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CEPA a gamechanger in Indo-UAE relations, UAE to begin reducing tariffs on India’s goods by 90%

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Implementation of a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) signed between India and the UAE on February 18, came into force on May 1 with the arrival of the first imports exempted from tariffs. CEPA between the two countries would help encourage trade by reducing custom tariffs by 90 percent and increase non-oil trade from US$45 billion at the end of 2021 to US$100 billion annually in the next five years.

The UAE chose India to sign the first CEPA, which underscores the strategic ties between the two countries. Since the launch of the CEPA programme as part of the ‘Projects of the 50’ initiative, the UAE began talks to sign CEPAs with several countries of strategic importance both regionally and internationally, aiming to sign eight agreements in 2022.

On the annual growth of the trade exchange between the two countries and their targets over the next five years, Abdullah bin Touq Al Marri, Minister of Economy, said the CEPA between the UAE and India will intensify their bilateral trade and add 1.7 per cent, or US$9 billion, to the UAE’s GDP by 2030, increase the UAE’s exports by 1.5 per cent and its imports by 3.8 per cent by 2030. It will also create some 140,000 jobs for talented people and those with specialist skills in the most promising sectors of the UAE economy by 2030.

On the new areas of cooperation, CEPA offers many advantages, including reducing and cancelling tariffs, widening access to markets, and creating opportunities in vital areas, such as aviation, environment, hospitality, logistics, investment, construction, financial services, and digital trade.

The CEPA will offer numerous advantages for small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) in the private sectors of both countries. It represents a historically strategic step to promote economic integration and cooperation between the two countries and establish a solid foundation that will open new horizons between their business communities.

The CEPA will also open access to different markets and create new investments and opportunities in critical areas, including energy, environment, and digital trade. The agreement covers 11 service sectors and more than 100 sub-sectors, including business services, professional services, accounting, real estate, advertising, communications, building and construction, related services, educational services, environmental services, financial services, insurance, social and health services, and travel and tourism service.

India is the UAE’s largest trading partner in terms of non-oil exports, equivalent to 14 percent of the country’s total global exports, while the UAE is also India’s third-largest trading partner and accounts for 40 percent of its trade with Arab countries.

The most prominent commodities exported from the UAE to India and the commodities imported from India are mainly gold, diamonds and jewellery, machinery, electrical appliances, petroleum and plastics, and minerals that include iron, steel, and aluminium. The two countries account for more than 16 per cent of the global trade in diamonds, gold and jewellery, and the other country accounts for 20 per cent of their national gold trade.

The figures show that three percent of the UAE’s trade during the Covid-19 pandemic was with India, which is among the 15 most important exporters of food commodities in the world, and the UAE is among the most important recipients of its exports from this commodity group, coming in third place.

India is ranked second in terms of the UAE’s total trade in food commodities and products, and is one of most important suppliers in the UAE’s food commodities market, contributing 10 per cent of the UAE’s total imports of food commodities and products.

Talking to IANS, Chandu Siroya, V.P. Dubai Gold and JwellaryGroup, who received the first consignment under CEPA said that the Government of India made a special effort to send the shipment on the first day of CEPA by clearing and sending the shipment on March 5, 2022. Assisted by the Dubai Customs office in the whole process and the shipment was cleared in 15 Minutes Duty Free. The customs assisted us in getting the approval code from Dubai Trade for the exemption. The declaration was done online, and the approval was received instantaneously. It was a very fast seamless process. Kudos to the authorities for doing this under a brand-new agreement.

Dr. Azad Moopen, Founder Chairman and Managing Director of Aster DM Healthcare said that I am delighted to see the strategic ties between UAE and India gaining momentum, and with the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), many corridors for trade, investment, services and employment will open up reciprocally. The UAE has been second home for over 3.4 million Indians and India’s largest trade partner for many years. The leaders of both countries share an amicable bond and this is just another step towards strengthening ties and the relationship between the two countries. With this agreement, we can expect the business between the two countries to increase exponentially.

Paras Shahdadpuri, Chairman, Nikai Group of Companies said that CEPA � Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, will give a powerful thrust to the bilateral economic relationship. CEPA is equivalent to the FTA which was originally under negotiations between India and GCC which however was taking longer time to conclude. Therefore, the CEPA between the two countries. This will enhance the trade and economic activity between the two countries with manufactured goods of the two countries being imported without incurring any custom duties.

Kamal Vachani, Group Director and Partner at Al Maya Group commented on CEPA that The Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between India and the UAE is truly a matter of significant importance in the context of its growing economic ties between the two countries. Trade between India and the UAE has always been an important factor in driving economic partnership. India is among the top three trading partners of the UAE and the signing of a new free trade agreement between both the countries will take the trade to the next level. Specially the trading groups like us, who are catering and trading between both countries are going to get its benefits at every step.

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India Set To Lead The World In 6G, Says Telecom Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia

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In a bold declaration at the inaugural address of the Indian Mobile Congress 2024 (IMC) on Tuesday, Union Telecom Minister Jyotiraditya M. Scindia has said that India will lead the world in the adoption of 6G.

In his address at the event, Scindia emphasized that India is now prepared to lead the world in the development of 6G technology.

India’s Technological Rise: From Following to Leading

“It is our belief and commitment that India, which followed the world in 4G and marched with it in 5G, will lead the world in 6G,” Scindia stated.

The minister highlighted India’s remarkable achievements in the telecommunications sector over the last ten years, the country has become a global leader in innovation and technology.

“It’s a fundamental change in approach towards technology development,” he said, attributing this transformation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership.

Telecom Sector Growth Under PM Modi’s Leadership

“Prime Minister who has always put people at the heart of progress Sabka Sath, Sabka Vikas Sabka Vishvas aur Sabka Prayas combined with his second motto, One Earth, One Family and One Future. It is combination of these two mottos that leads India under PM Narendra Modi leadership one of the leading sectors in the committee of Nations,” Scindia said.

Scindia underscored government’s initiatives to bridge the digital divide, particularly through the BharatNet program, the world’s largest rural broadband connectivity initiative to connect every panchayat of the nation. Over the past three years, the government has invested more than USD 10 billion and laid 7 lakh kilometres of fiber across rural India.

Digital Payments and UPI: Pillars of India’s Digital Economy

He cited staggering growth in mobile and broadband connectivity, with mobile connections rising from 94 million to 1.16 billion, and broadband users growing from 60 million to 924 million in just a decade. India’s optical fibre cable (OFC) networks has expanded from 11 million kilometers to 41 million kilometres over the last ten years, he added.

The minister further said that this growth is accompanied by the success of India’s digital payment systems, the 4G stack, and the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), which serve as pillars of India’s digital economy are expected to contribute significantly to the global digital infrastructure.

Scindia further noted that the government’s efforts to ensure that policy frameworks keep pace with the rapidly evolving digital landscape. “The recent changes to the Telecommunications act 2023 is a case in point. It has been drawing light upon hither to undressed areas such as a high potential sector of satellite communications, addressing the challenges of the digital leader. The most important being cyber security. The telecom sector much like other growth critical sectors in India is aggressive, is ambitioushe said.

“The telecom sector much like other growth critical sectors in India is aggressive, is ambitious and its outlook in our Journey from Amritkal to Shatabdikal is to lead the world,” Scindia said. By mid-next year, India will have achieved 100 per cent saturation of 4G across the entire country, covering even the most remote villages, the minister said.

He emphasised PM Modi’s vision of India as a first mover in 6G technology, underscoring the nation’s resolve to lead the world in future telecom innovations.

“The attitude put forward by the prime minister of not just embracing, but raising ourselves to becoming the first mover in the 6G technology,” he added.

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Indian Markets Gave Better Returns Than China In Last 5 Years, Says Sebi Member

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Sebi Whole-time Member Ananth Narayan G on Monday reminded investors that Indian equities have consistently delivered 15 per cent returns over the last 5 years whereas the same has been zero or even negative in China.

Terming the Indian markets “sone pe suhaga” for delivering higher returns for lower risks, Narayan also flagged a few areas of caution for investors and asked them to be conscious of the risks.

“There’s a lot of talk about China markets over the last few days. But over the last five years, while Indian markets have given around 15 per cent compound annual growth rate consistently, Chinese markets are nowhere close to that. It’s almost zero. In fact, in some cases, like in Hong Kong, it’s actually negative,” Narayan said.

Speaking at an event marking the start of the Investor Awareness Week at NSE, Narayan said FY24 was a “remarkable” year for India, with the benchmark indices returning 28 per cent and the volatility just 10 per cent.

“That’s like ‘sone pe suhaga’. It’s like the best of all worlds: low risk and very high return,” Narayan said, underlining that there are side effects of this as well.

Making it clear that it will not be the same going forward and investors should not assume it to be a one-way street, Narayan said such handsome returns can lead to complacency and pointed to a lot of youngsters opening up demat accounts to join the bandwagon.

Educating people about risks is very important, Narayan said, giving the analogy of driving a car. “There has to be a light push on the accelerator to get more investors to provide risk capital for the economic growth, we also need to be aware of risks and use the brakes if need be.” He said that 40 per cent of the small and midcap scrips have shot up by 5 times in the last five years, because of an imbalance between inflow of investor money and supply of new paper.

On its part, the capital markets regulator is trying hard to ensure that fund-raising clearances are done early so that there is a steady stream of quality paper supply in the market.

From a broader, longer-term perspective, Indian markets will only go north from here given the economic growth prospects in the country, Narayan said, issuing specific advice to investors.

Investors need to have the right intermediaries to capitalise on this opportunity presented by India, and not fall for the unregistered and fly-by-night ‘finfluencers’ who might be driven by vested interests, he said.

Using the oft-repeated idiom of “all roads lead to Rome”, Narayan remarked that Rome is not a traveller-friendly place and one may get scammed there as well. Therefore, it is important to seek advice from the right people for the investors, he said.

He also said that it is in investors’ interests to trade less and stay invested for longer for higher returns, and added that studies prove the same.

Sebi, which has flagged certain areas like derivatives recently, is not against speculation or participants taking short-term trades, but it would want investors to understand the risks, Narayan said.

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Ratan Tata Rubbishes Rumors Of ‘Critical Health’; Says No Cause For Concern

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Ratan Tata Rubbishes Rumors Of 'Critical Health'; Says No Cause For Concern

Tata Group’s Ratan Tata has denied rumours of his critical health that have been reported and have surfaced in the recent hours.

Ratan Tata’s associates took to his official Instagram account to debunk the news of him being ‘Critical’.

In the post, Ratan Tata said, “I am aware of recent rumors circulating regarding my health and want to assure everyone that these claims are unfounded. I am currently undergoing medical check-ups due to my age and related medical conditions.

There is no cause for concern. I remain in good spirits and request that the public and media respect refrain from spreading misinformation.

For more than fifty years, Ratan Tata has led the Indian business community’s entrance hall. The 86-year-old has been suffering from illnesses associated with ageing. Tata has participated in social life to the best of his limited ability despite his health issues.

Recently, on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti, on October 2, Ratan Tata, expressed his congratulations to the Prime Minister on this occasion. “I congratulate the honourable Prime Minister on the 10-year commemoration of programmes that have benefitted millions in rural India.”

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