India’s imports from China declined 3% in calendar year 2023 over 2022, the commerce and industry ministry said Monday, adding that exports to both China and the EU rose 7.1% and 2.1%, respectively during the period.

Every four years, WTO members review how they are implementing the SPS Agreement. The proposed process for the Sixth Review was discussed and adopted by members at an SPS Committee meeting in  November 2023. Proposals covering diverse topics such as modern challenges, regionalization, technology, transparency and follow-up to the MC12 SPS Declaration work programme were discussed, paving the way for an extensive agenda for the Committee's work in 2024.

In the current year, Government has directed NCCF and NAFED to initiate procurement of 5 lakh tonnes of onion for the buffer requirement directly from the farmers as Rabi-2024, harvest started arriving in the market. For the procurement, NAFED and NCCF are to pre-register the onion farmers to ensure that payments to the farmers are transferred to their bank accounts through Direct Benefit Transfer.

Foreign minister S Jaishankar described Malaysian Indians as a strong 'living bridge' and Malaysia as a 'reliable partner preparing for an era of closer relations', conveying New Delhi's most emphatic affirmation yet of the winds of change setting in between the two countries as he announced a road map of sorts for the next decade of engagement.

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) organized closing ceremony of the  International Year of Millets (IYM) 2023 on 29 March 2024 at the FAO headquarters, Rome, Italy. The high-level hybrid event that allowed participants to join both in-person and virtually and was graced by esteemed dignitaries from various parts of the world, including Additional Secretary, Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Smt. Maninder Kaur Dwivedi from Govt. of India.