Negotiators from India and the UK returned to the negotiating table this week trying to work out compromises on difficult issues, including rules of origin, market access for vehicles (including EVs) and Scotch, easier work visas and liberalisation of financial services, but some areas remain tough to crack, sources said.

 

'Negotiators from both countries tried their best this week to look for breakthroughs in tough areas. Undeterred by the passing of two Diwalis without a pact in place, the two sides focussed on speeding up talks. There is concern that once attention shifts to the general elections in India in early 2024, things may get indefinitely deferred,' sources said.

 

Last year, former Prime Minister of UK Boris Johnson had set a Diwali deadline for conclusion of the India-UK FTA talks but it could not be met. Due to continuing differences in a handful of areas, efforts made by the Rishi Sunak-led government to complete the negotiations by October-end also did not materialise.

 

'In the 14th negotiating round in New Delhi this week, differences were narrowed in some areas. This has to be built upon in subsequent meetings,' the source said.

 

Major differences that have held back the proposed India-UK FTA so far include provisions under rules of origin  (ROO) that prescribe the minimum processing which needs to happen in a FTA partner country for a good to qualify for duty cuts. The UK is not happy with the 'strict' ROO proposed by India as many of its companies, especially in the area of automobiles, that source a lot of raw materials from the EU, may not be eligible for tax cuts. 'India is careful about ROO as it does not want its domestic market to be flooded with goods from third countries at preferential duties agreed to under the FTA,' the source said.

 

IP rights

In the area of Intellectual Property Rights, the UK wants India to agree to measures going beyond the WTO’s TRIPS Agreement, but New Delhi wants to protect its generic producers and is wary of any commitment that could result in extension of patents beyond their regular periods, the source added.

 

To further interest of its workers, India has been insisting on liberal visa rules for IT and health professionals and a social security agreement that would protect contributions of short-term workers, but the UK is not 'very enthusiastic' about it.

 

The UK, on the other hand, wants more access for its financial services industry, including banks and insurance, that India is not very confident about extending because of the need to protect domestic players.

Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma, on December 4, announced that Meghalaya has successfully secured the Geographical Indication (GI) tag for the renowned Lakadong turmeric.

 

Sangma emphasised the government’s commitment to obtaining GI tags for all indigenous fruits exclusive to Meghalaya. He revealed that the initiative to secure the GI tag for Lakadong turmeric commenced four years ago, and the persistent efforts of the government have now come to fruition.

 

Sangma explained, 'The GI tag bestows uniqueness upon Lakadong turmeric, signifying its specificity to our region. This recognition enhances the product’s value, facilitating the state in promoting and marketing it on a global scale.'

The newly set up cooperative export body NCEL has got permission to export 14,92,800 tonnes of non-Basmati rice to 16 countries and 50,000 tonnes of sugar to two countries, Cooperation Minister Amit Shah said on Wednesday in the Rajya Sabha. The National Cooperative Exports Ltd (NCEL) was registered in January this year under the Multi-State Co-operative Societies Act, 2002.

 

It covers agriculture and allied activities as well as handloom and handicraft items by enrolling a large number of co-operatives under its fold with a target to double its revenue by 2025 from the current level of about Rs 2,160 crore.

 

Shah, in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha, said NCEL has so far received 2,581 applications for membership under different classes from 22 states and Union Territories.

 

'NCEL has so far got permission for exports of 14,92,800 tonne non-Basmati white rice to 16 countries and 50,000 tonne sugar to two countries,' Shah said.

 

NCEL will provide a complete ecosystem for promotion of exports mainly of agricultural commodities for the benefits of our farmers, in which India has a comparative advantage, he said.

 

All cooperative societies, from the level of primary to apex, who are interested in exports, are eligible to become its members, he added.

 

The minister further said NCEL will focus on exporting the surpluses available in the Indian cooperative sector by accessing wider markets beyond the geographical contours of the country, thereby, increasing the demand of Indian cooperative products/services across the globe and fetch best possible prices for such products/services.

 

It will promote exports through various activities including procurement, storage, processing, marketing, branding, labelling, packaging, certification, research and development, etc. and trading of all types of goods and services produced by cooperative societies, he said. This society will also help cooperatives in getting benefits of various export related schemes and policies of different ministries in a focussed manner, he added.

 

India Tuesday announced a $250 million line of credit to Kenya for modernisation of its agricultural sector as Prime Minister Narendra Modi and visiting Kenyan President William Samoei Ruto agreed to strengthen bilateral ties in the field of defence, trade, energy, digital public infrastructure and healthcare.

 

After Modi-Ruto talks, the two sides signed five pacts providing for cooperation in a range of areas including sports, education and digital solution, and unveiled a joint vision document to scale up maritime engagement in the Indian Ocean region.

 

India also raised the issue of two Indian nationals who went missing in the east African country in July last year.

 

The missing Indians were identified as Zulfiqar Ahmad Khan and Zaid Sami Kidwai. There were reports that they were abducted. Reports in October last year had cited a close aide of the Kenyan president claiming that the two missing Indians were killed by the disbanded Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) unit.

 

After the talks, Modi said India has been a 'reliable and committed' development partner for Kenya and that New Delhi is fully prepared to share its achievements in digital public infrastructure with the east African nation.

 

'As two agrarian economies, we agreed to share our experiences. We have also decided to provide a line of credit (LoC) of $250 million to modernise Kenya’s agricultural sector,' PM Modi said.

 

Dammu Ravi, secretary (economic relations) in the Ministry of External Affairs, said the Kenyan side offered land for farming to Indian companies under a cooperative model besides showing interest in India’s payment system, UPI (Unified Payments Interface).

 

Modi said India and Kenya are 'unanimous' that terrorism is the most serious challenge facing humanity and both sides have decided to increase counter-terror cooperation.

 

'Africa has always been given a high priority position in India’s foreign policy. Over the last decade or so, we have increased our cooperation with Africa in a mission mode,' Modi said.

 

The prime minister said both sides also deliberated on defence cooperation and emphasised on military exercises, capacity building as well as linking the defence industries of both the countries.

 

He said close cooperation between Kenya and India will strengthen 'all our efforts in the Indo-Pacific'.

 

Approximately 80,000 people of Indian origin in Kenya, who consider that country as their second home, are the 'biggest strength' of the ties, Modi said.

 

In the talks, Ruto invited Indian companies to take advantage of the conducive and attractive environment to invest in Kenya, especially in agriculture, manufacturing, pharmaceutical, health, green energy and green mobility sectors.

 

The joint statement said the Kenyan side thanked India for extending concessional Lines of Credit (LOC) for projects in sectors such as energy and textiles and small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs).

 

On defence cooperation, the joint statement said the two leaders also noted with appreciation the recently concluded MoU between Goa Shipyard Ltd and Kenya Shipyard Ltd that will pave the way for mutually beneficial commercial ventures and also support Kenyan interest in developing shipbuilding, repair, and maintenance capacities.

Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Shri Narendra Singh Tomar met Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Business and International Cooperation of Suriname Mr Albert R. Ramdin today at New Delhi. At the outset, the Minister of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare extended a warm welcome to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Business and International Cooperation and the accompanying delegation.

 

Union Minister Shri Tomar shared his happiness that the meeting of the Joint Working Group on Agriculture and allied sectors was held on 15thNovember 2023. He also said that it is encouraging to see that we are moving ahead with the implementation of the work plan for the period of 2023-2027.Shri Tomar said that efforts like the Deccan High-Level Principles for Food Security and Nutrition, and the Millets and other Ancient Grains International Research Initiative (MAHARISHI) launched during India’s G20 Presidency, will play a significant role in addressing challenges related to food insecurity, hunger, and malnutrition. The minister invited Suriname to be a part of the MAHARISHI whose secretariat is based in the Indian Institute of Millets Research, Hyderabad. India and Suriname can work together to bring millet (Shree anna) to the plates around the world.

 

Shri Narendra Singh Tomar said that the India-Suriname bilateral relations are based on shared aspirations for development and we have MOU and frequent high-level interactions. He appreciated Suriname’s efforts in the areas of millet cultivation and Ayurveda. He concluded that India is doing well in the area of agricultural technology such as drones and agri-stack and we will be happy to share our expertise with Suriname. He also thanked the visiting Minister for extending invitation to visit Suriname.

 

Mr Albert R. Ramdin shared that this meeting paves the way to further strengthen bilateral ties between both the countries. He stressed that the twin issues of food and energy security will emerge as major concern in the near future and both countries have ample scope to collaborate in these areas. He also stated that Suriname has launched a project for cultivation of millets and expressed interest to be part of MAHARISHI initiative. Mr Albert R. Ramdin also highlighted that India and Suriname can focus on the areas of training and study visits, technical assistance, knowledge sharing in areas related to climate change, germplasm exchange and food processing. Suriname is also setting up an Ayurveda health centre and look forward to India’s cooperation in growing medicinal plants.

India's exports to Oman could soon get duty concessions with the two sides having begun talks for a free trade agreement.

 

Mineral fuels, inorganic chemicals, compounds of precious metals and iron and steel are India's top exports to Oman while oil, fertilisers and plastics are the top imports.

 

Officials said that the negotiations will be fast tracked and the pact could be on similar lines as the one with the UAE. India's exports to Oman in April-September FY24 were $2 billion and imports were $2.1 billion.

 

'Discussions have started and the agreement would be a comprehensive one,' said an official. The government has identified petroleum products, gems and jewellery, engineering products, pharmaceuticals, cement and ceramic products, ready made textiles, and footwear as some goods with scope for more trade with Oman.

 

India could also push for fast tracking the approval for Indian pharma products that are already registered by the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA), UK drug regulator MHRA and European Medicines Agency, similar to a provision in its trade pact with the UAE. Both Oman and the UAE are part of the Gulf Cooperation Council with which India aims to ink a trade pact. Besides duty concessions, the commerce and industry ministry is also analysing non-tariff barriers and product-specific rules as part of the India-Oman Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) negotiations.

 

CM Bhupendra Patel presided over ‘Export Accelerate’, a pre-VGGS event held in Ahmedabad on Tuesday. At the event, Patel said that PM Narendra Modi’s ‘Vocal for Local’ call is now evolving into ‘Local Goes Global’. Industries minister Balvantsinh Rajput said that exports from Gujarat have increased 24-fold in the past two decades. A number of businessmen and industries engaged in export of products participated in the event.

 

At COP28, India needs to flag misconception that exports, imports add to global carbon emissions: GTRI

GTRI think tank urges India to raise the misconception that trade significantly contributes to global emissions at COP28 in Dubai. While trade-related activities account for only 3% of global greenhouse gas emissions, transportation and production of goods are often mistakenly attributed to the trade process, inflating its perceived environmental impact. GTRI also suggests that the WTO focuses on regulating trade rather than overreaching into areas better managed by specialized agencies, such as the IMO's efforts in decarbonizing global shipping. Additionally, India should highlight potential conflicts between the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) and the Paris Agreement's emission reduction goals.

Mahindra sales up 32 percent in Nov '23 at 39,981 units, exports fall significantly

Mahindra's sales figures for November 2023 reveal a healthy demand during the festive season, with a total of 70,576 units sold, marking a 21 percent growth compared to the same period last year. In the domestic market, sales in the passenger vehicle segment reached 39,981 units, a 32 percent increase from November 2022. The commercial vehicle segment recorded 22,211 units. Exports, however, declined by 42 percent, with only 1,816 units shipped. In the farm equipment segment, sales rose by 6 percent to 31,069 units domestically, while exports dropped by 25 percent to 1,005 units.

The United Nation’s General Assembly (UNGA) declared 2023 as International Year of Millets. The total production of Millets (Shree Anna) in the country during 2022-23 is 17.32 million tonnes. The State/UT wise production of Millets (Shree Anna) during 2022-23 is given at Annexure-I.

 

The Government of India is implementing a multi stakeholder approach towards celebration of International Year of Millets (IYM) 2023 to achieve the objectives of IYM 2023 and promote Millets (Shree Anna). In order to increase production and productivity of Millets (Shree Anna), the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare (DA&FW) is implementing a Sub-Mission on Nutri-Cereals under National Food Security Mission (NFSM) in all districts of 28 States & 2 Union Territories viz. Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh. Under NFSM–Nutri Cereals, the incentives are provided to the farmers, through the States/UTs, on crop production and protection technologies, cropping system based demonstrations, production & distribution of certified seeds of newly released varieties/hybrids, Integrated Nutrient and Pest Management techniques, improved farm implements/tools/resource conservation machineries, water saving devices, capacity building of farmers through trainings during cropping season, organizing events/workshops, distribution of seed minikits, publicity through print and electronic media etc. To make India a global hub for 'Shree Anna', the Indian Institute of Millets Research (IIMR), Hyderabad has been declared as the Centre of Excellence for sharing best practices, research and technologies at the national and international level.

 

The State/UT wise allocation, release and expenditure of funds (Central Share) under NFSM-Nutri Cereals during 2022-23 is given at Annexure-II.

 

This information was given by the Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, Shri Narendra Singh Tomar in a written reply in Lok Sabha today.

National Agricultural Research System (NARS) under the aegis of Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has developed the region specific, high yielding and climate resilient varieties of different crops including pulses. Since 2014, total of 369 varieties of 14 pulse crops have been released and notified in the country including 24 varieties of seven pulse crops viz., chickpea (6), fieldpea (6), pigeon pea (5), fababean (3), mungbean (2), urdbean (1) and lentil (1) for Bihar upto September, 2023.

 

Number of steps has been taken to make seeds of new improved varieties available to farmers for cultivation at the earliest which include:

 

(i) Production and supply of breeder seed of improved varieties seed. During past five years, 15.60 lakh q breeder seed of pulses was produced and supplied by ICAR to different public and private sector seed production agencies for downstream multiplication of foundation and certified seed.

 

(ii) Established of 150 Pulses Seed hubs and 12 centres for enhancing breeder seed production in 2016 which have produced and supplied 7.09 lakhs quality seed and 21713 q breeder seed during 2016-17 to 2022-23.

 

(iii) Total 1587.74 lakh q quality seed was produced involving 6.39 lakh villages

 

(iv) training of 98.07 lakhs farmers during 2014-23 under seed village scheme for making quality seed available at village level.

 

(v) Distribution of seeds of new high yielding varieties through 6000 Front Line Demonstrations and 151873 Cluster Front Line Demonstrations of pulses during 2018-19 to 2022-23.

 

This information was given by the Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, Shri Narendra Singh Tomar in a written reply in Lok Sabha today.

The government is set to import 400,000 tonnes of tur dal (pigeon pea) in January and 1 million tonnes of urad dal (black gram) in February from Myanmar to keep a lid on rising prices of these pulses in the domestic market, a senior official told ET.

 

India is importing tur at a time when harvesting is still under way, as it anticipates lower production compared with last year on account of a fall in acreage.

 

In January this year, the government imposed a stock limit on tur and urad to prevent hoarding and unscrupulous speculation, and help improve affordability for consumers. While the restriction was to end on October 30, the government extended it till December-end.

 

On Tuesday, the all India retail price of urad was Rs 11,198.09 a quintal against last year’s Rs 9,627.48, according to government data.

 

Retail inflation in pulses accelerated to 18.79% in October, mainly due to a sharp spike in the prices of tur (40.94%), gram (11.16%), and moong (12.75%). The rate of inflation in tur was higher than 37.3% in September. This is despite the government’s effort to increase imports from Africa and Myanmar by scrapping the import duty on tur in March.

 

Making matters worse, the acreage under tur shrank during the kharif season, leading to production shortage which in turn pushed food inflation in the last few months. The area under tur dropped from 4.61 million hectares on September 29, 2022, to 4.39 million hectares on September 29, 2023, show government data.

 

According to the first advance estimates of the Ministry of Agriculture for the kharif crops of 2023-24, production of tur is estimated at 3.42 million tonnes, which is almost similar to last year’s production. The area under urad is estimated at 3.07 million hectares, compared with about 3.10 million hectares last year.

 

'The total annual requirement of tur dal in India is 45 lakh (4.5 million) metric tonnes as it is consumed in most parts of India,' said Bimal Kothari, chairman of the India Pulses & Grains Association.

 

Experts indicate that with tur prices still nearly 40% higher in November, pulses inflation may accelerate further. Tur has a 0.8% weight in the retail basket.

 

At the wholesale level, tur dal is hovering at Rs 87-90 per kg. 'Post imports, it is expected that there will be no sudden surge in prices. The consignments for tur will land in India from Myanmar in January,' added Kothari.

 

According to the Bank of Baroda’s 2023-2024 kharif crop projection report, urad dal production will be down to 1.5-1.6 million tonnes as compared to 1.77 million tonnes in kharif of 2022-2023.