Growing Exports
Anup Wadhawan, India's Commerce Secretary, claims that India's exports are reviving. He anticipates exports to end FY22 on a strong note. India's trade position with the United States and China has improved as a result of the increase in exports.
While India has been able to maintain its trade surplus with the US, it has managed to reduce the deficit with China in 2020-21.
India's exports to the US stood at $53 billion in 2019-20 and $51 billion in 2020-21. In 2019-20, imports from the United States reached $35.8 billion, up from $28 billion in 2020-21.
Exports to China in 2019-20 were at $16.6 billion and $21.2 billion in 2020-21. Imports from China were worth $65 billion in 2019-20 while it remained flat for 2020-21.
On the export front, India is getting the benefit of a low base of last year. It has uplifted its export figures in recent months. However, there is no doubt that India's exports have seen a remarkable improvement. The biggest takeaway here is that India has improved its trade position with two of its largest trade partners.
Vaccine for All, at Affordable Prices
Serum Institute of India (SII) has announced new prices of its Covishield doses as India has entered into the third stage of its vaccination program. Under this, the government has expanded its vaccination for every individual above 18 years of age.
SII will be selling the vaccine to state governments and private hospitals. The vaccine will be available for purchase by state governments at a cost of Rs 400 per dose. The price per dose for private hospitals has been set at Rs 600 per dose.
Putting a price limit on vaccines would go a long way in making the vaccine more accessible to the general public. The government, on the other hand, would need to impose a profit limit on private hospitals to prevent them from making excessive profits.
Hero MotoCorp Opts for Self Imposed Lockdown
Hero MotoCorp has opted to impose lockdown at its plants as COVID-19 cases continue to rise. Between April 22 and May 1, each plant and global part centres will remain shut.
The company has further announced that it will carry out necessary maintenance work during this period. And, if necessary, it can make up for the production loss at a later stage.
HeroMoto is the first company in this financial year to shut down its plant.
The company believes that the lockdown will have a minimal impact on its operations. As is the case, demand for two-wheelers has suffered drastically under the impact of the second COVID-19 wave. On the contrary, the lockdown could help the company to reduce its inventory and free up capital.
