India is today Bangladesh's largest export destination in Asia, the Indian High Commissioner here has said, highlighting the importance of multimodal connectivity in unlocking the true potential of bilateral cooperation between the two countries.

 

High Commissioner Pranay Verma made these remarks on Monday after Shipping Minister Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury inaugurated the Sultanganj port, establishing naval connectivity between Bangladesh’s Rajshahi and India’s Murshidabad.

 

'The future of our partnership lies in efficient multimodal connectivity - encompassing road and rail, inland waterways, and coastal shipping,' he said.

 

Farmers may be crying over the ban on export of fresh onions imposed by the government. But India’s onion dehydration hub, Mahuva, is all smiles these days.

The dehydration units in this coastal town of Bhavnagar have started functioning full throttle 40 days in advance due to the easy and cheap availability of fresh onions.

Mahuva processes 90% of fresh onions in the country and bulbs from Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, and other states are sent here.

 

Factory owners believe that they will process 20% more stock compared to last financial year and are hopeful of bagging good export orders.

 

Vitthal Koradiya, an exporter of dehydrated onions, said, 'Generally, the processing units start operation by the end of Feb or first week of Mar after the arrival of fresh stock. However, due to the export ban, there is a huge availability of stock, and around 40 to 50 big units that have a huge customer base abroad started operations from Jan 8.'

All 125 units are expected to start functioning fully in a fortnight. 'There is a 10% rise in the demand for processed onions from the Gulf countries,' Koradiya added.

 

The processing units are currently getting 50,000 to 70,000 bags (each of 50 kg) per day for dehydration while they require two lakh bags per day to start all 125 units.

India, one of the biggest exporters of onion in the world, imposed a ban on the export in December last year to control the skyrocketing prices in the local market. The price per kg in the local market crossed Rs 80 per kg before the ban but it has dropped to Rs 30 per kg.

Manoj Ram, president of All India Vegetables Dehydration Association said, 'The fresh onion prices in the wholesale market were between Rs 400 to Rs 450 per 20 kg before the ban. At present, we are getting fresh onions for around Rs 225 to Rs 260 and expect this to drop to Rs 200 by the end of Feb.'

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Indonesian Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto confirmed that the government had decided to import 1.6 million tons of rice to meet domestic needs due to a two-month delay in the harvest.

 

'There should be a big harvest in March-April, but it is postponed to April, May, and June, resulting in lower production, so the government decides to import,' Airlangga said in Jakarta on February 15.

 

In addition to importing, he stated that the government will be intensifying rice distribution under the Stabilization of Food Supply and Prices (SPHP) program from 150,000 tons to 250,000 tons to meet people's demand.

 

To facilitate the distribution process, he said that the basic commodity would be repackaged with adjusted weights.

 

'The rice is usually packed in 5 kilograms. For some regions, we distribute it in larger weights and each region can repack it in 50kg, 25kg, or 5kg packets,' said Airlangga, adding that the costs incurred during the repacking process would be reimbursed by the government. 

 

Airlangga further emphasized that these efforts are necessary given the current global economic situation, which shows no signs of improvement in the future. 'Global economic growth is still slowing down,' he said.

India, Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia and South Africa have raised concerns at a latest World Trade Organization (WTO) draft on dispute settlement reform which proposes inclusion of mediators during consultations and the composition and powers of dispute settlement panels.

 

In a submission made Monday, they said that novel ideas like narrowing the possibility of appeal to 'exceptional circumstances' may lead to confusion and adversely impact the ability of developing countries to access the dispute resolution system.

 

The draft has proposed that the panel be given powers to categorise cases into standard, complex and extraordinarily complex cases, which many countries have opposed.

 

On the introduction of an element of mandatory alternate dispute resolution (ADR) and arbitration, the five nations said that it introduces 'numerous guidelines, requirements, and additional processes, which will curtail the flexibility that is a core characteristic of such processes, therefore disincentivizing developing countries including least developing countries from taking recourse to ADR'.

 

The impact of the introduction of such a multiplicity of provisions has to be examined in greater depth, they said.

 

The submission comes ahead of a key ministerial conference of WTO later this month where India, along with 100 countries, wants restoration of a fully functional and transparent appellate body which ensures a fair appeals process. New Delhi has also emphasised on retaining the member-driven, consensus-based decision making principles of the WTO.

 

The dispute settlement mechanism of WTO is defunct due to a non-functional appellate body since December 2019 as the US has been blocking the appointment of judges.

 

The five nations highlighted that there have been some informal discussions on the appellate review mechanism, which touch on issues of leave to appeal and standard of review.

 

'This discussion is being conducted in isolation from the issue of the restoration of the appellate body and the permanence of the underlying appellate structure,' they said.

 

As per the submission, the proposed addition of a 'conciliator or mediator assistance during consultations' complicates the litigative streams. 'The proposed inclusion of political consultation in ADR during the compliance stage will make the process more complex and unpredictable for the countries with smaller economies,' they said.

The foundation stone of Bharat Mart, which will combine retail, warehousing and logistics facilities at Jebel Ali Free Trade Zone in Dubai, was laid during a virtual ceremony by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) vice president, Mohamed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, on Wednesday.

 

Bharat Mart is a joint initiative of DP World, a Dubai-based multinational that specialises in logistics, port terminal operations and maritime services, and India’s commerce ministry that is aimed at boosting exports by Indian small and medium-sized enterprises.

 

The facility, which has been compared to China’s Dragon Mart, will be built by DP World and is expected to be operational by 2025. The facility, set to cover more than 100,000 sq metres, will help cut the cost and time for shipping goods from India to Africa and Europe.

 

Modi and Mohamed bin Rashid, who is also the UAE prime minister and ruler of Dubai, expressed confidence that Bharat Mart will further enhance India-UAE trade by leveraging Jebel Ali Port’s strategic location and strength in logistics, the external affairs ministry said in a statement.

 

Bharat Mart can potentially play a key role in promoting the exports of India’s micro, small and medium sectors by providing them with a platform to reach international buyers in the Gulf, West Asia, Africa and Eurasia, Modi said.

 

Modi also held a bilateral meeting with Mohamed bin Rashid and discussed bilateral cooperation in a range of areas, including trade, investment, technology, space, education and people-to-people ties.

 

They expressed satisfaction at the rapidly growing economic and commercial ties between India and the UAE.

 

In this context, they acknowledged the role of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement inked by the two countries in 2022 and welcomed the signing of the bilateral investment treaty on Tuesday.

 

Modi thanked Mohammed bin Rashid for his 'graciousness towards the Indian community living in Dubai'. Both leaders acknowledged the contributions of the Indian diaspora to Dubai’s evolution into a global hub for trade, services and tourism.

 

Modi conveyed his deep appreciation to Mohammed bin Rashid for granting land in Dubai for an Indian community hospital that will offer affordable healthcare facilities for Indian blue-collar workers. He also invited the ruler of Dubai to visit India.

 

Modi also met Madagascar President Andry Rajoelina on the margins of the World Governments Summit in Dubai. This was the first meeting between the two leaders, who acknowledged the long-standing friendly relations and ancient geographical ties between the two countries.

 

The leaders discussed ways to advance bilateral ties and appreciated their close cooperation in multilateral forums, including the UN. Modi said India is committed to strengthening the India-Madagascar partnership and to SAGAR or Security and Growth for All in the Region, the policy for Indian Ocean states.

 

Modi said that as a fellow developing country in the Indian Ocean region, India will remain a 'committed partner in the developmental journey of Madagascar'.

A delegation led by H.E. Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, Secretary-General of ASEAN, called on Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Shri Arjun Munda today at Krishi Bhavan, New Delhi.

 

Union Agriculture Minister extended a warm welcome to the delegation and affirmed that India values its relationship with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) as a key pillar of its foreign policy in line with India’s Act East Policy. Union Minister emphasized the need to deepen our existing ASEAN-India relations by focusing on cooperation in the field of Agriculture. It was noted that India regularly participates in the ASEAN-India Agriculture Ministers’ Meeting and reaffirmed the commitment that India and ASEAN shall continue to work on issues of mutual interests including food security. In this context recalling successful celebration of ASEAN-India Millets Festival, Union Minister underlined the need of collective efforts towards mainstreaming millets. Union Minister also announced training programmes for ASEAN Member States at various institutions of ICAR including on Post Harvest Agriculture.

 

H.E. Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, ASEAN Secretary General applauded India’s efforts on agriculture cooperation under ASEAN-India framework. He called upon the need to expand work on various sectors such as agriculture products, best practices, exchange programs, climate change, food security etc. He emphasized that India and ASEAN could jointly work towards sustainable Agriculture, promotion of digital technology in the agricultural sector and reduction of harmful agrochemicals to benefit the farming community in ASEAN Member States using India’s expertise and scientific knowledge in addressing these challenges.

 

Union Agriculture and Farmers Affairs Minister reiterated the commitment of India’s continuous support for strengthening and expanding the India-ASEAN partnership in general and cooperation on agriculture in specific.

Prime Minister Modi on Wednesday held talks with Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai who is also its PM and defence minister, focusing on trade, investment, technology, space, education and people-to-people ties.

They expressed satisfaction at the rapidly growing economic and commercial ties between India and the Gulf nation, and acknowledged in particular the key role played by Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement.

 

They also welcomed signing of bilateral investment treaty, said Indian govt said.

'It is always a delight to meet @HHShkMohd. His vision for Dubai's growth is clearly visible to the entire world. Our discussions covered a wide range of subjects ranging from commerce to connectivity, and ways to boost people-to-people linkages,' Modi posted on X along with photos of the meeting.

 

The govt, in a statement, said, 'PM Modi thanked PM Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum for his graciousness towards the Indian community living in Dubai. Both leaders acknowledged the contribution of the Indian diaspora in Dubai's evolution into a global hub for trade, services and tourism.'

India and the UAE on Tuesday concluded seven agreements, including a Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT), Intergovernmental Framework Agreement on the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor and MoUs linking payment systems, following talks between PM Narendra Modi and President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in Abu Dhabi.

 

The BIT will be a key enabler for further promoting investments in both countries. India has signed both BIT and Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement with the UAE.

 

The agreement on interlinking of the instant payment platforms — UPI (India) and AANI (UAE) — will facilitate seamless cross-border transactions between the two countries. This follows the MoU on interlinking payment and messaging systems signed in July last year during PM Modi’s visit to Abu Dhabi.

 

The agreement on inter-linking domestic debit/credit cards — RuPay (India) with JAYWAN (UAE) — is an important step in building financial sector cooperation which will enhance the universal acceptance of RuPay across the UAE.

 

Modi congratulated Zayed Al Nahyan on the launch of UAE’s domestic card JAYWAN, which is based on the digital RuPay credit and debit card stack. The leaders witnessed a transaction made using the JAYWAN card.

 

The MoU on cooperation in the field of electrical interconnection and trade opens new areas of collaboration in the field of energy, including energy security and energy trade.

 

An Intergovernmental Framework Agreement between India and the UAE on the India-Middle East Economic Corridor would build on previous understandings and cooperation on this matter and foster India and the UAE cooperation furthering regional connectivity.

 

The MoU on cooperation in digital infrastructure projects will create a framework for a wide ranging cooperation, including investment cooperation, in the digital infrastructure sector and also facilitate sharing of technical knowledge, skills and expertise.

 

The cooperation protocol between the national archives of the two countries will shape extensive bilateral cooperation in this field including restoration and preservation of archival material.

 

The MoU for cooperation in the field of heritage and museums would foster engagement between the two countries aimed at supporting the Maritime Heritage Complex at Lothal, Gujarat.

 

The leaders also discussed the strengthening of energy partnership. They appreciated that in addition to the UAE being among the largest sources of crude and LPG, India is now entering into long term contracts for LNG.

 

Ahead of the visit, RITES Limited signed an agreement with Abu Dhabi Ports Company and Gujarat Maritime Board with Abu Dhabi Ports Company. These would help in building port infrastructure and further enhance connectivity between the two countries.

 

Modi is on a two day visit to the UAE, his seventh trip to the Gulf nation since 2015.

India is working to develop new tariff codes, called Harmonised System of Nomenclature or HSN codes in trade parlance, for certain rice varieties to enable exports of those which are traditionally not consumed by the people in the country, officials said Tuesday. At present, all categories of non-basmati white rice are banned for exports.

 

The Agricultural & Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), is working on separate HSN codes for rice varieties which are GI (Geographical Indications) tagged such as Red Rice, Black Rice and Kalanamak Rice.

 

Every product that is globally traded, is coded as per the HSN system which describes and classifies all these goods.

 

Rajesh Agarwal, additional secretary in the commerce department, said that there are 40-50 varieties of non-basmati rice and when the government bans the export of that, all the varieties such as Sona Masuri, Govind Bhog, Kalanamak, or normal white non-basmati rice get impacted.

 

He said new HSN code for some other varieties of rice is the demand of the industry and a decision would be taken after a detailed stakeholder consultation.

 

'We are trying to see whether is there a merit in doing so because as a country on one hand we will not like to impose bans on rice, which we are not worried too much about, but at the same time, we need to see that there is enough incentives for farmers to keep on producing the normal varieties of rice also which is the core staple diet of the country,' he added.

 

Currently, there are six HSN codes for non-basmati rice and one for basmati rice.

 

The move assumes significance as the Red Sea crisis is expected to impact India’s rice exports this year. Due to restrictions on exports of rice, sugar, and wheat, India’s agri-exports may fall 9% but the country has started exports of commodities like water chestnut and makhana (fox nut).

He said that in 2022-23, 22 million tones of rice were exported.

 

'This year we will not be exporting... Non-basmati rice, we are not exporting, because we do not know whether there will be an exportable surplus or not,' he said.

 

The government is likely to come out with revamped guidelines for the National Programme for Organic Production (NPOP) in the next one month.

 

APEDA chairman Abhishek Dev said that India’s export of agricultural products has reached $26.7 billion in 2022-23 from $0.6 billion exports in 1987-88.

 

India has expanded the export basket to over 200 countries and now supplies fresh fruits to 111 countries. The exporters’ body is also planning trial shipments of mangoes, and pomegranates to the US and the EU Union through sea routes.

The Global Pulse Confederation (GPC)’s three days convention — Pulses 24 — will kickstart in Delhi on February 15 where several dignitaries including ministers, top officials and industry leaders from India and about 40 other countries are slated to discuss issues including strategies by India to achieve self-sufficiency in production.

 

The event, organised by GPC in co-operation with co-operative major Nafed, will amplify the message of pulses as smart crops for a sustainable future and provide a platform for collaboration and innovation to further this mission, GPC said in a statement.

 

'Pulses are vital in the development of sustainable food systems and key players when it comes to food security and nutrition in India. The time and place of GPC’s New Delhi convention this year couldn’t be more apt as we look at bringing the global pulses industry together to connect and collaborate,' said GPC President Vijay Iyengar.

 

'The presence of so many high-level government speakers points to the government’s active role in furthering the cause of pulses in the country, underlining the importance of these crops,' Iyengar said.

 

Despite being the world’s largest producer and consumer of pulses, previous annual conferences organised by the GPC have been held in various locations worldwide, including Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), Cesmi (Turkey), Vancouver (Canada), Barcelona (Spain), Singapore, Las Vegas (USA), Colombo (Sri Lanka), Cape Town (South Africa), and Sydney (Australia).

 

Sunil Kumar Singh, additional Managing Director of Nafed, said when he attended a global conference of GPC earlier he realised that it was never held in India and so he proposed the GPC Board to hold it here and it agreed.

 

Apart from providing a platform for the enhancement of the global pulses trade, GPC is committed to positioning pulses as smart crops for a sustainable future, the statement said. It is dedicated to increasing the consumption and production of pulses worldwide to mitigate the impacts of climate change, malnutrition and food insecurity.