Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday held productive and wide-ranging talks with Brazilian President Inacio Lula da Silva during which they discussed ways to further deepen the bilateral strategic partnership, especially in sectors of defence production, trade and renewable energy. Modi and Lula met on the sidelines of the summit of the G7 advanced economies here in Hiroshima.

 

'The talks with President @LulaOficial were productive and wide-ranging. India and Brazil will keep working together to deepen trade ties. We also discussed diversifying cooperation in sectors like agriculture, defence and more,' Prime Minister Modi tweeted.

 

'Cementing bonds of friendship. PM @narendramodi met President @LulaOficial of Brazil in Hiroshima. Discussed ways to further deepen the India-Brazil Strategic Partnership, especially in sectors of defence production, trade, pharmaceuticals, agriculture, dairy & animal husbandry and renewable energy,' the Ministry of External Affairs tweeted.

 

They also exchanged views on regional developments and cooperation in multilateral platforms, it said.

India is pushing for forging consensus with like-minded countries at the World Trade Organization (WTO) to prevent entry of non-trade issues such as environment and sustainability into the trade negotiations.

 

'Brazil, China, Thailand and South Africa are some of the countries which could get affected and we will try to build a consensus with them,' said a government official, who did not wish to be identified.

 

The move by advanced economies to impose green taxes has already made the developing and emerging economies wary of such moves.

 

The US recently approved the Inflation Reduction Act to establish green technology industries and the European Union has unveiled the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, under which tax is levied on certain imports into the region. It also has a law for deforestation-free products.

 

'These developments are not good as there is a growing tendency among developed countries to bring non-trade issues. We need to deliberate on this collectively at the upcoming ministerial meeting,' said another official.

 

India fears that there may be a renewed push for bringing environment and sustainability into trade negotiations by the developed countries at the ministerial level, especially in the backdrop of these measures.

 

The 13th ministerial conference (MC13) of the WTO is scheduled early next year.

 

In February, India submitted at the WTO that carbon border measures are being selectively applied to 'trade-exposed industries' such as steel, aluminium, chemicals, plastics, polymers, chemicals and fertilisers, reflecting the underlying competitiveness concerns driving such measures.

 

India said WTO rules mandate non-discriminatory treatment for products, irrespective of their production methods and discriminatory measures in the form of border measures can lead to 'behind- the-border' protectionist practices.

The 40th World Nut and Dried Fruit Congress, organised by the International Nut & Dried Fruit Council (INC), will be held in London from May 22 to 24.

 

As many as 1,300 professionals from more than 60 countries will gather at the JW Marriott Grosvenor House London for the event, which is coming back to London after 26 years. Around 50 top Indian nuts and dried fruit processors will also attend the meet.

 

The attendees will debate and discuss industry knowledge covering topics such as product and market trends, nutrition, and the latest scientific discoveries in nut and dried fruit consumption.

 

UK stats

Quoting figures, Pratap Nair, INC Board Member said the UK is the top 15 tree nut consumer in the world, with domestic consumption estimated at 75,000 tonnes per year (kernel basis, except pistachios in-shell).

 

The most consumed tree nuts in the UK are cashews (30 per cent), followed by almonds (26 per cent), walnuts (15 per cent), hazelnuts (13 per cent) and pistachios (6 per cent).

 

As for dried fruit consumption, the UK is the eighth consuming country worldwide, with raisins accounting for 92,600 tonnes/year, which is 78 per cent of the overall dried fruit consumption.

 

Robust consumption in India

In contrast to the world scenario, Nair said the Indian consumption of dried fruits and nuts continues to be robust. One of the reasons is that the Indian economy has not been affected by the Ukraine war and is growing at 7 per cent.

 

Furthermore, a rise in disposable income and the growth of the middle class are both contributing factors. The fact that nuts are a healthy addition to one’s diet is now well known in India which led to increased consumption.

 

'We can expect an annual increase of 7-8 per cent in consumption in India over the next 10 years,' Nair added.

 

Over the last decade, tree nut consumption grew at a rate of 5 per cent per year. Regarding product category, flavoured nuts, and nut-based spreads, are clearly growing, he said.

The district, despite facing adverse weather conditions in the form of unseasonal showers, has managed to export 1.27 lakh tonne of grapes in the 2022-23 grape season - between November and April.

 

The export figure has reported a marginal rise as compared to the grape season in 2021-22 when 1.22 lakh tonne of grapes were exported.

 

According to state agriculture department officials, the overall trend of grape exports this season continues to be robust as 92,000 tonne of the produce has been exported to European nations and the remaining 35,000 tonne to non-European countries.

 

'Earlier, we had projected a 20% rise in grape exports. But the growth was affected by adverse weather conditions,' an official said.

 

As per norms, it is mandatory for the farmers to register their vineyards with the agriculture department for exporting grapes.

 

'Over 27,000 farmers had registered around 18,000 hectare of vineyards for grape export in the district for the 2022-23 grape season,' the official said.

 

Earlier, during the 2020-21 (Dec-April) grape season, the district had exported 1.16 lakh tonne of grapes.

Meghalaya government is keen to deepen economic and trade ties with Bangladesh. Conrad Sangma, the Chief Minister of Meghalaya expressed this optimism when the High Commissioner of Bangladesh to India, Md. Mustafizur Rahman, paid a courtesy visit to his office today.

 

The Chief Minister apprised the High Commissioner about the opportunities and possibilities of expanding trade and commerce of Bangladesh in the state of Meghalaya. In particular, he highlighted the possibility of direct import of garments, plastic products, electronic products, processed food and frozen food from Bangladesh. The Chief Minister also laid emphasis on strengthening mutual partnership in global value chain and diversification of products. He sought Bangladesh’s cooperation in developing and flourishing Meghalaya’s tourism industry., according to a Press release.

 

Referring to Bangladesh’s historical relationship with Meghalaya, High Commissioner Rahman emphasized on enhancing connectivity with the state and increasing people-to-people interactions. He said that the governments of Bangladesh and India are working to promote connectivity with the North-eastern states by road, rail and river. He also highlighted the willingness of the present government of Bangladesh to boost trade ties with the North-eastern part of India. He further mentioned that the investors of Meghalaya have ample opportunity to invest in different sectors of Bangladesh. The High Commissioner also drew the Chief Minister’s attention to the reopening of the closed land customs stations in the border areas at the earliest possible.

 

Earlier, the Bangladesh High Commissioner held a meeting with the Industries & Trade Fair Association of Assam in Guwahati. During the official trip, he will visit several land customs stations along the border and hold meetings with the business communities and trade representatives at Dawki and Tamabil in Meghalaya.

Rangareddy: To boost ties between India and Egypt, the Academy of Scientific Research and Technology (ASRT), - an Egyptian council of planning just like NITI Ayog in India, has appointed Dr.Abdul Rehman Ilyas as advisor to the President ASRT thereby to promote and propagate the bilateral relationship in different spheres between the two nations.

 

Dr. Abdul Rahman, a renowned city-based agri-business expert and associated with India Africa engagements, is currently focusing on some innovative partnerships in the field of agricultural extension, pharma co-genomic, digital health care, Fintech, Medtech and fishing sectors. There is also a proposal to strengthen Islamic and Quranic knowledge exchange in partnership with Jamia Al-Azhar, a globally renowned Islamic university based at Cairo, Egypt.

 

Speaking to The Hans India on Tuesday, Dr. Ilyas said, 'India is a growing economy and Egypt is at take off stage in Middle East and African region. The stark similarities between Egypt and India make them natural partners and the current leadership alignment states the fact itself that India considers Egypt as an important partner.'

 

Academy of Scientific Research and Technology (ASRT) led by President Dr. Mahmoud Sakr, is as an Egyptian agency always at forefront to facilitate and introduce relevant technologies and innovation all with the fund support to pilot projects and joint ventures. The agency focused squarely on diverse sectors that include agriculture, electrical vehicles, goods processing, healthcare, biotechnology, heavy industry ancillary manufacturing besides education and knowledge sharing.'

 

The agency, he said, has institutional partnerships with Government of Telangana, IIMR for Nutrition, ICRISAT and ALIMCO through the mode of Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs). Apart from this, several start-ups from India have already tabled proposals with ASRT during its phase-I of outreach activity that unfolded in February this year.

 

Anticipating a good potential in trade collaboration, the ASRT government of Egypt has established an Egyptian Indian Centre for Technology Transfer and Marketing (EIC-TIM) and also announced the Egyptian Indian Year of Science and Technology.

The process of Geographical Indication (GI) tag for Himachali cap, Sirmauri Loeya, Mandi Sepubari, Chamba metal craft, Kinnauri apple and Kinnauri ornaments is under consideration with the Registrar of Geographical Indication, Chennai, said Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Thursday.

 

He informed that GI status has been given to more than 400 traditional products of the state, including Kullu shawl, Chamba Rumal, Kinnaur shawl, Kangra painting, Lahaul woolen socks and gloves.

 

GI tag is a status given to a product belonging exclusively to a particular area. The quality, reputation and any other characteristics of that particular product is generally attributed to the geographical origin of the product.

 

The chief minister said that Kangra tea from Himachal was given GI status in 2005 by the Registrar of Geographical Indicators, Chennai and in March 2023 the beverage from the hill state was granted the European GI tag, paving the way for the sale of the product in European countries.

 

He said that the sale of Kangra tea is expected to grow as registration was an important tool to recognise the quality, genuineness and reputation of the product in the European markets.

 

Kangra tea is grown in Palampur, Baijnath, Kangra and Dharamshala in Kangra district, Jogindernagar of Mandi district and Bhattiyat area of Chamba district and is known for its unique taste and fragrance, attributed to its abundant pyrazine contents. Additionally, it also possesses medicinal values.

 

During the British era, Kangra tea was exported to European markets and because of its quality it has bagged various awards from the markets of Amsterdam and London between 1886 and 1895.

DRDO-Defence Food Research Laboratory (DFRL), Mysuru, has now developed an anti-freeze container which can be used for transportation of fruits & vegetables at high altitude terrains. As is known, the hostile environment conditions at these places are a deterrent to use fruits & vegetables for the armed forces.

 

The container uses no electricity and the  fruits & vegetables can be transported without chilling to the forward areas. The team of scientists and technologists had recently successfully demonstrated their invention in forward areas of Siachen glacier.

 

There is a huge need to ensure fruits and vegetables transported to the inaccessible terrains to be protected to ensure the quality and edibility of it is retained to consume or cook. In food, inadequate protection reduces the quality of the fruits and vegetables. 

The freezing process preserves food for extended periods because it prevents the growth of microorganisms that cause both spoilage and foodborne illness. Proper packaging materials for freezing food protect the flavour, colour, moisture content and nutritive value of foods from the harsh climate inside the freezer.

The display of the anti-freeze container  was done during DFRL's exhibition organised on the occasion of the National Technology Day celebrated across India on May 11. This is being commemorated as the anniversary of Shakti, the Pokhran nuclear test held on  May 11, 1998. The day observes the importance of science in day to day life and motivates students to adopt science as the career option.

On this occasion, Defence Food Research Laboratory showcased for the public the recently developed products and technologies at its facility.

 

The exhibition was inaugurated by Dr Anil Dutt Semwal, Director, DFRL. Dr R Kumar, Associate Director, DFRL, and Dr V.A. Sajeev Kumar, Scientist 'F', were present in the inaugural ceremony. Consequent upon, United Nation's General Assembly (UNGA) declaring 2023 as International Year

of Millets on March 5, 2021, DFRL also  showcased different millet based products developed for use by triservices as well as general public. The scientists highlighted the importance of millets in daily life. Different Ready to Eat (RTE) millet bars, instant millet mixes, millet flour mixes were displayed. Newly developed anti-freeze container was a crowd puller.

 

Last year, DFRL had designed and developed biodegradable carry bags for food distribution. These are being used as an alternative to the existing non-degradable single-use plastics. These biodegradable bags decompose within a short span of time, which is 180 days leaving no trace behind and avoid the littering problem. By popularising the use of these biodegradable bags, accumulation of municipal solid waste can be avoided, stated DRDO-DFRL in its communication.

Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Narendra Singh Tomar on May 18 lauded the role of the Tripura government for its commendable efforts in embracing organic farming.

 

Union Minister said this while launching Tripura's famous organic Queen Pineapple at Delhi Haat during a function in Delhi in the presence of Tripura's Agriculture and Farmers Welfare and Power Minister Ratan Lal Nath.

 

In the program, Union Minister Tomar said that the development of the North Eastern region is the priority of the Government of India under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Central Government is continuously working there and it is a matter of happiness that as a result of continuous encouragement by the Prime Minister Modi, the development of the North Eastern region including Tripura is progressing. 

 

'North East region is the main concern for all of us, which was neglected earlier and the budget allocation for it was also less. But since PM Modi became the Prime Minister, the sector has received full attention. Prime Minister himself has visited the Northeast 52 times in 9 years, as well as the Union Ministers are also making regular visits there on his guidance. The aim of which is to resolve any difficulties of the Northeast to pave the way for development', said the union minister.

 

Union Minister Tomar said that there has been a lot of success in organic farming in the North Eastern region.

 

'Sikkim has been declared as an organic state, while Tripura is also moving on this path, which is commendable. Agriculture is developing a lot in the states of the North Eastern region. The products of this sector have made their mark in the global market and exports are increasing. Even now, there is a lot of potential for the development of agriculture and horticulture in the North Eastern region. Farmers in the Northeast are benefiting through organic farming', he said.

 

Speaking on the occasion, Tripura agriculture minister Nath said, 'For the next two months, various pineapple production materials will be distributed free of cost in this exhibition at Delhi Haat. The main objective is to promote Queen Pineapple. Apart from this, discussions have also started with the traders so that pineapple can be popularized throughout the country and exported abroad'.

 

He said the Department of Agriculture has taken the initiative to ensure that the pineapple farmers of the state get the right price for their pineapples.