Page 15 - Banking Finance May 2024

ROUNDUP

Vivek Katoch chairperson IDSA said "A About the Namo Drone Didi Scheme, Digitally delivered services - using com-
CAGR of 8.3% is a testament to the fact he said specifications for the drones will puter networks to provide professional
that direct selling business in the coun- be issued soon. services to education, gaming and
try has made steady growth, and is streaming music and videos - itself has
poised to strengthen further in the FY24 indirect tax collection seen a sharp increase over the last two
years to come on the back of a prom- decades, now accounting for over one-
ising regulatory framework". exceeds RE: CBIC chairman fifth of global services trade. Overall,
The indirect tax collection for FY24 has the WTO expects the global economy
Govt working on differen- exceeded the revised estimates (RE) of and trade to improve. After a 1.2%
Rs 14.84 lakh crore by "a handsome
tiated framework to regu- margin", helped by a record GST mop- decline in goods trade volume, the

late drones up, a top government official said. multilateral body forecast a 2.6% in-
crease in 2024.
The civil aviation ministry will look at Lauding the efforts of tax officials, CBIC
having a differentiated regulatory chairman Sanjay Kumar Agarwal, in a
framework for drones used for civilian letter to field officials, said, "I am Rs. 6,800 crore PLI dis-
and industrial purposes, a senior offi- happy to inform that the indirect tax bursed in FY24
cial said as he pitched for indigenous collections for the Financial Year 2023-
development of the drone ecosystem. 24, including Customs and Union Excise Incentives worth Rs 6,800 crore were
Duty have exceeded the Revised Esti- disbursed among the eligible beneficia-
Civil Aviation Secretary Vumlunmang ries of production-linked incentive (PLI)
Vualnam also emphasised that the mates by a handsome margin". schemes in 2023-24 against the govern-
government will make efforts to pro- This achievement not only reflects pro- ment estimate of Rs 11,000 crore, re-
mote drones as well as push advanced fessionalism but also underscores the
air mobility. strength of teamwork and persever- vealed Rajesh Kumar Singh, secretary,
ance within the CBIC community, he the Department for Promotion of In-
Speaking at the national conference on dustry and Internal Trade (DPIIT).
said, adding that "your relentless ef-
drones in the national capital, he said
that "much has been done and more will forts have not gone unnoticed, and I Singh also shared the government's
be done" on the regulations for drones. extend my heartfelt appreciation to plans to make the PLI schemes for tex-
each and every member for their in- tiles, bulk drugs, food products, and
The ministry is looking at having a dif- valuable contributions throughout the solar PV modules relatively attractive
ferentiated regulatory framework for year".
civilian and industrial drones, he noted. by adding more product lines and ex-
A Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) India now 4th largest ex- tending the timelines. Furthermore,
Scheme for drones and drone compo- the PLI scheme for drones could see an
nents was notified in September 2021. porter of digitally deliv- increase in allocation due to its good
An incentive of Rs 120 crore is being ered services offtake.
provided for Indian manufacturers of Amid a more optimistic picture of glo- Though the DPIIT secretary refrained
drone and drone components on the bal trade in 2024, there is more good from divulging specific details about
basis of value addition and certain news for India, which has now the lower-than-expected disburse-
other conditions. emerged as fourth largest exporter of ment, he assured that investment and
At the conference organised by indus- digitally delivered services, whose production under such schemes are on
try body CII, Vualnam said the scheme share has now increased to more than track. "(Cumulative) investment of
has been successful and stressed on a fifth of international trade in services. about Rs. 1.13 trillion had already
the need for indigenous development Data released by in the Global Trade been reported until February-end. Pro-
of the drone ecosystem. Outlook and Statistics estimated India's duction/sales are also about Rs. 6.5
He also made it clear that there should digitally delivered services exports at trillion, employment (number) is
not be dependency on incentives and $257 billion in 2023, 17% higher than the 800,000, and exports have reached Rs.
that the drone industry should sustain previous year. Having pipped Germany, 3.45 trillion. These are big achieve-
on its own. India lags the US, the UK and Ireland. ments," he told in an interview.

14 | 2024 | MAY | BANKING FINANCE