The Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) through the Circular No.10/2016-Customs dated March 15, 2016 has announced the implementation of the ‘Indian Customs Single Window Project’ to facilitate trade. The Department of Revenue (CBEC), Ministry of Finance, has written, vide its letter dated March 31, 2016 addressed to all Principal Commissioners/Commissioners of Customs & Excise, Customs (Preventive) with regard to implementation of the single window “Integrated Declaration” with effect from April 1, 2016

The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) has issued Trade Notice No. 21/2015-20 dated March 23, 2016 reconstituting the Board of Trade as per the provisions given in the Para 300 of Foreign Trade Policy Statement 2015-2020. The objective is to have continuous discussion and consultation with trade and industry.

Compressed air is the most inefficient utility available to the industries, wasting as much as 80 per cent of the compressor’s input energy in various forms of loss. A compressor’s energy costs exceed its capital cost just within a few months of operation and hence if the facility’s compressed air system is not monitored closely it can lead to substantial losses. True to the famous saying, “If you can’t measure, you can’t improve”, proper measurement of compressed air generation, distribution and end uses can open up a box of opportunities for improvements and energy savings.

Thanks to the charitable GoodTextiles Foundation most recently founded by Dibella, socially and ecologically engaged hotel guests and entrepreneurs can become involved in sustainable projects within the textiles value added chain. Use of the donations collected during the first initiative, the ‘GoodCotton Fund’, means that the living conditions of ecologically operating small cotton farmers will be improved. Dibella has been engaged for years now in sustainably produced hotel textiles.

Sustainability today covers everything, especially in textiles, where the supply chain is quite complicated and long. There is a plethora of certifications, but these alone will not effect change. In 1988, the first Fairtrade label, Max Havelaar, was applied to packs of Mexican coffee sold in Dutch supermarkets. At the time, using a product label to say something about standards in a supply chain was revolutionary, but today it is routine. The Ecolabel Index currently lists 463 certifications in 199 countries, according to a ‘The Guardian’ Report.

The weakness in trade in China, the world’s second-largest economy, continued in July 2016. China’s exports fell again in July by an unexpectedly wide margin. Exports fell by 4.4 per cent to $184.7 billion, of course, a slight improvement over June’s 4.8 per cent contraction, the country’s customs data showed. On the other hand, imports fell 12.5 per cent to $132.4 billion rising from a decline of 8.4 per cent. Weak global demand has hampered efforts to shore up Chinese trade and stave off job losses in export industries.

The NIFT-TEA Knitwear Fashion Institute is collaborating with Synthetic and Arts Silk Mills Research (SASMIRA) to develop a machine for dyeing cotton fabrics without the use of water. The proposed machine will be similar to the one developed by SASMIRA for dyeing polyester fabrics, which uses liquefied carbon dioxide instead of water. The two organisations recently signed an MoU to pursue technological innovations as a part of the collaborative projects, undertake research activities and information exchange on new technologies, media reports said.