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The Hindu
11 hours ago
- Business
- The Hindu
Centre to wield quality control ‘stick' to drive exports
The Indian government is not keen on providing further subsidies to export-oriented sectors of the economy, according to a senior government official. Instead, the government is going to follow a more 'carrot and stick' approach where quality control orders (QCOs) are going to increasingly be used to push Indian industry to become internationally competitive, while all non-subsidy help will be provided to them in terms of land acquisition and other regulatory hurdles. 'The government has taken a call that just giving subsidies has not really worked in boosting India's exports,' the official said. 'There is an issue with the quality of the product as well. That's why we are now focussing on QCOs to ensure that our exports meet the minimum quality standards.' 'The government is not inclined to provide more subsidies to sectors than it already has,' the official added. 'But all the non-subsidy help that we can provide will be provided, like easing land acquisition, or any other regulatory issues they come to us with.' However, The Hindu has also learnt that the issue of providing subsidies for the production of rare earth batteries in India has come up for discussion in the government, in light of the supply crunch due to China banning the export of these products. QCOs are regulations that state that products manufactured, imported, sold in India, or manufactured for exports, must meet minimum quality standards as laid out by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS). As of March 2025, various central ministries had notified a total of 187 QCOs covering 769 products. There has been a debate in India on whether QCOs are helping or hurting. According to the government, including Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, QCOs are the path to enhancing India's export competitiveness. However, Niti Aayog Vice Chairman Suman Bery has said that QCOs are a 'malign intervention' to stop imports from certain countries, but that would actually end up hurting India's MSMEs. The government has provided some relief for certain export categories that rely on inputs from abroad. 'To ensure competitiveness of Indian exporters, exemptions from mandatory QCOs are available for imports intended for export production under specific schemes, such as advance authorisations, by export oriented units (EOUs), and in Special Economic Zones (SEZs),' the Minister of State for Textiles Pabitra Margherita said in a reply to the Lok Sabha in March 2025. The government's stance on subsidies runs against what some industries have been demanding. The Federation of Indian Mineral Industries (FIMI), for example, on Tuesday released a report in which it called for an upfront subsidy of ₹10,000-15,000 per kWh on the purchase of alternate fuel Heavy Earth Moving Machinery (HEMM) for mining applications. 'One of the primary barriers to e-truck adoption is their high upfront cost, with electric trucks and other HEMMs currently priced at nearly three times that of their diesel counterparts,' FIMI noted in its report. 'Such price disparity discourages potential buyers.'
The Hindu
19-05-2025
- General
- The Hindu
NLCIL's unveils waste-to-art sculpture in Delhi
The NLC India Limited (NLCIL) has installed 'Jai Hind Chakra', a sculpture crafted from scrap metals, near the new Parliament House in New Delhi. A press note said the installation, symbolising national pride and environmental consciousness, was designed and developed as part of the Swachhata Hi Seva 4.0 campaign by the Public Sector Undertaking under the Ministry of Coal. The artefact, measuring 10 feet by 10 feet, reflects the colours of the national flag and aims to promote awareness about environmental protection and waste management. Designed using a mirror-image concept, the sculpture appears identical from both front and the rear. According to the press note, as part of initiatives in line with the Seva campaign and 'Waste to Art' thrust, the NLCIL undertook several creative efforts to transform industrial waste into valuable art. Among these was the development of 'Punarutthan Charkha Park', a themed park featuring sculptures and models made from scrap materials. Additionally, an unused building was renovated and converted into NLCIL 'Parampariyam' museum, further promoting sustainability. The Jai Hind Chakra was similarly conceptualized using unused Heavy Earth Moving Machinery (HEMM) scrap materials sourced from NLCIL Mines. Components like clutch plates and bearings were used to represent strength and mechanical endurance, while pipes and tanks provided structural stability. Specialised fabrication techniques helped shape the sculpture into its final artistic form. Completed within a span of just three weeks, the sculpture was developed under the close supervision and regular inspections of NLCIL CMD Prasanna Kumar Motupalli, the press note said. A total of 1,250 rods and 250 cutting wheels were utilized to ensure the sculpture's intricate design and precision. The sculpture was brought to life by a team of skilled artists led by renowned sculptor Srinivas Padakandla from Vijayawada, who is also a faculty member in the Fine Arts Department at Acharya Nagarjuna University, Guntur.
