Four months after the Geographical Indications Registry notified Geographical Indication (GI) tag for Authoor betel leaves, the registry recently issued the GI certificate to the Thoothukudi district administration. The tag was facilitated by the Tamil Nadu State Agriculture Marketing Board and NABAD Madurai Agribusiness Incubation Forum, and registered in the name of Authoor Vattara Vetrilai Vivasayigal Sangam.

 

The betel leaves, locally known as Vettrilai, are nurtured by Thamirabrani river water. The leaves also find a mention in the 13th-Century book 'The Travels of MARCO POLO (The Venetian)'. Moreover, Several ancient stone inscriptions reveal the archaic richness and significance of the Authoor vettrilai in Tamil culture.

 

Speaking to TNIE, Collector Dr KSenthil Raj said the certificate will be served to the Authoor Vattara Vetrilai Viyabaraigal Sangam. 'This is a matter of pride for Thoothukudi district. The district administration will begin the GI-tag process to tap the marketing potential of Authoor betel leaves across the country and in the international market. We are also awaiting the GI tag recognition for Kayathar lemon, Srivaikuntam banana, and Udangudi Karupatti,' he said.

In an effort to promote and facilitate exports from District Ganderbal, an Export Awareness Workshop cum E-commerce Onboarding event was organised by Jammu and Kashmir Trade Promotion Organisation (JKTPO) under the aegis of Industries & Commerce Department.

The event was organized as per the directions of Vikramjit Singh Commissioner Secretary Industries & Commerce and under the guidance of Khalid Jahangir, Managing Director, JKTPO in collaboration with District Administration Ganderbal.

This event brings together esteemed speakers and industry experts from Government of India and other renowned organizations, such as DGFT, APEDA, MYSTORE, ONDC, Walmart vriddhi, and FIEO.

The workshop aims to provide valuable insights and practical knowledge to local businesses looking to expand their operations in the global market.

The Export Awareness Workshop cum E-commerce Onboarding event serves as a platform for entrepreneurs, exporters, and aspiring businesses to learn about the intricacies of export procedures, e-commerce strategies, and international trade best practices. During this opportunity, participants interacted with experts and gained a comprehensive understanding of the export landscape, along with insights into leveraging e-commerce platforms for enhanced global reach.

The forum was addressed by A.K Bhushan, Dy Director from DGFT who informed participants about Government policies, export regulations, step by step procedure of generating Import/Export code and other available incentives which provided attendees with crucial information to navigate the complex export ecosystem.

Davinder Kumar Tyagi, Asst. Director MSME, J&K conveyed participants about various schemes/incentives/benefits offered by Ministry of MSME, Government of India and special focus was laid on the schemes endorsing exports among MSME sector.

Dr. Kausar Fatima BDM,APEDA discussed the potential of agricultural exports, market trends, and the necessary certifications and standards required for exporting high-quality agricultural products.

Prabakar, Category Lead ONDC, a pioneering initiative in the digital trade ecosystem, showcased the opportunities and advantages offered by their platform, facilitating seamless end-to-end integration for businesses in the ecommerce sector.

Federation of Indian Export Organizations (FIEO) - FIEO, a leading trade promotion organization, offered their expertise in market research, export documentation, and building strategic partnerships, empowering participants with comprehensive export knowledge.

The event feature keynote speeches, panel discussions, interactive sessions, and networking opportunities, allowing participants to learn from the experiences of industry leaders and connect with potential collaborators. Additionally, attendees received resource materials, tools, and guidance to kickstart their export journey or enhance their existing export capabilities. The event concluded with on-spot registration for IE code, e-comm onboarding and question & answer session.

The workshop witnessed participation of more than 110 local artisans, weavers, farmers and entrepreneurs. JKTPO shall continue such export awareness workshop and e-comm onboarding drives to provide first-hand knowledge and information about exports ecosystem, and provide access to a vast digital marketplace and enable local entrepreneurs to showcase and sell their products nationwide.

The Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare (MoA&FW), Government of India, in association with Small Farmers Agribusiness Consortium (SFAC), organised a one-day National Workshop on Formation and Promotion of Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs), here today. In his Presiding address, Secretary, Sh. Manoj Ahuja spoke of the important role played by the leadership and clear vision in establishing and achieving the aspiration of supporting marginal farmers and development of the entire value chain should be the goal of FPO rather than just production.

 

In his address, Sh. Kidwai stressed on the need for monitoring by IAs of CBBOs, sensitisation of government functionaries; facilitation by Govt agencies in getting licensesand bank finance for FPOs.

 

The technical sessions of the workshop were flagged off by AS and MD (SFAC) wherein the status of the scheme and the roadmap for major indicators were shared. The technical sessions were on the following themes:

 

Mrs B Sivarani of Salem Veerapandi Vattara Kalanjiam and Ashish Naphade of Krushi Vikas VaGramin Prashikshan Sanstha shared the experiences of successfully mobilising farmers, which could be replicated by other CBBOs.

To enable market linkages, presentation on ONDC was also made and successful integration of more than 900 FPOs were presented. Signcatch presented the B2B linkages for FPOs which could be replicated by other FPOs. Aland Bhootai Millets Farmers Producer Company, ORMAS and KoriyaAgro Producer Company also described successful market linkages of FPOs

Satmile Satish Club O Pathagar and DVARA E-Registry shared some innovative instances of local value addition by FPOs.

Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation (TRIFED) presented their schemes and experience of promoting tribal FPOs and carrying out market linkage

NABSANRAKSHAN, the subsidiary of NABARD, presented details of credit guarantee scheme and some successful examples of FPOs availing guarantee under the scheme

 

The National Workshop was presided over by Secretary (Agriculture), GoI, Sh. Manoj Ahuja. The Additional Secretary, MoA&FW, Sh. Faiz Ahmed Kidwai and Additional Secretary and Managing Director, SFAC, Dr Maninder Kaur Dwivedi addressed the participants.Over 100 participants, including Secretaries, Commissioners and Directors (Agriculture) from 17 states and UTs; and 15 Project Implementing Agencies (agencies of the Central and State Governments) of the Scheme were present in the workshop.

 

The workshop ended with an open session, where key operational aspects of the scheme were discussed. As a part of the discussion, the participants appreciated the initiative of sharing information and examples to ensure cross learning across all the entities.

 

The National Workshop was organised under the Central Sector Scheme for Formation and Promotion of Farmer Producer Organisations. This Central Sector Scheme with an outlay of Rs 6,865 crore, was started in 2020 by Hon’ble Prime Minister of India to substantially increase farmer incomes.The scheme is designed to primarily benefit the small & marginal farmers who constitute more than 86% of the famer base.The scheme focuses on forming farmer collectives (FPOs) to facilitate economies of scale and scope for the small & marginal farmers across the value chain thereby reducing the cost of production and increasing their revenue. Further, the scheme envisages providing credit guarantee for loans taken by FPOs for various business activities. A total of 6,319 FPOs have already been registered under the scheme till date.

The Agriculture Ministry on Wednesday asked banks to promote Rs 1 lakh crore Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF) for creation of necessary infrastructure in the farm sector. The AIF is a financing facility launched on July 8, 2020 for creation of post-harvest management infrastructure and community farm assets. Under this scheme, Rs 1 lakh crore is to be disbursed by financial year 2025-26 and the interest subvention and credit guarantee assistance will be given till the year 2032-33.

 

According to an official statement, Agriculture Secretary Manoj Ahuja on Wednesday launched a new campaign for banks under Agri Infra Fund titled BHARAT (Banks Heralding Accelerated Rural & Agriculture Transformation).

 

'This one month-long campaign (from July 15 to August 15) with a target of Rs 7,200 crore was launched through video conference attended by more than 100 banking executives that included MDs/Chairman, EDs of commercial banks in public and private sector, Regional Rural Banks, Small Finance Banks, NBFCs and select cooperative banks,' the statement said.

 

The secretary asked all the banks to achieve targets considering the vast potential for agri infra projects in our country.

 

The banks were also advised to carry out an assessment of impact of the projects created under the scheme at the ground level.

 

Samuel Praveen Kumar, Joint Secretary (AIF), highlighted the progress made since the inception of this ambitious flagship scheme.

 

In his welcome address, he complimented the banks for their active involvement and support to promote this scheme which has resulted in creation of more than 31, 850 agri infra projects in the country with Rs 24,750 crore as loan amount under AIF with an outlay of Rs 42,000 crore.

 

India and the Gulf Cooperation Council have resumed talks for concluding a free trade agreement which is expected to bring new business opportunities for both sides, a top Indian official said on Wednesday as he expressed hope that the deal would soon become a reality.

 

Secretary (Consular, Passport & Visa and Overseas Indian Affairs) in the Ministry of External Affairs Ausaf Sayeed also shared that India is in discussion with its bilateral partners with regard to alternate payment mechanisms like rupee trading and barter trading 'especially under the new circumstances where most countries are facing challenges of foreign currency'.

 

GCC is a union of six countries in the Gulf region -- Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain.

 

The Arab region is the largest trading partner bloc of India with a trade exceeding USD 240 billion during financial year 2022-23. Of this, trade with GCC countries alone amounted to over USD 184 billion. The UAE remained India's third largest trading partner and Saudi Arabia the fourth largest trading partner during the last financial year.

 

There are several focus areas which have been identified between India and the Arab world, which include food security, supply chains, healthcare and pharma, energy security, renewable energy including green hydrogen, chips and semiconductors and technology including fintech and edtech.

 

Sayeed highlighted that there exists a huge potential in the industries of tourism, entertainment and culture, where most of the governments are very keen to forge greater partnerships in these areas with India.

 

India has a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with the UAE, which came into effect on May 1, 2022. The agreement provides preferential market access to over 97 per cent of tariff lines.

 

'Separately, India and GCC have resumed discussions on concluding the Free Trade Agreement. We have exchanged preliminary documents and the delegations have been meeting so we do hope that this would also become a reality very soon bringing in newer opportunities to business persons on both sides,' the secretary said.

 

He also touched upon the subject of looking at alternate forms of trading and moving away from one particular currency, as mentioned by another speaker at the India-Arab Partnership Conference organised by Ficci, where he was addressing.

 

'We are in discussions with our bilateral partners. Talks about rupee trading, barter trading and many other things especially under the new circumstances where most countries are facing challenges of foreign currency,' Sayeed said.

 

India and the GCC agreed to resume negotiations for a free trade agreement in November last year.

 

Two rounds of FTA negotiations were held earlier in 2006 and 2008 between India and GCC. The third round did not happen as GCC deferred its negotiations with all countries and economic groups.

 

India imports predominately crude oil and natural gas from the Gulf nations like Saudi Arabia and Qatar, and exports pearls, precious and semi-precious stones; metals; imitation jewellery; electrical machinery; iron and steel; and chemicals to these countries.

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi will pay an Official Visit to France and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from 13-15 July 2023.

 

Prime Minister will visit Paris from 13-14 July 2023 at the invitation of H.E. Mr. Emmanuel Macron, President of France. Prime Minister will be the Guest of Honour at the Bastille Day Parade on 14 July 2023, where a tri-services Indian armed forces contingent would be participating.

 

Prime Minister will hold formal talks with President Macron. President Macron will host a State Banquet as well as a private dinner in honour of the Prime Minister.

 

Prime Minister is also scheduled to meet the Prime Minister of France as well as the Presidents of the Senate and the National Assembly of France. He will separately interact with the Indian diaspora in France, CEOs of Indian and French companies, and prominent French personalities.

 

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the India – France Strategic Partnership, and Prime Minister’s visit will provide an opportunity to chart the course of the partnership for the future across diverse sectors such as strategic, cultural, scientific, academic and economic cooperation.

 

Prime Minister will, thereafter, visit Abu Dhabi on July 15. Prime Minister will hold talks with H.H. Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of UAE and Ruler of Abu Dhabi. The India-UAE Comprehensive Strategic Partnership has been steadily strengthening and Prime Minister’s visit will be an opportunity to identify ways to take this forward in various domains such as energy, education, healthcare, food security, fintech, defence and culture. It will also be an opportunity to discuss cooperation on global issues, particularly in the context of UAE’s Presidency of COP-28 of the UNFCCC and India’s G-20 Presidency in which UAE is a Special Invitee.

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal holds talks with Secretary of State for Trade of the United Kingdom, discusses Free Trade Agreement and trade relations.

 

Commerce and Industry Minister (CIM) of India, Piyush Goyal, concluded a productive visit to London from July 10 to July 12, during which he engaged with several highly placed politicians, govt. officials and industry leaders and had crucial discussions to strengthen the India-UK trade relationship. The visit was strategically timed, coinciding with the critical stage of ongoing negotiations, and proved to be instrumental in moving the discussions forward.

 

During his visit, Minister Goyal met with the Secretary of State for Trade of the United Kingdom, Kemi Badenoch, to discuss the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and explore opportunities for enhanced collaboration between the two nations.

 

 Recognizing India's vast population of 1.4 billion and its remarkable economic growth, both ministers acknowledged the immense potential of the Indian market for the United Kingdom. Encouragingly, considerable progress was achieved during their frank and open discussions on various difficult issues.

 

The meeting between Minister Goyal and Secretary Badenoch was marked by a shared understanding and a commitment to advancing mutual interests. The ministers identified and focused on low-hanging fruits, which included the closure of several chapters in the negotiations. This pragmatic approach aimed at resolving issues where negotiators had encountered challenges. The visit proved to be critical in overcoming crucial obstacles and charting a path forward towards an ambitious and mutually beneficial trade deal.

 

Furthermore, Minister Goyal had a productive discussion with Douglas McNeill, the Chief Economic Advisor to the UK Prime Minister. The meeting highlighted the joint efforts of India and the UK in giving a new dimension to their relationship and promoting trade between the two nations. Both parties acknowledged the positive outcomes achieved through collaborative initiatives and expressed optimism for the future. It is noteworthy that Mr. McNeil had visited New Delhi during the last Round and had meeting with senior officers and ministers.

 

During the visit he also interacted with businesses and industry and had a Business Roundtable involving stakeholders of various sectors of mutual interest for India and the UK. He urged the businesses in India and the UK to take advantages of various initiatives of Government of India. He also interacted with the members of UK chapter of Institute of Chartered Accountants of India.

 

The discussions held during this visit reflected a strong commitment from both sides to forge a closer partnership and explore avenues for trade promotion. The progress made during the visit sets a solid foundation for further strengthening bilateral relations and achieving mutually beneficial outcomes.

Bangladesh is all set to settle trade with India in Rupee from Tuesday, a move to cut their reliance on the American currency, which was involved in nearly 90 per cent of global forex transactions in 2022, The Daily Star reported.

 

Bangladesh Bank and the Indian High Commission are expected to announce the news regarding the Indian currency at an event at Le Meridien Hotel in Dhaka tomorrow.

 

The central bank governor and the Indian high commissioner will also join, a Bangladesh Bank (BB) official said.

 

The BB has already given permission to three banks - Sonali Bank, Eastern Bank and State Bank of India (SBI) in Bangladesh - to open nostro accounts with their counterparts in the neighbouring country.

 

The nostro account is an account that a bank holds with a foreign bank in the currency of the country where the funds are held. It is used to facilitate foreign exchange and international trade transactions involving foreign currencies.

 

This new move will open the letters of credit in the rupee to source a portion of the products from the neighbouring country and thus cutting the use of the US dollar to some extent, according to The Daily Star.

 

The government has toughened import rules due to the shortage of American greenback, driven by higher import bills, with a view to stopping further depletion of the foreign currency reserve, which has fallen by nearly 30 per cent from a year ago.

 

The private commercial bank, Eastern Bank and the country office of SBI have already opened nostro accounts with Indian ICICI Bank and SBI, the BB official said, adding that state-run Sonali Bank will open the account in the quickest possible time.

 

Both the BB and the Reserve Bank of India (the central bank of India) have given permission to the two Indian banks to start settling the bilateral trade in the Indian rupee (INR), he added.

 

The new arrangement will allow Bangladesh to perform foreign trade with India to the tune of USD 2 billion, equivalent to its current annual export receipts from the country. Last month, BB Governor Abdur Rouf Talukder said that if the trades through the unofficial channel are added then the imports can go up to USD 27 billion, as per The Daily Star.

 

As per plans, ICICI Bank and SBI will settle imports with Bangladesh in the rupee. And the amount will be deposited with the Bangladeshi banks' nostro accounts with the two.

 

In the second phase, the Bangladeshi banks will settle the import payments on behalf of the local importers by using the rupee deposited with the counterparts.

 

The dominance of the US Dollar is declining in the last few decades. At the ASEAN finance ministers and central banks meeting in Indonesia in March, policymakers also discussed the idea of cutting their reliance on the USD, the Japanese yen and the euro and "moving to settlements in local currencies" instead.

 

The dollar accounted for more than 70 per cent of global reserves at the turn of the century. The share declined to 59 per cent in 2011 and 58 per cent last year, International Monetary Fund data showed, reported The Daily Star.

The import of potatoes in India from Bhutan will continue without any import license for another year, Bhutan Live reported citing the notification by the Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry. A similar exemption has also been made for areca nut export.

 

Earlier, the Indian government had given import exemption for potatoes from Bhutan for a year, which ended on June 30.

 

The new import notification on potatoes signed by the Director General of Foreign Trade states, 'Import of potatoes from Bhutan is permitted freely, without any license, up to the 30th of June, 2024.'

 

Potatoes from Bhutan are exported to India via Samtse, Phuentshogling, Gelephu, and Samdrup Jongkhar.

 

'So far, we have exported 183 metric tonnes of potatoes from our Samdrup Jongkhar auction yard which comes to about Nu 4.1 M. Accordingly, from the Phuentshogling auction yard, we have exported 290 metric tonnes which amounts to Nu 5.4 M,' Bhutan Live quoted Dorji Tashi, the CEO of Food Corporation of Bhutan, as saying.

 

In a separate notification by India's Directorate General of Foreign Trade, Bhutan can also export 17,000 metric tonnes of fresh areca nut to India without meeting the minimum import price.

 

The export of these commodities is facilitated by the Food Corporation of Bhutan and areca nut export is mostly facilitated by private traders.

 

'Areca nut rarely comes to the FCB. Nevertheless, we have managed to export a little over 200 metric tonnes of areca nuts from our auction yard in Samtse,' Dorji Tashi added.

 

Previously, areca nuts were only exported from Phuentshogling.

 

According to the new notification, apart from Phuentshogling, areca nut export will also be allowed through Chamurchi, a neighbouring border town in Samtse, Bhutan Live reported.

India has proposed a global legal framework for ease of doing business at the G20 with emphasis on greater opening up of trade and investment to lift growth, people familiar with the development told ET.

 

The first draft revised declaration, to be discussed by the G20 sherpas at their third meeting under the Indian presidency beginning Thursday, has also received overwhelming backing from all members on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's proposal to include the African Union as a member.

 

Modi had written a letter to all G20 heads of states proposing its inclusion in the membership and it is part of the draft declaration circulated to sherpas. The European Union is a member of the grouping that controls 80% of the world's economy.

 

A global framework for crypto assets and measures to reform the multilateral development banks will be part of the discussions at the three-day meeting of the G20 sherpas beginning here Thursday.

 

'There is a need to lower barriers to trade and investment to promote cross-border flow of capital,' said one of the persons quoted above. The draft circulated as a detailed preamble emphasising on the theme of India's presidency of 'One World-One Family'.

 

Free flow of trade and investment is important to lift global growth and the G20 countries need to bring down barriers, the person said. India has proposed risk mitigation to foster global value chains that can lift medium and small enterprises in the G20 countries.

 

India's focus is not just growth but accelerated, inclusive, sustainable and resilient growth, the person said, adding that focus would also be on calibrated monetary and fiscal policies to bring stability in the global economy while protecting the poor.

 

New Delhi is keen to bring economic measures, for which the grouping was formed, at the centre of the deliberations though the upcoming meeting will also look at charting the way forward on the sensitive issue of Ukraine-Russia conflict.

 

The sherpa meeting will witness participation of over 120 delegates led by their sherpas and heads of delegations from G20 members, invitee countries and international organisations, who will engage in co-authoring of Leaders Declaration to be eventually adopted by G20 leaders in New Delhi Summit.