The Minister for Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal, discussed with the visiting Ambsaddors from Africa how New Delhi plans to work towards making Africa a top priority for trade and said India is open for Free Trade Agreements (FTA) with African nations.

 

'This is the beginning of a new engagement and reaffirmed that India would act as a trusted partner to expand trade, commerce, business, investment and opportunities between the two nations.India is open to FTA negotiations bilaterally or individually with African countries or Africa as a whole,' said Goyal.

 

Union Minister for Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal hosted 15 ambassadors from African countries on Thursday to discuss ways to strengthen trade and investment ties between India and the African countries.

 

The bilateral trade between India and 48 African countries was USD 74.86 billion in 2021-22, witnessing a growth of 59.91% compared to 2020-21.

 

Ambassadors from key African nations namely Algeria, Botswana, Egypt, Ghana, Republic of Guinea, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Morocco, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda and Zimbabwe discussed ways to improve their partnership with India, thereby promoting bilateral trade, registering new partnerships.

 

According to data available at the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, India’s exports to Sub Saharan Africa (SSA) region were at USD 33.08 billion and recorded a growth of 44.31% in 2021-22 vis a vis 2020-21. Whereas India’s imports from SSA region registered a growth of 74.87%, and were valued at USD 41.77 billion during the same period.

 

India primarily exports petroleum products and pharmacueticals to Africa. While on the other hand India imports gold, crude oil, coal and other minerals from it.

 

India's attempt to have fruitful ties with African countries is in tune with the fact that the continent is surfaced with abundant natural resources, an aid for Indian businesses, which can boost economic activity and trade between India and Africa.

 

'Through increased trade and investment, both India and Africa can benefit from each other's strengths and expertise, fostering inclusive growth and job creation,' a release by the Ministry said.

As reported, the agreement was reached in a meeting between Iran's Deputy Agriculture Minister Mohammad Mehdi Borumandi and Secretary of India's Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Ministry Manoj Ahuja in New Delhi.

 

Borumandi, who has traveled to New Delhi to hold talks on the agricultural cooperation between Iran and India, met with his Indian counterpart to review the latest status of bilateral cooperation in the field of agriculture.

 

The officials also agreed to hold the first joint working group on agricultural cooperation between the two countries in the near future.

 

In the meeting, Borumandi stressed Iran's readiness for cooperation in various fields including horticultural products, medicinal plants, combating plant pests, agricultural technologies, exchange of professors and experts, and cooperation between research institutions of the two countries.

 

He considered the removal of tariff barriers on agricultural trade as a necessity for the future expansion of relations.

 

Manoj Ahuja, for his part, highlighted the cultural and geographical affinities between the two nations and expressed his country's readiness to develop agricultural relations with Iran.

 

Welcoming the fields proposed by the Iranian side for cooperation, the Indian official announced that the ban on the exports of kiwi to India, which had been temporarily prohibited since last year due to quarantine considerations, has been lifted.

 

The trade between Iran and India reached $510 million in the first quarter of the current year, according to the data released by India’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

 

According to the report, agricultural products and especially rice had the largest share in India’s exports to Iran. Rice accounted for 63 percent of the total volume of exports, while fruits with $15 million, and tea with $10 million ranked second and third.

The FSSAI has issued a direction for re-operationalisation of FSS (Health Supplements, Nutraceuticals, Food for Special Dictary Use, Food for Special Medical Purpose and Prebiotic and Probiotic Food) Regulations, 2022 with effect from April 1, 2023.  

 

The FSSAI has issued a notice in this regard saying that the provisions of these draft regulations as specified in the direction dated 29.03.2022 together with the provisions specified in the direction dated 10.05.2022, were re-operationalised with effect from October 1, 2022, vide direction dated 18.10.2022.

 

'As the finalisation of these draft regulations is likely to take some more time before being notified, it has been decided to again re-operationalise the provisions specified in the direction dated 18.10.2022, with effect from April 1, 2023,' reads the direction issued by the FSSAI. 

 

FSSAI has framed the draft FSS (Health Supplements, Nutraceuticals, Food for Special Dietary Use, Food for Special Medical Purpose and Prebiotie and Probiotic Food) Regulations, 2022 and the same were operationalised vide direction dated 29.03.2022 superseding the FSS (Health Supplements, Nutraceuticals, Food for Special Dietary Use, Food for Special Medical Purpose, Functional Food and Novel Food) Regulations, 2016.

 

The direction of 29.03.2022 was further revised vide direction dated 0.05.2022 to permit additional food additives and enzyme/proteins for Health Supplements 

 

As reported earlier, the 2022 regulation shall supersede the previous regulations of 2016.

 

According to the FSSAI, it was done to overhaul the entire segment and make it more ‘stakeholder’ friendly and as articles of food falling under these regulations are specially processed or formulated for specific nutritional or dietary purpose and  should be clearly distinguishable from foods intended for normal consumption, these regulations will benefit the nutraceutical sector to have clear guidelines and will also enable field functionaries to ensure better compliance at the ground level.

 

The US-India trade relationship is crucial and bilateral trade plays a key role in addressing shared challenges in the global economy, US Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti said here on Friday.

 

'The #USIndiaTrade relationship is crucial, and bilateral trade plays a key role in addressing shared challenges in the global economy. I look forward to focusing on strengthening trade ties & advancing our economic relationship,' the US Ambassador tweeted on Friday.

 

Garcetti on Thursday met Union Minister of Consumer Affairs Piyush Goyal and the two discussed ways to enhance collaboration across various sectors to give a further push to the growing India-US strategic partnership.

 

'Delighted to meet US Ambassador Eric Garcetti today. Discussed ways to enhance collaboration across various sectors to give further impetus to our growing strategic partnership,' Goyal tweeted on Thursday.

 

Recently, the US Mission in India held its 7th Annual Student Visa Day countrywide with consular officers interviewing Indian Student Visa applications.

 

While speaking at the US Embassy, Garcetti said that more Indians throng the United States as students than from any other country.

 

'It was so inspiring to see the work of this mission and to feel the strength of the United States and India relationship. More Indians come to the United States as students than students from any other country. Last year, India became number 1 and I don't see that changing ahead in the future. I see that relationship at the very top of how we articulate our values of welcoming not just Americans to higher education but to opening that door to people worldwide,' the envoy said.

 

'One out of every 5 US students visa was issued here in India in 2022. One out of five in the world which is more than the proportion of the Indian population in the world. So, Indians have not only pursued an education in the United States but for decades have shown their excellence in the United States and we are on track to process the highest number of visa applications in our history,' he added.

 

Earlier, Garcetti said he will prioritize working with India to build green energy solutions.

 

'As Ambassador, I will prioritize working with India to build green energy solutions and will support our growing bilateral effort to ensure a successful green energy transition,' Garcetti said at the 'Conversations on US & India: Actions for Clean Air and Better Health' event at the India International Centre.

Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), New Delhi signed a MoU with Amazon Kisan to combine strengths and create synergy between the two organizations for guiding the farmers on scientific cultivation of different crops for optimum yield and income. ICAR will provide technological backstopping to the farmers through Amazon’s network. It will improve farmers’ livelihood and boost crop yield. This MoU in farmer’s partnership with Amazon Kisan program will help ensuring access to high quality fresh produce for consumers across India, including through Amazon Fresh.

 

Dr Himanshu Pathak, Secretary DARE & Director General ICAR, on this occasion, emphasized upon secondary agriculture for better remuneration for the farmers. He further highlighted the importance and role of critical inputs in agriculture and season-based crop plans. He mentioned that ICAR will collaborate with Amazon for technologies, capacity building and transfer of new knowledge.

 

On the behalf of ICAR, Dr US Gautam, Deputy Director General (Agricultural Extension) and Mr. Sidhrtha Tata, Senior Product Leader from Amazon Fresh Supply Chain & Kisan signed the MoU.

 

The outcomes from a pilot project at Pune between ICAR-KVK and Amazon has motivated to further expand the collaboration to extend the precise agriculture practices developed through extensive research. Krishi Vigyan Kendra’s will strengthen a wider group of farmers by leveraging technological base through transfer of technology and capacity building programmes. ICAR and Amazon will work together on other farmer engagement programs at Krishi Vigyan Kendras, conducting demonstrations, trials, and capacity building initiatives to enhance farming practices and farm profitability. Furthermore, Amazon will provide training support and assist farmers in marketing their produce through its online platform, facilitating direct connections with consumers.

India's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has reached $3.75 trillion in 2023, from around $2 trillion in 2014, said Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday

 

The finance minister called India a 'bright spot' in the global economy, highlighting its position as the fifth largest economy. Last year, India had surpassed the UK to become the world's fifth-largest economy and is now behind only the US, China, Japan and Germany, as per the IMF projections. A decade back, India was ranked 11th among the large economies.

 

Recently, a stronger-than-expected fourth quarter lifted India's growth to 7.2 per cent in FY23, exceeding the 7 per cent cited in the second advance estimates released in February, underscoring the country's economic resilience in the face of multiple challenges.

 

As per the provisional estimates released by the National Statistical Office (NSO) recently, real GDP growth for 2022-23 stood at 7.2 per cent, higher than the 7 per cent projected earlier.

 

The gross domestic product (GDP) rose 6.1 per cent in the March quarter from a year earlier, accelerating sequentially as well from the upwardly revised 4.5 per cent in the preceding quarter, government data showed. An ET poll of 20 economists had earlier estimated 5.1 per cent median growth in the fourth quarter.

 

Recently, Chief Economic Advisor Dr V Anantha Nageswaran lauded the estimated 7.2 per cent real GDP growth in 2022-23 and expressed confidence that when the final numbers for the fiscal are frozen in early 2026, the growth will be higher.

 

Speaking at an event organised by the Bharat Chamber of Commerce, Nageswaran said 7.2 per cent GDP growth is 'heartening achievement for the government and economy'.

 

'It is efforts of people like you more than the government that gave us 7.2 per cent real GDP growth in FY 23 following the 9.1 per cent in FY 22,' ANI quoted him as saying.

 

Nageswaran said India's GDP growth estimates are presented six times and 'the final estimate for FY 23 will actually be with us in January-February 2026. And my expectation and belief is that when the final number for FY23 is frozen in February 2026, the number will be more than 7.2 per cent.'

 

Nageswaran said this is the first reliable estimate of GDP growth and 'as more and more data become available, further revision will be for upside from 7.2 per cent.'

 

Meanwhile, Moody's on Sunday said the Indian economy is expected to clock a 6-6.3 per cent growth in June quarter, and flagged risks of fiscal slippage arising from weaker-than-expected government revenues in the current fiscal.

 

The growth estimate released by Moody's is lower than the 8 per cent projection for the first quarter made by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) last week.

 

In an interview with PTI, Moody's Investors Service Associate Managing Director Gene Fang said India has a relatively high level of general government debt at around 81.8 per cent of GDP for 2022-23, and low debt affordability.

 

'We expect India's growth to come in around 6-6.3 per cent in the first quarter of the current fiscal year, which remains relatively flat from the 6.1 per cent recorded in the final quarter of fiscal 2022-23,' PTI quoted Fang as saying.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has praised the results of two farming projects -- vegetable growing and poultry rearing, launched in the island archipelago under the 'Atma Nirbhar Bharat' initiative, saying it shows enthusiasm of the Lakshadweep people about learning and adopting new things.

 

The PM conveyed his praise on Twitter in response to a tweet by Praful K Patel, Administrator of the Union Territory of Lakshadweep, about the successful outcome of the 'Nutri Garden Project' which was started in the islands in 2022.

 

'In Lakshadweep, the 'Nutri Garden Project' was launched as a result of the development objective of atma nirbhar bharat. In which 1,000 farmers were provided with vegetable seeds. As a successful result of this programme, the supply of vegetables in the region has increased.@PMOIndia,' Patel had tweeted on Saturday.

 

Responding to it, PM Modi tweeted, 'Great effort, excellent result! This initiative has shown how enthusiastic the people of Lakshadweep are about learning and adopting new things.'

 

In a release issued by the administration of Lakshadweep, it said that PM Modi has given the vision of doubling farmers income, providing nutritional security for the people, women empowerment, and Mission Life for Environment.

 

To implement the vision and to make the island archipelago self-reliant in production and supply of vegetables, seeds of okra, tomato, brinjal, chilli, amaranthus etc and grow bags and organic fertilizers were distributed to 1,000 farmers selected from the various islands, the release said.

 

Over 8,000 fruit saplings of various varieties like papaya, banana, lemon, sapota, amla, guava etc and spices saplings were also provided to them, it said.

 

'The initiative has reaped very positive results. Supply of fresh vegetables in Lakshadweep has increased for ensuring nutritional security of the local population. The programme has been a huge success resulting in increased supply of fresh vegetables/fruits to the islanders and income guarantee to the farmers. The scheme is being extended further,' the administration said in the release.

 

It also gave details of the Backyard Poultry Rearing Scheme, launched by the Lakshadweep administration, under which over 600 low-income families were distributed over 7,000 country breed chicks like Kadaknath and Kaveri and given training on rearing them.

 

'The women, who are at the forefront of the programme, are empowered in the form of financial savings and getting newer avenues in generating income. This scheme has resulted in extra income for the families, empowerment of women and also improved nutritional intake of the local population.'

 

The women beneficiaries wholeheartedly expressed their happiness and thanked the PM and Patel for such programmes that help make India a developed nation and for taking care of the citizens' welfare, it added.

The 49th Network Planning Group (NPG) meeting of PM GatiShakti National Master Plan (NMP) has recommended a roadways project in Tripura. Ms. Sumita Dawra, Special Secretary, Logistics Division, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, Ministry of Commerce and Industry chaired the meeting of the NPG in New Delhi yesterday.

 

The road section of Khowai-Teliamura-Harina with a total length of 134.9 kms was considered for its improvement and widening to two lanes with paved shoulder of NH-208 in Tripura. It is a brownfield project with total cost of Rs 2,486 Crore. The project is planned with a multimodal connectivity approach; connectivity to industrial clusters and new SEZ namely Paschim Jalefa; efficient freight movement; reducing carbon footprint; optimized alignment and logistical efficiency.

 

The project road passes through Khowai, Gomati and South Tripura districts connecting places like Khowai, Teliamura, Twidu, Amarpur, Karbook and Harina in Tripura. It will also not only enhance connectivity interstate connectivity between Assam and Tripura but also give a boost to the economic and industrial activities in Tripura.

 

The planning of the project on NMP yielded the following key benefits-

 

Enhancing Logistics efficiency: By using NMP, the road length got reduced by 28 km (from 162 km to 134 km), thus reducing travel time by 2.5 hours.

Enhanced multi-modal connectivity: This project Corridor facilitates intermodal transport from Telimaura Railway Station and Manu Bazar Railway Station near Harina. The proposed road improves connectivity to the Airport at Agartala and proposed Multi-Modal Logistics Park (MMLP) at Udaipur.

Regional Connectivity: This corridor is very close to the Bangladesh border and it would connect Bangladesh through Kailashahar, Kamalpur and Khowai Border Check Post.

Connectivity to economic and social nodes: The road will boost connectivity to 4 economic nodes such as Industrial Cluster around Agartala, FCI depot, etc. and 13 social nodes such as Matabari Temple, Neer Mahal, Pilak Civilization Museum, Jampui Hills, Ambassa Eco Park, etc.

Facilitates Freight Movement from Kolkata to North Eastern States (majorly, Tripura, Mizoram and Manipur) to Bangladesh.

Boost to Industry and Exports Promotion: Project would facilitate movement of raw materials for Industry clusters in Tripura. Project would facilitate movement of manufactured goods like rubber, textile, bamboo, food processing etc., from economic nodes like i.e., SEZ located at Paschim Jalefa, Sabroom in South Tripura District and Industrial Clusters/Parks around Agartala and Udaipur.

The proposed road will connect North East India to Chittagong Port in Bangladesh. This would ensure EXIM connectivity.

Development in Tribal Area: Project enhances connectivity to 3 Tribal Districts- Khowai district, Gomati district, South Tripura district

The project is on Engineering Procurement & Construction (EPC) basis under Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Official Development Assistance (ODA) Loan. The principles of PM GatiShakti NMP have been adopted during the planning of the road alignment. Alignment of the road is superimposed with data layers available on NMP Portal like railway lines, forest, power lines, water bodies etc. The intersections will be seen with forest and other sensitive zones to minimize environmental disruptions.

 

Institutional Mechanism of PM GatiShakti facilitated inter-ministerial consultations through NPG meeting for integrated planning and decision making. The 49th NPG meeting saw representation from Infrastructure Ministries/Departments including M/o Road Transport and Highways, M/o Railways, M/o Ports, Shipping and Waterways, M/o Civil Aviation, M/o Power, M/o Petroleum and Natural Gas, Department of Telecommunication (DoT), M/o New and Renewable Energy and NITI Aayog and from Tripura State Government, to discuss on the various aspects of the project.

With total exports pegged at INR 12 lakhs crore, Gujarat in FY 2022-23 becomes India’s top exporter for the third consecutive year. With exports 27% higher than that made in 2021-22, Gujarat’s share in India’s total exports in 2022-23 remained 33%. In 2021-22 it was 30%.

 

Earlier, Maharashtra was ranked as the top exporter, with Gujarat bagging the second position. However, in 2020-21, Gujarat overtook Maharashtra with a narrow margin but thereafter the gap has increased and Gujarat has left Maharashtra far behind.

 

The full implementation of GST has helped the Director General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) get accurate figures of export from all states.

 

As official from DGFT said, 'In 2020-21, we started getting accurate data from the states but that year the world was under Covid-induced lockdown. Thereafter, Gujarat’s export figures jumped over 100%.’’

 

Exporters say the major contribution to Gujarat’s export figures is petroleum products. The war between Russia and Ukraine, has resulted in a significant rise in India’s import of crude from Russia and export of refined petroleum products. India’s export of petroleum products increased more than 60% in last financial year and Gujarat was the major contributor.

 

Apart from petroleum, other major exporting items from Gujarat include ceramics, pharma, engineering goods, jems and jewellery, and chemicals. After implementation of GST, many Surat-based diamond units have started exporting from Surat instead of doing it from Mumbai where they have their offices.

 

According to exporters the weak rupee against dollar has also helped them in offering competitive rates in the international markets, enabling them to reduce their margins to give a tough fight to our competitors and get more orders.  

Easy availability of affordable trade finance is the key to achieving India's $2 trillion exports target by 2030 in goods and services boosting export competitiveness, a senior government official said in an ASSOCHAM event on Thursday.

 

Subhash Chandra Aggarwal, additional director general of foreign trade (DGFT), Ministry of Commerce and Industry said that traders and the government have to work on issues like obtaining easy finance both for domestic and cross-border trade.

 

India has set an ambitious target to take its total goods and services exports to $2 trillion by 2030.

 

Aggarwal said that development in digital technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI) and blockchain will provide leverage to reduce the cost of financing.

 

'I am often told that obtaining finances for domestic trade is easier than obtaining financing for cross-border trade. This could be because of the higher risk perception in cross-border trade. Mitigating and correcting this perception is needed to enable us to be competent and competitive in the global market, trade finance plays a crucial role here', he added.

 

Speaking at the same event, Sanjeet Singh, senior adviser, NITI Aayog said sectors such as aluminium and steel would be "directly impacted" by the European Union's (EU) carbon tax, and exports from these segments would be subjected to a certain amount of tax.

 

'This is an example (EU’s carbon tax) where countries are going beyond the realm of the World Trade Organization (WTO). India and the EU both are members of this multi-lateral body which deals with global exports and imports,' he added.

 

Singh said recent global developments have resulted in a paradigm change in how trade is being conducted across the globe.

 

'Labour, gender, deforestation, and sustainable development have become an important part of the trade. India is fast becoming a party to a number of global alliances because of the recognition that India is a country which nobody can afford not to be doing business with,' he added.