Daily News - Friday, 7 March 2025

‘Woo Foreign MSMEs to Compete with China’ (The Economic Times)

India must attract foreign micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to remain competitive globally, as NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Suman Bery emphasized the need for strong private sector involvement and corporate investment to achieve developed economy status by 2047. While China successfully integrated into global supply chains, India’s manufacturing sector still faces home bias, limited MSME participation, and underwhelming corporate capital expenditure despite tax reductions aimed at boosting investment. Bery stressed that India’s economic growth target of 7-8% requires deeper domestic reforms, stronger MSME-corporate linkages, and a robust manufacturing sector for both economic expansion and national security self-reliance. 

⁠Levy on American Walnuts, Almonds, Apples may be Cut (The Economic Times)

⁠India is considering reducing or eliminating import duties on American walnuts, almonds, apples, and cranberries to strengthen trade ties with the US and address key disputes ahead of Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariffs set to begin on April 2. Current Indian tariffs stand at 42-120% on almonds, 50% on apples, and 100-120% on walnuts, with discussions underway to lower these rates and eliminate duties on cranberries as part of broader negotiations aiming for a $500 billion bilateral trade target by 2030. India imported $614.5 million worth of US almonds, $22.48 million worth of apples, and $6.68 million worth of cranberries in April-November FY25, and is also exploring tariff reductions on cherries and other sectors where it has competitive interests.

Auto, Electronics, Apparel, Jewellery Cos Work Around Reciprocal US Tariffs (The Economic Times)

Indian companies in consumer electronics, jewellery, and apparel are engaging with key US clients to mitigate risks from President Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariffs, set to begin on April 2, which will match India’s higher import duties on various products. India accounted for 12.99% ($11.58 billion) of the US’s $89.12 billion gem and jewellery imports in 2024, prompting the Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council to send a delegation to meet major US stakeholders like De Beers and Tiffany & Co. to maintain export flows. Apparel exporters, already facing 11-28% US import duties, are exploring alternative strategies, with major firms like Gokaldas Exports shifting some production to Kenya, which enjoys duty-free access under the African Growth and Opportunities Act, ensuring competitiveness despite potential tariff hikes on Indian exports. 

Vaishnaw: India GPUs in 3-4 yrs, to be ‘among top 5 tech nations’ (The Indian Express)

⁠India plans to develop its own graphics processing units (GPUs) within the next three to four years to enhance technological self-reliance and compete globally, especially amid potential US restrictions on AI chip exports, according to Electronics and IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw. As part of its AI strategy, the government has launched the IndiaAI Datasets platform, AI Kosha, to provide non-personal data for startups, along with an AI compute platform offering affordable GPU access at under ₹100 per hour, supported by a 40% subsidy. With a shared compute facility of 14,000 GPUs already operational and ten companies, including Jio Platforms and Tata Communications, onboarded, India is also developing its own foundational AI models within eight to ten months, having received 67 proposals from startups.

RE sector hit by weak demand, cancelled projects (mint)

⁠India’s renewable energy sector faces significant hurdles, including weak demand for tenders, delays in power agreements, and project cancellations, with a record 73GW of renewable energy tenders issued in 2024 but 8.5GW undersubscribed—five times higher than in 2023—due to complex tender structures and transmission delays. The country’s unsigned power sale agreements now exceed 40GW, including 12GW from the Solar Energy Corporation of India, while 38.3GW (19% of the total) was canceled from 2020 to 2024 due to design issues, technical challenges, and undersubscription. With only 165GW of non-fossil power capacity in place against the 2030 target of 500GW, and India falling short of its 2022 goal of 175GW, the sector’s struggles could deter investor interest and affect access to low-cost financing, despite adding nearly 28GW of solar and wind capacity in 2024.