Ever since the United Nations declared the year 2023 as the International Year of Millets, the Central and State Governments are actively working to increase the area and production of Millets in the country. Millet missions are being run in the states under Shri Anna Yojana, under which farmers are being encouraged to take nutritious crop millets by providing subsidies on inputs.

 

The area under Millets or coarse grains in the country has increased from 38.37 lakh hectares to 41.34 lakh hectares in the year 2022. If the government procures millet at the support price, then the area, production, and income of farmers will increase rapidly. Because the cost of growing millets is less and much care is not required, it becomes easy to grow. According to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the International Year of Millets campaign will increase the income of 25 million small and marginal farmers who grow millets in the country, which will strengthen the rural economy.

 

India is the largest producer of millets. The country is enriched with a wide range of millets produced in major millet-growing states like Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, etc. At present, about 50 million (500 lakh tonnes) of coarse grains are produced in the country. About 80 percent of Asia’s and 20 percent of the world’s coarse grains are produced in the country. Cultivation of millets or coarse grains takes less labor and also requires less water. Only 25-30 percent of India’s total agricultural land is irrigated or semi-irrigated. When the demand for millet will increase, then its price will increase in the market, only then the income of small farmers with uncultivated land will also increase.

 

Export of coarse grains

At present, most of the millets like ragi, caneri, jowar, and buckwheat are exported from the country. We supply these to the USA, UK, Nepal, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Libya, Tunisia, Oman, and Egypt. India’s export of coarse cereals is $64 million in the year 2021-22. India is exporting coarse cereals to 139 countries across the world. APEDA has put in place a strong strategy to expand millets and its value-added products to achieve a target of $100 million by 2025 with efforts to widen its global reach. 

 

Shree Anna Yojana

Coarse grains are also being encouraged in the Union Budget. Nowadays almost every person is suffering from some or the other disease. But in ancient India, people used to fall ill very rarely. The main reason for this is that in the past people used to eat coarse grains. Millets are more nutritious than wheat and rice. The Central Government is organizing several programs under the International Millets Year 2023. On the other hand, the state governments are providing technical and financial help to the farmers to increase millet production. In many states, grants are being received for agricultural inputs along the lines of the Millet Mission, while in some states, farmers are being linked with training and millet processing. 

 

On these lines, the Madhya Pradesh government is also giving grants to the farmers for the promotion of Shree Anna under the State Millet Mission Scheme. For the Madhya Pradesh State Millet Mission, the government has kept a budget of Rs 23.25 crores for 2 years.

 

Center’s efforts to popularize coarse grains

The central government has increased the target for procurement of millets in the central pool. The target for 2021 was 6.5 lakh tonnes. For 2022, it was increased by 1.3 million tonnes. In the Kharif season, till November, more than the target has already been procured. Under the National Food Security Mission (NFSM), the ‘Nutritious Food Mission’ scheme will be implemented in 212 districts of 14 major millets producing states of the country. Under this scheme, the farmers growing millet will be given information about better varieties of seeds, improved methods of cultivation, crop protection measures, and proper methods of storage and processing of produce.

 

Cultivation of Millets

Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Telangana farmers cultivate coarse grains on a large scale. At the same time, the highest consumption of coarse grains is in Assam and Bihar. This year, the area under coarse cereals in the country has increased from 38.37 lakh hectares to 41.34 lakh hectares.

 

In this way, if India becomes the global hub in food grain production, then the export of agricultural produce will increase. Export growth will have a positive impact on the country’s economy, as well as there will be a revolutionary increase in the income of farmers. According to a report, in the last few years, more than 500 startups are working in the country on activities related to food. At the same time, employment opportunities will also increase.

While Pakistani mangoes have traditionally been more affordable compared to those from other countries, Ghurki highlighted the shift in the Chinese market towards prioritising quality over price. As a result, he emphasised the need for Pakistan to diversify its mango varieties and produce high-quality mangoes to cater to the discerning Chinese consumers. To facilitate mango exports, PCJCCI is planning to establish a Pak-China Trade Portal, leveraging the preference for online shopping among Chinese consumers.

 

PCJCCI, Senior Vice President, Fang Yulong emphasised the significance of effective mango packaging, preservation, deep processing, and transportation. He stressed the utilisation of three-dimensional transportation channels, including land, sea, and air, to ensure rapid delivery of mangoes. Additionally, Yulong proposed the establishment of large warehouse supermarkets in major Chinese cities to cater to the growing demand for the 'king of fruits' among Chinese consumers.

 

PCJCCI, Vice President, Hamza Khalid highlighted the current status of mango exports to China, revealing that Pakistan’s mangoes account for less than 0.36% of China’s total mango imports.

India needs to change its profile of exports dramatically to achieve the target of $1 trillion goods exports by 2030 and all attempts are being made to do that.

 

Santosh Kumar Sarangi, director general foreign trade (DGFT), said here on Tuesday that exports must grow at 14.5% hereon to reach the target of $2 trillion in goods and services amid geopolitical challenges like the Russia-Ukraine war and China's relation with Taiwan on one hand and the US and the EU on the other.

 

'There are emerging challenges like building supply chain resilience for critical minerals, energy resources and high-end technology. There are new non-tariff barriers like sustainability and labour standards. Plus the return to industrial policy of some countries like the CHIPS Act (in US and EU) and Inflation Reduction Act of the US focus on promoting some industries (basically a renewed push for manufacturing from services),' he said at an event organised by TPCI. However, India is well placed to tackle the challenges and is on the way forward to meet its targets.

High Commissioner of India to Bangladesh Pranay Verma has said that India and Bangladesh have immense scope to cooperate in the exchange of knowledge, sharing of best practices, and in the research and development initiatives related to millets. Speaking at the inauguration of the exhibition on ‘Food Security and Importance of Millets’ organised by the High Commission of India in Dhaka on Sunday, High Commissioner Verma highlighted the important role of millets in ensuring food security, popularising nutritional diet, promoting sustainable agriculture, and securing financial empowerment of farmers.  

 

The three-day-long exhibition is being organized as part of the events to celebrate the International Year of Millets 2023.

 

Food Minister of Bangladesh Sadhan Chandra Majumder, was the chief guest at the occasion. Representative of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in Bangladesh  Robert D. Simpson was the special guest. Renowned agricultural expert of Bangladesh, Dr. Mirza Hasannuzzaman, Professor, Department of Agronomy, Sher-e-Bangla Agriculture University, delivered the expert remarks as the guest speaker on the occasion.

 

Food Minister Sadhan Chandra Majumder appreciated the initiative taken by the High Commission of India in organising the event. He also highlighted the steps being taken by Bangladesh to transform its agricultural sector and increase the production and consumption of millets.

 

Millets have been an integral part of our diet for centuries. In addition to a plethora of health benefits, millets are also good for the environment with lower water and input requirements. With the aim to create awareness, and to increase production and consumption of millets across the world, the United Nations, at the behest of the Government of India, declared 2023 as the International Year of Millets.

 

Agricultural cooperation is an important component of the India-Bangladesh partnership. Both India and Bangladesh can lead the way in harnessing the power of millets to build a brighter and more prosperous future for our two countries, said a press release of the High Commission of India in Bangladesh.

Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and Textiles, Shri Piyush Goyal said that India has emerged from the shadows of the past and is being looked upon as the bright spot by the world. During his address at the CII Annual Session 2023, 'Future Frontiers: Competitiveness, Technology, Sustainability and Internationalization' in New Delhi today, the Minister said that with adequate focus on innovation, quality and talent of the people, sky's the limit for growth of India. Shri Piyush Goyal said that it is incumbent to educate and enlighten the population as the demographic dividend with its technological and managerial talent is a treasure for the country.

 

The Minister said that Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi is hailed as the leader of the global South and India is emerging as the global leader of the developing countries. He highlighted that many countries across the globe are keen on fast-tracking the FTAs with India now. Shri Goyal said that India is now not just talking but negotiating with Canada, EFTA, UK, EU over FTAs and this shows the increased importance of India in the global order. He said that this is a new India which engages with the world from a position of strength believing in its capabilities and calibre.

 

Shri Piyush Goyal said that over the last 9 years a successful journey has been undertaken by the Government, Regulators and the people to bring back the economy on track. He said that 9 years ago, there were many challenges stalling the economic development of India and at that time India was amongst the fragile 5 countries in the world, but the 9 years of government under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has led to transformation beyond imagination.

 

Shri Goyal said that people expected the Government to be populist but the Government under Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi chose to take hard decisions to bring the economy back on track and up the morale of the public by bringing in structural fundamental macroeconomic reforms that promised long lasting benefits for the country. The Minister said that today India is the fastest growing economy of the world with low inflation and strong foreign exchange reserves. He said that the last 9 years have been unprecedented as inflation has been consistently under control in the range of 4-4.5% except for a short period last year. Shri Piyush Goyal said that interest rates in other developed countries are almost at par with India now.

 

Shri Piyush Goyal stressed upon expanding international outreach, bringing innovation and technology from across the world to grab the opportunities available for growth. He encouraged businesses to invest and engage with world markets through quality products and using Indian missions abroad. The Minister highlighted that India’s G20 Presidency is an opportunity for the businesses to expand markets with open mind and engage with the world with confidence.

 

Shri Goyal said that the target of achieving US$ 1 Trillion export of goods and US$ 1 Trillion of services is a modest target now. He said that the overall exports had been at US$ 500 Billion for almost a decade and reached US$ 676 Billion last year despite the difficulties being faced across the world. The Minister said that the overall exports of US$ 776 Billion in FY 2022-23 with US$ 450 Billion of merchandise exports and US$ 326 Billion of services exports is a laudable achievement for the country.

 

Shri Goyal said that the increased export basket will help India increase surpluses and reduce deficits. He said that now is the opportunity for businesses and industry to establish leadership in global trade. The Minister said that businesses should look for reliable partners in the supply chain, focus on comparative advantage, acquire technology and work in the spirit of collaboration.

 

Shri Piyush Goyal termed the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) as the captain of India Inc. The Minister congratulated President-Designate, CII, Shri R. Dinesh on taking over as the CII President for 2023-24. He also praised the leadership of the President, CII, Shri Sanjiv Bajaj and appreciated the role played by him in leading CII during the challenging times of uncertainty across the world.

India will despatch around 1.05 million tonnes of food grains to Nepal, Indonesia, Senegal and Gambia as part of its economic diplomacy in the current financial year, waiving curbs on exports.

 

India banned wheat and broken rice exports and imposed a 20% export duty on non-basmati rice varieties last year to keep prices down.

 

In what is likely to add heft to India’s role in providing food security on the global stage, the department of food and public distribution has allowed exports of 300,000 tonnes wheat to Nepal; 200,000 tonnes of broken rice to Indonesia; 500,000 tonnes broken rice to Senegal, and 50,000 tonnes of broken rice to Gambia on a request by external affairs ministry. This comes despite low domestic wheat stocks.

 

The Food Corp of India (FCI) so far has procured a little over 26 MT wheat in the 2023-24 (October-March) rabi marketing year against a target of 34.5 MT. A hot February and heavy rains in March and April lowered wheat production to below the agriculture ministry’s second estimate of 112.2 MT. As per government officials, the amount procured so far will be enough to meet wheat requirement for the public distribution system (PDS). After ensuring 18.5 MT for PDS, there will be 8.7 MT available in the central pool, which will be more than sufficient for the open market sale scheme if required. Hence, there is no cause for concern, the government claims.

 

In the case of rice, the government had 26.5 MT rice in its central pool as of 1 May. Up to 21 May, FCI had procured 77.2 MT paddy in the ongoing 2022-23 (April-September) kharif marketing season and 3.2 MT paddy in the current 2023-24 rabi marketing season against an estimated target of 15.7 MT.

 

In response to Mint’s query, the Department of Food and Public Distribution said it deals with the 'import and export of only wheat and non-basmati rice from central pool stocks available with FCI. WTO norms inter-alia restrict the export of foodgrains from public stocks procured for domestic consumption through welfare schemes.

 

However, humanitarian assistance, fully in grant form under the reference of the Ministry of External Affairs, to the deserving countries, is only allowed. During the 2022-23 financial year, no quantity of wheat and rice was supplied or exported to any foreign countries from the department’s central pool stocks,' the official said. Queries sent to the external affairs ministry remained unanswered.

 

Wheat and non-basmati rice exported as humanitarian assistance from central pool stocks during FY15 to FY22 to countries like Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Zimbabwe, Bhutan, Myanmar, Mozambique among others was 256,427 tonnes, the official disclosed.

 

'In the past two years, foodgrains have been provided to some countries as humanitarian aid on the recommendation of Ministry of External Affairs by DGFT. The data will be available with MEA or DGFT,' the official notified.

 

Emails sent to MEA, Embassy of Nepal on Friday containing queries remain unanswered till press time.

 

Last year, until 22 June of FY23, India shipped 1.8 MT wheat, including 33,000 tonnes of 50,000 tonnes committed to Afghanistan as part of humanitarian assistance, said then Food Secretary Sudhanshu Pandey. Other than Afghanistan, India also exported food grains to Bangladesh, Bhutan, Israel, Indonesia, Malaysia, Nepal, Oman, Philippines, Qatar, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Switzerland, Thailand, UAE, Vietnam and Yemen during last financial year.

The government on Wednesday allowed the exports of broken rice on the basis of permission given by the government for shipments to other countries for meeting their food security needs, though the export of broken rice is banned in general.

 

'The export policy of broken rice is prohibited, however, export will be allowed on the basis of permission granted by the Government of India to other countries to meet their food security needs and based on the request of their government,' the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) said in a notification.

 

India had banned the exports of broken rice and imposed a 20% duty on exports of various grades in September.

 

In December last year, it allowed the exports of organic non-Basmati rice including organic non-Basmati broken rice.

 

China is the largest importer of Indian broken rice at $418.29 million in FY23 followed by Senegal, Indonesia and Vietnam.

India and Australia on Wednesday inked a migration and mobility partnership pact to open up opportunities for students, academic researchers and business people and resolved to conclude a comprehensive trade deal by the end of year to significantly expand economic ties. The pact was signed after wide-ranging talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese.

 

In his media statement, Albanese said the aim is to conclude the comprehensive economic cooperation agreement (CECA) by the end of the year.

 

'We reiterated our shared ambition for an early conclusion of the Australia-India comprehensive economic cooperation agreement later this year,' he said in the presence of Modi.

 

Last year, India and Australia finalised the Economic Cooperation Trade Agreement (ECTA) and it came into force in December last. The two sides are now working on the CECA.

 

'Today, in my meeting with Prime Minister Albanese, we talked about taking India-Australia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership to greater heights in the next decade,' Modi said.

 

'We discussed in detail the possibilities of cooperation in new areas. Last year India-Australia ECTA came into effect. Today we have decided to focus on CECA -- Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement,' he said.

 

Modi said the pact will give further strength and new dimensions to trade and economic cooperation between the two countries.

 

'We had constructive discussions on strengthening our strategic cooperation in the sectors of mining and critical minerals. We have identified concrete areas for cooperation in renewable energy,' Modi said.

 

'It was decided to set up a task force on Green Hydrogen,' he added.

 

Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra said the next two rounds of talks on the economic partnership pact have been scheduled for June and July.

 

Modi and Albanese also witnessed the signing of the terms of reference of the Australia-India Green Hydrogen Taskforce which will explore opportunities in the area of renewable hydrogen.

 

'Renewable energy was once again a focus and an important topic in our discussions,' Albanese said.

 

On the migration and mobility pact, Albanese said it will promote the exchange of students, graduates, researchers and business people; expand our people-to-people ties and enhance cooperation in 'preventing people smuggling'.

 

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said Modi and Albanese welcomed the signing of the Migration and Mobility Partnership Arrangement (MMPA).

 

It said the MMPA will further facilitate mobility of students, professionals, researchers, academics and others, including through a new skilled pathway named MATES (Mobility Arrangement for Talented Early Professionals Scheme) specifically created for India.

 

It said they also welcomed the finalisation of terms of reference of the India-Australia Hydrogen taskforce.

 

The taskforce will advise on opportunities to accelerate manufacture and deployment of clean hydrogen, focusing on hydrogen electrolysers, fuel cells as well as supporting infrastructure and standards and regulations.

 

In his remarks, Modi also highlighted the importance of India-Australia relations for the region.

 

'The scope of India-Australia relations is not limited to merely our two countries. It is also linked to regional stability, peace and global welfare,' he said.

 

'A few days ago, along with Prime Minister Albanese, at the Quad Summit in Hiroshima, we also discussed the Indo-Pacific. India-Australia cooperation can also be beneficial for the progress of the Global South,' Modi said.

 

He said the Indian tradition of 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, which sees the whole world as one family, is the central theme of India's G-20 Presidency.'

 

The prime minister described his meeting with Albanese as 'constructive'.

The food authority has issued a draft notification on Food Safety and Standards (Alcoholic Beverages) Amendment Regulations, 2023, related to standards of mead (honey wine), craft beer, Indian liquors and definition of low alcoholic beverages/ RTD, wine-based beverages and country liquors.

 

Under these regulations, the FSSAI has defined the 'Ready-to-drink/ Low alcoholic beverages', which shall be low alcoholic, flavoured beverages having more than 0.5 to 8.0% of alcohol ABV.

 

The draft lays down, 'made from spirit or the mixture of: spirit or any alcoholic beverage other than wine and beer as base by adding natural/nature identical/artificial flavours and/or food additives permitted under the FSS (FPS&FA) Regulations 2011; and/or fruit/vegetable juice with or without added sugar/salt and with or without carbonation. In case of carbonated ready-to-drink (RTD) /low alcoholic beverages, they shall be carbonated with carbon dioxide. However, the carbonated RTD /low alcoholic beverages shall have a minimum of one volume of carbon dioxide.'

 

The draft added that it shall conform to the requirements as prescribed under these regulations.

 

The FSSAI has asked the stakeholders to send their comments on the draft to the food authority.