The Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) has decided to expedite the proposed free trade agreement with India that would give Indian companies market access to resource-rich Eurasia where China is making deep inroads.

 

The decision was taken at the EAEU meeting under Russia's presidency in Moscow on Wednesday and Thursday. The EAEU comprises Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.

 

The EAEU meet, which was attended by the presidents of Russia, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan besides over 2,000 delegates, also discussed synergies between the grouping and Brics-SCO ahead of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in India in July and the Brics (Brazil, Russia, India and China) summit in South Africa in August.

 

Meanwhile Foreign Minister S Jaishankar met Russian Ambassador Denis Alipov here on Thursday evening. 'Discussed our bilateral cooperation, including in the IRIGC-TEC framework. Looking forward to taking that to a higher level. Also spoke about the forthcoming BRICS Foreign Ministers’ meeting in South Africa,' Jaishankar tweeted following the meeting.

 

During his visit to India last month, Russian deputy prime minister Denis Manturov had discussed the FTA in detail with external affairs minister S Jaishankar. During a dialogue hosted by Ficci, Manturov and Jaishankar had said that they had entered 'advanced negotiations' over the FTA.

 

'We pay special attention to the issues of mutual access of production to the markets of our countries. Together with the Eurasian Economic Commission, we are looking forward to intensifying negotiations on a free trade agreement with India,' Manturov had said, referring to the executive body of the EAEU.

 

Trade preferences and a mechanism that guarantees protection of investments 'will be in demand among Russian and Indian businessmen', according to Manturov.

 

Jaishankar had conveyed that the FTA talks between India and the Russian-led EAEU were hampered by the Covid pandemic. He said that the ministry of external affairs was in favour of resumption of talks because the proposed pact 'will make a real difference to trade relationship'.

 

Jaishankar had also mentioned how India and Russia have already met their bilateral trade target of $30 billion before the target year of 2025. He further stated that the two-way trade rose to $45 billion between April 2022 and February 2023.

 

Russian experts say an India-EAEU FTA makes better sense for India as there is a feeling that Russian companies are unlikely to compete in India as vigorously as the Chinese would do.

The total foodgrain production in the country in 2022-23 is estimated to go up to a record 330.5 million tonnes (MT) from 315.6 MT with a record production of wheat, rice, maize, oilseeds and sugarcane, according to the third advance estimate of the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare on Thursday.

 

The total production of wheat during 2022-23 is estimated at 112.7 MT, higher by 5 MT as compared to the previous year. The production of rice in the country is estimated at 135.5 MT which is higher by 6 MT as compared to the previous year's production.

 

The production of maize during 2022-23 is estimated at 35.9 MT, which is higher by 2.1 MT than the previous year's production.

 

While the production of nutri and coarse cereals is estimated at 54.7 MT, 3.6 MT higher than the previous year's production, that of sugarcane is estimated at 494.2 MT, 54.8 MT higher than last year.

 

The total production of pulses is estimated at 27.5 MT in 2022-23.

 

The production of soybean, rapeseed-mustard is estimated at 14.9 MT and 12.4 MT respectively, which is higher by 1.9 MT and 0.5 MT respectively than the production of the previous year.

 

The total oilseeds production in the country during 2022-23 is estimated at 40.9 MT.

 

The production of cotton is estimated at 34.3 million bales (of 170 kg each).

There is an urgent need to address World Trade Organisation (WTO) reforms on a top priority basis, said Anupriya Patel, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry.

 

India has been pitching for WTO reforms and also pressing for better dispute settlement mechanisms during G20 talks. The emphasis of these discussions would be on reaffirming WTO’s foundational principles, as embodied in the Marrakesh Agreement and its multilateral trade agreements, thus recognising the need for the open, fair, inclusive and transparent functioning of WTO.

 

The minister was speaking at the 2nd Trade and Investment Working Group meeting in Bengaluru on Wednesday.

 

Ms. Patel said the priorities pursued by G20 under India’s Presidency of the Trade and Investment Working Group were a mix of continuity from the previous Presidencies and these reflect upon the additional challenges which need global attention.

 

'There is an urgent need for addressing the World Trade Organisation reforms on a top priority basis as WTO assumes a vital role in ensuring fairness and transparency in global trade and forms the backbone of the multilateral trading system,’‘ she insisted.

 

In his remarks, Sunil Barthwal, Secretary, Department of Commerce said the process of WTO’s reformation necessitated inclusive efforts aimed at bolstering the multilateral trading system.

 

Som Parkash, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry, remarked that India was aiming to emerge as the global leader in the international trade landscape. The country was already set to become the second-largest e-commerce market globally.

 

'We have witnessed a remarkable transformation through embracing open markets and global integration. This has also been driven by a robust entrepreneurial spirit and steadfast government support,’‘ the minister noted.

The countries and economic blocks with which India is negotiating trade and economic agreements want to fast-track negotiations and reach a conclusion, commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal said Wednesday. 'Everybody wants us to fast-track agreements. Free-trade part is separate. They want an agreement…,' he said at a CII’s Annual Conference.

 

India is at present negotiating such agreements with Canada, EFTA (European Free Trade Association), the UK, and the European Union (EU) among others.

 

'It shows the increased importance of India in the global order,' the minister said. 'We have to choose whether we are going to be bold, whether we are going to engage with confidence or are going to let this opportunity go by,' he said.

 

'FTAs are two way traffic… I feel very sad when I am being told sometimes that I (industry) want access to the EU market, but please do not allow them to come into our market.'

 

Goyal said that no other developing country in the world is in such a 'sweet spot' as India is.

 

'I believe this is a compelling case for investments, for growth and for expanding our international outreach, for bringing technology, for bringing innovation into the country,' he said, suggesting the industry should focus on quality, innovation and skilled manpower.

 

On exports, the minister said that India will achieve $2 trillion worth of goods and services exports by 2030.

He suggested the industry expand markets with an open mind, and engage with the world.

 

'Look at our import basket, the basket largely gets affected by oil, which will have its own trajectory, possibly a lowering trajectory or a downward trend in the years to come. Our export basket has all the things that the world wants,' he said.

 

He said the India has strong foreign exchange reserves and the country is in a comfortable position to meet all the requirements even in any worst-case scenario in the next five-six years.

 

India’s forex reserves jumped $3.553 billion to $599.529 billion for the week ended May 12, according to data released by the Reserve Bank of India.

India and Australia on Wednesday inked a migration and mobility partnership pact to open up opportunities for students, academic researchers and business people and resolved to conclude a comprehensive trade deal by the end of year to significantly expand economic ties. The pact was signed after wide-ranging talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese.

 

In his media statement, Albanese said the aim is to conclude the comprehensive economic cooperation agreement (CECA) by the end of the year.

 

'We reiterated our shared ambition for an early conclusion of the Australia-India comprehensive economic cooperation agreement later this year,' he said in the presence of Modi.

 

Last year, India and Australia finalised the Economic Cooperation Trade Agreement (ECTA) and it came into force in December last. The two sides are now working on the CECA.

 

'Today, in my meeting with Prime Minister Albanese, we talked about taking India-Australia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership to greater heights in the next decade,' Modi said.

 

'We discussed in detail the possibilities of cooperation in new areas. Last year India-Australia ECTA came into effect. Today we have decided to focus on CECA -- Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement,' he said.

 

Modi said the pact will give further strength and new dimensions to trade and economic cooperation between the two countries.

 

'We had constructive discussions on strengthening our strategic cooperation in the sectors of mining and critical minerals. We have identified concrete areas for cooperation in renewable energy,' Modi said.

 

'It was decided to set up a task force on Green Hydrogen,' he added.

 

Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra said the next two rounds of talks on the economic partnership pact have been scheduled for June and July.

 

Modi and Albanese also witnessed the signing of the terms of reference of the Australia-India Green Hydrogen Taskforce which will explore opportunities in the area of renewable hydrogen.

 

'Renewable energy was once again a focus and an important topic in our discussions,' Albanese said.

 

On the migration and mobility pact, Albanese said it will promote the exchange of students, graduates, researchers and business people; expand our people-to-people ties and enhance cooperation in 'preventing people smuggling'.

 

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said Modi and Albanese welcomed the signing of the Migration and Mobility Partnership Arrangement (MMPA).

 

It said the MMPA will further facilitate mobility of students, professionals, researchers, academics and others, including through a new skilled pathway named MATES (Mobility Arrangement for Talented Early Professionals Scheme) specifically created for India.

 

It said they also welcomed the finalisation of terms of reference of the India-Australia Hydrogen taskforce.

 

The taskforce will advise on opportunities to accelerate manufacture and deployment of clean hydrogen, focusing on hydrogen electrolysers, fuel cells as well as supporting infrastructure and standards and regulations.

 

In his remarks, Modi also highlighted the importance of India-Australia relations for the region.

 

'The scope of India-Australia relations is not limited to merely our two countries. It is also linked to regional stability, peace and global welfare,' he said.

 

'A few days ago, along with Prime Minister Albanese, at the Quad Summit in Hiroshima, we also discussed the Indo-Pacific. India-Australia cooperation can also be beneficial for the progress of the Global South,' Modi said.

 

He said the Indian tradition of 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, which sees the whole world as one family, is the central theme of India's G-20 Presidency.'

 

The prime minister described his meeting with Albanese as 'constructive'.

The government on Wednesday allowed the exports of broken rice on the basis of permission given by the government for shipments to other countries for meeting their food security needs, though the export of broken rice is banned in general.

 

'The export policy of broken rice is prohibited, however, export will be allowed on the basis of permission granted by the Government of India to other countries to meet their food security needs and based on the request of their government,' the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) said in a notification.

 

India had banned the exports of broken rice and imposed a 20% duty on exports of various grades in September.

 

In December last year, it allowed the exports of organic non-Basmati rice including organic non-Basmati broken rice.

 

China is the largest importer of Indian broken rice at $418.29 million in FY23 followed by Senegal, Indonesia and Vietnam.

India will despatch around 1.05 million tonnes of food grains to Nepal, Indonesia, Senegal and Gambia as part of its economic diplomacy in the current financial year, waiving curbs on exports.

 

India banned wheat and broken rice exports and imposed a 20% export duty on non-basmati rice varieties last year to keep prices down.

 

In what is likely to add heft to India’s role in providing food security on the global stage, the department of food and public distribution has allowed exports of 300,000 tonnes wheat to Nepal; 200,000 tonnes of broken rice to Indonesia; 500,000 tonnes broken rice to Senegal, and 50,000 tonnes of broken rice to Gambia on a request by external affairs ministry. This comes despite low domestic wheat stocks.

 

The Food Corp of India (FCI) so far has procured a little over 26 MT wheat in the 2023-24 (October-March) rabi marketing year against a target of 34.5 MT. A hot February and heavy rains in March and April lowered wheat production to below the agriculture ministry’s second estimate of 112.2 MT. As per government officials, the amount procured so far will be enough to meet wheat requirement for the public distribution system (PDS). After ensuring 18.5 MT for PDS, there will be 8.7 MT available in the central pool, which will be more than sufficient for the open market sale scheme if required. Hence, there is no cause for concern, the government claims.

 

In the case of rice, the government had 26.5 MT rice in its central pool as of 1 May. Up to 21 May, FCI had procured 77.2 MT paddy in the ongoing 2022-23 (April-September) kharif marketing season and 3.2 MT paddy in the current 2023-24 rabi marketing season against an estimated target of 15.7 MT.

 

In response to Mint’s query, the Department of Food and Public Distribution said it deals with the 'import and export of only wheat and non-basmati rice from central pool stocks available with FCI. WTO norms inter-alia restrict the export of foodgrains from public stocks procured for domestic consumption through welfare schemes.

 

However, humanitarian assistance, fully in grant form under the reference of the Ministry of External Affairs, to the deserving countries, is only allowed. During the 2022-23 financial year, no quantity of wheat and rice was supplied or exported to any foreign countries from the department’s central pool stocks,' the official said. Queries sent to the external affairs ministry remained unanswered.

 

Wheat and non-basmati rice exported as humanitarian assistance from central pool stocks during FY15 to FY22 to countries like Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Zimbabwe, Bhutan, Myanmar, Mozambique among others was 256,427 tonnes, the official disclosed.

 

'In the past two years, foodgrains have been provided to some countries as humanitarian aid on the recommendation of Ministry of External Affairs by DGFT. The data will be available with MEA or DGFT,' the official notified.

 

Emails sent to MEA, Embassy of Nepal on Friday containing queries remain unanswered till press time.

 

Last year, until 22 June of FY23, India shipped 1.8 MT wheat, including 33,000 tonnes of 50,000 tonnes committed to Afghanistan as part of humanitarian assistance, said then Food Secretary Sudhanshu Pandey. Other than Afghanistan, India also exported food grains to Bangladesh, Bhutan, Israel, Indonesia, Malaysia, Nepal, Oman, Philippines, Qatar, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Switzerland, Thailand, UAE, Vietnam and Yemen during last financial year.

High Commissioner of India to Bangladesh Pranay Verma has said that India and Bangladesh have immense scope to cooperate in the exchange of knowledge, sharing of best practices, and in the research and development initiatives related to millets. Speaking at the inauguration of the exhibition on ‘Food Security and Importance of Millets’ organised by the High Commission of India in Dhaka on Sunday, High Commissioner Verma highlighted the important role of millets in ensuring food security, popularising nutritional diet, promoting sustainable agriculture, and securing financial empowerment of farmers.  

 

The three-day-long exhibition is being organized as part of the events to celebrate the International Year of Millets 2023.

 

Food Minister of Bangladesh Sadhan Chandra Majumder, was the chief guest at the occasion. Representative of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in Bangladesh  Robert D. Simpson was the special guest. Renowned agricultural expert of Bangladesh, Dr. Mirza Hasannuzzaman, Professor, Department of Agronomy, Sher-e-Bangla Agriculture University, delivered the expert remarks as the guest speaker on the occasion.

 

Food Minister Sadhan Chandra Majumder appreciated the initiative taken by the High Commission of India in organising the event. He also highlighted the steps being taken by Bangladesh to transform its agricultural sector and increase the production and consumption of millets.

 

Millets have been an integral part of our diet for centuries. In addition to a plethora of health benefits, millets are also good for the environment with lower water and input requirements. With the aim to create awareness, and to increase production and consumption of millets across the world, the United Nations, at the behest of the Government of India, declared 2023 as the International Year of Millets.

 

Agricultural cooperation is an important component of the India-Bangladesh partnership. Both India and Bangladesh can lead the way in harnessing the power of millets to build a brighter and more prosperous future for our two countries, said a press release of the High Commission of India in Bangladesh.

Ever since the United Nations declared the year 2023 as the International Year of Millets, the Central and State Governments are actively working to increase the area and production of Millets in the country. Millet missions are being run in the states under Shri Anna Yojana, under which farmers are being encouraged to take nutritious crop millets by providing subsidies on inputs.

 

The area under Millets or coarse grains in the country has increased from 38.37 lakh hectares to 41.34 lakh hectares in the year 2022. If the government procures millet at the support price, then the area, production, and income of farmers will increase rapidly. Because the cost of growing millets is less and much care is not required, it becomes easy to grow. According to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the International Year of Millets campaign will increase the income of 25 million small and marginal farmers who grow millets in the country, which will strengthen the rural economy.

 

India is the largest producer of millets. The country is enriched with a wide range of millets produced in major millet-growing states like Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, etc. At present, about 50 million (500 lakh tonnes) of coarse grains are produced in the country. About 80 percent of Asia’s and 20 percent of the world’s coarse grains are produced in the country. Cultivation of millets or coarse grains takes less labor and also requires less water. Only 25-30 percent of India’s total agricultural land is irrigated or semi-irrigated. When the demand for millet will increase, then its price will increase in the market, only then the income of small farmers with uncultivated land will also increase.

 

Export of coarse grains

At present, most of the millets like ragi, caneri, jowar, and buckwheat are exported from the country. We supply these to the USA, UK, Nepal, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Libya, Tunisia, Oman, and Egypt. India’s export of coarse cereals is $64 million in the year 2021-22. India is exporting coarse cereals to 139 countries across the world. APEDA has put in place a strong strategy to expand millets and its value-added products to achieve a target of $100 million by 2025 with efforts to widen its global reach. 

 

Shree Anna Yojana

Coarse grains are also being encouraged in the Union Budget. Nowadays almost every person is suffering from some or the other disease. But in ancient India, people used to fall ill very rarely. The main reason for this is that in the past people used to eat coarse grains. Millets are more nutritious than wheat and rice. The Central Government is organizing several programs under the International Millets Year 2023. On the other hand, the state governments are providing technical and financial help to the farmers to increase millet production. In many states, grants are being received for agricultural inputs along the lines of the Millet Mission, while in some states, farmers are being linked with training and millet processing. 

 

On these lines, the Madhya Pradesh government is also giving grants to the farmers for the promotion of Shree Anna under the State Millet Mission Scheme. For the Madhya Pradesh State Millet Mission, the government has kept a budget of Rs 23.25 crores for 2 years.

 

Center’s efforts to popularize coarse grains

The central government has increased the target for procurement of millets in the central pool. The target for 2021 was 6.5 lakh tonnes. For 2022, it was increased by 1.3 million tonnes. In the Kharif season, till November, more than the target has already been procured. Under the National Food Security Mission (NFSM), the ‘Nutritious Food Mission’ scheme will be implemented in 212 districts of 14 major millets producing states of the country. Under this scheme, the farmers growing millet will be given information about better varieties of seeds, improved methods of cultivation, crop protection measures, and proper methods of storage and processing of produce.

 

Cultivation of Millets

Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Telangana farmers cultivate coarse grains on a large scale. At the same time, the highest consumption of coarse grains is in Assam and Bihar. This year, the area under coarse cereals in the country has increased from 38.37 lakh hectares to 41.34 lakh hectares.

 

In this way, if India becomes the global hub in food grain production, then the export of agricultural produce will increase. Export growth will have a positive impact on the country’s economy, as well as there will be a revolutionary increase in the income of farmers. According to a report, in the last few years, more than 500 startups are working in the country on activities related to food. At the same time, employment opportunities will also increase.