Ministry has been organizing/sponsoring seminars, workshops, exhibitions, etc. for spreading awareness amongst stakeholders about the benefits available under various schemes of the Ministry with the aim to encourage investment in the sector.  In 2021, food processing summits were organized in Assam (Guwahati), Madhya Pradesh (Gwalior) and Meghalaya (Shillong). Hosting of such events has however been severely impacted due to the guidelines for strict adherence of COVID appropriate behaviour and the restrictions imposed by different States/UTs to curb spread of corona virus. Ministry has, however, been extensively utilizing social media and digital platforms for outreaching to the stakeholders.

 

The details of projects approved under PMKSY for Entities (other than Institutions/Universities) owned by the States including those sanctioned during the last year are given in Annexure. No fresh EoI was issued for inviting applications after 31st March 2021.  

India EXIM Bank expects exports from Karnataka will strengthen by financial year 2025. Karnataka’s merchandise exports to touch $35.3 billion by FY 2025 from $16.6 billion in FY 2020. The state’s software and services exports are expected to reach $150 billion by 2024-25, up from $83.9 billion in 2019-20, as has been set by the Karnataka Government.

 

As per the study, merchandise exports from Karnataka in 2019-20 were valued at $16.6 billion, and registered an average annual growth rate of 4.8 per cent, during 2010-11 to 2019-20. Some of the major items exported by Karnataka include petroleum products, RMG cotton, iron and steel, electronic instruments, and electronic components. The State has a well-diversified export basket vis-à-vis the States such as Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu and has a huge potential. Karnataka has emerged as a technology, services, and knowledge hub of the country drawing a niche for itself. This largely gets explained by the plethora of job opportunities in the State, leading to migration of labour from across the country to Karnataka.

 

Over the last few decades, the State of Karnataka has been on the forefront of India’s economic growth, transitioning from a primarily agrarian state to emerge as the Silicon Valley of India. With a share of 8 per cent in 2018- 19, Karnataka was the fifth highest contributor to India’s GDP of Rs 140.9 trillion, after Maharashtra (14.5 per cent), Tamil Nadu (8.6 per cent), Uttar Pradesh (8.4 per cent) and Gujarat (8.1 per cent). Remarkably, the per capita income in Karnataka has not only risen, but has also exceeded the national average during the period 2011-12 to 2019-20, said the study ‘Strengthening Exports from Karnataka’.

 

lectronic and computer software, engineering goods, readymade garments, petrochemicals, gems and jewellery, agro and food processing products and chemicals, apart from its traditional exports of coffee, silk, spices and handicrafts.

 

The study highlights that Karnataka attracted FDI inflows worth $ 8.9 billion in 2019-20, which was 17.9 per cent of the total FDI inflows in India during the year, and Karnataka was the second highest recipient of FDI inflows in India next to Maharashtra which received FDI of $10.8 billion.

 

Along with these findings published in the study, India EXIM Bank also analysed the status of trade enabling infrastructure in Karnataka and recommended strategies for plugging the existing gaps, including development of ICDs, focusing on urban city planning, leveraging the Trade Infrastructure for Export Scheme (TIES),  and many more.

 

 

 

Ministry of Food Processing Industries does not undertake research and development projects on its own, however, the Ministry under the Scheme of R&D, extends financial assistance as grant-in-aid to various Universities, IITs, Central/ State Government Institutions, Government funded organizations, R&D laboratories and CSIR recognized R&D units in private sector to promote and undertake demand driven R&D work in food processing sector including food processing industries for product & process development, design and development of equipment, improved storage, shelf-life, packaging etc. R&D projects of Government organizations/ Institutions are eligible for 100% grant-in-aid for the cost of equipment, consumables and expenditure related to Research Fellows, etc. while private Organizations/ Institutions/ Universities are eligible for 50% grant-in-aid for the equipment cost in general areas and 70% grant-in-aid in difficult areas.  The budget allocation for Research and Development scheme for the current financial year, i.e., 2021-2022 is Rs.7.60 Cr.

 

This information was given by Minister of State for M/o Food Processing Industries, Shri Prahlad Singh Patel in a written reply in Lok Sabha today

Stating that the budget 2023 is more directional with a quarter of a century of sustained growth in mind, Commerce and Industry minister Piyush Goyal on Saturday sought to deflect criticism in certain quarters that the government focused more on the supply-side than on growth-boosting demand side of the economy.

 

On February 1, the government presented a budget with no tax increases and thus no new revenue generation measures but chose to do record borrowings to fund a budgeted 35 per cent increased capital investment at Rs 7.5 lakh crore and also offered an additional Rs 1 lakh crore to the states for capital investment in interest-free loans. Together with the states, the overall capital expenditure next fiscal will be at a record high of Rs 10.5 lakh crore. This will have the government borrowing hitting a historic high with gross borrowing at Rs 14.95 lakh crore and net borrowing of Rs 11.6 lakh crore.

 

Demand has been the biggest missing link in the economy even before the pandemic hit the nation and scuppered the last strain of demand as those who had money chose to save and not splurge while tens of millions became jobless. 'I am surprised at the criticism in a section of the industry that the budget is supply-side focused while what was more needed was boosting demand. The fact is that this is a direction setting budget, with clear focus on the macro as well as micro issues plaguing the economy. Such a focus will lead to faster and deeper trickle-down effect. Because through this budget, government wants to work towards a much brighter future for everyone by the time we celebrate the first century of our independence,' Goyal told a post-budget gathering of industry representatives organized by the BSE.

 

Those criticizing the budget are missing the key point that most of the time supply side push also creates demand as a resilient supply-chain is crucial to secure sustained growth over the long-term. 'So when we are pumping in so much money in capex (Rs 7.5 lakh crore by the Centre and Rs 3 lakh crore by the states, which is the biggest demand push any government has given in a year,) there will be all-round demand generation in all key sectors of the economy be it cement, steel or other metals which will an impact on overall demand too,' he explained.

 

Moving on to exports, which are already a record high by crossing USD 336 billion by January, he said he is doing everything to ensure that we cross the USD 400 billion target set for the next fiscal by mid-way. Towards this the government is speeding up free trade talks with key nations such as Britain, Canada and Australia and also began with the GCC nations. 'On the FTA with the UK you will have positive surprises in a few days while with Australia it is being worked out on a priority basis. Recently the GCC grouping also expressed interest in inking a free trade agreement with us,' Goyal said.

 

'That we’ve been earning over USD30 billion in each of the ten months of the fiscal is a clear indication that our competitiveness has gone up,' he said, adding our services industry is also on course to net USD240 billion this fiscal.

 

Going forward our export story will be a race to the top—a race between the services and merchandise exports both have to race clock USD 1 trillion each over the next five-six years when the economy will be a USD 5 trillion giant. The minister also urged the industry, exporters in particular to be more demanding from the government in general and him specifically, so that he can make better bargains with other nations while engaging in trade negotiations.

South Korea's leading feedmaker Nonghyup Feed Inc. (NOFI) has issued an international tender to purchase up to 138,000 tonnes of animal feed corn and up to 130,000 tonnes of animal feed wheat, European traders said on Monday.

 

The deadline for submission of price offers in the tender is also Monday, Feb. 7.

 

The corn is sought for May arrival in South Korea and the feed wheat for arrival in May and June.

The FSSAI has allowed FBOs to use old or new names of pro-biotic strains on the labels till further order. This will help the food businesses to use old labels without any apprehension of action from the food authority.

 

The order reads, 'After due consideration of the representations, it has been decided to allow the use of either old, or new names of pro-biotic strains for the product packaging till further order, as it does not compromise with the safety of food products and also allowed by other regulators across the globe.'

 

The stakeholder FBOs gave a representation before the FSSAI to permit the use of either old or new names of pro-biotic strains for the product packaging as the taxonomy of several pro-biotic microorganisms specified under Schedule VII of the FSS  (health supplements, nutraceuticals, food for special dietary use, food for special medical purpose, functional food and novel food) First Amendment Regulations 2021 have been revised in line with the global updating in their names.

 

And the amendment made provision that these organisms may be used either singly or in combination but shall be declared on the label with full information and have to be non-GMO.

 

It is pertinent to mention that the regulation in question was notified in September 2021 and subsequent direction in October made the provisions that the timeline for compliance related to labelling requirement be extended to July 1, 2022.

Australian trade minister Dan Tehan will visit India on February 10 to hold talks with commerce & industry minister Piyush Goyal for an interim trade deal that is at an advanced stage of fruition, sources told FE.

 

In December, both the countries decided to expedite the pace of negotiations for the early-harvest deal, which will be followed up with a broader free trade agreement (FTA).

 

The FTA will cover a broad range of areas, including goods, services, investments, government procurement, logistics, standards and rules of origin. Goyal has been striving to get duty concession for Indian products in critical sectors, including agriculture and textiles, and greater market access in pharmaceuticals.

 

India had a merchandise trade deficit of $4.2 billion with Australia in FY21, as it shipped out goods worth over only $4 billion, while bilateral trade stood at $12.3 billion. Major traded items include mineral fuels, pharmaceutical products, organic chemicals and gems & jewellery.

 

The negotiations with Australia are a part of India’s broader strategy to forge 'fair and balanced' trade agreements with key economies and revamp existing pacts to boost trade.

 

The move gained traction after India pulled out of the China-dominated RCEP (Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership) talks in November 2019.

 

Goyal had last held talks with Tehan on February 4. 'Had a productive discussion with Australian Trade Minister as part of the ongoing deliberations on the India-Australia CECA,' Goyal had tweeted. 'Significant progress on ways to increase trade & investments have been made to further enhance our bilateral relationship.'

 

Balanced FTAs are expected to also enable the country to take advantage of a resurgence of industrial demand in advanced economies and achieve sustained growth rates in exports in the coming years. Already, India has set an ambitious merchandise export target of $1 trillion by FY28.

 

In the current fiscal, it’s on course to realise the lofty export target of $400 billion, against $291 billion in FY21.

 

Although talks for an FTA with Australia have been going on since 2011, the reluctance of Indian industry to offer greater access in farm and dairy products and Australia’s unwillingness to further open up its services sector for free movement of skilled Indian professionals have delayed the outcome of the negotiations.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said the government is making a push for organic farming and digital agriculture to protect farmers from the impact of climate change, for which it has made special provisions in this year’s Union Budget.

 

'To save our farmers from climate challenge, our focus is on the fusion of both back to basics and march to future. Our focus is on more than 80 per cent of small farmers of the country who need us the most. The Union Budget 2022-23 is focused on organic farming and digital agriculture,' he said at the International Crops Research Institute for Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) in Hyderabad.

 

PM Modi is in Hyderabad today to unveil the Statue of Equality and kickstart the 50th anniversary celebrations of agricultural research organisation ICRISAT. The prime minister also inaugurated ICRISAT’s Climate Change Research Facility on Plant Protection and Rapid Generation Advancement Facility.

 

PM Modi noted that over the last five decades, ICRISAT has helped other nations in making agriculture easy and sustainable, and expressed the hope that the organisation would continue to do the same to strengthen India’s farming sector.

 

He also said that digital agriculture is the future of our mostly agrarian country and the government is making efforts to utilise digital technology to empower farmers.

 

Furthermore, the Centre is also focused on building Farmer Producer Organizations (FPO) to strengthen the entire agriculture value chain. 'By organising the small farmers of the country into thousands of FPOs, we want to make them an aware and big market force,' the prime minister said.

 

PM Modi said climate action was given more importance in this year's Union Budget and it reflects India’s commitment towards 'green future'.

 

'Taking forward years of efforts, climate action was given more importance in this year’s budget. This year's budget encourages India’s commitment towards a green future in every sector,' he said.

 

Touting the government’s sustainability goals, PM Modi said India has set a target of net-zero carbon emissions by 2070. He also underlined the importance of adopting the Pro Planet People movement to combat challenges posed by climate change.

 

'We have also highlighted the need for life- lifestyle for the environment and also called for a Pro Planet People movement - a movement that is crucial to combat climate change and connects every individual with climate,' he added.

Three applications from Uttar Pradesh have been filed with the Geographical Indications Registry here, seeking a Geographical Indication (GI) tag for the Bundelkhand Kathiya Gehu (Wheat), Banarasi Tabla and Sitapur Durrie.

 

The filing for the Bundelkhand Kathiya Gehu has been made by the Khatiya Wheat Bangra Producer Company Ltd., Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh, under the agriculture category. According to details provided by the firm, this particular wheat has high nutritional value and a high fibre content. It is usually sown in the last week of October or first week of November and is harvested between March and April. The applicant has claimed that this wheat has several medicinal values.

 

The Export Promotion Bureau, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, has filed an application for the Sitapur Durrie under the handicrafts category. A durrie is a thick flat woven rug/carpet traditionally used as floor coverings. Though durries are made in various parts of India, the applicants have indicated that the Sitapur Durrie is unique and is different from a carpet. The motifs and colour combinations are unique from what is made in rest of country.

 

While carpets are produced by knotting pile yarn to warp, durries are made by inter weaving weft and warp. These durries are made of cotton, wool, jute and silk b weavers who work in cottage industries, kharkhanas or privately run factories spread across villages in Sitapur town, Biswan, Laharpur among others.

 

The application for Banarasi Tabla (musical instrument) was filed by Subah-E-Banaras Anand Kanan, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. Among the percussion instruments, Tabla is one of the most important musical instruments in Banaras and it is made of different kinds of wood like sheesham, neem, mahogany and babla wood. There is a huge demand for these tabla’s in the local market as well as the international markets. Foreigners who have a taste for classical music and who visit Varanasi for the music festivals purchase these tablas and the applicant in his filing mentioned that many of these foreigners even stay back and learn this instrument. They even perform at the music festivals that happen on the banks of the Ganga river. AGItagis a sign used on products that have a specific geographical origin and possess qualities or a reputation by virtue of their geographical association. The owner of theGItaghas exclusive rights over the product.

Basmati Export Development Foundation (BEDF) of government’s agri export promotion body APEDA has invited bids by February 18 for crop survey to estimate acreage and assess crop health and expected yield of Basmati rice during 2022 and 2023.

 

However, it has kept out those firms who have experience only in yield estimation through crop cutting experiments, even as several agri tech companies have been enrolled by the government, some even without prior experience due to new areas opening up for the private sector in the crop insurance segment.

 

 

Detailed model

 

It has asked agencies to submit with detailed model and techniques to be used for the crop survey. Both the ‘Technical Bid’ and ‘Financial Bid’ should be submitted separately, it said.

 

The conditions for the bidding has terms including that a firm shall have minimum of five years of experience in carrying out crop surveys with satellite imageries and field based surveys for a trade body or government organization in India. 'Experience of crop cutting experiments will not be considered for this purpose,' it said.

 

The satellite imageries and field-based survey shall have to cover acreage estimation of all basmati rice crop varieties differentiated in traditional and evolved varieties of Basmati rice and Sharbati and Sugandha varieties of non-Basmati. Reports will have to be submitted on district level basis for each State.

 

Concerns raised

 

However, experts have questioned the legitimacy being given to non-notified varieties of Basmati since Sharbati and Suganda as they are considered to be mainly used for mixing in pure Basmati. 'It could be also projected that non-notified varieties are in the process of notification,' said an expert, adding 'why should adulterants be surveyed'. By providing quantity of such non-basmati crops, the survey will unwittingly facilitate in depressing actual Basmati paddy prices or distort market sentiments, he said.

 

APEDA said variety-wise crop health monitoring and analysis will also have to be done by the selected agency besides advance prediction of yield through climate-based yield modeling using 10 years of historical yield and climate data.

 

Reports will have to be submitted in July, August, September, October, November and December by end of each month. In case of unusual weather conditions and pests/diseases attack, affecting yields, fortnightly report will also have to be submitted particularly at crop maturity period.

 

The bidders who secure minimum 70 per cent marks (49 out of 70 marks) in technical presentations will be shortlisted and their financial bids shall then be opened. Financial bid will carry a maximum of 30 marks.