Agriculture minister Shivaraj Singh Chouhan on Saturday reviewed various schemes with state agriculture ministers and sought their suggestions on ongoing programmes and budget allocation ahead of the Union Budget. During a virtual meeting, Chouhan expressed satisfaction over the agriculture and allied sector's likely higher growth rate of 3.5-4 per cent in the 2024-25 fiscal year, and urged state governments to work at a 'faster pace', according to an official statement.

 

The Ministry of Commerce is eyeing 20 key nations to boost exports of goods and services from India.

Senior officials from the commerce ministry, and commercial wings of Indian Missions of 20 countries are holding a three-day meet from today (6 January) to discuss ways to promote exports of goods and services to devise strategies for boosting exports of goods and services.

 

The Uttar Pradesh government is drafting a new export policy to boost the state’s share in India’s exports. The move aims to provide additional incentives to exporters.

 In the last financial year (FY24), UP’s merchandise exports were worth nearly $20.67 billion, contributing 4.71 per cent to India’s total exports. With the new policy, the government targets to increase this share to 7.5 per cent, a senior official said. For the first six months of FY25, the state logged exports worth $10.56 billion, raising its share in the country's total exports to 4.89 per cent.

 

The Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan has urged all states to intensify their efforts under the National Mission on Edible Oils - Oil Palm (NMEO-OP). This mission serves as a cornerstone of India’s vision to achieve self-sufficiency in edible oil production, reduce dependence on imports and enhance farmer incomes.

 

Economic growth may have sped up following the slowdown in the September quarter, with business activity showing signs of improvement in the third quarter, economists said. However, growth for the year is expected to remain subdued, they added, putting it below FY24's 8.2%.

 

Another 27,000 tons of boiled rice are coming from India in the second shipment. The vessel carrying the rice is expected to arrive at the Chittagong port on January 10.

Mohammad Shahid Uddin Mahmud, Sub-Controller of the Chittagong Shipping and Preservation Control Office, confirmed this information.  

 

Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said that State Government is planning to establish a potato processing plant in Una district, with an investment of approximately Rs 20 crore. The plant will have a minimum processing capacity of 500 kg per hour and will primarily focus on producing potato flakes and agricultural department has been directed to formulate a detailed project report (DPR) in this regard. He said that agriculture accounts for 14 percent of Himachal Pradesh’s Gross State Domestic Product, with potatoes being a key crop.

 

Arunachal agriculture minister Gabriel D Wangsu has said allocating funds under centrally sponsored schemes (CSS) based solely on population metrics is detrimental to the state.

 

Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority (JNPA) said it has issued Letter of Award (LoA) to Trident Agrocom Exports Private Ltd and Man Infraconstruction Ltd consortium for the development of an export-import cum domestic agriculture commodity-based processing and storage facility on its land.

 

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Friday said despite global economic uncertainties, India's exports of goods and services are expected to cross USD 800 billion this fiscal, which will be a record. Last fiscal year, the exports stood at USD 778 billion.