The RBI on July 2 proposed rationalising regulations that cover export and import transactions with an aim to promote ease of doing business and empower banks to provide more efficient service to their foreign exchange customers.

India and Myanmar pioneered a new bilateral trade payment system as the Yangon office of Punjab National Bank on Tuesday completed the first transaction exceeding Rs 1 crore for a shipment of pulses under the Rupee-Kyat Settlement Mechanism.

The initiative aims to streamline trade transactions between India and Myanmar, enhancing efficiency by eliminating complexities associated with exchange rates through direct payment in local currencies.

The Central Bank of Myanmar introduced guidelines for payment procedures via the Special Rupee Vostro Account (SRVA) on January 26 this year. The mechanism covers both sea and border trade, encompassing transactions for goods and services.

The commerce ministry is developing a platform for registering non-tariff barriers (NTBs) faced by exporters and taking up with the concerned countries for their resolution, a senior official said. At present, there is an information gap on these barriers particularly for small items.

The union government is working on making the National Test House (NTH), an industrial testing lab that reports to the consumer affairs ministry, the apex certification body for all Indian products, two people directly involved in the process said, after a string of export order rejections.

India’s coffee exports rose 43 per cent in dollar value terms to $926.55 million in the first half of calendar year 2024 on increase in global prices and aided by a 13 per cent growth in volume. In the same period last year, coffee exports stood at $647.76 million.

The state govt has introduced a scheme designed specifically for mango cultivation in a bid to provide targeted assistance and support to farmers engaged in production of the fruit in the region, agriculture minister Mangal Pandey tells TOI’s Sheezan Nezami in an interview.

India has not allowed milk and milk product imports under a tariff rate quota since 2011-12 and no such imports are envisaged this year, Santosh Sarangi, director general of foreign trade said Monday.

With the aim of rapid progress of agriculture sector in the country, Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare and Rural Development Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan has initiated state-wise discussions, under which the Union Minister held a meeting with a high-level delegation including Chhattisgarh Agriculture Minister Shri Ramvichar Netam at Krishi Bhavan in New Delhi today.