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17 Mar, 2023 News Image

Bharatiya Prakritik Krishi Paddhati scheme becomes National Mission on Natural Farming.

To promote natural farming across the country, the Centre has launched the National Mission on Natural Farming (NMNF) by upscaling the Bharatiya Prakritik Krishi Paddhati (BPKP) scheme.

'In order to involve more farmers and enhance the reach of natural farming on a larger scale, the Government has formulated National Mission on Natural Farming (NMNF) by upscaling the Bharatiya Prakritik Krishi Paddhati (BPKP) to promote natural farming across the country. NMNF will cover 7.5 lakh hectare area by developing 15,000 clusters in the next four years with a total budget outlay of Rs.1,584 crore (Centre’s share),' Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar told the Lok Sabha on March 14.

With NMNF, the government proposes to touch one crore farmers along the Ganga belt and in other rainfed parts of the country, he added.

Under NMNF, farmers will receive a financial assistance of Rs.15,000 per hectare per year for three years for the creation of on-farm input production infrastructure. The operational guidelines state that incentives would be provided to farmers only when they commit to natural farming and have actually taken it up. If a farmer defaults or does not continue with natural farming, subsequent instalments shall not be disbursed.

The BPKP, a sub-scheme under Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY), had provided financial assistance of Rs.12,200 per hectare for three years for cluster formation, capacity building and continuous hand-holding. Additionally, an assistance of Rs.8,800 per hectare for three years was allowed from PKVY funds for marketing, value addition and publicity of natural farming products.

The NMNF guidelines say that farmers willing to implement natural farming on their field will be registered as cluster members — each cluster shall comprise 50 farmers or more with 50 hectare land. Also, each cluster can fall in one village or spread across 2-3 nearby villages under the same gram panchayat.

Master trainers

Tomar also said that a web portal (naturalfarming.dac.gov.in) has been launched for the promotion of natural farming with information on the implementation framework, resources, implementation progress, farmer’s registration, blog, and so on. The agriculture ministry is undertaking large-scale training of master trainers, ‘champion’ farmers and practising farmers in the techniques of natural farming through the National Institute of Agricultural Extension Management (MANAGE) and National Centre of Organic and Natural Farming (NCONF), he said. Already 997 training programmes have been conducted, covering 56,952 gram pradhans, he added.

The minister further said that the Centre intends to set up 15,000 Bhartiya Prakritik Kheti Bio-inputs Resources Centres (BRCs) to provide easy access to bio-resources like Jeevamrit, Ghana Jeevamrit and neemastra, wherein cow dung and urine, neem and bioculture play an important role. At a recent meeting with Niti Aayog, representatives of cow shelters wanted their units to be designated as BRCs as they form the backbone of the value chain in the production and distribution of bio fertilisers.

These bio-input resource centres would be set up alongside the proposed 15,000 model clusters of natural farming. These BRCs would create a national-level distribution network for micro-fertilisers and pesticides, with each BRC responsible for one cluster under NMNF.

Source: thehindubusinessline.com

16 Mar, 2023 News Image

Next round of India-Canada talks on trade agreement likely in April.

The next round of negotiations for the proposed interim trade agreement (FTA) between India and Canada is expected to be held in April, a senior commerce ministry official said on Wednesday. Krishan Kumar, Joint Secretary in the department of commerce, said negotiations are at an advanced stage in goods and services, and in other areas.

'Six rounds have completed. The seventh round may be held in April,' he told reporters here.

In March last year, the two countries re-launched negotiations for an interim agreement, officially dubbed as an early progress trade agreement (EPTA).

Apart from traditional areas, the agreement may cover areas like SMEs, trade and gender, environment and labour.

'We have already exchanged goods offer and discussions are starting to improve the services offer,' he said.

Briefing reporters, Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal said that talks for a free trade agreement with the UK and European Union are moving in a progressive direction.

India and the UK launched negotiations for the FTA in January last year.

On the progress on the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) talks, it was informed that productive and constructive text-based discussions held under IPEF pillars supply chain, clean economy and fair economy during the special round held here in February.

The Indian delegation at present is participating in the second round of negotiations being held in Bali from March 13-19.

Source: economictimes.indiatimes.com

16 Mar, 2023 News Image

Area under cultivation of millets in 2021-22 is 15.48 million hectares, in 2013-14 it was 12.29 million hectares.

The Union Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Ms. Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today informed that, the details of millet production in terms of annual production and area under cultivation, State- wise, since 2014 are at Annexure-I-VI.

The area under cultivation of millets has ranged from 12.29 to 15.48 million hectares from 2013-14 to 2021-22.

To promote the consumption of millets/coarse grains, distribution period of these commodities has been enhanced to 6-10 months from earlier period 3 months. Further provisions of inter-state transportation and advance subsidy have been incorporated in the guidelines.

State Governments are also being requested repeatedly through written communications and in various meetings convened with them to procure millets and distribute under Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS), Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman (PM POSHAN), Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) and Other Welfare Scheme (OWS).

For promoting millets, following steps taken by Government:

Millet Awareness Quizzes/Competition and Conferences are being conducted by Food Corporation of India and Central Warehousing Corporation of Department of Food and Public Distribution.

The Year 2023 is being celebrated as International Year of Millets-2023 for promotion of millets.

Millets has been termed as ‘Nutri-cereals’ owing to their health benefits.

All the offices/Central Public Sector Enterprises of Department of Food and Public Distribution have been directed to introduce and promote millets in their canteens.

Government of India fixes Minimum Support Prices (MSPs) for twenty-two (22) mandated crops based on the recommendations of the Commission for Agricultural Costs & Prices (CACP) after considering the views of concerned State Governments and Central Ministries/Departments. The millets such as Ragi, Jowar and Bajra are covered under Minimum Support Price (MSP).

Government makes allocation of coarse grains (millets) under Public Distribution System (PDS) and Other Welfare Schemes (OWSs) including Wheat Based Nutrition Programme (WBNP) and Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman (PM POSHAN) Schemes based on the requirement projected by the State Govts., Ministry of Women and Child Development and Department of School Education & Literacy subject to the availability of coarse grains (millets).

Estimates of Area and Production of Jowar

State/ UT

Area ('000 Hectares)

Production ('000 Tonnes)

2013-14

2014-15

2015-16

2016-17

2017-18

2018-19

2019-20

2020-21

2013-14

2014-15

2015-16

2016-17

2017-18

2018-19

2019-20

2020-21

Andhra Pradesh

117.94

142.00

174.00

97.00

140.00

156.00

155.00

120.00

265.98

286.20

357.00

198.00

300.48

230.09 Source: pib.gov.in

16 Mar, 2023 News Image

Trade Infrastructure for Export Scheme (TIES) being implemented for creation of appropriate infrastructure for the growth of exports.

The Department of Commerce, Government of India, is implementing the Trade Infrastructure for Export Scheme (TIES) w.e.f. FY 2017-18 to assist Central and State Government agencies in creating appropriate infrastructure for the growth of exports, the Minister of State in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Smt. Anupriya Patel said in reply to a parliamentary question today. Under the scheme, financial assistance in the form of grants-in-aid is provided to Central/State Government owned agencies (or their Joint Ventures with major stake-holding by them) for setting up or up-grading export infrastructure in States/UTs. The States can avail of the scheme through their implementing agencies for infrastructure projects with significant export linkages like Border Haats, Land customs stations, quality testing and certification labs, cold chains, trade promotion centres, export warehousing and packaging, SEZs and ports/airports cargo terminuses. The Scheme guidelines are available at https://commerce.gov.in/trade-promotion/trade-promotion-assistance/.

Further, Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC), Department of Revenue has issued Circular No. 09/2020 -Customs dated 05.02.2020 for streamlining export data to include District level details in Shipping Bills. The same has been done to more effectively capture export data at the level of districts which would assist in efforts for promotion of exports.

Department of Commerce has been actively interacting and engaging with the State Governments / Union Territories to create an enabling environment to boost goods and services exports from the country by way of assisting them in formulating a comprehensive export strategy based on an assessment of State’s strengths.

Under TIES, financial assistance for a total of 40 export infrastructure projects has been approved during FY 2019-20, 2020-21 2021-22 & 2022-23 (as on 9th March, 2023). The state-wise details of funds released during each of the last three years and the current year under the Scheme of Department of Commerce are given below:

Details of projects approved & fund released under TIES {FY 2019-20 to FY 2022-23 (till 09.03.2023)}

Sl. No.

Name of State/UT

Year

Number of New projects approved

TIES fund released (In Rs. Cr.)

Karnataka

2019-20

2.65*

2020-21

2021-22

0.35*

2022-23

25.92

Total

28.92

Kerala

2019-20

2020-21

2021-22

18.09*

2022-23

Total

28.09

Manipur

2019-20

2020-21

5.63*

2021-22

2022-23

Total

5.63

Andhra Pradesh

2019-20

9.9856*

2020-21

13**

2021-22

2022-23

1.40

Total

24.3856

Tamil Nadu

2019-20

15.91*

2020-21

14.4584*

2021-22

22.94

2022-23

28.16*

Total

81.4684

Madhya Pradesh

2019-20

8.04*

2020-21

2021-22

2022-23

Total

8.04

Uttar Pradesh

2019-20

0.48

2020-21

2021-22

2022-23

2.74

Total

3.22

Maharashtra

2019-20

1.52*

2020-21

6.37^

2021-22

2022-23

Total

7.89

Tripura

2019-20

2020-21

2.58**

2021-22

2022-23

Total

2.58

West Bengal

2019-20

2020-21

2021-22

6.83*

2022-23

Total

6.83

Himachal Pradesh

2019-20

2020-21

2021-22

2022-23

Total

Chandigarh

2019-20

2020-21

2021-22

2.82*

2022-23

Total

2.82

Assam

2019-20

5.7725

2020-21

5.6875*

2021-22

3.96*

2022-23

Total

15.42

Punjab

2019-20

2020-21

5.77*

2021-22

2022-23

3.43

Total

19.20

Jharkhand

2019-20

9.80

2020-21

2021-22

2022-23

Total

9.80

Sikkim

2019-20

2020-21

8.87

2021-22

2022-23

Total

8.87

Haryana

2019-20

2020-21

6.06*

2021-22

2022-23

Total

6.06

Bihar

2019-20

2020-21

2021-22

2022-23

2.88

Total

2.88

Meghalaya

2019-20

2020-21

2021
Source: pib.gov.in

16 Mar, 2023 News Image

Preparations in Full Swing for 75 Varieties of Mangoes to be Exported from Malda.

In a special initiative to celebrate 75 years of independence, 75 species of mangoes from West Bengal’s Malda and Murshidabad districts will be exported to other countries.

The Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) has already identified 75 varieties of delicious mangoes from Malda and Murshidabad districts.

The central organization has launced a joint initiative with the state horticulture department and has started planning for the next few days regarding the export of mangoes abroad to countries including Qatar and Dubai.

Last year, 34 varieties of mangoes from the state were exported abroad. Most of mangoes were from Malda district. Three varieties of Malda mangoes have already received the GI tag. Besides those mangoes, there is a special initiative to send other delicious mangoes abroad.

Last year, Malda mangoes gained a special reputation in these countries. So, the plan is to send more mangoes this time. So far, the weather this season has been favourable for mango cultivation. Barring any natural calamity, the district is likely to produce a record amount of mangoes.

Although there is a lot of mango production in the district, farmers often do not take proper care of it. As a result, there is not much demand for those mangoes in the foreign market.

The plan is to export mangoes abroad immediately after harvest. To implement the plan, a special training camp was organized with the mango farmers of the District Horticulture Department. Mango growers were trained to correct all the maintenance mistakes that they make. Also, four exporters from Kolkata were brought to Malda under the initiative by APEDA.

Joint initial stage discussions with farmers and exporters have also been held so far. This is a novel initiative of the administration to preserve the memory of the independence of the country through the mangoes of Malda.

Source: news18.com

16 Mar, 2023 News Image

New foreign trade policy may be released by end of this month: Commerce Secretary.

The government is expected to release the new five-year foreign trade policy (FTP) by the end of this month, with a view to promoting the country's outbound shipments of goods and services, a top official said on Wednesday. The current foreign trade policy (2015-20) is in force till March 31, 2022.

Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal said that the ministry has looked at various aspects of that FTP as the policy is basically the collection of various incentive schemes.

They are also adding the aspect of vision into that as the ministry is targeting to take the goods and services exports to USD 2 trillion by 2030.

'So, within that framework, we have worked out our FTP and we are expecting that it would be released by the end of this month,' he told reporters here.

FTP provides guidelines for enhancing exports to push economic growth and create jobs.

It was first extended on March 31, 2020, for one year due to the coronavirus outbreak and the lockdown.

Source: economictimes.indiatimes.com

16 Mar, 2023 News Image

Soyameal exports jump 87% in Oct-Feb.

India’s soyameal exports jumped 87 per cent to 7.99 lakh tonnes (lt) during the October-February period of oil year 2022-23 on robust demand from countries such as Vietnam, Bangladesh and Nepal. Exports stood at 4.26 lt in the same period last year.

'Prices are favourable and we should be able to achieve the projected soyameal exports of 14-15 lakh tonnes' said DN Pathak, Executive Director, The Soyabean Processors Association of India (SOPA). Supply crunch from countries such as Argentina on weather concerns has come in handy for India to boost its shipments.

Vietnam has been the largest buyer of Indian soyameal, so far, accounting for 3.36 lt, followed by Nepal at 64,759 tonnes and the US at 42,796 tonnes. Other major buyers include Japan at 42,776 tonnes, Sri Lanka 39,554 tonnes, Bangladesh 37,093 tonnes, Thailand 32,432 tonnes and Germany 16,225 tonnes among others.

Japan has been a major buyer of Indian soyameal and value-added products mainly in the food segment, Pathak said.

Poultry demand

Crushing of soyabeans has also gained momentum with the pick up in buying from the domestic poultry sector. Offtake from the poultry sector was higher by around 12 per cent at 28.50 lt during October-February over same period last year’s 25.50 lt. The domestic food demand for soyameal was up 37 per cent at 4.75 lt.

Soyabean crushing during October-February stood at 52.50 lt — an increase of around 48 per cent over same period last year’s 35.50 lt. The market arrivals have improved to 71 lt (55 lt).

SOPA estimates that the stocks with trade, crushing units and farmers at the end of February stood at 77.98 lt — higher than the same period last year’s 71.77 lt. The prices of soyabean have started easing over the past one month tracking the developments in the global edible oil complex. 'Prices have come down substantially by about Rs.8,000 per tonne over the past one month,' Pathak said adding that the government should increase the duty on imported oils to protect the domestic growers.

Source: thehindubusinessline.com

16 Mar, 2023 News Image

Union Minister Shri Narender Singh Tomar inaugurates 'AgriUnifest' in Bengaluru; says, Youth Energy will help in India s development.

Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Shri Narendra Singh Tomar has said that India is a huge democracy, whose characteristics are population and secondly 60 percent of our population is youth. Together, these two forces are so great that India can not only meet any challenge, but is also fully capable of winning over these challenges if we complement each other.Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has named the next 25 years from Amrit Mahotsav toAmritKaal, if it is properly utilized and if the energy of the young population of our country is also utilized, then by the year 2047, we will definitely be able to see, our country as a developed India.

Union Minister Shri Tomar said this at a 5-day cultural program 'AgriUnifest' organized by Bangalore Agricultural University in collaboration with the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). More than 2500 talented students from 60 State Agricultural Universities/Deemed Universities/Central Universities have participated, showcasing their skills in 18 events under 5 disciplines (Music, Dance, Literature, Theatre, Fine Arts). The All India Inter Agricultural University Youth Festival was conceptualized and initiated by ICAR during 1999-2000 with the objective of integrating Indian agriculture by connecting various Indian cultures, so that the talents of the youth of agricultural universities can be nurtured and they can appreciate Indian cultural diversity. Depict the beauty of.

The chief guest in the program Shri Tomar said that the need of the hour is to make full use of every moment of our lives. Study is one side for the students but when a person develops overall then he can contribute more in the development of his family, society, institution, state and country. Prime Minister Shri Modi always emphasizes that the thinking and vision of every citizen of our country should be holistic and together they should take their country forward on the path of development. Mr. Tomar said that in the era we are in today, technology has great importance. Use of technology in agriculture is also the need of the hour. There is a great need for technology in order to bring transparency in all areas and work which was not being done for years can be done within a few days. Prime Minister Shri Modi stresses that there should be technical support and elimination of middlemen in every program of ours. Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi is a direct example of this, in which so far Rs 2.40 lakh crore has been given directly to crores of farmers in their bank accounts without any middlemen through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT), which is definitely surprising. On the initiative of Prime Minister Shri Modi, today India is far ahead of the big developed countries in terms of cashless transactions and this miracle has happened in the last seven-eight years.

Shri Tomar said that there are different languages, different customs and traditions in India, yet from Attock to Cuttack and from Kashmir to Kanyakumari, the soul of Indian culture is the same. He said that through events like 'AgriUnifest' at different places, the hidden talents emerge in various fields, then the country's cultural unity is introduced.Unity turns into unity and when unity is strong then India's strength increases and this strength needs to be kept growing, only then we will be successful in realizing the vision of Ek Bharat-Shreshtha Bharat.Shri Tomar said that Prime Minister Shri Modi has started the program 'Khelo India' to encourage young talents. It is getting popular all over the country. With the encouragement of sports, the practice of any sport continues throughout the year, due to which our sportsperson sons and daughters are winning many gold medals in prestigious national and international competitions.Due to the efforts of the Central Government, the country has succeeded in establishing its mastery in every field including education, health, agriculture, administration, due to which the prestige of India has increased in the whole world.

Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare SushriShobhaKarandlaje, Karnataka Agriculture Minister Shri B.C. Patil, ICAR Deputy Director General (Education) Dr. R.C. Aggarwal, Vice Chancellor Dr.Suresha along with other officers, scientists and students were present.

Source: pib.gov.in

16 Mar, 2023 News Image

We should work towards creating quality consciousness in the country and win the confidence of our customers: Shri Goyal.

We have to convert the respect that India has earned in the world in recent years into an opportunity and we have to convert the demand of the consumers for their rights into a consciousness for quality. This was stated by Union Minister for Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and Textiles, Shri Piyush Goyal on the occasion of World Consumer Rights Day today.

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has been a role model and a very popular leader who has given us the message that we should all work collectively towards making India a developed nation in Amrit Kaal by creating an environment that contributes to serving the customers well, Shri Goyal said. This is because PM has always focussed on the customer and this is why he has always emphasised on quality, he explained.

Shri Goyal said that people want high quality in services and products and that it is their right. Today is a day of celebration of this right and it is a day to commit ourself to work towards ensuring that quality and service. He said that consumer rights also involves creating a sustainable and a green economy that would lead to healthy living - something that is in the very ethos of India.

Consumer is at the core of all our activities because if there is no consumer what is the use of all our efforts, the minister said. We must win the confidence of the consumers – that should be the core focus of our activities, he added. When we work towards quality, the country progresses, he explained.

The awareness and consciousness of the consumers for their rights should motivate us to work towards doing our duty towards the country, the minister concluded.

Source: pib.gov.in

16 Mar, 2023 News Image

India s overall exports is projected to grow at 16.18 percent during April-February 2022-23 over same period last year (April-February 2021-22), with one month remaining in the current financial year.

India’s overall exports (Merchandise and Services combined) in February 2023* are estimated to be USD 63.02 Billion, exhibiting a positive growth of 7.81 per cent over the same period last year. Overall imports in February 2023* are estimated to be USD 65.85 Billion, exhibiting a negative growth of (-) 4.38 per cent over the same period last year.

Table 1: Trade during February 2023*

		February 2023 (USD Billion)	February 2022 (USD Billion)
Merchandise	Exports	33.88	37.15
Merchandise	Imports	51.31	55.90
Services*	Exports	29.15	21.30
Services*	Imports	14.55	12.97
Overall Trade (Merchandise +Services) *	Exports	63.02	58.46
	Imports	65.85	68.87
	Trade Balance	-2.83	-10.41

* Note: The latest data for services sector released by RBI is for January 2023. The data for February 2023 is an estimation, which will be revised based on RBI’s subsequent release. (ii) Data for April-February 2021-22 and April-September 2022 has been revised on pro-rata basis using quarterly balance of payments data.

Fig 1: Overall Trade during February 2023*

India’s overall exports (Merchandise and Services combined) in April-February 2022-23 is estimated to exhibit a positive growth of 16.18 per cent over the same period last year (April-February 2021-22). As India’s domestic demand has remained steady amidst the global slump, overall imports in April-February 2022-23 is estimated to exhibit a growth of 19.93 per cent over the same period last year.

Table 2: Trade during April-February 2022-23*

		April-February 2022-23 (USD Billion)	April-February 2021-22 (USD Billion)
Merchandise	Exports	405.94	377.43
Merchandise	Imports	653.47	549.96
Services*	pib.gov.in
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