The government has set a target to procure 521.27 lakh tonnes of rice being cultivated during the ongoing kharif season. It has procured 496 lakh tonnes of rice from last year's kharif crop.

 

Paddy is grown in both the kharif (summer-sown) and rabi (winter-sown) seasons.

 

Food Secretary Sanjeev Chopra chaired a meeting of State Food Secretaries and Food Corporation of India (FCI) on August 21 to discuss the procurement arrangements for the Kharif crop in the ensuing Kharif Marketing Season (KMS) 2023-24, which runs from October-September.

 

'A quantity of 521.27 lakh tonnes rice has been estimated for procurement during the forthcoming KMS 2023-24 (Kharif crop) as against the previous year estimates of 518 lakh tonnes wherein 496 lakh tonnes was actually procured during KMS 2022-23 (Kharif crop),' the food ministry said in an official statement.

 

During KMS 2023-24 (Kharif crop), rice procurement in Punjab is estimated at 122 lakh tonnes, Chhattisgarh (61 lakh tonnes), Telangana (50 lakh tonnes), Odisha (44.28 lakh tonnes), Uttar Pradesh (44 lakh tonnes), Haryana (40 lakh tonnes), Madhya Pradesh (34 lakh tonnes), Bihar (30 lakh tonnes), Andhra Pradesh (25 lakh tonnes), West Bengal (24 lakh tonnes) and Tamil Nadu (15 lakh tonnes).

 

A quantity of 33.09 lakh tonnes of coarse grains/millets (Shree Anna) has been estimated for procurement by the states during the KMS 2023-24 as against actual procurement of 7.37 LMT during KMS 2022-23 (Kharif & Rabi).

 

Six minor millets have also been introduced to be purchased by the states at MSP of Ragi starting this KMS 2023-24, up to three years.

The Department of Food and Public Distribution, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution organised a one day national seminar on rice fortification.

 

While addressing the seminar, secretary, DFPD, Sanjeev Chopra said, 'We are on track to achieve the target of 100% distribution of fortified rice across all rice consuming districts in the country.'

 

Government of India is committed to ensure the nutritional security of the country through fortified rice distribution across government food safety net schemes. The seminar served as a dynamic platform for multi stakeholder discussions where besides government stakeholders, technical experts from institutions and academia provided meaningful insights on different aspects of the rice fortification programme such as evidence, safety of consumption, operational challenges and quality assurance and quality control.

 

The prevailing challenges and queries of states were addressed by the group of experts and deliberations were made to derive a roadmap to the programme for the coming year.

 

The seminar was divided into four technical sessions, each deliberating on discussions held in prior working group meetings focussing on key aspects of rice fortification. The first of these sessions emphasised on concerns regarding safety of consumption of fortified rice for the general population as well as individuals with Haemoglobinopathies and SCD.

 

Dr Reena Das, Department of Haematology, PGIMER, Chandigarh recommended on behalf of the panel that fortified rice consumption is safe and addressed the prevailing myth regarding toxicity from its consumption.

 

The second session led by D. Prashant T., associate professor at St. Johns Research Institute, Bengaluru aimed at providing evidence-based insights from National and International experiences on rice fortification. He shared numerous studies which pointed out the effectiveness of iron fortification in the reduction of anaemia.

 

In the third technical session, a group of experts from organisations like FSSAI, FCI, BIS, WFP, Microsave and IIT Kharagpur working at the national level as well as at the field, engaged in a discussion to explore strategies to address on-ground operational challenges to streamline the distribution process.

 

Concluding the day's discussions, the last technical session led by Dr Balasubramaniam, joint director, FSSAI focussed on providing insights into the quality aspects and recommended strategies that may be adopted to improve the quality of fortified rice being distributed.

 

The seminar witnessed the launch of a national IEC campaign developed by the Department for awareness generation at the beneficiary level and release of a guidance handbook on rice fortification which will act as a ready reckoner for all guidelines, notifications and orders related to rice fortification.

 

The event brought together technical experts, leaders from government ministries, research institutes and international organisations fostering an enriching dialogue to build a common understanding and leverage universal supply of fortified rice in food safety net schemes.

 

Food Secretaries from States/UTs across the country along with technical experts in the domain and development partners working on-ground participated in the Seminar jointly reflecting upon the challenges and opportunities together for achieving the transformation of food and nutrition security ecosystem in the country.

Bilateral trade between India and Kuwait has touched an all time-high of USD 12.5 billion, Indian ambassador to Kuwait Adarsh Swaika said, according to the Arab News Online.

 

Trade between the two countries have has seen a 90 per cent yearly jump and while currently it is skewed towards hydrocarbon exports from Kuwait and exports of mainly food products from India, bilateral trade has the potential for diversification the envoy said.

 

'There are excellent possibilities in pharmaceuticals and medical devices, automobiles and related spares, electronics goods and components, high-efficiency solar PV modules, textiles and apparel, white goods, ceramics, etc. But the main potential area of cooperation is in the field of investments from Kuwait to India because of the attractive political and financial investment climate that the country provides, the Indian ambassador told Arab News online.

 

'But the main potential area of cooperation is in the field of investments from Kuwait to India because of the attractive political and financial investment climate that the country provides. On May 8, we held a high-visibility investment seminar that presented the New India growth story. We saw much interest from our Kuwaiti partners in investing in India. There are some very positive experiences sharing Kuwaiti investments in India,' he added.

 

Swaika also stated that Kuwait Investment Authority's (KIA) investments in India are extraordinarily significant, and expressed hope for further acquisitions.

 

Swaika in the interview to Chaitali B Roy of the Arab News online published on Wednesday said that regarding food security, tourism, and health cooperation, Swaika said that both countries are working to enhance relations on the basis of all three sectors.

 

The Indian envoy noted that medical and health tourism offers tremendous potential for further growth and that India is exploring whether Indian private hospitals can set up their chains in the Kuwait.

 

Recalling the collaboration on the medical front between the two countries during COVID pandemic when India came forward to help Kuwait, Swaika said, 'What we did together to fight the Covid-19 pandemic in terms of assistance and collaboration was genuinely remarkable. This has set the bar of bilateral cooperation very high. This demonstration of shared solidarity has brought us closer.

 

'We had a significant investment seminar recently in which the representative of the Apollo group participated. He told me of the interest on the Kuwaiti side in such collaboration. The second thing is how Indian medicines can be made available in Kuwait much more cost-effectively. Ironically, Indian medication, many of which are US FDA approved, is not available in Kuwait. The Embassy is working on this. The third issue is of immense opportunities available in India for medical and wellness treatment. This would not only be much more cost-effective but of a world-class standard,' he added.

 

Regarding medical cooperation, the ambassador said that medicine is a promising sector with tremendous potential for further growth. He further added that most of the Kuwaitis go to India for medical treatment.

 

'Today, most Kuwaitis who go for medical treatment abroad generally go at Government cost to Western countries predominantly. At the same time, India is one place that attracts people from all over the world, including the Western world and, more importantly, from its neighbourhood and extended neighbourhood, for medical treatment. This is because it provides quality health care at an affordable cost,' he said.

 

'There are chains of private hospitals specialising in different areas, e.g., Apollo, Narayana Hyudalaya, Medanta, Shankar Netralaya, Fortis, etc. Given our solid historical linkages, geographical proximity, cultural affinity, and people-to-people contacts, India should be the preferred destination for medical treatment for Kuwaitis. The Embassy is working on this with both the Kuwaiti side and the Indian hospital chains,' he added.

 

Talking about India's growing economy, Swaika said that the country is one of the few major economies that has grown over 6 per cent consistently in the last few years and is expected to continue doing so, reported Arab News online.

 

India is the fifth largest economy currently, the third most significant in terms of purchasing power parity and is projected to be a USD 5 trillion economy by 2030. It will remain one of the major growth engines of the world, he added.

Looking to emerge as a counterweight to the West, BRICS announced Thursday that 6 countries - Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and UAE - will join on January 1, 2024, the group of nations that together account for 26 percent of global GDP. While many of these countries have close ties with China, which wanted expansion to be accelerated, all of them except Ethiopia are also India’s strategic partners.

 

Welcoming the development, PM Narendra Modi said that the expansion will consolidate the trust that many countries have in a multipolar world order and also send out a message – important in the context of the delayed UNSC reforms - that all international institutions must adapt to the changing times and circumstances. Modi also expressed satisfaction that BRICS had built a consensus on the criteria, standards, procedures and guiding principles for expansion.

 

India had earlier strongly denied it was blocking the proposal to expand membership saying it only wanted the rules finalised first for admitting new members. According to government sources, India had played the lead role in forging a consensus on the issue at the Johannesburg BRICS summit that ended Thursday.

 

In the joint press conference, where the leaders announced the decision after intense negotiations over 2 days, Modi said India had always and unequivocally supported the expansion of BRICS. South Africa was the last country to join what was then known as BRIC in 2010.

 

``We believe BRICS will become stronger with new members joining it and our shared efforts will also get a boost. This is an initiative that can set an example for the reforms of global institutions which were created in the 20th century, said Modi, as he spoke about how India enjoyed deep and historical ties with each of the 6 nations who will join the group. India’s historical links with Iran are well known but it has also worked in the recent past to cultivate ties with both UAE and Saudi Arabia, with which it has had a strategic partnership since 2010. Bilateral ties with UAE were upgraded to a comprehensive strategic partnership in 2017. India has also had a strategic partnership with Argentina since 2019 and with Egypt since Modi’s visit to Cairo in July.

 

``I’m confident together with these countries we will provide a new momentum and new energy to our cooperation. With support from BRICS, we will also add new dimensions to our bilateral cooperation with these countries,’’ he added.

While the 6 countries whose names were announced will joint as permanent members, more are expected to join later as partner countries. The PM said India will also help build a consensus for allowing membership as a partner country. Twenty-three countries had formally sought membership ahead of the Johannesburg summit.

Wary of China and Russia’s anti-West, particularly anti-US agenda, both India and Brazil didn’t want the expansion process to be rushed through. South Africa, however, announced Wednesday that it finally had a document after the leaders’ negotiations on the criteria and guiding principles for membership. Describing the development as historic, Chinese President Xi Jinping in a swipe at the West said that hegemonism was not in China’s DNA.

The ongoing negotiations between India and the UK on a free trade agreement (FTA) are progressing 'extremely well' and it is expected to conclude at an early date, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Thursday. He said both sides are confident that they will come out with a 'very' balanced, equitable and fair agreement in the interest of businesses and people of both the countries.

 

When asked about the UK's demand on import duty concessions on auto, whiskey and dairy products, he said India and the UK both are pressing hard for their requests and concerns.

 

'There is hardly an issue on which we are not negotiating and I assure you that it will be a strong and hard outcome that will come out of all these negotiations... I believe we have to talk with sincerity, with speed but ensuring balance... and we are both committed to come up with a win-win solution for both countries. I hope it can happen at an early date,' Goyal told reporters here.

 

The UK team is here for the Trade and Investment Ministerial Meeting (TIMM).

 

The 12th round of talks between India and the UK is in progress here.

 

Out of the total 26 chapters in the proposed FTA, 19 have been closed. Investment is being negotiated as a separate agreement (bilateral investment treaty) between India and the UK.

 

The main issues which could come up for discussion in this round include investment treaty, reduction of duties on auto and whiskey, rules of origin, intellectual property rights and matters pertaining to services.

 

Talking about the proposed trade pact with the European Union, the minister said that the negotiations are on but as the EU block has 27 nations, the negotiations would take a little longer.

 

'It's a conglomeration of 27 countries, so certainly it takes a little longer in terms of building and forging consensus amongst all the nations on their side. Similarly, we have to assess various aspects of the trade agreement with the lens of 27 different countries with whom effectively we are entering into an agreement.

 

'So that will be a little bit longer drawn process, but both the EU and India are committed to this agreement,' Goyal added.

 

The minister will also hold bilateral meetings with his UK and EU counterparts in New Delhi to review the progress of the negotiations.

 

When asked whether the ongoing round of talks between India and the UK officials would be the last one, he said, 'We should allow our officials to negotiate for good outcomes. Good outcomes are not possible with limiting the ability to explore new areas and new avenues.'

 

Discussions are also going on between the countries on the bilateral investment treaty. The bilateral trade between the countries increased to USD 20.36 billion in 2022-23 from USD 17.5 billion in 2021-22.

India will supply 14,000 tonnes of non-basmati rice this year to Mauritius and 79,000 tonnes to Bhutan under humanitarian operations, making an exception for two key diplomatic partners.

 

The decision has been taken after India received requests from both the nations to exempt the export prohibition on non-basmati rice, two government officials aware of the matter said.

 

Mint on 20 August reported that after the UN World Food Programme, and three nations—Singapore, Indonesia and the Philippines—had appealed to New Delhi to resume rice exports to their nations following India’s decision to suspend non-basmati white rice shipments to check prices effective from 20 July.

 

Bhutan requested India to allow rice exports after India’s ban on shipments of non-basmati rice caused global rice prices to rise. Bhutan in late July made a diplomatic request for rice shipments of up to 90,000 tonnes.

 

Similarly, a request from the Mauritius to exempt it from the prohibition for a supply of up to 14,000 tonnes was also received earlier this month.

 

'Consignments of 60 containers carrying about 1,500 tonnes of non-basmati rice were due to sail on 19 August from Mundra port (in Gujarat). After the clearance, the containers will reach Mauritius in the first week of September before their rice stocks exhaust on 15 September. A total requirement of 14,000 tonnes of non-basmati rice is to be imported from India this year,' one of the government officials said.

 

Mauritius is a close and trusted foreign partner of India and annually imports around 24,000 tonnes of long grain white rice that is consumed by vulnerable groups.

 

During April-June of the ongoing financial year, India exported 784.14 tonnes of rice to Mauritius as against 843.46 tonnes during the corresponding period last year. In 2022-23 financial year, nearly 10,040 tonnes rice were exported to the nation by India.

 

Queries mailed to the embassies of Mauritius and the Bhutan in New Delhi, and India’s department of food and public distribution remained unanswered at press time.

 

India is the world’s biggest rice exporter, accounting for nearly 45% of the global rice trade. In April-June of the current financial year, the country exported 1.55 million tonnes of non-basmati white rice and 371,000 tonnes of broken rice compared with last year’s 1.15 mt and 141,000 tonnes, respectively.Neighbouring countries, including Bangladesh and Nepal, are heavily dependent on Indian rice, while some African countries are purchasers of broken rice.

 

India’s rice export ban, however, allows for government-to-government deals and for requests made by 'friendly countries' with genuine food-security needs

 

'To ensure adequate availability of non-basmati white rice in the Indian market and to allay the rise in prices in the domestic market, the government of India has amended the export policy from ‘free with export duty of 20%’ to ‘prohibited’,' the government announced in July.'But there is no change in the export policy of non-basmati rice (parboiled rice) and basmati rice, which form the bulk of rice exports. This will ensure that the farmers continue to get the benefit of remunerative prices in the international market,' read a press release by the ministry of consumer affairs, food and public distribution.

The 14th bilateral assembly of the Joint Group of Customs (JGC) involving India and Bangladesh took place in New Delhi on August 21st and 22nd, 2023. The co-chairpersons for the meeting were the Member in charge of Customs from the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs in India, and the Member responsible for Customs: Audit, Modernization, and International Trade from the National Board of Revenue in Bangladesh.

 

This annual rendezvous between India and Bangladesh serves as a platform to delve into matters related to customs collaboration and the facilitation of cross-border trade. A pivotal outcome of these meetings is the bolstering of connectivity and the augmentation of trade infrastructure to ensure seamless customs clearance at terrestrial frontiers. Along the expanse of the India-Bangladesh Border, situated in the regions of West Bengal, Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, and Mizoram, a network of 62 Land Customs Stations, encompassing land border crossing junctures, railway terminals, and riverbanks/ports, orchestrates the movement of goods and people.

 

Notably, India has recently undertaken various strides in facilitating trade, exemplified by measures such as permitting exports from Bangladesh to India via rail in enclosed containers. This initiative incorporates customs clearance capabilities at any Inland Container Depot (ICD), thereby contributing to the alleviation of congestion at border trade nodes. Additional circulars, dated September 9th, 2022, and September 14th, 2022, allow for cargo exports from Indian ICDs to Bangladesh through Inland Waterways and endorse transshipment of containerized export goods from Bangladesh, meant for third countries, through Indian routes. The circular of February 7th, 2023, extends the privilege of transshipping Bangladesh’s export cargo to third countries through Delhi Air Cargo.

 

Engaging in the discourse of the 14th JGC meeting were an array of bilateral matters, encompassing topics like inaugurating new land customs stations, ameliorating port restrictions, enhancing road and rail infrastructures, initiating the exchange of customs data prior to the arrival of shipments, and formalizing a mutual accord on customs cooperation. An expression of gratitude flowed from India to Bangladesh for their successful trial runs and subsequent notification to operationalize the Agreement on Use of Chattogram and Mongla Ports (ACMP), as decided during the 13th JGC meeting. Furthermore, discussions were ignited concerning the electronic interconnection of the respective transit modules of ACMP.

 

With shared commitment, the bilateral meeting culminated on a successful note, with both sides pledging to advance their collaboration in domains of mutual interest.

Nepal has started to face an acute shortage of onions, days after neighbouring India slapped a 40 per cent export tax on the vegetable, a media report said on Wednesday.

 

India last week imposed a 40 per cent tariff on the export of onions till December 31 to restrict overseas sales. The move comes amid anticipation of a price rise ahead of the festival season when demand for most commodities goes up, The Kathmandu Post newspaper reported.

 

The new tariff has severely affected Nepal as several traders in Kalimati Fruit and Vegetable Market -- the Himalayan nation's largest wholesale market for agricultural products-- reported a sudden scarcity of onions.

 

'There is a severe scarcity of onions in the Nepalese markets now. No onion shipments have been delivered since Sunday, and the remaining stocks were sold out by Monday,' Binay Shrestha, Information Officer for the country's largest produce bazaar, was quoted as saying in the report.

 

Shrestha said that onions cost Rs 54 per kg two weeks ago but now the retail price of onion has crossed Rs 100 per kg in Kathmandu Valley.

 

As Nepal imports almost all its onion requirements from India, the export duty has created shortages in the domestic market.

 

Traders said that the scarcity coincides with the start of Nepal’s festive season when onion consumption explodes.

 

The festival season is marked by endless feasting, and the spicy bulb is indispensable to local cooking.

 

'The price may rise further. We cannot say how much,' said Shrestha.

 

'There were no deliveries during the weekend, which is Saturday and Sunday in India. New shipments will arrive with 40 per cent tax added to the cost,' he said.

 

Mohan Baniya, president of the Potato-Onion Import-Export and Wholesaler Association, said that after the new Indian tax went into effect, the wholesale price of onion soared to Rs 78 per kg at the Kalimati market on Monday.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi met South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa on the sidelines of the 15th Brics Summit in Johannesburg on Wednesday and discussed ways to strengthen bilateral cooperation in defence, agriculture, trade and health, among other areas.

 

Both leaders reviewed the progress made in bilateral relations and expressed satisfaction at the progress achieved in various fields, including defence, agriculture, trade and investment, health, conservation and people-to-people ties, according to an external affairs ministry readout.

 

Both sides also exchanged views on continued coordination in multilateral bodies and regional and multilateral issues.

 

Ramaphosa expressed support for India's G20 presidency and appreciated New Delhi's initiative to give the African Union full membership of the G20. He conveyed that he looked forward to visiting New Delhi for the G20 Summit.

 

Modi congratulated Ramaphosa on the successful hosting of the Brics Summit and accepted Ramaphosa's invitation for a state visit to South Africa.

 

During the Brics Plenary session, Ramaphosa said he wanted to congratulate India for the Chandrayaan-3 mission. 'I would like to congratulate India, particularly as you speak about the need for cooperation in space, in a few hours India's spacecraft Chandrayaan-3 will be landing on the moon. We congratulate you. This for us, as the Brics family, is a momentous occasion and we rejoice with you. We join you in the joy of this great achievement...'

 

Ramaphosa said he was 'willing to donate more cheetahs to India'. 'Should you need more cheetahs, you have come to the home of cheetahs,' he told Modi. Earlier this year, 12 cheetahs were translocated from South Africa to India under an agreement signed between the two nations.

The government has set a target to procure 521.27 lakh tonnes of rice being cultivated during the ongoing kharif season. It has procured 496 lakh tonnes of rice from last year's kharif crop.

 

Paddy is grown in both the kharif (summer-sown) and rabi (winter-sown) seasons.

 

Food Secretary Sanjeev Chopra chaired a meeting of State Food Secretaries and Food Corporation of India (FCI) on August 21 to discuss the procurement arrangements for the Kharif crop in the ensuing Kharif Marketing Season (KMS) 2023-24, which runs from October-September.

 

'A quantity of 521.27 lakh tonnes rice has been estimated for procurement during the forthcoming KMS 2023-24 (Kharif crop) as against the previous year estimates of 518 lakh tonnes wherein 496 lakh tonnes was actually procured during KMS 2022-23 (Kharif crop),' the food ministry said in an official statement.

 

During KMS 2023-24 (Kharif crop), rice procurement in Punjab is estimated at 122 lakh tonnes, Chhattisgarh (61 lakh tonnes), Telangana (50 lakh tonnes), Odisha (44.28 lakh tonnes), Uttar Pradesh (44 lakh tonnes), Haryana (40 lakh tonnes), Madhya Pradesh (34 lakh tonnes), Bihar (30 lakh tonnes), Andhra Pradesh (25 lakh tonnes), West Bengal (24 lakh tonnes) and Tamil Nadu (15 lakh tonnes).

 

A quantity of 33.09 lakh tonnes of coarse grains/millets (Shree Anna) has been estimated for procurement by the states during the KMS 2023-24 as against actual procurement of 7.37 LMT during KMS 2022-23 (Kharif & Rabi).

 

Six minor millets have also been introduced to be purchased by the states at MSP of Ragi starting this KMS 2023-24, up to three years.