports contributing nearly 13.25% of the country’s total exports basket. The textiles industry is labour intensive and is one of the largest employers. Textile industry has realized export earnings worth of 41.57 billion USD in 2013-14 The Textile industry has two broad segments, namely handloom, handicrafts, sericulture, powerlooms in the unorganized sector and spinning, apparel, garmenting, made ups in the organised sector. New Government has taken many initiatives for the development of the textiles sector. Some of the initiatives are as follows. Setting up Integrated Textile Parks The Scheme of Integrated Textile Parks is one of the flagship schemes of the Ministry of Textiles. It aims to assist small and medium entrepreneurs in the textile industry to clusterize investments in textile parks by providing financial support for world class infrastructure in the parks.  The implementation of the scheme was held up during the last one year due to administrative bottlenecks and no sanction was given for new parks. The new government moved swiftly to resolve the issues and 13 new textiles parks were approved by the Project Approval Committee (PAC) chaired by the Minister of State for Textiles (independent Charge) Shri Santosh Kumar Gangwar. While these 13 textile parks will receive a grant to the extent of Rs 520 crores from government for infrastructure development, they are estimated to bring in private sector investment of about Rs 3240 crores into the sector and generate direct employment for about 35,000 persons over the next three years.   Besides, a fresh advertisement would be issued calling for proposals for more ITPs for utilization of the balance provision during the 12th plan period. Exports With a vision to create an export friendly economy the government introduced several initiatives – ·        Duty free entitlement to garment exporters for import of trimmings, embellishments and other specified items increased from 3% to 5%. This initiative is expected to generate an additional RMG exports estimated at Rs.10,000 Crore. ·        The government has also proposed to extend 24/7 customs clearance facility at 13 airports and 14 sea ports resulting in faster clearance of import and export cargo. ·        The proposal for imposing duty on branded items was dropped providing relief to the entire value chain. Development of Handloom: Specific steps have been initiated for revival of handloom industry based on its inherent strength for production of high value items. Focus is on assisting weavers with designs, marketing and improved wages.  National Institute of Fashion Technology and leading members of the fashion industry have been roped in for design support to weavers. At the same time equipment and raw material for producing clothes for the high end customers and niche market are also being provided. Higher wage coming from high value production and reducing level of transactions in marketing would enhance the wage of the handloom weavers substantially. In order to provide better marketing reach, the Ministry has launched an E-commerce initiative Flipkart. This will strengthen the existing Primary Weaver Cooperative Society by assisting entrepreneur from the weavers families for taking up production and supply directly to the customers. A Trade Facilitation Centre and Craft Museum for Varanasi has been approved in the Budget of 2014-15 to develop and promote the handloom, handicraft and silk products of Varanasi and to provide necessary help to weavers, artisans and entrepreneurs of Varanasi for boosting their marketing activities in domestic as well as international markets.  Ministry of Urban Development, Government of India has allotted 8.18 acres of land at Bada Lalpur, Varanasi. The Hon’ble Prime Minister has laid the foundation stone on 7th November, 2014 for setting up the Trade Facilitation Centre & Craft Museum.  A Trade facilitation centre at Srinagar with a total budget cost of Rs.12.30 crore was also approved by the Government under the comprehensive handicrafts Cluster Development Scheme (CHCDS) in the year 2010. M/s J&K (Sales & Exports) Corporation, Srinagar has been identified as the implementing agency for the said project as per scheme guidelines. Lakme fashion week this year dedicated a day showcasing the vibrancy and magic of Indian weavers and crafts. Synergy of handloom, handicraft with tourism has been worked out in consultation with Ministry of Tourism.  State Chief Secretaries have been requested for identifying traditional handloom weavers/handicraft artisans villages for development as “Adarsh Gram” as tourists destination. Development of Tassar handloom products like sarees, dress material and wide range of home furnishing fabric for exports typical to Bhagalpur in Bihar has been initiated under Handloom Mega Cluster Scheme.  Another mega cluster is being developed at Trichy, Tamilnadu.  Over 15,000 handloom weavers will be directly benefited under each these two clusters. The remaining new megaclusters at Surat, Bareilly, Lucknow, Kutch and Mysore announced in the Budget Speech are at various stages of implementation. Handicraft Promotion of major crafts of Varanasi namely wood carving, carpet and durry weaving, meenakari and zardozi and pottery etc. have been taken up by providing assistance to the artisans with better skill, design and supply of toolkits etc.This was formally launched by the Textiles Minister on 26.9.2014. A Skill Development Programme for training 5000 carpet weavers has been taken up through the Carpet Export Promotion Council (CEPC). An Integrated Design Project of 5 months duration for wooden toys would be organized by National Centre for Design and Product Development (NCDPD). Electric wheels were given to potters under the Design and Technological Upgradation Scheme of Handicrafts in Delhi and later at Bareilly. Silk and Pashmina India is the 2nd largest producer of Silk in the world and employs large number of skilled and unskilled tribal women. During his recent visit to Jammu & Kashmir the Hon’ble Prime minister declared a scheme for the development of nomads. Provision of Rs. 30 crore for same was made in the 2014-15 Budget, which would be utilized for ·        Promotion of Pashmina in Leh, ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir ·        Setting up a dehairing plant in Ladakh to increase productivity ·        Setting up Solar Powered Community Centers, Sheds for animals and Pucca shelters for nomads. Recognizing their contribution and efforts the Textiles Minister felicitated 54 women engaged in sericulture. NIFT Srinagar With a vision to encourage and train the youth of Jammu and Kashmir for fashion design and thereby generate employment opportunities the Government has increased its Financial Support for setting up NIFT center from 50% to 90%.