The AP government is all set to showcase its business-friendly policies to global investors at Dubai Expo beginning on Friday. A delegation led by industries minister Mekapati Gautham Reddy has reached Dubai to monitor AP's stall in the expo.

 

The state government will present excellent infrastructure and growth opportunities available in the state for the investors.

 

Mekapati will inaugurate the AP floor at India Pavilion in the presence of UAE minister of state for foreign trade, Thani Bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, UAE ambassador to India, Dr Ahmed Albanna, India ambassador to UAE, Sunjay Sudhir and advisor to government of Andhra Pradesh and special representative to government for Middle East & Far East Countries, Zulfi Ravdjee.

Bilateral meets to strengthen trade

 

The delegation led by Mekapati will attend various business meetings in Dubai and Abu Dhabi to discuss potential collaborations with top corporations in UAE and present opportunities, in various sectors, in the state. The delegation will also meet various industry associations and conduct bilateral meetings to strengthen trade ties with the UAE.

 

'We have readied a blueprint to showcase the rapid strides being made by Andhra Pradesh in attracting investments in manufacturing, development of ports, multi-modal logistic parks, industrial corridors, industrial parks, fishing harbours along with developing education, medical, tourism sectors amongst others. We want to see that more people invest in AP,' Mekapati told the media before leaving for Dubai on Thursday. He said that they were hopeful of striking good deals in manufacturing sector.

 

He said that the state government has launched a single-window system where all the permissions for the industries would be granted through a single channel. He said that the state government would handhold investors till their industrial units commenced production.

Six South Asian nations, including India, are set to benefit from a new USD$ 21.5 million (EUR 18 million) funding from the European Union (EU), which will help to accelerate climate-smart, inclusive infrastructure investments in their regions.

 

IFC, the largest global development institution, focused on the private sector in emerging markets, will implement the project under the program,Accelerating Climate-Smart and Inclusive Infrastructure in South Asia (ACSIIS).

 

ACSIIS is a five-year program (2021-2026) to help spur investments in energy, water, waste management, transport, logistics, and green buildings to benefit people and businesses in Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. ACSIIS would leverage $ 850 million of private sector investments in the region.

 

The impact of COVID-19 on investments in infrastructure has been widespread and severe. Investment commitments in infrastructure with private participation in 2020 dropped by an unprecedented 52 percent from 2019 levels. IFC estimates that South Asian countries can unlock more than US$3 trillion of climate-smart investment opportunities by fully meeting the national targets under the Paris Agreement by 2030.

 

'Attracting private capital for climate-smart infrastructure in a sustainable and inclusive manner will be critical for post-COVID-19 recovery in South Asia,' said Hector Gomez Ang, Regional Director for South Asia at IFC.

 

'The EU's support for the program could not come at a better time as it is vital to act now to unblock obstacles to spurring sustainable infrastructure projects. This program will leverage IFC's experience and expertise in supporting climate-smart infrastructure development in the region,' he added.

 

The program will also support the development of climate-smart investments in agriculture, manufacturing, tourism, health, and education while focusing on key themes such as cities, gender, and green finance. The latest initiative builds on IFC's previous partnership with the EU to support the Eco-Cities Program in India and other programs in the region.

 

'The ACSIIS project will support a green and inclusive recovery in South Asia. We are happy to see the existing EU cooperation in India broadening into a regional intervention with multi-sector coverage, in line with the objectives of the EU Green Deal, to promote sustainable development, the fight against climate change and the transition to renewable energy,' said Ugo Astuto, Ambassador of the European Union to India and Bhutan.

 

'This initiative will make a positive contribution to sustainable connectivity, supporting the EU engagement in key sectors to build a greener future,' he added.

 

Through ACSIIS, IFC will support early-stage market development to address key market-wide constraints, as well as deliver project-level technical advice to structure sustainable infrastructure investments for the target countries. The program will also support capacity building of private and government sectors to improve their ability to design, structure, and implement sustainable infrastructure projects. Several of these components are part of IFC's Upstream strategy, which aims to create markets in the most challenging environments, laying the foundation for future investment projects.

 

IFC—a member of the World Bank Group—is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets.

Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Thursday that India is the fastest growing economy despite the pandemic and asserted that the government managed the economy well.

 

'Our recovery has been fastest and sustained among all economies...,' she said, adding that the recovery momentum will continue in the coming year. She said the government had focussed on capital expenditure because of its multiplier effect on the economy and to restore growth. 'The Indian economy is projected to grow at 9% in the next financial year; the US is expected to grow at 4%,' she said, replying to the debate on the budget in the Lok Sabha.

 

On divergence in growth estimates in the Economic Survey and the budget, she said the survey had used advanced estimates of the Central Statistics Office that had not taken into account the impact of the third wave of the pandemic. Sitharaman said the government thought it better to spend taxpayer money on capital expenditure, citing a Reserve Bank of India study that said every rupee so spent brought a return of Rs2.45 in the first year and Rs3.14 in the second.

 

The finance minister observed that while the government is borrowing money for capital expenditure, it is ensuring that revenue expenditure is rationalised, which she said will grow by slightly over 3% in FY23, showing a visible deceleration.

 

'MGNREGA is Demand-driven'

 

Sitharaman countered allegations that the government has curtailed allocation on social security schemes, specifically the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). 'MGNREGA is a demand-driven programme. As and when there is demand, through the supplementary demand for grants, we give the additional required amount,' Sitharaman added.

 

She said banks had sanctioned loans worth Rs3.1 lakh crore under the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme for the MSME sector that was impacted by disruptions due to the pandemic. The scheme has been extended till March 2023. 'Those MSMEs who still want to benefit out of it are welcome to use it...the amount of loan sanctioned under the ECLGS is Rs3.1 lakh crore and guarantee space is still Rs1.4 lakh crore,' she said in her 100-minute reply.

 

Andhakaal and Amritkaal

 

Hitting out at the Congress party, Sitharaman said that the UPA term was India's 'Andhakaal', citing double-digit inflation, poor management of foreign direct investment and rampant corruption.

 

She claimed the government had managed the economic crisis better than UPA's management of the global financial crisis in 2008-09 despite Covid being one of the worst events India had faced so far. She quoted data on key macroeconomic indicators after the financial crisis of 2008 and pandemic years to highlight better management of the pandemic-induced crisis.

 

'We Managed Economy Much Better'

 

'Today, in spite of the crisis, reduction of GDP, Consumer Price Index is well contained, we have managed the economy much better,' the FM said, noting that despite disruption to the supply chain, inflation in 2020-21 was 6.2%, whereas in 2008-09, it was 9.1%.

 

The finance minister enlisted the initiatives and schemes of the Narendra Modi government, including Jan Dhan, rural electrification and Gati Shakti, adding: 'All these schemes are paving a way towards Amritkaal.'

 

Sitharaman highlighted the fact that 44 unicorns - startups with a valuation of $1 billion or more - have been identified in India between 2020 and 2021. 'They have created wealth. They showcase India's talent and innovation,' she said. The government, she said, had removed 25,000 compliances and repealed 1,500 laws for ease of doing business.

 

BSNL and Umbrella

 

The finance minister said the revival of BSNL is due to the policies followed by the Modi government, while non-cooperative measures followed by the UPA had led to the decline of BSNL's market share to 7.16% from 19% in 2015.

 

Defending the duty hike on umbrellas, Sitharaman said around 25 million umbrellas were being imported from one country and the measure will support the domestic industry.

Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal had comprehensive talks over lunch with Australian Trade Minister Dan Tehran Wannon here on Thursday and discussed ways to further deepen India-Australia trade ties.

 

'Had comprehensive talks over lunch with my good friend and Australian Trade Minister @DanTehanWannon in New Delhi,' said Piyush Goyal in a tweet on Thursday.

 

The two leaders also held talks to further intensify economic cooperation between the two countries.

 

'We had an engaging discussion on ways to further deepen India-Australia economic and trade ties,' Goyal added in the tweet.

 

The talks with the Australian Minister comes at a time when Australia is set to host the Quad Foreign Ministers' Ministerial Dialogue on Friday in Canberra which will see the participation of the Foreign Ministers of the US, India, Australia and Japan.

February 10 is the World Pulses Day declared by the United Nations. Pulses or dal have been an integral part of India’s food basket for centuries or even millennia. and is an essential staple in our daily food plate. We eat d al-roti (d al with wheat bread) or d al-chawal (dal with rice), a well-entrenched food habit. 

 

India is the world’s largest producer, processor, importer and consumer of pulses is well recognised. No wonder, India holds a dominant position in the global pulses market and every move here is closely watched.

 

India’s Green Revolution of the 1960s changed the face of agriculture with remarkable rise in production of fine cereals - rice and wheat. Now, it’s time to focus on pulses and oilseeds as they were bypassed earlier.

 

Pulses deserve policy, research and investment support that fine cereals have attracted over the past. In recent years, with the government paying greater attention to enhance pulses production, the results are encouraging. India’s output has touched a new high of 25 million tonne (mt) from about 15-16 mt five years ago. 

 

Again, from a peak of 6.6 mt four years ago, India’s pulses import has declined to around 2.5 mt a year now.

 

Poor yields

 

Yet, there are challenges ahead as well as opportunities. In pulses, our yields are among the lowest globally. There is greater scope to raise our yields by a quarter by adopting appropriate production technologies. If we enhance our yield to 1,000 kilograms (one tonne) per hectare, our total production can top 30 mt.

 

As a eco-friendly crop, pulses fix nitrogen in the soil and should be encouraged for crop rotation in high input geographies. It will help improve soil health and consume less water.

 

The processing industry with several thousand dal mills across the country, mostly small and without scale economies, deserve special attention for modernisation. A government-supported Dal Mill Modernisation Fund will help upgrade and infuse more efficiency. A modernised processing sector will have the potential to attract foreign direct investment (FDI).

 

Focus on consumption

 

While our policy focus has been more on pulses output, it is time to pay greater attention to its consumption. Despite being the world’s largest producer, our per capita availability is low even as per nutritional standards recommended by health experts.

 

As pervasive protein deficiency hurts our economy in terms of higher healthcare costs and low labour productivity, we can address them by boosting pulses consumption, especially among the vulnerable sections of the society. Like rice and wheat, pulses should be distributed under welfare programs,such as NFSA and TPDS.

 

Importantly, pulses are the most economical vegetable protein. Pulses provide a perfect mix of biological value when used with cereals. So, there is a strong case not only to increase production, but also to boost consumption.

External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar on Wednesday, 9 February met his Qatari counterpart Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani. During the meeting, the two leaders discussed political, economic and security ties. Taking to his official Twitter handle, Jaishankar even praised Qatar for its interest in strengthening investment and trade.

 

S Jaishankar posted the pictures of his meeting with Qatar's Foreign Minister and tweeted, 'Held productive talks with DPM and FM of Qatar @MBA_AlThani_. Discussed our broad-based political, economic, digital and security partnership. Appreciate the interest in expanding investment and trade. Thank Qatari authorities for the support extended to the Indian community.' In another tweet, India's External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar further informed that he held talks with Thani on Afghanistan, including its international and regional issues. 

 

MEA Jaishankar holds 'fruitful discussion' with Qatar Foreign Minister 

 

Expressing his views on the meeting, Qatar Foreign Minister took to his official Twitter handle and said that he had a 'fruitful discussion' on ways to develop bilateral relations in various fields. Furthermore, they discussed regional development and exchanged views on a number of issues of common interest. Taking to his official Twitter handle, Dr S. Jaishankar informed that he unveiled the foundation stone of the new Embassy complex in Doha. He thanked his Qatari counterpart Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani for being present at the occasion. Jaishankar expressed confidence that the new building will meet the aspirations of Indian nationals in Qatar. 

India’s milk production increased by 35.04 per cent, during the period between 2015-16 and 2020-21 to top 200 million tonnes (mt).

 

This information was provided in the Lok Sabha by Parshottam Rupala, Minister for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying. In a separate response, Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said the US has agreed to resume Indian mango imports from this year.

 

Karnataka led the 55-mt rise (from 155 to 210 mt) in six years , while Uttar Pradesh is the top producer in terms of total production.

 

According to the provisional figures provided in the Lok Sabha, India’s milk production increased to 210 mt in 2020-21. The production was 155 mt in 2015-16

 

Karnataka’s milk production has seen an increase of 72.39 per cent (4.59 mt) during the period between 2015-16 and 2020-21. The State’s milk production went up from 6.3 mt in 2015-16 to 10.9 mt in 2020-21.

 

Top producer

 

Though Uttar Pradesh remained the top producer of milk in the country with 31.36 mt in 2020-21, the production declined by 1.58 per cent over 2019-20. However, the production was up by 18.84 per cent (4.97 mt) during the period between 2015-16 and 2020-21.

 

Barring 2017-18, milk production was in a declining trend in Kerala in all other years between 2015-16 and 2020-21. The overall reduction in milk production was around 1.15 lakh tonnes during the six-year period.

 

There was decline in production in states such as Andhra Pradesh (3.60 per cent), Haryana (3.84 per cent), Uttarakhand (2.56 per cent), Arunachal Pradesh (27.61 per cent), Manipur (20.74 per cent), and Sikkim (12.01 per cent) in 2020-21 when compared to 2019-20.

 

To a query in Lok Sabha on the steps taken by the Government to increase milk production in the country, Rupala said the Government has been implementing some major Central sector and Centrally-sponsored schemes to enhance milk production.

 

The Government has been implementing Rashtriya Gokul mission since 2014 for the development and conservation of indigenous breeds, genetic upgradation of bovine population and enhancement of milk production and productivity of bovines, thereby making milk production more remunerative to farmers engaged in dairying.

 

He said the national programme for dairy development aims to enhance the quality of milk and milk products and increase share of organized milk procurement.

 

Mango exports

 

To a query on India’s mango exports to US, Tomar said the US has agreed to resumption of export of mangoes from India from the season 2022.

 

He said a phyto-sanitary framework agreement has been signed between the Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare and the United State Department of Agriculture (USDA) - Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service - on resuming export of mangoes from India.

 

Further, a framework agreement has been signed between the Department of Plant Protection, Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare and the USDA for agriculture market access.

 

He said the resumption of export of mangoes will result in increased income for farmers.

 

Garlic production

 

Tomar said the states such as Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Punjab and Assam are leading in garlic production in the country.

 

As per the third advanced estimates for 2020-21, garlic production in the country went up to 3.18 mt from 1.61 mt in 2017-18, an increase of 97.51 per cent.

 

A major part of garlic production came from Madhya Pradesh. In 2017-18, Madhya Pradesh’s garlic production was at 4.05 lakh tonnes from an area of 92,500 hectares. The third advanced estimates for 2020-21 showed the state’s garlic production at 1.95 mt from an area of 1.90 lakh hectares.

 

Banana output

 

In another reply, Tomar said the total acreage of banana production in the country stood at 9.23 lakh hectares (third advanced estimates) in 2020-21 as against 8.83 lakh hectares in 2017-18.

 

Banana production in the country has been increased to 33.3 mt in 2020-21 (third advanced estimates) from 30.8 mt in 20217-18.

 

Although India accounts for 15.5 per cent area of global banana production, the country’s contribution to the global production is 25.58 per cent.

 

He said the Centre has developed value-added products and also developed an export protocol for shipping via sea to reduce the cost of transport for ‘Nendran’, ‘Red banana’ and ‘Grand Nain banana’ to Middle East and European countries. This resulted in area expansion and increased productivity, Tomar said said.

India is making a rare appearance near the ranks of the world’s wheat-trade heavyweights this season.

 

The country is expected to ship a record 7 million tons in the 2021-22 year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture forecast on Wednesday. That’s more than double the prior season and will rank the nation as the world’s ninth-largest shipper. 

 

India is one of the world’s biggest producers of the grain, but typically sells little abroad. This season, surging prices across major shippers and export restrictions in Russia helped boost the appeal of its supply, with cargoes making inroads in nearby markets like Bangladesh. 

 

'India’s export pace continues to be robust, and its prices are competitive in Asian markets,' USDA said in its monthly world supply and demand report. 

FSSAI has issued a direction regarding the operationalisation of the draft related to the use of recycled plastics for the purpose of packaging by the food industry.

 

These regulations say that ‘products made of recycled plastics including carry bags may be used for packaging, storing, carrying or dispensing of food products as and when standards and guidelines are framed by the food authority. Such packaging materials shall also comply with any other national standards/regulations as applicable’.

 

This proviso will replace the sub clause (e) related to plastic materials intended to come in contact with food products, under clause 4 related to specific requirements for primary food packaging, in the packaging regulations.

 

Earlier under clause (e), the use of recycled plastics material was prohibited for food contact material.

 

As the food authority is in process of notifying the regulations related to the use of recycled plastics as food contact material, and according to the FSSAI, it was taking some more time for the final notification, the food authority has decided to operationlise these regulations.

 

Called the FSS (Packaging) Amendment Regulations 2022 permitting the use of recycled plastics as food contact material, these regulations were based on the Plastic Waste Management (Amendment) Rules 2021 notified in September’21 and recommendations of the FSSAI Scientific Panel on packaging material.

 

FSSAI has stated that it has been decided to operationalise the provision of these regulations from January 18, 2022, to allow the FBOs to make use of recycled plastics as food contact material.

 

'Accordingly, the approved guidelines for recycling of post consumer PET for food contact applications and acceptance criteria for recycled PET resin for food contact applications is also made effective for implementation,' read FSSAI’s statement in this regard.

 

The guidelines pertain to the recycling process/operation of transforming post consumer PET bottles used for food packaging into food grade recycled PET resins suitable for making bottles and packaging material for bottling or packaging and its testing. The guidelines also cover the acceptance criteria for using food grade recycled PET resin material in bottling or packaging operations.

 

However, these guidelines do not apply to industrial rejected PET bottles along with production of resins for non-food grade consumer applications.

The Government has notified an order on 3rd February, 2022 specifying the stock limit quantities on edible oils and oilseeds upto 30th June, 2022 with a view to provide impetus to the various steps taken by the Government to cool the prices of edible oil in the country.

 

The Stock Limit Order empowers the Union Government and all States/UTs to regulate storage and distribution of edible oils and oilseeds. This would also help the Government in checking hoarding of edible oils and oilseeds in the country. A Meeting was held by the Department of Food & Public Distribution on 08.02.2022 with all States/UTs for discussing the implementation plan of the above order dated 3rd February, 2022. During the meeting it was emphasized that States/UTs authorities may enforce Stock Limit Quantities Order without causing any disruption in the supply chain and also any undue hardship to bonafide trade.

 

For edible oils, the stock limit specified is 30 quintals for retailers, 500 quintals for wholesalers, 30 quintals for retail outlets of bulk consumers i.e. big chain retailers and shops and 1000 quintals for its depots. Processors of edible oils would be able to stock 90 days of their storage capacities.

 

For edible oilseeds, the stock limit is 100 quintals for retailers, 2000 quintals for wholesalers. Processors of edible oilseeds would be able to stock 90 days production of edible oils as per daily input production capacity. Exporters and importers have been kept outside the purview of this Order with some caveats.

 

It was informed in the meeting that in case the stocks held by respective legal entities are higher than the prescribed limits then it has to be declared on the portal (https://evegoils.nic.in/eosp/login) of Department of Food & Public Distribution and bring it to the prescribed stock limits in this Control Order within 30 days of the issue of this notification.  States/UTs have also been provided the access to this portal for monitoring the disclosed stocks by the entities. Further, the States/UTs were advised that the States may regularly monitor the stock limits through the portal.

 

The above measure is expected to curtail any unfair practices like hoarding, black marketing etc. in the market which may lead to any increase in the prices of edible oils.  The States/UTs were also briefed about the current international price scenario and how the Indian market is affected by it.