📱 Cutting electronics imports

Good morning. A Game of Thrones movie is officially said to be in the works.

Happy Wednesday 🗡️ 

- Ruchirr Sharma & Shatakshi Sharmaa  

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• 🛳️ The importance of e-commerce export hubs for Indian MSMEs

• 📱 Cutting electronics imports

• 🗞️ Bite-sized summaries

  • 🇮🇳 India’s play at G20

  • 🚀 ISRO’s impact

• 🧑‍🍳 What else is cookin’?

• 🍿 Entertainment, Entertainment, Entertainment

MARKETS

🇮🇳 India

• Stocks declined by over 1 per cent each to settle in the red on Tuesday.

🌍️ International

• Global stocks dipped slightly after five straight session of gains. Bitcoin approached $90,000 as the "Trump trade" continued to influence markets 👀 Investors are adjusting to the prospect of Donald Trump returning to the White House, with expectations of tax cuts and increased government spending. The dollar strengthened, and Treasury yields rose as markets reassessed the likelihood of Federal Reserve rate cuts.

E-COMMERCE

🛳️ The importance of e-commerce export hubs for Indian MSMEs

India’s E-Commerce Export Hubs (ECEHs) are a government-led initiative designed to support MSMEs in global markets by centralizing export logistics and compliance services.

Announced in the recent budget, ECEHs tackle obstacles that Indian small businesses face, from fierce competition with established markets like China and Japan to regulatory challenges and geopolitical disruptions.

Here’s why they are important:

• The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) envisions ECEHs as unified hubs providing essential export services, including packaging, labelling, certification, and customs clearance.

• The hubs operate through a streamlined electronic system that reduces the regulatory load on MSMEs, making it easier to access international markets.

• By integrating logistics with compliance requirements, ECEHs are positioned as infrastructure and regulatory solutions for Indian exporters, especially in sectors like jewellery, apparel, and handicrafts.

Despite the promising design, operational questions remain. For instance, ECEH operators must verify and document goods, which raises concerns about potential GST and customs liabilities for misdeclarations. There’s also ambiguity around handling returns, foreign exchange discrepancies, and overall accountability between operators and exporters.

Overall: ECEHs have the potential to significantly boost India’s cross-border e-commerce exports, with the market poised to grow from USD 5 billion to up to USD 100 billion. However, refining operational clarity is crucial to ensure ECEHs can effectively reduce compliance burdens and unlock new market opportunities for India’s small businesses.

Read more: Economic Times

TRADE

📱 Cutting electronics imports

In a significant move toward strengthening India’s electronics manufacturing sector, the government is proposing a 5% reduction in electronics imports, effective April 1, 2025.

Targeted products include laptops, tablets, all-in-one PCs, ultra-small form factor computers, and servers. This plan encourages companies to curb import dependence and increase domestic value addition.

Key Strategy and Implementation

• The proposed cut, grounded in data from the Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics, will not impose hard import caps but will be guided by company-provided estimates of anticipated imports.

• Companies will be asked to cut their import bill by 5% and increase local production capacity.

• The government will review domestic production data periodically, maintaining flexibility and minimizing disruptions to business continuity.

Broader Policy Context

• Following earlier restrictions on electronics imports and the extension of the Import Management System (IMS) to December 31, 2024, this initiative aligns with the Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme, which incentivizes local production.

• Imports in FY24 amounted to approximately $8.4 billion, with goods primarily from China, Hong Kong, and Southeast Asia.

Overall: As consultations continue, industry feedback has been largely supportive. This proposal underscores India’s drive to enhance self-reliance in electronics, balancing global supply chain demands with robust domestic production growth.

Read more: Economic Times

GENERAL OVERVIEW

🗞️ Bite-sized summaries

🇮🇳 India’s play at G20 - Prime Minister Modi will attend the 2024 G20 Summit in Brazil to advance India’s positions on key global issues, building on achievements from the New Delhi Declaration. India aims to promote climate action, debt relief, hunger reduction, and gender equality while pushing for increased climate finance and fairer global trade reforms. Modi’s diplomatic efforts at the 2023 summit unified G20 members despite divides over Ukraine and included welcoming the African Union as a permanent member, advocating for crypto regulation, and urging reform of multilateral development banks. India’s engagement in Brazil reflects its continued focus on inclusive global governance.

🚀 ISRO’s impact - ISRO Chairman S. Somanath shared insights on ISRO’s social impact, citing a return of ₹2.50 for every rupee invested. He emphasized ISRO's mission to benefit India rather than compete globally, highlighting initiatives like Oceansat-based advisories that aid fishermen. Reflecting on his journey, Somanath credited influential teachers and the perseverance he gained from early project setbacks, such as the PSLV's initial failure. Addressing over two lakh students, he encouraged resilience and underscored India's historical achievements in rocket technology. The event also launched a telescope distribution initiative for students, with ISRO, the Indian Institute of Astrophysics, and others offering career guidance in space technology.

HEADLINES

🧑‍🍳 What else is cookin’?

What’s happening in India (and around the world 🌍️)

• UK vows to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 81% on 1990 levels by 2035.

• Air India officially completes merger with Vistara, unifying under one brand.

• Rajeev Misra set to leave SoftBank; group clocks profits from successful Indian IPOs.

• Salesforce to hire 1,000 people for AI product sales push.

CULTURE

🍿 Entertainment, Entertainment, Entertainment

• Megan Fox pregnant, expecting baby with Machine Gun Kelly.

• Trailer for Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy released 👏