The Ultimate Guide to Know The Impact On India's Import Export amid Covid'19

Covid-19 Impact on India's economy,

            The novel Coronavirus created a big impact in India's economy. It affected people as well as the import and export of India. It is still showing a great impact on the lives and economy of people all over the world. As an Indian citizen it is important to know what is happening to our Indian economy. This article will give you a hint about the India’s economical position, exports, imports and trade balance during the COVID-19 period. 

INDIA’S POSITION:

The report from IMF says that the global GDP will shrink to -3.0% during 2020, while it was projected to remain at 3.3% before the coronavirus outbreak. 

              From the data mentioned in the IMF report most countries, in the advanced economy group, are forecast to contract this year, including the Germany (-7.0%), France (-7.2%), the United Kingdom (-6.5%), Italy (-9.1%), United States (-5.9%), Japan (-5.2%), and Spain (-8.0%). Notably, all these countries have been badly affected by the coronavirus outbreak. 

         The World Economic Report says that if the coronavirus pandemic ends in 2020 then the economies of India and other countries will return on track once again. There is good news and a bad news for Indian economy amid the coronavirus pandemic. 

            The good news is that despite the massive setback due to coronavirus lockdown, India is one among the top countries in the world whose economy is expected to grow more than the world's average. But the bad news is that the Indian economy is projected to register only 1.9% growth in 2020 fiscal year, as per the latest report of International Monetary Fund (IMF).

INDIA’S EXPORTS:

March 2020

India went into lockdown on 25th March, 2020, restricting 1.3 Billion people inside home.

•  Exports of India was affected during this period. Tea is the least affected with decline of over 33% in march 2020 when compared to previous year
•  Engineering goods, meat and poultry products along with oil meals took the steepest hit ranging   between 42 to 70%
• Cumulative value of exports for the period of April – March 2019-20 was USD 314.31 Billion as against USD 330.08 Billion during period April-March 2018-19 registering negative growth of 4.78%in Dollar terms.

      April – May 2020

Exports in May2020 were USD19.05billion, as compared to USD29.99billion in May 2019, exhibiting a negative growth of (-)36.47per cent 

• Except the commodities like Iron ore, Drugs & pharmaceuticals, Spices and Rice which registered a growth of 103.04%, 17.32%,10.55% and 7.64% respectively, all other commodity groups have registered negative growth in May 2020 when compared to May 2019 
• Major commodity groups which have recorded negative growth more than 50% are Leather and leather products, Handcrafts excluding Carpet, Gems and Jewellery, Petroleum products, RMG of all Textiles, Jute products, Yarn fabrics, Meat, diary and poultry products and many commodities experience below 50% of decline in exports 
• Cumulative value of exports for the period of April – May 2020-21 was USD 29.41 Billion as against USD 56.07 Billion during period April-May 2019-20 registering negative growth of 47.54% in Dollar terms

INDIA’S IMPORTS:
March 2020

Rise in import was witnessed only in transport equipment, which registered a growth of 11.94% over March 2019 

• Oil imports in April-March 2019-20 were USD 129.43 Billion which is 8.15% lower in Dollar and 6.99% in Rupee terms compared to USD 140.92 Billion over 2018-19
• Non-oil imports of April-March 19-20 were USD 309.53 Billion against USD 340.25 Billion which is negative growth of over 9.03% 
• Items which shows negative growth in imports are gold, silver, electronic goods, machine tools, iron and steel, coal and petroleum and chemicals.

April – May 2020

        Imports in May2020 were USD22.20billion, which was 51.05per cent lower in Dollar terms and 46.92per cent lower in Rupee terms over imports of USD45.35billion in May2019. 

• Cumulative value of imports for the period April-May 2020-21 was USD39.32 billion, as against USD86.75billion during the period April-May 2019-20, registering a negative growth of (-)54.67per cent in Dollar terms. 
•  Non-oil imports inMay2020 were estimated at USD18.71 billion which was 43.13per cent lower in Dollar terms, compared to USD32.91billion in May2019. Non-oil imports in April-May 2020-21 were USD31.17billion which was 50.46per cent lower in Dollar terms, compared to USD62.93billion in April-May2019-20 

 Oil imports inMay2020 were USD3.49 billion, which was 71.98% lower in Dollar terms, compared to USD12.44billion in May2019. Oil imports in April-May 2020-21 were USD8.15 billion which was 65.79 per cent lower in Dollar terms compared to USD23.82billion, over the same period last year.

TRADE BALANCE:

MERCHANDISE: The trade deficit for March 2020 was estimated at USD 9.76 Billion as against the deficit of USD 11.00 Billion in March 2019 

SERVICES: As per RBI’s press release dated 15 Apr 2020, the trade balance services for Feb 2020 is estimated at USD 6.66 Billion 

Taking both together overall trade deficit for April – March 2019-20 is estimated at USD 70.16 Billion as compared to USD 70.16 Billion as compared to USD 103.32 Billion in April- March 2018-19.

MERCHANDISE: The deficit for May2020 was estimated at USD3.15billion as against the deficit of USD15.36billion inMay2019. 

SERVICES: As per RBI’s hand-out dated 15th June 2020, the trade balance of trade in Services (i.e. Net Services export) for April 2020 is estimated at USD7.15 billion. 

OVERALL TRADE BALANCE: Taking merchandise and services together, overall trade surplus for April-May 2020-21* is estimated at USD4.37 billion as compared to the deficit of USD17.84 billion in April-May 2019-20. 

Even though COVID 19 has reduced India’s exports and imports, the trade deficit has been at it lowest i.e. trade deficit fell 79.5% to USD 3.15 Billion in May 2020 from USD 15.36 billion in May 2019.

What is your thoughts on Indian economy during COVID-19? Write it in the comment section!

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Best Home Remedies for Clear and Glowing Skin!

            Who don’t want a Glowing skin? You, Me and everyone of us want glowing skin! We should celebrate the color of our skin, instead of trying to make your skin go towards plenty of chemical products in the name of whitening. You can try few simple home made DIY face packs that will make skin glow for sure if you follow the tips regularly! 

Glowing skin, this refers to the skin with moist, soft and with small pores, even complexion and a clear skin without blemishes. So, it should not be dull, dry or flaky. 

1. CLEANSE, EXFOLIATE:

          Don’t forget to cleanse and exfoliate your skin on a regular basis. It's like a must do process for a healthy glowing skin. Cleansing will help you to clean the dirt in your face. Exfloating will help you to remove the dead skills and will give you a fresh skin layer. 

Cleanse: 

       Do, wash your face with warm water 3 times a day, If you are using a cleanser, Take a small amount of cleanser and gently massage on your face in circular motions. This will help you to remove all the dirt,oil and the pollution particles that clog pores and causes dullness. Clean your face in the morning and night. 

Exfoliate: 

      This will help you to remove the dead cells of your skin which is the way to achieve the glowing skin! Choose a gentle exfoliant which will not irritate your skin. You can do the exfoliating 3 days once. Always use a moisturizer after the exfoliation part. 

Natural Exfoliator: 

     For those who love the smell of the coffee, it’s a nice scrub. Coffee has some anti-inflammatory properties which helps to reduce the redness and skin breakouts. 

Take a bowl,

• Add a spoon of coffee powder and 2 spoon of sugar, and 3-3 drops of coconut oil. 
• Mix this. Massage it gently on your face. 
• Wash it off with a mild soap free face wash. 
• Apply moisturizer.

So here come your face packs with your kitchen products, 

1. Honey and Turmeric: 

            Honey has lot of health benefits which includes the weight loss when you drink it along with the warm water. It has amazing beauty benefits as well. It has high antibacterial properties and can heal the skin inflammation. 

            If you have DRYSKIN it’s a good moisturizer, Apply a thin layer of honey on your face once in a day and leave it on your face for 30 minutes. Avoid applying it to your hair or eyebrows! Wash it off with normal water follow up with the cleanser. Girls, you can add Turmeric along with honey.

2. Aloevera: 

         Aloevera is a miracle plant which can heal almost all of your skin problems. It also has anti-bacterial effects, which will prevent you from the acne. It is always best to use natural Aloevera gel instead of buying a chemical one from market. It helps in lightening the acne scares, blemishes and to get ride of the dark spots if you use it daily!

            Take a Aloevera leaf, Scrape the gel from the leaf wash it until the greeny gel part go away. Take the white fleshy part, better cut it small pieces and small it with your hands, else you can grind it to get it as a gel. Apply this and leave it for 15 -20 minutes daily. Wash it of with normal water. 

3. Turmeric, Gram flour and Milk Face mask: 

       Face masks that is made at home will be very helpful to treat all your skin problems, without any side effects. Turmeric is the traditional Indian beauty secret! Let's see how to prepare this face pack!

• Take 2 spoons of gram flour,1/2 spoon of turmeric, 1 spoon of milk. 
• Mix all these in a bowl 
• Apply this mask on your face, leave it for 20 minutes or until it dry. 
• Wash it lukewarm water once it dries. 

4. Almond,Mint,Potato face pack: 

        This is a great face pack has been introduced to me by my Mom, which will give you a sudden brightness to your face. If you try only once, then you will love this pack!

• Clean your face with milk or with a cleanser. 
• Take 1 almond, 4-5 Mint leaves, A thin slice of potato 
• Smash all the three ingredients, apply it on your face and leave it for 20 minutes. 
• Wash it off with normal water. You will see an instant glow on your face! I’ve experienced it! 

5. Aloevera and Multani Mitti Pack:

• Take 1 spoon of Aloevera gel(extract it from the plant for better results), 
• 1 spoon of Multani mitti 
• 1 spoon of curd 
• Mix all these in a bowl, Apply it on your face, Wash it off with luke warm water once the pack dry! 

6. Orange peel powder and honey face pack: 

            Orange peel contains vitamin C which helps the skin to get the glow. This also helps to remove the intense tan of your skin!

• Take 2 spoons of orange peel powder, 1 spoon of honey and 1 spoon of curd, You can also a little pinch of turmeric if you want. 
• Mix all these ingredients 
• Clean your face and then Apply a thick coat of the face pack, Let it dry and wash it off. 

8. Cinnamon and Honey face pack: 

            Cinnamon is have great antibacterial properties, this is very effective to treat the acne and pimples. It also promotes the blood circulation to the face. 

• Take 1 spoon of Cinnamon powder and 2 spoons of Honey. 
• Mix it well, use your fingers to apply this face pack, Leave it for 10-15 minutes and wash it off with luke warm water. 

Note: Cinnamon is not suitable for sensitive skins. It may irritate your skin. So do a patch test before you apply this pack on your face. Use this pack only, twice a week. 

Along with these the primary part is, Stay Hydrated and Take Lot of Fruits: 

Staying hydrated will make your skin to glow from inside. Because it improves the metabolism which helps to the growth of new body cells. Also, a sound sleep will give you a healthy and fresh looking skin. Sleep is also very important to maintain to your mind and body health!

To get a healthy skin from the inner side of your body you should improve you eating habits, avoid sugary foods(Which will help you to lose your extra weight), Oily foods and take lot of green vegetable and then fruits. 

You are what you eat! Have a healthy happy glowing skin! 

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Increasing Fuel Price amid COVID'19! Want to know why?

Crude and Petroleum

               Are you wondering why the petrol prices are keep increasing day by day and you don’t understand why? Are you eager to know what are the reasons behind the increase in price of petrol even when crude price is very low? Here we provide you with insights analyzing the information of past two decades. Come let’s see it in details!

Import:

India is a major importer of crude and petroleum products in the world. India’s demand for the crude oil is increasing every year as we can see in the chart for last two decades the import of crude and petroleum products increases year by year which indicates the rise in demand of the petrol and diesel in India. India stands third in the crude oil imports next to China and USA with 9.7% of total import in the world.

Indian basket of crude represents sour grade (Oman and Dubai average) and sweet grade (Brent) with import ratio of 75.50:24.50 respectively in the year 2019-2020. India imports crude oil from countries like Qatar, Kazakhstan, Russia, Algeria, Malaysia, Angola, Iran, Mexico, United States, Kuwait, Venezuela, Nigeria, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Iraq these 15 countries account for nearly 92% of import in 2019. The top 5 countries are listed below

•       Iraq – US$ 21 Billion
•       Saudi Arabia - $ 20.5 Billion
•       United Arab Emirates - $ 9.9 Billion
•       Nigeria - $ 9.5 Billion
•       Venezuela - $ 5.6 Billion

Exports:

The export destinations for Petroleum products of India are Singapore, United Arab Emirates, Netherland, Malaysia, United States, Israel and Nepal. Refined Petroleum is one amongst the major exports of India. India is one among the top 10 countries which are exporter of refined petroleum in the world. India exports refined petroleum to the Nepal, USA, UK, UAE etc. India not only exports refined petrol but also Aviation Turbine Fluid, diesel, naphtha, lubricant oil, fuel oil, bitumen, vacuum gas oil etc. The exports chart shows the total export of crude and petroleum products in Million Metric Tonnes. The chart clearly shows that the exports took off in the early 2000’s and slight fluctuation in the growth during 2015-16 and 2017-2018 periods.

The gap between total import and total export of the crude and petroleum products are clearly shown in the chart. India is encountering the trade deficit in the crude and petroleum products. When comparing the growth of the imports and exports, imports are increasing way quicker than the exports.

Consumption:

                The total consumption of India in the year 2018-2019 was 213 MMT which is 5.9% more than the year 2017-18. States like Haryana, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka are the highly consuming states. And the North Eastern States like Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Mizoram, Manipur, Sikkim, Tripura and Meghalaya are the least consuming states.

Tax and Duties:

Customs Duty: It is levied when goods are transported across borders between countries. It is the tax that governments impose on export and import of goods. Custom duties are classified as follows

·         Basic Customs Duty (BCD)

·         Additional Customs Duty or Special CVD

·         Protective Duty

·         Countervailing Duty (CVD)

·         Anti-dumping Duty

·         Education Cess on Custom Duty

Excise Duty: It is a form of tax imposed on goods for their production, licensing and sale. An indirect tax paid by the producers of goods to the Government of India i.e it applies only to the goods manufactured in our country.

Sales Tax / VAT: It is an indirect tax which is paid to a governing body for the sale of goods and services. To meet financial requirements, the states need to levy a separate tax on sales on the regulations of the ruling government which vary from state to state. The VAT ( Value Added Tax ) levied by the states is a huge source of income to state government.

The following are the various taxes and duties which are applicable for crude oil and major petroleum products sourced from data published on Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell on 6^th and 10^th of June 2020.

The below table shows the Central Excise and Customs tariff for Crude and petroleum products such as Petrol, High Speed Diesel, Aviation Turbine Fuel, Liquefied Natural Gas and Natural Gas.

        Below table shows the State wise Sales tax/ Value Added Tax levied on Petrol and Diesel. Rajasthan, Telungana, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh are highest VAT tax collectors for Petrol with 38%, 35%, 35% and 33% respectively. Orissa and Rajasthan are the highest VAT tax collectors for Diesel with 28% respectively.

Statement showing the Actual rates of State taxes/ GST
State/UT	Petrol	Diesel	SKO (PDS)	Domestic LPG
States	Sales Tax/VAT		GST
Andaman & Nicobar Islands	6%	6%	5.00%	5.00%
Andhra Pradesh	31% VAT + Rs.2.76/litre VAT	22.25% VAT + Rs.3.07/litre VAT
Arunachal Pradesh	20.00%	12.50%
Assam	32.66% or Rs.22.63 per litre whichever is higher as VAT	23.66% or Rs.17.45 per litre whichever is higher as  VAT
Bihar	26% or Rs 16.65/Litre whichever is higher (30% Surcharge on VAT as irrecoverable tax)	19% or Rs 12.33/Litre whichever is higher (30% Surcharge on VAT as irrecoverable tax)
Chandigarh	Rs.10/KL cess +22.45% or Rs.12.58/Litre whichever is higher	Rs.10/KL cess + 14.02% or Rs.7.63/Litre whichever is higher
Chhattisgarh	25% VAT + Rs.2/litre VAT	25% VAT + Rs.1/litre VAT
Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu	20% VAT	15% VAT
Delhi	30% VAT	Rs.250/KL air ambience charges + 30% VAT
Goa	25% VAT + 0.5% Green cess	22% VAT + 0.5% Green cess
Gujarat	17% VAT+ 4% Cess on Town Rate & VAT	17% VAT + 4 % Cess on Town Rate & VAT
Haryana	25% or Rs.15.20/litre whichever is higher as VAT+5% additional tax on VAT	16.40% VAT or Rs.9.20/litre whichever is higher as VAT+5% additional tax on VAT
Himachal Pradesh	25% or Rs 15.50/Litre- whichever is higher	14% or Rs 9.00/Litre- whichever is higher
Jammu & Kashmir	24% MST+ Rs.5/Litre employment cess, Reduction of Rs.0.50/Litre	16% MST+ Rs.1.50/Litre employment cess
Jharkhand	22% on the sale price or Rs. 15.00 per litre , which ever is higher + Cess of Rs 1.00 per Ltr	22% on the sale price or Rs. 8.37 per litre , which ever is higher + Cess of Rs 1.00 per Ltr
Karnataka	35% sales tax	24% sales tax
Kerala	30.08% sales tax+ Rs.1/litre additional sales tax + 1% cess	22.76% sales tax+ Rs.1/litre additional sales tax + 1% cess
Ladakh	24% MST+ Rs.5/Litre employment cess, Reduction of Rs.2.5/Litre	16% MST+ Rs.1/Litre employment cess , Reduction of Rs.0.50/Litre
Lakshadweep	Nil	Nil
Madhya Pradesh	33 % VAT + Rs.3.5/litre VAT+1%Cess	23% VAT+ Rs.2/litre VAT+1% Cess
Maharashtra – Mumbai, Thane & Navi Mumbai	26% VAT+ Rs.10.12/Litre additional tax	24% VAT+ Rs.3.00/Litre additional tax
Maharashtra (Rest of State)	25% VAT+ Rs.10.12/Litre additional tax	21% VAT+ Rs.3.00/Litre additional tax
Manipur	36.50% VAT	22.50% VAT
Meghalaya	31% or Rs17.60/Litre- whichever is higher (2% surcharge leviable only on advalorem tax)	22.5% or Rs12.50/Litre- whichever is higher (2% surcharge leviable only on advalorem tax)
Mizoram	25% VAT	14.5% VAT
Nagaland	25.00% VAT +5% surcharge + Rs.2.00/Litre as road maintenance cess +Rs.6.00/Litre as Covid cess	14.50% VAT+ 5% surcharge + Rs.2.00/Litre as road maintenance cess+Rs.5.00/Litre as Covid cess
Odisha	32% VAT	28% VAT
Puducherry	28% VAT	21.80% VAT
Punjab	Rs.2050/KL (cess)+ Rs.0.10 per Litre (Urban Transport Fund) +23.30% VAT+10% additional tax on VAT	Rs.1050/KL (cess) + Rs.0.10 per Litre (Urban Transport Fund) + 15.15% VAT+10% additional tax on VAT
Rajasthan	38% VAT+Rs 1500/KL road development cess	28% VAT+ Rs.1750/KL road development cess
Sikkim	25.25% VAT+ Rs.3000/KL cess	14.75% VAT + Rs.2500/KL cess	5.00%	5.00%
Tamil Nadu	15% + Rs.13.02 per litre	11%  + Rs.9.62 per litre
Telangana	35.20% VAT	27% VAT
Tripura	25% VAT+ 3% Tripura Road Development Cess	16.50% VAT+ 3% Tripura Road Development Cess
Uttar Pradesh	26.80% or Rs 18.74/Litre whichever is higher	17.48% or Rs 10.41/Litre whichever is higher
Uttarakhand	25% or Rs 19 Per Ltr whichever is greater	17.48% or Rs Rs 10.41 Per Ltr whichever is greater
West Bengal	25% or Rs.13.12/litre whichever is higher as sales tax+ Rs.1000/KL cess- Rs.17/KL exemption (20% Additional tax on VAT as irrecoverable tax)	17% or Rs.7.70/litre whichever is higher as sales tax + Rs 1000/KL cess – Rs 290/KL sales tax rebate (20% Additional tax on VAT as irrecoverable tax)

Crude oil and petroleum products incurs value addition in stages starting from Crude oil bought overseas, ocean freight, refining, dealers , distributors and finally goes to customers. Passing each stage some tax and duties are applicable the which is shown in the below table  

Source: PPAC report April,2020

From the data it is evident that more than double the amount is collected as tax and duties for the Petrol and Diesel in our country, where as the VAT percentage differs from state to state which creates small difference in the price between each states.

          The below table shows the revenue generated by the Central and State Governments on collection of excise duty and sales tax for petroleum products. Due to the increase in the demand and consumption level of petroleum products and also the increase in tax rates the revenue collection increases each year. This also indirectly shows us the dependency on the non-renewable source of energy and dependency on revenue generated out of it.

Source: PPAC report April,2020

Reasons for Price Hike of Petrol and Diesel:

 Following are the reasons for the reasons for the fluctuation of petrol and diesel prices,

·       The Oil Manufacturing Companies (OMC) are increasing prices each day to compensate the lost margin due to the increase in exchange rates

·       Due to sudden increase in the price of the Crude i.e. Indian crude basket price on March was $33.3 per barrel, on April $19.9 per barrel and now it is nearly $40.21 per barrel on June

·     Due to shadowed benefit of low price of crude by both Central and State governments i.e. the both governments have increased the excise duty and VAT to Rs. 10 per litre and Rs. 13 per litre respectively.

      Way Forward:

        Here are some of the things which can be done in short and long term to tackle the current situation and are as follows,

• Either Central or State Government should come forward and reduce the excise duty or VAT on petroleum products to control the price hike
• Due to COVID 19 the demand of crude oil fell to all time low which made crude price of Indian basket fell to nearly $19 per barrel and at that time total Indian storage filled to maximum
• In this revival time of economy Government should reduce the petrol and diesel price and allow the economic cycle to move forward

Long Term:

• Moving towards self-sustainability we should start using renewable energy sources for transport and other activities
• Responsibility not only lies in the hands of Government but also in the hands of the people
• Increase the production of more electric vehicles and providing subsidy for both company’s and buyers will drastically reduce the usage of petroleum vehicles and the demand will come down.
• Increasing the availability of more public transport will reduce the usage of private vehicles and consuming petroleum products will reduce.

What do you think? 

Reply in Comments!

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