INDIA’S FOREIGN TRADE: June 2017

I. MERCHANDISE TRADE

EXPORTS (including re-exports)

Exports have been exhibiting positive growth for the last nine months. In continuation with growth indicated by exports since September 2016, exports during June 2017 have shown growth of 4.39 per cent in dollar terms valued at US$ 23562.62million as compared to US$ 22572.30 million during June,2016. In Rupee terms, during June 2017 exports were valued at Rs. 151844.56 crore as compared to Rs. 151904.56 crore during June,2016, registering a negative growth of 0.04 per cent.

During June 2017, Major commodity groups of export showing positive growth over the corresponding month of last year are Engineering Goods (14.78%), Petroleum Products (3.60%), Organic & Inorganic Chemicals (13.20%), Rice (27.29%) and Marine Products (24.27%).

Cumulative value of exports for the period April-June 2017-18 was US $72212.33million (Rs 465472.04 crore) as against US $65311.77 million (Rs 436960.98 crore) registering a positive growth of 10.57 per cent in Dollar terms and 6.52 per cent in Rupee terms over the same period last year.

Non-petroleum and Non Gems & Jewellery exports in June 2017 were valued at US$ 17480.56 million against US$ 16488.23 million in June 2016, an increase of 6.02 %. Non-petroleum and Non Gems and Jewellery exports during April -June 2017-18 were valued at US$ 52713.79 million as compared to US$ 48028.95 million for the corresponding period in 2016-17, an increase of 9.75%.

IMPORTS

Imports during June 2017 were valued at US$ 36522.48 million (Rs 235361.85 crore) which was 19.01 per cent higher in Dollar terms and 13.96 per cent higher in Rupee terms over the level of imports valued at US$ 30688.54 million (Rs. 206524.39 crore) in June, 2016. Cumulative value of imports for the period April-June 2017-18 was US$ 112263.10 million (Rs. 723631.11crore) as against US$ 84545.78 million (Rs. 565754.29 crore) registering a positive growth of 32.78 per cent in Dollar terms and 27.91per cent in Rupee terms over the same period last year.

Major commodity group of imports showing high growth in June 2017 over the corresponding month of last year are Petroleum, Crude & products (12.04%), Electronic goods (24.22%), Pearls, precious & Semi-precious stones (86.31%) , Machinery, electrical & non-electrical (7.02%) and Gold(102.99%).

CRUDE OIL AND NON-OIL IMPORTS:

Oil imports during June, 2017 were valued at US$ 8125.51 million which was 12.04 percent higher than oil imports valued at US$ 7252.11 million in June 2016. Oil imports during April-June, 2017-18 were valued at US$ 23177.49 million which was 22.98 per cent higher than the oil imports of US$ 18846.62 million in the corresponding period last year.

In this connection it is mentioned that the global Brent prices ($/bbl) have decreased by 3.28 % in June 2017 vis-à-vis June 2016 as per World Bank commodity price data (The pink sheet).

Non-oil imports during June, 2017 were estimated at US$ 28396.97 million which was 21.17 per cent higher than non-oil imports of US$ 23436.43 million in June, 2016. Non-oil imports during April-June 2017-18 were valued at US$ 89085.61 million which was 35.60 per cent higher than the level of such imports valued at US$ 65699.16 million in April-June, 2016-17.

II. TRADE IN SERVICES (for May, 2017, as per the RBI Press Release dated 14th July, 2017)

EXPORTS (Receipts)

Exports during May 2017 were valued at US$ 13430 Million (Rs. 86522.51Crore) registering a positive growth of 4.08per cent in dollar terms as compared to negative growth of 8.99 per cent during April 2017 (as per RBI’s Press Release for the respective months).

IMPORTS (Payments)

Imports during May 2017 were valued at US$ 7,615 Million (Rs. 49059.49 Crore) registering a postive growth of 5.44 per cent in dollar terms as compared to negative growth of  -12.64 per cent during April 2017 (as per RBI’s Press Release for the respective months).

III.TRADE BALANCE

MERCHANDISE: The trade deficit for June 2017 was estimated at US$ 12959.86 million as against the deficit of US$ 8116.24 million during June 2016.

SERVICES: As per RBI’s Press Release dated 14th July 2017, the trade balance in Services (i.e. net export of Services) for May, 2017 was estimated at US$ 5,815 million.

OVERALL TRADE BALANCE: Taking merchandise and services together, overall trade deficit for April-June 2017-18 is estimated at US$ 28.6 billion as compared to US$ 8.0 billion during April-June 2016-17. (Services data pertains to April-May 2017-18 as May 2017 is the latest data available as per RBI’s Press Release dated 14th July 2017)

…

MERCHANDISE TRADE

EXPORTS & IMPORTS  : (US $ Million)
(PROVISIONAL)
	JUNE	APRIL-JUNE
EXPORTS(including re-exports)
2016-17	22572.30	65311.77
2017-18	23562.62	72212.33
%Growth 2017-18/ 2016-17	4.39	10.57
IMPORTS
2016-17	30688.54	84545.78
2017-18	36522.48	112263.10
%Growth 2017-18/ 2016-17	19.01	32.78
TRADE BALANCE
2016-17	-8116.24	-19234.01
2017-18	-12959.86	-40050.77
EXPORTS & IMPORTS  : (Rs. Crore)
(PROVISIONAL)
	JUNE	APRIL-JUNE
EXPORTS(including re-exports)
2016-17	151904.56	436960.98
2017-18	151844.56	465472.04
%Growth 2017-18/ 2016-17	-0.04	6.52
IMPORTS
2016-17	206524.39	565754.29
2017-18	235361.85	723631.11
%Growth 2017-18/ 2016-17	13.96	27.91
TRADE BALANCE
2016-17	-54619.83	-128793.31
2017-18	-83517.29	-258159.07

SERVICES TRADE

EXPORTS & IMPORTS (SERVICES) : (US $ Million)
(Provisional)	May 2017
EXPORTS (Receipts)	13430
IMPORTS (Payments)	7615
TRADE BALANCE	5815
EXPORTS & IMPORTS (SERVICES): (Rs. Crore)
(Provisional)	May 2017
EXPORTS (Receipts)	86522.51
IMPORTS (Payments)	49059.49
TRADE BALANCE	37463.02
Source: RBI Press Release dated 14th July,2017

Raipur Airport Ranked First in Customer Satisfaction Index Survey

Raipur’s Swami Vivekananda Airport was once again ranked first in Customer Satisfaction among 49 airports in the country. Raipur Airport achieved 4.84 score on a five point scale index in the latest CSI survey conducted by an independent agency for the period of January-June 2017,  followed by Udaipur, Amritsar and Dehradun airports which have scored 4.75, 4.74 and 4.73 respectively.

Airport Authority of India makes continuous efforts to improve the services and passenger facilities at its airports, and this has placed it amongst the best service providers in the world. Customer Satisfaction is one of the key performance objectives of AAI which is evaluated through Customer Satisfaction Survey conducted by an independent agency commissioned by AAI.  The survey covers a wide range of parameters like transportation, parking, passenger facilities and cleanliness etc. The integrated terminal building of Raipur was inaugurated in 2012. High level maintenance of infrastructure and passenger facilities, the green ambience, state-of -the- art technology and courteous staff ensuring passenger satisfaction has resulted in Raipur getting this recognition for the third consecutive time in the past two years.

Sr. Gen. U Min Aung Hliang, Commander-in-Chief of the Myanmar Defence Services calls on PM

Sr. Gen. U Min Aung Hliang, Commander-in-Chief of the Myanmar Defence Services called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi today. 

Condemning the recent terrorist attack on pilgrims of Amarnath Yatra, Sr. Gen. U Min Aung Hliang expressed his sincere condolences for the victims of the attack. 

The Prime Minister conveyed his condolences at the loss of lives of Myanmar armed forces personnel and their families in the tragic air crash of 7 June 2017. 

Sr. Gen. U Min Aung Hliang briefed the Prime Minister about bilateral defence and security cooperation. The Prime Minister appreciated the close cooperation between the Armed forces of India and Myanmar. 

The Prime Minister said that Myanmar is a key pillar of India’s “Act East” Policy, and expressed his firm commitment to strengthen the bilateral relationship in all areas. 

President of India receives first copy of book “President’s Lady” (Pranaber Preyosi)

The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee received the first copy of the book “President’s Lady” (Pranaber Preyosi) on his wife Late Smt. Suvra Mukherjee today (July 13, 2017) from Vice President of India, Mohd. Hamid Ansari who formally released it at a function held at Rashtrapati Bhavan. 

Speaking on the occasion, the President said that he was grateful to Ms. Sangeeta Ghosh, author of the book and all those who have brought out the publication. He said that Late Smt. Suvra Mukherjee was essentially a private person with a strong interest in music (particularly Tagore music) and paintings. He said that she was not into politics but came to know a large number of political personalities. However, she confined herself to music, painting and writing. She tried to take Tagore music to a non-Bengali audience. He wished those who brought out the book the very best for their future endeavours. 

Forecast Regarding Rapid Rise in Water Levels of Rivers in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, UP and Gujarat

 Rainfall forecast issued by India Meteorological Department for the next 3 days indicate that Heavy to Very Heavy rainfall at a few places with isolated extremely heavy falls in East and West Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat during the period 13^th to 16^th July 2017.

            Due to this rivers Narmada, Ken, Betwa, Chambal and its tributaries, Mahi, Sabarmati are likely to receive significant water flows in Madhya Pradesh, UP, Rajasthan and Gujarat.

            Presently, river levels are below Warning Level but due to this rainfall forecast there is likelihood of rapid rise in water levels in various basins as indicated below:

Narmada Basin in the districts of Hoshangabad, Betul, Raisen  Sehore, Khandwa, parts of Khargone,  Dewas,  Indore  and Dhar, west Nimar, Jhabua in Madhya Pradesh, Dhulia, Narmada, Bharuch and parts of Vadodara districts in Gujarat.

Ken Basin in the districts of Jabalpur, Sagar, Damoh, Panna, Satna, Chhatarpur and Raisen districts of Madhya Pradesh and Hamirpur and Banda districts of Uttar Pradesh.

Betwa Basin in the districts of Tikamgarh, Sagar, Vidisha, Raisen, Bhopal, Guna, Shivpuri and Chhatarpur of Madhya Pradesh and Hamirpur, Jalaun, Jhansi and Banda districts of Uttar Pradesh.

Chambal Basin in districts of Indore, Ujjain, Ratlam, Mandsaur and Neemuch in Madhya Pradesh, Kota and Jhalawar districts in Rajasthan.

Mahi Basin in districts of Jhabua, Dhar, Ratlam in Madhya Pradesh, Udaipur, Dungarpur and Banswara district in Rajasthan and Panchmahal Mahisagar and Kheda districts of Gujarat.

Sabarmati Basin in districts of Udaipur, Sirohi, Pali and Dungarpur in Rajasthan Sabarkanta, Mehsana, Ahmadabad Gandhinagar and Kheda districts of Gujarat.

Inflows into dams in Chambal, Betwa, Mahi and Sabarmati basins may also increase very rapidly but since there is sufficient storage available in the reservoirs, releases if any may be done judiciously taking into account the downstream rainfall conditions and river positions.

Indian folk music.Everybody should know..

Bhavageete

Bhavageete (literally 'emotion poetry') is a form of expressionist poetry and light music. Most of the poetry sung in this genre pertain to subjects like love, nature, philosophy, etc., and the genre itself is not much different from Ghazals, though Ghazals are bound to a peculiar metre. This genre is quite popular in many parts of India, notably in Karnataka. Bhavageete may be called by different names in other languages.

Kannada Bhavageete draws from the poetry of modern, including Kuvempu, D.R. Bendre, Gopalakrishna Adiga, K.S. Narasimhaswamy, G.S. Shivarudrappa, K. S. Nissar Ahmed, N S Lakshminarayana Bhatta etc. Notable Bhavageete performers include P. Kalinga Rao, Mysore Ananthaswamy, C. Aswath, Shimoga Subbanna, Archana Udupa, Raju Ananthaswamy etc.

Bhangra And Giddha

Bhangra (Punjabi: ਭੰਗੜਾ) is a form of dance-oriented folk music of Punjab. The present musical style is derived from non traditional musical accompaniment to the riffs of Punjab called by the same name. The female dance of Punjab region is known as Giddha(Punjabi: ਗਿੱਧਾ).

Bihugeet

Bihu is the most celebrated festival in assamese culture. These festivals are celebrated thrice in a year with different ways. Among the three Rongali or Bohag Bihu is the most celebrated and then comes Bhogali or Magh Bihu. Kongali or Kati Bihu is celebrated in a poor way. Bohag bihu brings a wind full of sound of dhol-pepa with melodiuos songs to the every corners of Assam. These songs represent the joy of the colorful society of the place are called Bihugeet.Bihugeet performed through Bihu dance in the festival ofBihu. The songs have themes of romance, love, nature and incidents. The dance is celebrates in group by young girls and boys.Bihugeets usually have wide range of lyrics from the nature's beauty to lover's expression, from social awarenees to humarous stories. Bihu is the most popular folk song of Assam and is widely known across India. It is part and parcel of the most important festival of the region. It symbolizes colourful and rich culture of Assamese people.

Lavani

Main article: Lavani

Folk of Maharashtra

Lavani is a popular folk form of Maharashtra. Traditionally, the songs are sung by female artists, but male artists may occasionally sing Lavanis. The dance format associated withLavani is known as Tamasha.This dance format contains the dancer (Tamasha Bai), the helping dancer - Maavshi, The Drummer - Dholki vaala & The Flute Boy - Baasuri Vaala.

Uttarakhandi music

Uttarakhandi folk music had its roots in the lap of nature. The pure and blessed music have the feel and the touch of nature and subjects related to nature. The folk music primarily is related to the festivals, religious traditions, folk stories and simple life of the people of Uttarakhand. Thus the songs of Uttarakhand are a true reflection of the cultural heritage and the way people live their lives in the Himalayas. Musical instruments used in Uttarakhand music include the dhol, damoun, turri, ransingha, dholki, daur, thali, bhankora and masakbhaja. Tabla and harmonium are also used but to a lesser extent. The main languages are Kumaoni and Garhwali.

Dandiya

Main article: Dandiya

Dandiya is a dance-oriented folk music that has also been adapted for pop music worldwide, popular in Western India, especially during Navaratri. The present musical style is derived from the traditional musical accompaniment to the folk dance of Dandiya called by the same name.

Pandavani

Main article: Pandavani

Pandavani is a folk singing style of musical narration of tales from ancient epic Mahabharata with musical accompaniment and Bhima as hero. This form of folk theatre is popular in the state of Chhattisgarh and in the neighbouring tribal areas of Orissa and Andhra Pradesh.

Main article: Music of Rajasthan

Rajasthani music has a diverse collection of musician castes, including langas, sapera, bhopa, jogi and Manganiar.^[1]

Bauls

The Bauls of Bengal were an order of musicians in 18th, 19th and early 20th century India who played a form of music using a khamak, ektara and dotara. The word Baul comes from Sanskrit batul meaning divinely inspired insanity. They are a group of Hindu mystic minstrels. They are thought to have been influenced greatly by the Hindu tantric sect of the Kartabhajas as well as by Sufi sects. Bauls travel in search of the internal ideal, Maner Manush (Man of the Heart).

Bhatiali

This type of music was cultured mainly by the oarsmen & fishermen of erstwhile Bengal. There are many opinions regarding the origin of the term Bhatiali. Most popular of them are

• They use to sing it in the Ebb (Bhata) as in this phase it does not need much effort for rowing
• It originated from the Bhati area (now in Bangladesh).

One of the most eminent singers is Nirmalendu Chowdhury.

Garba

Garba ("song") is sung in honor of Hindu goddesses god during Navratri. They are sung in the honor of god Krishna,Hanuman, Ram, etc.

Dollu Kunita

This is a group dance that is named after the Dollu — the percussion instrument used in the dance. It is performed by the menfolk of the Kuruba community of the North Karnataka area. The group consists of 16 dancers who wear the drum and beat it to rhythms while dancing. The beat is controlled and directed by a leader with cymbals who is positioned in the center. Slow and fast rhythms alternate and group weaves varied patterns.

Kolata/Kolattam

Kolata/Kolattam is a traditional folk dance of the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.^[2] Similar to its North Indian counterpart Dandiya Ras, it is performed with coloured sticks and usually involves both men and women dancing together.

Veeragase

Veeragase is a dance folk form prevalent in the state of Karnataka. It is a vigorous dance based on Hindu mythology and involves very intense energy-sapping dance movements. Veeragase is one of the dances demonstrated ^[3]in the Dasara procession held in Mysore.

Naatupura Paatu

Naatupura Paatu is Tamil folk music. It consists of Gramathisai (village folk music) and Gana (city folk music). It is also sung in Rajasthan.