The 1st TIWG meeting under India’s G20 Presidency is scheduled in Mumbai, from March 28th − 30th, 2023. During this three-day Meeting, over 100 delegates from G20 member countries, invitee countries, regional groupings and international organizations will engage in deliberations to accelerate global trade and investments. Over 50 delegates have already arrived in Mumbai to attend the meeting.

 

On the first day, on March 28th,  an International Conference on  on ‘Trade Finance’ will be held. The role of banks, financial institutions, development finance institutions and export credit agencies in closing the trade finance gap, and how digitalisation and fintech solutions can improve access to trade finance will be discussed through two panel discussions. Eminent speakers from India and abroad have been invited to deliberate and provide concrete solutions for mitigating the growing trade finance gap. It will be followed by a guided tour of Bharat Diamond Bourse for the G20 delegates.

 

Various experience zones on spices, millet, tea and coffee will be set up, and an exhibition on textiles will be on display during the TIWG meeting at the conference venue.

 

On March 29th, the TIWG Meeting will be inaugurated by Hon’ble Commerce & Industry Minister of India, Shri Piyush Goyal, along with Hon’ble Minister of State for Finance, Dr. Bhagwat Kishanrao Karad. The priorities related to global trade and investment, which the Indian Presidency is pursuing, will be discussed on March 29th and 30th across four technical closed-door sessions.

 

On March 29th, the deliberations will focus on making trade work for growth and prosperity, and building resilient Global Value Chains (GVCs). The emphasis will be on achieving shared outcomes for making growth inclusive and resilient, increasing the participation of developing countries and the Global South in GVCs, and building resilient GVCs to withstand future shocks.

 

On March 30th, the TIWG priorities on integrating MSMEs in Global Trade, and building efficient logistics for trade will be discussed in the two working sessions. The Indian Presidency aims to carry forward the work done by past G20 Presidencies to better integrate MSMEs into global trade, considering their primacy in sustaining livelihoods in both the developed and developing countries. The G20 delegates will also discuss the ways of developing robust logistics infrastructure that could reduce transaction costs both across borders and in the hinterlands.

 

The aim under India’s G20 Presidency is to build a shared understanding of the challenges being faced in accelerating global trade and investment, and how existing opportunities can be harnessed to formulate human-centric concrete outcomes and deliverables.

Union Minister of State for Commerce & Industry, Ms. Anupriya Patel inaugurated the 23rd edition of INDIASOFT at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi today. She said that by 2047 India would become a developed country with a GDP of USD 32 trillion, which would be a defining moment for India and the global community alike. This scale of growth would be greatly influenced by the strides India is making in the ICT sector, she added.

 

'From now to 2047, we fondly refer to Amrit Kal, a stretch of time  India is going to make big in every discipline... that is our shared vision, collective goal, and a transformative turning point in our glorious history', the Minister said, adding that India would be willing to share the technologies and devices developed, with countries desirous of acquiring them.

 

The Minister emphasized that all countries would have a stake in India’s growth story since the technologies and solutions developed would have universal relevance. In this regard, she appreciated that over 70 new products are going to be launched during the next three days at the INDIASOFT, which have been developed and perfected through the efforts of India’s highly talented pool of R&D professionals. 'This reflects the type of breakthroughs that India has achieved in the digital space and amplifies its resolution to become a developed country by 2047,' she added.

 

The Minister stressed that India’s exports, both merchandise and services, would peak at US$750 billion by 2022-23 as against over US$650 billion in 2021-22.  Services exports’ contribution, particularly that of IT and ITeS, would be substantial in reaching India’s export targets.

 

The Minister also said that by 2027 India would become a US$ 5 trillion economy, becoming the third largest in the world. 'On the 100th year of our independence, we will become a developed country', she pointed out.

 

Over 650 delegates from 80 countries are participating in the three-day event which kicked off today. More than 1500 Indian exhibitors are showcasing their products and solutions at the event, together with other collocated events. Ms. Grisel Eulalia Reyes León, Deputy Minister of Communications, Cuba and Mr. Rivas Stepke Luciano Alejandro, Regional Governor, Araucania, Chile also attended the inaugural along with their delegations.

 

Earlier welcoming the delegates Chairman ESC Sandeep Narula said that by 2030 India’s ICT sector would peak at US$ 1 trillion triggered by the focus the country is giving to R&D, innovation and disruption. He mentioned that India has been making solid forays into exports. 'When we started exporting IT & ITeS in the late ’80s,  it was only US$ 50 million, which has now peaked to  US$ 200 billion. He also said that India has digitized public services by introducing various schemes which enable citizens to access services from the government delivery systems with ease. 'Many countries can emulate India’s successful schemes and we are willing to share our expertise to scale up their digital programs,' he stressed. Mr. Narula said that through the INDIASOFT and the other international exhibitions in which ESC participates regularly, a lot of business opportunities for the Indian ICT sector have been generated. Those efforts, he said, would continue.

Out of all 766 districts across 36 States/ UTs, One District One Product has been approved for 713 districts of 35 States/ UTs under Centrally Sponsored 'Pradhan Mantri Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprises (PMFME) Scheme' implemented by Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI).

 

The State of West Bengal has agreed to participate in the scheme in January 2023. It has been approved by the Ministry on the recommendations of States/ UTs for the districts of West Bengal along with newly formed districts across 7 States/ UTs has not been recommended by the respective States/ UTs.

 

The digital map has been developed by the MoFPI, and 710 districts from 35 States and UTs have been indicated. Along with it, districts covering 216 Integrated Tribal Development Areas, 112 Aspirational districts and 35 districts with more than 40% SC population are indicated in the map.

 

MoFPI has approved 76 Incubation Centres across the country with an outlay of 205.95 crore under PMFME Scheme to provide support to existing / prospective entrepreneurs for capacity building, new / innovative product developments etc. across the value chain.

 

The generation of revenue has not been envisaged under PMFME Scheme.

 

The PMFME Scheme provides financial, technical and business support for setting up / upgradation of micro food processing enterprises in the country which inter-alia creates the scope for employment at local level including opportunities for youth.

The Government, in a statement in Parliament, has said that a total of 1,138 agri startups are being supported by the Ministry of Agriculture, with financial assistance of Rs 70.30 crore wherein financial support of Rs 5.00 lakh is provided at the idea/pre seed stage and Rs 25 lakh at the seed stage.

 

'The technical and financial assistance are provided to startups to launch their products, services, business platforms, etc. into the market and facilitate them to scale up their products and operations to attain business viability,' reads the statement.

 

The statement added that agri-start-ups are at various stages of implementation from idea to scaling and growth stage. These agri-startups are working in different areas of agriculture & allied sectors for improving the farming practices such as precision agriculture, farm mechanisation, agri logistics & supply chain, waste to wealth, organic farming, animal husbandry and dairy & fisheries.

 

These startups are also being helped for their product & technology validation, market linkages, supply chain management, streamlining the distribution and scaling up of the product and operations, etc. with the help of five Knowledge Partners (KPs) and 24 Agribusiness Incubators (R-ABIs) across the country.

Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation releases data on various parameters of manufacturing sector including number of registered units engaged in food processing through the Annual Survey of Industries (ASI). As per the latest available ASI estimates, the number of units engaged in food processing sector increased from 40,579 in 2018-19 to 41,484 in 2019-20.

 

Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), has been mandated for laying down science-based standards for articles of food and to regulate their manufacture, storage, distribution, sale and import and to ensure availability of safe and wholesome food for human consumption.

 

FSSAI has specified the hygiene and quality standards for various food products including packaged food and non-perishable packaged food products produced by all food processing units in the country in their Regulations namely Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Regulations, 2011; Food Safety and Standards (Licensing and Registration of Food Businesses) Regulations, 2011; Food Safety and Standards (Health Supplements, Nutraceuticals, Food for Special Dietary Use, Food for Special Medical Purpose, Functional Food and Novel Food) Regulations, 2016; Food Safety and Standards (Organic Food) Regulations 2017; Food Safety and Standards (Packaging) Regulations 2018.

 

The quality and hygiene standards prescribed in these Regulations are enforced by the Regional Directors of FSSAI along with Food Safety Commissioners of States/UTs. 

 

In cases, where the samples are found to be non-conforming to the laid down provisions of FSS Act 2006, Rules and Regulations made thereunder, penal action is initiated against the defaulting Food Business Operators (FBOs), as per the provisions of FSS Act 2006, Rules and Regulations made thereunder.

 

Under the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for food products being implemented by Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI), since 2021-22, a component, with an outlay of Rs.800 Crore, for Millet Based Products was carved out in the current financial year to encourage the use of Millets in Ready to Cook/Ready to Eat products and to incentivise these products for promoting their value addition and sales. A total of 30 applications (8 large entities and 22 SMEs) were approved under this segment.

 

Under the PLI Scheme component for Millet Based Products, the packaged and branded RTC/RTE food products with more than 15% of millets by weight/volume in product composition, are eligible for claiming the incentives.

Indonesia's food procurement agency (Bulog) will import 2 million tonnes of rice until December this year, a Bulog official said.

 

Awaluddin Iqbal, Bulog's corporate secretary said the first phase will see the import of 500,000 tonnes.

 

The policy is aimed at stabilising rice supplies.

The FSSAI has issued an order regarding clearance of imported consignments of food grains including pulses and edible oil wherein the port authorities were asked to facilitate the clearance of such consignments.  

 

'All authorised officers are directed to facilitate and carry out food import clearance process of all such imported consignments without delay,' reads the order issued by the FSSAI.  

 

The order added that importers shall declare and submit the undertaking /declaration in the form as prescribed to concerned Authorised Officer- AOs wherein the FBOs need to mention their details including bills, addresses of the importers and store/warehouse and so on.

 

AOs were also directed to carry out visual inspection of imported consignments and upon satisfactory visual inspection, they were asked to draw samples and issue Provisional No Objection Certificate (P-NOC) without waiting for the analysis report from the laboratory.  

 

'On receipt of the analysis report from the laboratory, the Authorised Officer shall issue the final No Objection Certificate, if product conforms to the FSSAI standards,' reads the order.  

 

The declaration prescribed by the FSSAI also lays down that no part of the consignment shall be released into the market prior to issuance of no objection certificate.  

 

According to the FSSAI, in view of references received from Department of Consumer Affairs and Ministry of Agriculture regarding Indian pulses production, consumption scenario and import requirements, it was decided that the imported consignment of food grains including pulses and crude oil (edible grade) are to be facilitated to ensure timely processing and clearance.

India's potential economic growth could get a boost if government accelerates implementation of its ambitious reform agenda, World Bank said in a report that also outlined policy prescriptions for banking and infrastructure sectors.

 

'Addressing the aftermath of financial sector distress could unlock significant growth,' the multilateral lender said in its 'Falling long-term growth prospects: trends, expectations, and policies' report released Monday.

 

The report stressed on the need to improve efficiency and depth of banking sector. 'Reforms could be undertaken to further rationalise the role of public sector banks, ensure a level-playing field in banking sector, and promote development of capital markets.'

 

On infrastructure, it suggested implementing reforms proposed by Task Force on National Infrastructure Pipeline, and improving contract enforcement, dispute resolution and financing.

 

'The steepest slowdown in investment growth over two decades to 2021 occurred in India,' the report noted. 'Investment growth in India slowed from an annual average of 10.5% in 2000-10 to 5.7% in 2011-21.'

 

Structural bottlenecks have proved to be barriers to investment, it said.

 

For the South Asian region, it suggested that increasing female labour force participation could increase potential annual GDP growth by 1.2 percentage points between 2022 and 2030.

 

For India, World Bank said, 'restrictive labour laws limit employment opportunities for women and discourage the adoption of new technologies, thereby reducing productivity in manufacturing'. India's female labour force participation increased marginally to 32.8% in 2021-22, government data showed.

 

India's estimates of potential growth since 2010 have been 6-8% a year.

 

GLOBAL GROWTH CONCERNS

 

The World Bank has raised concerns that the maximum rate at which global economy can grow without sparking inflation will slump to a three-decade low by 2030. It expects average potential GDP growth to dip to 2.2% a year between 2022 and 2030, with growth rate in developing countries slowing down to 4% compared to 6% between 2000 and 2010.

 

'A lost decade could be in the making for the global economy,' said Indermit Gill, chief economist at World Bank.

The Department of Consumer Affairs has constituted a Committee under the chairmanship of Additional Secretary, Smt. Nidhi Khare to monitor the stock of Tur held by entities such as importers, millers, stockists, traders etc. in close coordination with the state governments. The decision has come against the backdrop of reports of market players not releasing stocks despite regular arrival of imports in good quantities.

 

The latest announcement of a Committee to monitor stock disclosure indicates the government’s intention to deal with hoarders and unscrupulous speculators in the market. It also indicates the government’s determination to keep prices of Tur under control in months ahead. The government is also closely watching the stock position of other pulses in the domestic market to take necessary preemptive measures in the event of unwarranted price rise in the coming months.

 

It may be recalled that the government had issued an advisory to the States/UTs on 12th August, 2022, to enforce stock disclosure in respect of Tur under the Essential Commodities Act, 1955. Further, in order to facilitate smooth and seamless import, the government has removed the 10 per cent duty applicable for Tur imports from non-LDC countries as the duty creates procedural hurdles even for zero duty imports from the LDCs.

Tamil Nadu, which contributes more than 10 percent to the country’s overall technology sector, is hosting Umagine, Asia’s largest tech summit, with an aim to become India’s tech capital. After taking part in a panel discussion around TN’s potential to act as global collaboration centre for tech and Israel’s interests in India, particularly South India, Consul General of Israel to South India - posted in Bengaluru- Tammy Ben-Haim spoke to THE WEEK on the consulate’s aim to bring Israeli companies to build business collaborations between Israel and Tamil Nadu in the future.

 

What is Israel actually looking for from Umagine? What would be the outcome for Israel through this tech summit?

Israel and our consulates to South India want to do more cooperation and have closer ties and do even more than we're doing today in TN in terms of more research and investment in technology.

 

We already have a very good relationship with the TN government. We are doing this by fostering a very good relationship with the IT department here, with the Guidance bureau in Chennai and with many departments in the government and also with the institutions like Tamil Nadu Agriculture University (TNAU), which is into agriculture research. TNAU does a lot of innovative things in Agriculture and Agri tech. We are also working with IIT (Madras). We are looking to be part of the research park at IIT (Madras) and looking to work in areas of research and innovation in ground water.

 

At Umagine, the largest tech summit in Asia, Israel is looking to collaborate with TN in technology and research. At Umagine, the TN government has managed to get in different stakeholders in the fields of technology and research; government officials; entrepreneurs from inside and outside India; business investors and like minded people.

 

You know, it's a good place for us to be because we get to meet all these stakeholders; we get to meet all the people who are interested in doing something in TN. So the result is to get lots of names and ideas.

 

I just met a PhD research student who wants to figure out how to cooperate with Israeli researchers who are doing maybe the same thing she is doing. Companies who are here can have a discussion with Israeli companies. And then of course the government to government can think of new or more things to do with the TN government. Lastly is just to mention the five companies who came here from Israel looking forward to find actual business dealings that we can do together. Whether it's manufacturing here in Tamil Nadu. We're doing a joint venture with Indian companies. So I hope you know many of these things work out.

 

What are the companies from Israel that have already set up facilities in South India?

 

One I want to say this is not a new thing, but Mobileye which of course does the safety driving is working in India already. It was bought by Intel. You can look at it as an American Israeli Indian cooperation, which is amazing.

 

Another good thing is Ola. It just signed a huge MoU with the TN government and last year they brought another Israeli electric battery storage company. The storage company StoreDots signed a MoU for 80 million dollars. So those are two huge examples of good cooperation.

 

But again, these examples don't always have to be so huge. I think building good success stories, even if they're smaller, is the way to save the road. So to speak for definitely cooperation and smart Mobility, but also in general, technology between Israel and India.

 

You are talking about technology. Israel is technologically advanced and there's a lot of research that has been happening in various sectors in Israel. How do you think, the innovations and research can get into South India.

 

As I said we are looking for academic and academic collaboration. At the research level we're looking to work with entrepreneurs to have them exactly. If you said we have this, you know, we just for a longer period of time so we can share our success stories.

 

We can also share our failures and sometimes may be what not to do. We can do it because we have the know-how and we have the knowledge. We're developing the technology. But I think India is a great partner for Israel because it provides and as I mentioned also in the panel it provides a huge database.

 

There is space for actually trying out our technology in a very small protected area and then when you try to do it on a bigger scale like in India, you might find out that, you need to change this and you need to adapt here and you need to develop. So I think it's a great way to work together with the Indian brain and mind of the researchers and entrepreneurs and the Israeli working together first to develop something and then to see if it actually works in the real world.

 

With regard to research in the agriculture sector, where do you stand in terms of collaboration with South India?

 

We’re doing quite a few things, especially in water and trying to reuse water, clean it up and use it in agriculture. This is because sometimes, when we are using water for agriculture, you don't need to bring it to the level of potable water or household water. So it's an easier process at times.

 

Indian especially in South India areas you need to learn to conserve water. So the more we conserve the more we have in addition. So as I said, we're dealing issues with water trying to reuse it for agriculture and the second level is trying ways of protected agriculture in order to get a higher yield because the less land you use the less water. If you get a higher yield you can still feed all the people that you need to feed. You can still provide sustenance. So those are the three issues we're working on.