Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Shri Narendra Singh Tomar inaugurated the Startup Conclave-2023 organized by the Laghu Udyog Bharati in Gwalior today. On this occasion, Shri Tomar said that today we have come out of the slavery mentality of the British era, today the whole scenario has changed and this has become possible because of the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi.

 

Union Minister Shri Tomar said that there was a time when there was talent in our country and we were not able to recognize it. There was no environment for these talents to showcase their talent. This is the reason why the talented were getting frustrated with the country and they were forced to go abroad, but today it is not so. Prime Minister Shri Modi grasped this situation and created a positive environment in the country, due to which not only India but the whole world has changed.

 

Shri Tomar said that before 2014, there used to be only 31-32 Startups in the country, but today their number has increased to more than 6,500. In the Agriculture sector alone, their number is above 2,000. He said that today the whole world is recognizing the power of India and also accepting its stature.

 

Union Minister Shri Tomar said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Modi, India's identity has been established in the whole world and India's position has also improved in the world. This is the reason why the Prime Minister of India could pause the war between Ukraine and Russia by saying that first let our citizens be evacuated, proving India's growing clout in the world affairs. Similarly, while introducing our Prime Minister, the US President Mr. Biden said that there is one sun, one world and one Modi, that reinstates India's pride of place in the world community.

 

The Startup Conclave was also attended by MSME Minister in the Government of Madhya Pradesh, Shri Omprakash Sakhlecha, Member of Parliament Shri Vivek Shejwalkar and office bearers of the Laghu Udyog Bharati, - National Organising Secretary Shri Prakash Chandra, National President Shri Baldevbhai Prajapati, All India General Secretary Shri  Ghanshyam Ojha and All India Secretary Shri Sameer Mundra.

Chairman of Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) M. Angamuthu has urged exporters in Telangana to increase millet export.

 

He underscored this need in the backdrop of 2023 having been declared International Year of Millets (IYoM) and Telangana being one of the major millet producing States, according to a release on his interaction with exporters at APEDA’s regional office in Hyderabad. APEDA is a body under the Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

 

Lauding exporters for their contribution, Mr. Angamuthu said there was a huge potential to increase exports from Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. Promising them the support of APEDA, he called upon exporters to promote products unique to the region such as Neera, palm fruits, jaggery, honey, GI-tagged products like Banganapalli mango and natural and tribal products.

 

Exporters of cereals, millets, processed food and fruits participated in the meeting, which saw discussions on issues, opportunities and future strategies to boost exports from Telangana.

 

Senior officers of APEDA and other stakeholder agencies, including the Directorate General of Foreign Trade, export inspection agency and plant quarantine, were present, the release said.

India has stoutly defended its minimum support price (MSP) scheme for foodgrain at the World Trade Organization arguing that its public stock holding programme (PSH) not only supported small and marginal farmers and fed the poor but also kept global prices in check ensuring food security for LDCs and vulnerable countries, an official said.

 

In a presentation on its PSH experience at a seminar at the WTO Agriculture Committee meeting on March 27-28, India’s representative explained how the programme was helping to keep global prices in check and had nothing to do with subsidised exports, the official tracking the matter told businessline.

 

'Some members keep attacking our MSP programme and say that our PSH subsidies affect food security of other countries. We said in our presentation that it is the other way round.

 

'Since we were maintaining these stocks, when the crisis (pandemic) came, we could feed (provide free foodgrains) to our 800 million plus vulnerable population. Had we not been maintaining our stock, we would have been dependent upon rest of the world,' the official said.

 

The Bali ‘peace clause’

Members are specifically attacking rice subsidies as India was the first country to use the Bali ‘peace clause’, which allows developing countries to breach the subsidy ceiling of 10 per cent for agriculture produce without being dragged to dispute by members, for rice. 

 

 

'If you look at rice, the global export supplies in 2020-21 were 56 million tonnes, while we distributed 58 mt to 800 million people through PSH. So, India’s public distribution was more than global supplies. Had we required that 58 mt from outside, the prices of rice in global market would have skyrocketed. Everybody would have hiked their prices. Then food security of LDCs and vulnerable would have been actually hit,' the official said, adding that some rice exporting countries were disappointed that prices did not spike during the crisis.

 

New Delhi also struck off demands made by some countries seeking procurement data and information for all food crops that were under MSP. 'India will certainly not share information on any crop other than rice where the actual subsidy cap breach has happened. The Bali agreement only seeks information for the item for which the peace clause has been invoked,' the official said.

 

The peace clause, which is saddled with a lot of tough notification requirements and conditions such as not affecting food security of other members, was invoked by India for rice support provided in 2018-19 and 2019-20.

 

Nine countries, including the US, Australia, Canada, Thailand, Brazil, Japan, New Zealand, Paraguay and Uruguay, sought consultations with India over the use of the peace clause and have been seeking a lot of information. 

 

While some, including the US, have been accusing India of habitually not including the full required information in its notifications, some members have indicated that the country did not have an adequate monitoring mechanism to ensure no stocks were exported.

 

'There were certain areas, where India has said it will provide information at a later date as it was not available. We cannot cook it for them. We are anyway notifying what is required as per the notification requirement of the AoA (Agreement on Agriculture). If they are not satisfied, we can’t help it,' the official said.

 

Concerns around exports

On concerns around exports of subsidised rice, the official said India procured common paddy under PSH while it exported premium rice. 

 

The nine countries will continue holding consultations with India on its PSH programme as they were entitled to under the peace clause.

With the provision of rupee-settled trades gaining acceptance at a slow pace, India and Russia are increasingly opting to route goods operations through third countries such as the United Arab Emirates (UAE), thereby facilitating transactions in currencies other than rupees, roubles and dollars, said people with knowledge of the matter.

 

'Some vostro accounts have opened up but the rupee trade has not picked up significantly - there is limited traction there so far. Participants are increasingly choosing to use third countries to route payments which are not in INR, roubles or dollars,' said one of them. 'The transactions, of which a large part is for oil trades, are being routed through friendly countries.'

 

The push is toward facilitating trade through the UAE as the country's currency - the dirham - is pegged to the dollar and enjoys global stability. 'There is not that much interest at present in the rupee transactions,' said one of the persons cited. 'While the interest is picking up slowly, there are complex invoicing arrangements to be carried out as the existing systems are heavily dominated by the euro and the US dollar. Hence, the push for routing it through third countries.'

 

On July 11, 2022, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had announced additional arrangements for trade invoicing, payment and settlement in rupees. The broad framework includes the provision for all exports and imports under the arrangement to be denominated and invoiced in the Indian currency. Settlements of transactions would also take place in rupees, the central bank said.

 

The RBI's steps were to support the strengthening interest of the global trading community in rupee transactions.

 

Vostro Accounts

The measures were announced at a time when the rupee was witnessing enhanced volatility due to aggressive interest rate hikes in the US and risk aversion in the wake of the Ukraine war. Moreover, with US sanctions on Russia hampering trade, efforts were made in several countries to move away from the dominance of the dollar in global trade.

 

According to the RBI's notifications, domestic importers undertaking imports through the rupee settlement mechanism must make payments in the Indian currency, which would be credited into special vostro accounts of correspondent banks of partner countries against invoices for the supply of goods and services from foreign suppliers.

 

A vostro account is held at a bank on behalf of another lender that's typically located in a foreign country. With India opting to purchase discounted oil from Moscow, Russia is now the single-largest supplier of crude to the country, having toppled Iraq from the position.

 

Earlier this month, Alexey Valkov, director of the St Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), told ET that trade between India and Russia hit a record $39.8 billion in FY23. India-Russia trade in calendar 2022 is estimated to have trebled from the previous calendar year.

 

Products that India is increasingly supplying to Russia include medicines, automobile parts, textiles and food products, Valkov said.

 

An email sent to the RBI did not receive a response at the time of going to press.

 

Addressing the media after the RBI's monetary policy review last week, deputy governor T Rabi Sankar said that while interest in rupee trade is increasing, volumes were not picking up due to teething issues.

 

'The stakeholders on either side are getting adjusted to it,' RBI governor Shaktikanta Das said on the matter. 'It's completely a new paradigm for stakeholders - for importers and exporters from both sides, for banks on both sides. Both sides meaning, India and whichever is the country at the other end. They are getting used to it. It is something which we expect will improve steadily.'

 

Last month, a government official said that several banks, including HDFC Bank and UCO Bank, had opened as many as 30 special vostro accounts to facilitate overseas trade in the rupee. According to director general of foreign trade (DGFT) Santosh Kumar Sarangi, 18 countries have opened special vostro accounts with Indian banks.

 

Banking industry sources said that Kolkata-based UCO Bank, which has an account with Russia-based Gazprom, had so far carried out rupee-denominated trades worth Rs.14-15 crore. The trades were primarily in permitted goods which are not on sanctions lists such as engineering goods, the sources said.

The government is likely to extend the expanded duty remission scheme for exporters beyond the September deadline, providing relief to the pharmaceuticals, steel and chemicals sectors, said officials.

 

The Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products (RoDTEP) scheme was expanded in December last year to include pharmaceuticals, chemicals and select steel products.

 

The commerce department had stipulated that the additional products would be eligible for tax refunds up to September 30, 2023. The department wanted to gauge if it had adequate budgetary outlay to fund the tax remission for the full financial year 2023-24.

 

The government now feels the budgetary allocation would be sufficient for the entire 2023-24, according to officials.

 

'Currently, the monthly refund claims under the RoDTEP scheme are about Rs.1,200 crore. So, the budgeted allocation of Rs.15,069 crore for FY24 should be enough to continue to extend this benefit to the sectors that were included later,' a senior official told ET on condition of anonymity.

 

However, if the department decides to further expand the scheme and include the entire iron and steel segment, it will require an additional Rs 1,000 crore for this fiscal, said the official.

 

In 2022-23, the government had disbursed Rs.13,699 crore through the scheme.

 

The government will review the scheme before September 30 and notify its decision, said the official.

 

Launched on January 1, 2021, the scheme refunds central, state and local levies incurred in the manufacture and export of products not covered by any other incentive scheme.

 

The move will help exporters of these goods as they compete for orders amid a demand slowdown in key developed markets. Exports of chemicals and pharmaceuticals, and select steel products, totalled $61 billion until February last fiscal year, constituting about 15% of the overall merchandise despatches, showed the official data.

 

The Foreign Trade Policy 2023 announced last week flagged timely tax remission for exporters, as it seeks to move away from any incentive-based regime. The RoDTEP scheme is compliant with the World Trade Organization (WTO) norms.

 

The expanded RoDTEP scheme covers 10,342 export products, against 8,731 earlier. The scheme is based on the globally accepted principle that exports can be exempt from taxes, and levies imposed can be refunded.

 

Experts see the remission scheme as critical to improving the country's export competitiveness and achieving the $1 trillion merchandise export target by 2030 from $447 billion in 2022-23.

 

The FSSAI has notified additional requirement of absorbency for olive oil under the regulation 2.2.1 through Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Second Amendment Regulations, 2023. 

 

These requirements will be additional to the quality characteristics prescribed by the FSSAI and shall come into force on September 1, 2023. 

 

According to the notification, the ‘Absorbency in ultra-violet at 270 nm for Extra virgin olive oil should be = 0.22 with delta K value at = 0.01, for Virgin olive oil it was set at = 0.25 & = 0.01, for Ordinary virgin olive oil = 0.30* (after passage of the sample through activated alumina, absorbency at 270 nm shall be equal to or less than 0.11) & = 0.01, for Refined olive oil = 1.10 & = 0.16, for Olive oil = 0.90 & = 0.15, for Refined olive-pomace oil = 2.00 & = 0.20 and for Olive-pomace oil, the absorbency in ultra-violet at 270nm was set at = 1.70 and the delta K value was set at = 0.18. 

 

Also, the food authority has added provisions for moringa oil which is obtained from moringa seeds. 

 

The parameters include refractive index at 40°c with limit of 1.4520 – 1.4680, saponification value at 167-192, iodine value at 65-70, and unsaponifiable matter not more than 1.5 per cent by mass 5 with acid value not more than 6.0. 

 

Further, the amendment regulations prescribe standards for Solvent Extracted Crude Vegetable Oils (not for direct human consumption). 

 

The regulations define ‘solvent extracted crude vegetable oils’ as vegetable oils extracted using food grade hexane from sources mentioned in standards of respective edible oils under sub-regulation 2.2.1 of the Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Regulations. 

 

'These oils as such are not for direct human consumption and shall be refined before human consumption, which shall conform to the standards specified for refined vegetable oils laid down under clause 16 of regulation 2.2.1,' reads the notification.

Prime Minister Modi Narendra Modi on Saturday said Tamil Nadu is one of India’s growth engines, and the Centre has been supporting the State’s infrastructure projects as he inaugurated and laid the foundation stone for Rs.5,200 crore worth of airport, highway, and railway projects in the State.

 

After launching the national highway road projects and unveiling plaques for new national highway projects in the State, Prime Minister Modi said Tamil Nadu’s development is a great priority for the Centre and the State has been allocated an all-time high budget of Rs..6000 crore this year for railway infrastructure.

 

'The average amount allocated to the State during 2009-2014 was less than Rs.900 crore. Also, the length of the national highway in the State was about 800 km during 2004-2014. But, between 2014 and 2023, nearly 2,000 km of national highway was added in Tamil Nadu. In 2014-15, the investment in the development and maintenance of the national highways in Tamil Nadu was around Rs.1,200 crore. In 2022-23, it increased six-fold to over Rs.8,200 crore, pointed out Modi.

 

Several projects

In the last few years, Tamil Nadu has seen several projects such as the defence industrial corridor and the recent PM-MITRA mega textile park, Bengaluru-Chennai Expressway, and the Construction of a Multimodal Logistics Park, among others. These will support the growth of the State while generating a huge number of jobs. 'I am sure the projects inaugurated today will also benefit the State and its people,' he added.

 

Thanking Prime Minister for inaugurating many development projects for Tamil Nadu, MK Stain, Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, said the State government has been focusing on implementing various infrastructure projects to support the growth of the State. Amid a tight financial situation, the State government has improved its spending on infrastructure projects to Rs.44,365 crore now from Rs.33,068 crore earlier.

 

He requested Prime Minister Modi to expedite the ongoing road and railway projects in Tamil Nadu. He urged the Prime Minister to direct the NHAI to speed up ongoing road projects as the State is required to boost its infrastructure to support its economic growth. Stalin also urged Modi to announce new railway projects and allocate funds for the railway projects announced earlier.

 

Reiterating his earlier request for the Centre’s support for Metro Rail Projects in Tamil Nadu, Stalin requested the Prime Minister for the speedy approval of funds for the second phase of Chennai Metro Rail Project works and support the newly announced Metro rail projects for Madurai and Coimbatore also.

Union Minister of Commerce & Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution, and Textiles, Shri Piyush Goyal along with Mr Olivier Becht, Minister delegate of Foreign Trade, Attractiveness and French Nationals Abroad, Government of France, will co-chair the India France Business Summit, commemorating 25 years of India-France Friendship on the 11th of April 2023. The Summit will focus on themes including building a green future, emerging technologies, defence cooperation and cooperation in the Indo-Pacific regions. The Minister is also scheduled to meet with French business leaders across various sectors and will attend a CEOs roundtable. The Minister will be paying an official visit to France and Italy from 11th to 13th April 2023. The Minister would be accompanied with a delegation of top Indian CEOs.

 

The Minister along with French Minister Mr. Olivier Becht will participate in an event that will showcase India’s cultural heritage and soft power and expected to witness participation of 600+ dignitaries from the French government, the Indian Business Diaspora in France and members of French business community. The Minister will also be interacting with members of the Indian community in Paris.

 

The Minister will later travel to Rome, Italy where he would meet H.E. Antonio Tajani, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs & International Cooperation followed by a networking dinner with dignitaries from the Government and industry.  He is scheduled to meet top Italian CEOs for bilateral meetings followed by CEOs Interactive Business Session, where 35 CEOs are likely to participate. This would be followed by a meeting with H.E. Adolfo Urso, Minister of Enterprises and Made in Italy, who would also interact with Indian CEOs.

 

The visit is expected to impart further momentum to bilateral relations with India’s key business partners in the European region.

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal will hold a series of meetings with leaders and top CEOs of France and Italy next week during his three-day visit to these two countries to further boost trade and investment ties. The minister will be on an official visit to France (Paris) and Italy (Rome) on April 11-13. He will be accompanied by a delegation of top Indian CEOs.

 

In France, Goyal along with Olivier Becht, Minister delegate of Foreign Trade, Attractiveness and French Nationals Abroad, Government of France, will co-chair the India-France Business Summit on April 11, the commerce ministry said in a statement on Sunday.

 

The summit will focus on various themes, including building a green future, emerging technologies, defence cooperation and cooperation in the Indo-Pacific regions, it added.

 

Goyal is also scheduled to meet with French business leaders across various sectors and will attend a CEOs roundtable.

 

Both Indian and French ministers will participate in an event that will showcase India's cultural heritage and soft power and are expected to witness the participation of over 600 dignitaries from the French government, the Indian business diaspora in France and members of the French business community.

 

Goyal will also be interacting with members of the Indian community in Paris.

 

In Rome, the statement said, Goyal would meet Antonio Tajani, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.

 

'He is scheduled to meet top Italian CEOs for bilateral meetings followed by CEOs Interactive Business Session, where 35 CEOs are likely to participate,' the ministry said, adding this would be followed by a meeting with Adolfo Urso, Minister of Enterprises and Made in Italy, who would also interact with Indian CEOs.

 

There are over 1,000 French businesses in India in different sectors, such as defence, ITES, consulting, engineering services, and heavy industry.

 

France is the 11th largest foreign investor in India, with a cumulative FDI of USD 10.5 billion between April 2000 and December 2022. It accounts for about 1.7 per cent of the total FDI (USD 625.3 billion) that India has received during the period.

 

India-France bilateral trade stood at USD 12.42 billion in 2021-22. During April-January 2022-23, India's exports to France stood at USD 6.5 billion, while imports aggregated at USD 4.36 billion. The trade gap is in favour of India.

 

In 2021, a dedicated desk was set up by Invest India for investor queries for French businesses.

 

Italy is among India's top 5 trading partners in the EU.

 

India-Italy bilateral trade stood at over USD 13 billion in 2021-22. During April-January 2022-23, India's exports to Italy stood at USD 7.15 billion, while imports aggregated at USD 4.6 billion. The trade gap is in favour of India.

 

Italy is the 17th largest foreign investor in India, with a cumulative FDI of USD 3.25 billion between April 2000 and December 2022. It accounts for about 0.52 per cent of the total FDI India received during the period.

 

The main items of Indian exports to Italy are ready-made garments, leather, iron ore, motor vehicles, textiles, chemicals, gems and jewellery. Main imported items include machinery, machine tools, metallurgical products and engineering items.

 

Around 140 large Italian companies are active in India. Some of the major Italian companies that have invested in India are FIAT Auto, Heinz Italia, Italcementi, Necchi Compressori, Perfetti, Lavazza, ENI, SAI India, Isagro (Asia) Agrochemicals and Piaggio.

 

Indian companies present in Italy are in sectors such as IT, electronics, pharmaceuticals, automobile, textile and engineering.

 

The prominent Indian companies operating in Italy include Tata, TCS, Wipro, Engineers India Limited, L&T, Mahindra & Mahindra, Ranbaxy, and Raymonds. SBI has a representative office in Milan. Six Italian banks have representation in India.

 

The top sectors attracting FDI inflows from Italy are the automobile industry/ transportation, food processing, metallurgical industry, textiles, electrical equipment and others.

About 1.5 lakh farmers practising natural farming in Himachal Pradesh would be certified under Prakritik Kheti Khushhal Kisan Yojana (PK3Y) in 2023-24. According to a study, 28 per cent farmers have adopted natural farming techniques on their own through peer-to-peer learning without any training and therefore the focus of PK3Y in this financial year will be consolidation of farmers practising natural farming, said Agriculture Secretary Rakesh Kanwar.

 

Addressing a meeting of the agriculture department officers to discuss the cluster-based agriculture development programme in the state, he said efforts would be made in 2023-24 to certify about 1.5 lakh farmers practising natural farming, a statement issued here on Friday said.

 

He said focus should be on consolidation of the existing farmers, increasing their area under natural farming, conducting refresher workshops, capacity building training and exposure visits.

 

The response and success in results on ground show that everyone is convinced that natural farming technique is beneficial and 'we just need to take the practice further for overall benefits in agriculture,' he added.

 

Kanwar asked the department officers to identify clusters, prioritise the issues and come out with a specific need-based budget for each cluster.

 

State Project Director, PK3Y, Naresh Thakur said PK3Y achieved the earmarked targets in 2022-23. He said over 51,000 farmers have been certified under PK3Y for natural produce and that the natural farming model villages in the state will also be strengthened.