Defining Sustainable Trade Standards

The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), earlier this week, published a report proposing the setting up of a framework to define sustainability standards in the trade finance arena. The ICC said the new norms which will come into effect in 2022 would act as a rulebook to assess the sustainability profile of specific types of trade transactions. Speaking of another report, this one by the commerce ministry, Gujarat has maintained its number one rank on an index that compared and gauged the logistics efficiency across different Indian states in 2021. The Logistics Ease Across Different States (LEADS) index is based on an array of parameters such as infrastructure, services, competitiveness, operating environment, regulatory processes, to name a few.

In addition to this, the government is gearing up for the union budget 2022-23 and will soon kick off consultations with industry bodies. Reduction in compliance burden in terms of GST, loans, licensing or audit, restoring tax benefit on research & development expenditure, etc., are some expectations from MSME associations going into next year’s budget.

EXCLUSIVE ICC proposes first global rules on sustainable trade finance

The standard setter for global trade finance flows has proposed a new set of rules to define sustainability in the trade finance arena, worth some $5 trillion a year, an executive told Reuters.

Gujarat retains pole position in logistics index: Commerce ministry report

Gujarat has maintained its lead over 20 other states by again getting top place on an index to gauge the logistics efficiency across states in 2021 due to its "well-developed infrastructure and services driven by a responsive government", according to a report released by commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal. It got the No. 1 rank in the 2019 index too.

Union Budget 2022-23 | MSMEs bat for reduction in compliance burden, GST rationalisation

With the government expected to soon kick off consultations with industry bodies for Union Budget 2022, GST rationalisation and cut in compliance burden are some of the top expectations of the MSMEs.

Issues India’s new foreign trade policy needs to address

India will introduce its foreign trade policy in 2022. The policy will be the guiding principle for foreign trade for the next five years. Amid global pressure, Covid-19, and the vision of a self-reliant India, the task of formulating the policy will be far more daunting.

Explained: What does India’s coal shortage mean for MSMEs recovering from Covid impact

The shortage of India’s largest source of power – Coal at the country’s thermal power plants may thwart micro, small and medium enterprises’ (MSMEs) post-pandemic recovery. Accounting for around 70 per cent of India’s source of energy, as per government estimates, the depletion of coal stocks has been due to multiple reasons, risking huge losses for small businesses particularly in power guzzling sectors such as steel, aluminium, cement, fertilizers, chemicals, and more.