The Quality Council of India (QCI) and the State government have entered into an MoU to transform the agriculture sector at the Andhra Pradesh Gunvatta Sankalp event held in Vijayawada on Tuesday.

 

As part of the collaboration, the QCI will provide extensive technical support to agriculture and allied sectors, fuelling AP’s journey towards Viksit Bharat being built on quality and sustainability.  

 

Agriculture Minister Kakani Govardhan Reddy, QCI Chairperson Jaxay Shah, Special Chief Secretary Gopal Krishna Dwivedi, and A Raj, CEO of the National Board for Quality Promotion, QCI, participated in the programme. On the occasion, Kakani launched the QCI IndGAP Portal and presented IndGAP certificates to selected farmers belonging to different districts of the State.

 

Under the strategic partnership, the QCI will lend its expertise in developing and designing a robust conformity assessment framework for the State’s agriculture sector. The framework will establish quality standards and ensure adherence to best practices throughout the value chain, from farm to fork.

 

It will provide crucial training programmes for stakeholders at all levels, empowering farmers, cooperatives, industry players, and government officials with the knowledge and skills needed to navigate the quality ecosystem effectively.

 

Kakani said, 'We are delighted to join hands with the QCI in the transformative initiative. Their expertise and support will be invaluable in our vision to make Andhra Pradesh a leader in quality agriculture. Together, we will build a quality ecosystem at the grassroots level for all the stakeholders associated with agriculture and its allied sectors, including farmers.'

 

Jaxay Shah asserted that the Quality Council of India will actively collaborate with the government institutions and agricultural universities in Andhra Pradesh to empower the youth and provide them with an opportunity to contribute in building a holistic quality ecosystem for Viksit Bharat in its Gaurav Kaal.

India's ban on the export of onions has driven up prices of the vegetable for Asian buyers, who are scrambling for cheaper alternatives, particularly as New Delhi is unlikely to lift the curbs before general elections next year.

 

The world's biggest exporter of onions banned shipments on Dec. 8 after domestic prices more than doubled in three months following a drop in production.

 

Now retail shoppers from Kathmandu to Colombo are struggling with high prices, since traditional Asian buyers, such as Bangladesh, Malaysia and Nepal, and even the United Arab Emirates, rely on imports from India to bridge domestic gaps.

 

'Onions are needed for almost everything we cook,' said Mousumi Akhtar, who works in the private sector in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. 'This sudden price hike is tough to swallow. I've had to cut back on how much I buy.'

 

From the belacan shrimp paste of Malaysia and Bangladeshi biryani to chicken chillies in Nepal or Sri Lankan fish curry, Asian consumers have built up a serious dependence on Indian supplies of onions to lend spice to their favourite dishes.

 

Traders estimate that India accounts for more than half of all imports of onions by Asian countries. Its shorter shipment times against those from rival exporters such as China or Egypt, are key to preserving the taste of the perishable commodity.

 

India exported a record 2.5 million metric tons of onions in the financial year that ended on March 31, with 671,125 tons going to neighbouring Bangladesh, its biggest buyer of the vegetable.

 

To overcome the shortage, Bangladesh is trying to source more from China, Egypt and Turkey, said commerce ministry official Tapan Kanti Ghosh.

 

As general elections approach next month in Bangladesh, the government has begun selling onions at subsidised prices to the poor, hoping to offset a surge of more than 50% in prices after India's ban.

 

Even worse is the situation in landlocked Nepal, which imports most of its onions.

 

'Since the ban by India, we have monitored the supply situation at different places. There are no onions on sale,' said Tirtharaj Chiluwal, an official of the Himalayan nation's commerce ministry.

 

Nepal is considering imports from China and may ask India to make an exception and allow exports, said ministry spokesperson Gajendra Kumar Thakur.

 

LIMITED OPTIONS

 

Importing nations have to contend with more expensive supplies from China, Iran, Pakistan and Turkey, which have all hiked prices since India is out of the market, said Ajit Shah, an Indian exporter.

 

All would run out of supplies if India's ban lasted for an extended period, said one exporter based in Mumbai, the financial capital.

 

Within a week after the ban, onions became 20% cheaper in India as supplies from the new season's crop came in, traders said.

 

Now, with domestic supplies more than adequate to satisfy demand at home, Shah, the exporter, said India should allow exports to maintain its global market position.

 

But the curbs are unlikely to go before next year's general elections, as the priority of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government is to hold down food prices, the Mumbai-based exporter said.

 

New Delhi has also reined in exports of rice, sugar and wheat.

 

Since India's ban, onion prices have nearly doubled in Sri Lanka, which is slowly emerging from its worst financial crisis in nearly seven decades.

 

Malaysia, like other importers, is also trying to secure supplies from China and Pakistan, said Seri Mohamad Sabu, its agriculture minister.

 

The Maharashtra government has announced that it will establish onion storage banks across the State and use nuclear technology for irradiation to extend the freshness and shelf life of the bulb crop. 

 

Chief Minister Eknath Shinde announced in the State legislature that the government has initiated this step to ensure that onion farmers don’t suffer loss due to price fluctuation and have well-equipped storage.

 

Nuclear technology for onion irradiation involves using controlled doses of ionising radiation to make onions safer to eat by killing harmful microorganisms and extending their shelf life. It’s a way to improve food safety and reduce spoilage without making the food radioactive.

 

Ionising radiation has enough energy to alter the structure of atoms. In the case of onion irradiation, the goal is not to make the onions radioactive but to use the energy to affect certain components in the onions. Irradiation can slow down the natural process of ripening and decay, which extends the freshness and shelf life of the onions. 

 

Shinde said nuclear scientist Anil Kokadkar will guide the State government in this project. 'Farmers are facing losses due to unavailability of storage space. The onion bank concept based on nuclear technology will ensure that onion crop is not damaged when it is stored. This project will boost onion production and also help farmers to fetch good price for their produce,' said Shinde.   

 

Maharashtra contributes approximately 43 per cent of India’s onion production and majority of farmers store their produce in traditional chawls. Despite housing Asia’s biggest onion market in Lasalgaon, Nashik farmers rue that they have to struggle to keep their onions safe from rains and humidity due to the unavailability of quality storage facilities.

 

How it will be done?  

 

Onions will exposed to controlled doses of ionising radiation. This is usually done in a special facility where the process is carefully monitored. The onions are not heated, and they don’t become radioactive. 

 

Regulatory agencies set standards and guidelines to ensure that irradiated food, including onions, is safe to eat. These guidelines ensure that the radiation levels used are effective for the intended purpose but do not pose a risk to consumers.

A high-level business delegation from the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) is visiting Türkiye's business hub Istanbul and the third largest city Izmir between Dec. 18-20 to explore trade ties and conduct meetings with business bodies in the country.

 

The delegation comprises representatives of sectors such as health care, information and communication technology (ICT), food, electric vehicles, defense, drones and engineering. This is a reciprocal visit by FICCI following a visit of the Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEIK) delegation to multiple cities in India in November 2022.

 

The business delegation participated in the India-Türkiye Business Council meeting organized by DEIK at its headquarters in Istanbul on Monday.

 

Chairperson of the Indian Business Council and Gedik Holding CEO Hülya Gedik welcomed the delegation and highlighted the need for more robust business exchanges between India and Türkiye.

 

Leader of the Indian delegation, Navil Prasad, the CEO of Kirloskar Technologies, urged that bilateral trade had the potential to more than double the current level and that more investment in both countries must be the way forward.

 

He stated that India was open for business with Türkiye and that this visit to Istanbul was a signal of the openness of India for Türkish businesses.

 

Trade volume between the pair reached $12.3 billion in 2022, according to the Trade Ministry's data.

 

Consul General of India Mijito Vinito said that India presented a growth opportunity and partnership, and challenged the private sector on both sides to increase the frequency of focused business exchanges.

 

Çagtay Özden, head of the Department of Asia Pacific Countries of the Trade Ministry presented a detailed overview of the current trade and investment status between India and Türkiye and suggested steps ahead that could be taken.

 

The FICCI delegation also had fruitful meetings with the leadership of the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Türkiye (TOBB) and the Independent Industrialists and Businessmen Association (MÜSIAD) and paid a visit to Yildiz Technopark.

 

The delegation will head to Izmir for business meetings with the Izmir Chamber of Commerce and the Aegean Exporters Association.

Hon’ble Prime Minister launched the PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan (NMP) on 13th October2021 for providing multimodal connectivity infrastructure to various economic zones. PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan provides a comprehensive database of the trunk & utility infrastructure, ongoing & future projects of various Infra structure and Economic Ministries/Departments of Central Government and States/UTs. This data is integrated with the GIS-enabled PM Gati Shakti platform, there by facilitating the integrated planning, designing, and monitoring of the Next Generation infrastructure projects on a single portal.

 

Economic Zones like textile clusters, pharmaceutical clusters, defence corridors, electronic parks, industrial corridors, ?shing clusters, agri zones etc. are being mapped for integrated infrastructure planning andmake Indian businesses more cost-competitive. This will boost economic growth, attract foreign investments while de-risking investments by visualizing the connectivity, and enhance the country’s global competitiveness in export markets.

 

While the development of integrated infrastructure development is addressed through the PM Gati Shakti NMP, e?ciency in services (like processes, digital systems, and regulatory frame work) and human resources is addressed by the National Logistics Policy, 2022 through its Comprehensive Logistics Action Plan (CLAP). NMP and National Logistics Policy together provide a framework for creating a data-driven decision support mechanism for an e?cient logistics ecosystem aimed at reducing logistics costs and enhancing logistics efficiency in the country.

 

PM Gati Shakti is a Whole-of-Government approach adopted to facilitate integrated planning of multimodal infrastructure through collaboration among the concerned Ministries. So far, the  Logistics Division of DPIIT has conducted 62 Network Planning Group (NPG) meetings to assess the comprehensive area-based socio-economic development of infrastructure projects.

 

The feedback from various Ministries has been received; inter-alia Ministry of Road Transport and Highways is using PM  Gati Shakti  for ground surveys, land records, and  highway  alignments  resulting  insaving time and costs in the planning of projects; Ministry of Petroleumand Natural Gas utilizes NMP's electronic Detail Route Survey (eDRS) to generate reports in a shorter span of time; Ministry of Railways has ?nalised Final Location Survey (FLS) in FY2021-22 at a much faster rate as compared toFY2020-21,to cite a few examples.

 

Further, the PM Gati Shakti institutional mechanism has been adopted by States/UTs and NPG meetings are also being organized at State/UT level to assess last and ?rst-mile connectivity gaps and ensure seamless movement of people, goods &services.

 

This information has been provided by the Union Minister of State for Commerce and Industry, Shri Som Parkash in a written reply in the Lok Sabha today.

The Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI) has told Parliament that it has approved 76 Incubation Centres with an outlay of Rs. 205.95 crore in 25 States/UTs under the Pradhan Mantri Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprises (PMFME) Scheme until December 2023.

 

MoFPI informed that out of these 76, 4 Incubation Centres have been commissioned.

 

Further, the ministry stated that till date, 54,767 beneficiaries including individuals and enterprises,526 Master Trainer, 1058 District Level Trainers and 1941 District Resource Persons have participated in capacity building programmes.

 

Also, under Branding and Marketing component of PMFME Scheme, support was provided to FPOs (Farmer Producer Organisations)/ Self-Help Groups (SHGs) / Cooperatives or Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) of micro food processing enterprises for Market Study and Product Standardisation, Packaging Material, Quality Control and food safety adherence for consumer retail sales, Warehousing and Storage Rentals, Marketing, and Promotion.

Government has taken the following export promotion initiatives:-

 

i New Foreign Trade Policy was launched on 31st March, 2023 and it came into effect from 1st  April, 2023.

 

ii Interest Equalization Scheme on pre and post shipment rupee export credit has also been  extended upto 30-06-2024 with additional allocation of Rs. 2500 crores.

 

iii Assistance provided through several schemes to promote exports, namely, Trade Infrastructure for Export Scheme (TIES) and Market Access Initiatives (MAI) Scheme. 

 

iv Rebate of State and Central Levies and Taxes (RoSCTL) Scheme to promote labour oriented sector export has been implemented since 07.03.2019.

 

v Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products (RoDTEP) scheme has been implemented since 01.01.2021. With effect from 15.12.2022, uncovered sectors like pharmaceuticals, organic and inorganic chemicals and article of iron and steel has been covered under RoDTEP. Similarly, anomalies in 432 tariff lines have been addressed and the corrected rates have been implemented with effect from 16.01.2023.

 

vi Common Digital Platform for Certificate of Origin has been launched to facilitate trade and increase Free Trade Agreement (FTA) utilization by exporters.

 

vii Districts as Export Hubs initiative has been launched by identifying products with export potential in each district, addressing bottlenecks for exporting these products and supporting local exporters/manufacturers to generate employment in the district.

 

viii Active role of Indian missions abroad towards promoting India’s trade, tourism, technology and investment goals has been enhanced.

 

ix Regular monitoring of export performance with Commercial Missions abroad, Export Promotion Councils, Commodity Boards/ Authorities and Industry Associations and taking corrective measures from time to time.

 

Following measures have been taken by the Government to maximize the growth of domestic markets and to expand its reach globally;-

 

i.          Pradhan MantriGati Shakti

 

ii.         National Logistics Policy

 

iii.        National Industrial Corridor Development Programme

 

iv.        GIS enabled Land Bank- India Industrial Land Bank (IILB)

 

v.         Industrial Park Rating System (IPRS)

 

vi.        Productivity Linked Incentive (PLI)

 

vii.       Make In India

 

viii.      Startup India

 

ix.        One District One Product

 

x.         National Single Window System

 

A new Chapter has been introduced within the Foreign Trade Policy (FTP), 2023 that aims to promote e-Commerce exports by bringing such exporters under the ambit of various export promotion schemes of the Government. In line with the special emphasis laid in the FTP 2023 on e-commerce exports, the outreach events are being held in the districts under Districts as Export hubs initiative with focus on promoting e-commerce exports of the identified goods from the districts in collaboration with various stakeholders including the e-commerce platforms, various concerned central and state government departments such as the Department of Posts, Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC), Banks, Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME), Export Promotion Councils, Local Trade Associations/Chambers of Commerce, District Industries Centers, etc.

 

This information has been provided by the Union Minister of State for Commerce and Industry, Smt Anupriya Patel in a written reply in the Lok Sabha today.

The Indian government is hopeful of a good harvest of rabi crops this season (July 2023- June 2024) and is in touch with States to reduce the deficit in sowing areas of some key crops, particularly wheat, Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Arjun Munda has said.

 

Speaking to business line, the minister said: 'We have been asking States to make sure that no sowing deficit happens in wheat and other rabi crops and farmers get all the requisite help in the planting operation. I am quite hopeful of a good rabi harvest this year.'

 

He said the Centre has been closely watching the situation in all the States, including Karnataka where water is not available for irrigation and Tamil Nadu which has been affected by Cyclone Michaung two weeks ago and a heavy downpour in southern districts this week.

 

Overall area down

Major winter crops-producing States have already informed that there is no concern about wheat acreage as during the ongoing season sowing in over 92 per cent of the normal area of 307.32 lakh hectares (lh) has been completed as of December 15. Latest data show that wheat acreage has reached 284.15 lh compared with 293.01 lh a year ago, which is lower by 3 per cent. Last year, the total area under wheat was 343.23 lh, marginally higher than 2021.

 

Area sown under all rabi crops during 2023 has reached 567.04 lh until December 15, which is nearly 90 per cent of the normal area. Though it is still down by 3 per cent from 587.33 lh during the corresponding period of last year, the gap has been narrowed as until December 1 the deficit was 5 per cent.

 

Rabi pulses acreage has reached 128.54 lh compared with 139.98 lh, down by 8 per cent as both lentil (masur) and gram (chana) acreage dropped. Higher sowing of mustard has helped the overall oilseed sowing look comfortable at 99.11 lh, up from 98.08 lh year-ago. In coarse cereals, the sowing area has reached 43.61 lh, up by less than 1 per cent from 43.37 lh.

 

El Nino impact

India is one of the countries where the agriculture sector has been impacted by the active El Nino weather pattern. According to the National Centres for Environmental Information, a unit of the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, at least 26 per cent of the country is in the grips of drought until November-end.

 

El Nino resulted in the South-West monsoon being deficient with August proving to be one of the driest periods in 120 years. Due to the warm ocean weather phenomenon, rains during October and November were also affected.

 

According to India Meteorological Department, at least 44 per cent of the 713 districts from where data has been received are rain deficient. The weather pattern, due to climate change, has resulted in the water storage situation in 150 major reservoirs dropping below the last 10 years’ average.

 

At least 20 per cent of the storages have levels below 40 per cent of their capacity with 11 States having water below normal. This, it is feared, could affect irrigation for rabi crops, particularly in States such as Maharashtra and Karnataka.

India is negotiating free trade agreements with the European Union (EU), the UK, Sri Lanka, and Peru, according to a year-end review statement of the commerce ministry. India-European Union (EU) free trade agreement negotiations were formally re-launched on June 17 2022.

 

'Negotiations cover 23 policy areas/chapters. Six rounds of negotiations have been held till October 2023,' the ministry said.

 

With the UK, 13 rounds of talks have been completed and the next round will take place in January 2024.

 

'India-Sri Lanka Economic and Technology Cooperation Agreement (ECTA) negotiations are ongoing with the 12th round of negotiations conducted from 30th October to 1st November 2023 in Colombo,' it said.

 

It added that both sides also agreed to continue discussions on matters, including apparel quotas and pharmaceutical procurement.

 

With Peru, it said discussions on various chapters, including rules of origin, trade in goods, trade facilitation, sanitary, and phytosanitary measures were undertaken during this special round of talks.

Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Shri Piyush Goyal held a bilateral meeting yesterday at New Delhi with the esteemed Minister for Trade of New Zealand, Hon. Todd McClay. The meeting was aimed at strengthening the trade relations between India and New Zealand and exploring opportunities for mutual growth and cooperation.

 

Minister Goyal and Minister McClay recognized the importance of trade facilitation and discussed measures to streamline trade processes, reduce trade barriers, and promote a more conducive environment for businesses and investors from both nations. In this context, the Trade Minister of New Zealand appreciated the efforts made by India to sort out the issue related to export of wooden logs to India. He also commended India’s Presidency of G20 and the outcomes thereof, which are significant milestones as it seeks to find practical global solutions for the benefit of all.  

 

Both the Ministers acknowledged the longstanding friendly relations between the two countries built on the foundation of mutual trust and respect and expressed their commitment to further enhancing bilateral trade, investment, and economic cooperation. They highlighted the need to deepen engagement in sectors such as agriculture, forestry, pharma, connectivity, education and tourism.

 

Ministers acknowledged the strong step-up in engagement between businesses in the two countries, and the desirability of ensuring this provides impetus to the Government-to-Government dialogue. The importance of the annual meeting of the Joint Trade Committee (JTC), established under the 1986 India-New Zealand Trade Agreement, and regular engagement at a senior level was also acknowledged. Ministers agreed that both sides should meet on a regular basis, as convenient, for bilateral discussions on trade and investment issues and co-operative activities.

 

In committing to strengthen the trade and economic relationship, Ministers expressed the need to increase engagement between both the countries under a collaborative approach that engages officials from across relevant departments and the private sector, wherever appropriate. The broad and informal engagements by creating working groups on specific areas of mutual interest are aimed at fresh ideas for new, innovative and productive approaches for economic partnership between both the countries. They emphasized that new initiatives should also focus on encouraging, facilitating and coordinating collaboration of technology and expertise for genuine mutual benefit and that the opportunities in each other’s markets, which is of interest to businesses of both the countries should be explored.

 

Furthermore, the Ministers exchanged views on global trade dynamics and reaffirmed their support for a rules-based, transparent, and inclusive multilateral trading system. They also briefly discussed issues related to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Ministerial Conference (MC) and assured each other of co-operation and mutual understanding for a positive approach to reach a decision on the long standing issue of Public Stock Holding (PSH) during MC13.

 

Both Ministers expressed optimism about the potential for deeper cooperation and reiterated their commitment to continuing constructive dialogue to further strengthen the bilateral relationship. The meeting concluded on a positive note, with a mutual understanding to continue working closely towards expanding the economic partnership for the benefit of both countries.