South Africa’s foreign minister said Saudi Arabia and four other countries have accepted the invitation to join the BRICS club of nations that was extended during a summit last year.

 

Minister Naledi Pandor said that Russia, who takes over as chair of the bloc this year from South Africa, has received written interest from 34 countries who want to join. Saudi Arabia, Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia and the United Arab Emirates are now full members, she said.

 

'Argentina has written to indicate that they will not act on this successful application by the previous administration to become full members of BRICS and we accept their decision,' Pandor told a press briefing in the capital, Pretoria, on Wednesday.

 

Leaders from Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa agreed to enlarge their BRICS group from Jan. 1 at a summit held in Johannesburg in August.

 

BRICS foreign ministers are developing a so-called BRICS partner country model to accommodate 17 nations who were not accepted as full members, Pandor said.

 

The bloc is also devising a framework to allow members to use their local currencies for inter-BRICS trade. The minister said that the bloc found the current, predominantly dollar-based international payment system to be 'unfair and costly.'

Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs, Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman said that the recently announced India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor is a strategic and economic game changer for India and others. While presenting the Interim Budget 2024-25 in Parliament today, the Minister quoted the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi saying that the corridor 'will become the basis of world trade for hundreds of years to come, and history will remember that this corridor was initiated on Indian soil'. 

 

Highlighting the global context, Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman said that geopolitically, global affairs are becoming more complex and challenging with wars and conflicts. She noted that globalization is being redefined with reshoring and friend-shoring, disruption and fragmentation of supply chains, and competition for critical minerals and technologies. A new world order is emerging after the COVID-19 pandemic, she added.

 

The Minister stated that India assumed G20 Presidency during very difficult times for the world. She highlighted that the global economy was going through high inflation, high interest rates, low growth, very high public debt, low trade growth, and climate challenges. She said that the pandemic had led to a crisis of food, fertilizer, fuel and finances for the world, while India successfully navigated its way. Smt. Sitharaman said that the country showed the way forward and built consensus on solutions for those global problems.

 

Promoting Investments

The Minister said that the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflow during 2014-23 was USD 596 billion marking a golden era. She highlighted that it is twice the inflow during 2005-14. 

While presenting the Interim Budget 2024-25, the Minister further said, 'For encouraging sustained foreign investment, we are negotiating bilateral investment treaties with our foreign partners, in the spirit of ‘first develop India’.'

Farmer’s welfare and boosting rural demand is one of the main  highlights of interim budget 2024-25 presented by  Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman in Parliament today.  Terming Farmers as our ‘Annadata’, Smt. Sitharaman stated that Minimum support prices for the produce of ‘Annadata’   are periodically increased appropriately. The Finance Minister said that every year, under PM-KISAN SAMMAN Yojana, direct financial assistance is provided to 11.8 crore farmers, including marginal and small farmers, while crop insurance is given to 4 crore farmers under PM Fasal Bima Yojana. She stated that these, besides several other programmes, are assisting ‘Annadata’  in producing food for the country and the world and added that the worries about food have been eliminated through free ration for 80 crore people.

 

The interim budget 2024-25 has promised for stepping up value addition in agricultural sector and boosting of farmers’ income. Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman promised to further promote private and public investment in post-harvest activities including aggregation, modern storage, efficient supply chains, primary and secondary processing and marketing and branding to ensure faster growth of the agriculture and food processing sector.

 

'The sector is poised for inclusive, balanced, higher growth and productivity. These are facilitated from farmer-centric policies, income support, coverage of risks through price and insurance support, promotion of technologies and innovations through start-ups.', the Finance Minister mentioned in her speech.

 

She said Pradhan Mantri Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprises Yojana has assisted 2.4 lakh SHGs and sixty thousand individuals with credit linkages. The finance minister added that other schemes are complementing the efforts for reducing post-harvest losses, and improving productivity and incomes. Smt. Sitharaman mentioned that Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana has benefitted 38 lakh farmers and generated 10 lakh employment. The Finance Miniser said Electronic National Agriculture Market has integrated 1361 mandis, and is providing services to 1.8 crore farmers with trading volume of  Rs. 3 lakh crore.

 

'These and the provision of basic necessities have enhanced real income in the rural areas. Their economic needs could be addressed, thus spurring growth and generating jobs.'  the finance minister asserted. 

 

ATMANIRBHAR OIL SEEDS ABHIYAN

 

The interim budget 2024-25 presented by  Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman has said a strategy will be formulated to achieve ‘atmanirbharta’ for oil seeds such as mustard, groundnut, sesame, soybean, and sunflower. The Finance Minister mentioned in her speech that this will cover research for high-yielding varieties, widespread adoption of modern farming techniques, market linkages, procurement, value addition, and crop insurance.    

 

NANO DAP

'After the successful adoption of Nano Urea, application of Nano DAP on various crops will be expanded in all agro-climatic zones.' Union Finance Minister mentioned in her speech. 

India and ASEAN member countries are set to revisit their free trade agreement (FTA). A delegation from Southeast Asia, comprising about 50 members, including high-ranking officials, will arrive in New Delhi for a three-day discussion starting 17 February, according to two people aware of the matter.

 

The review will focus on the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA), which has been in place for over a decade, and will likely include more goods and services under non-tariff barriers, said one of the persons cited above. 

 

'There is also a need to modernise the ATIGA, which has been signed over a decade ago,' the person said, requesting anonymity.

 

Officials from India and ASEAN have established a quarterly negotiation schedule, aiming to conclude the review by 2025. A key aspect of this review will be updating the Rules of Origin (ROO), to enhance the efficiency of the agreement, the person added.

 

The Rules of Origin are crucial in international trade, as they determine the national origin of products for government and international trade treaty purposes.

 

India's commerce ministry and ASEAN secretariat had not responded to emailed queries sent on 25 January.

 

Signed in 2009, the AITIGA came into effect in 2010. The decision to review it came at the 16th ASEAN-India Economic Ministers Meeting in September 2019, following multiple requests from member nations. The scope of the review was finalized in September 2022, with the first meetings scheduled for February 2024.

 

India's trade deficit with ASEAN has grown significantly, from $7.5 billion annually when the agreement came into effect to approximately $44 billion in FY23. This fiscal year so far, India has exported goods worth $44 billion to the region, while imports stood at $87.57 billion.

 

The ASEAN comprises of Brunei Darussalam, Burma, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. These countries represented about 11% of India's global trade in FY23.

 

India's trade with ASEAN has evolved from agricultural raw materials and food to manufactured goods. India imports items like palm oil, coal, and minerals from ASEAN countries, while exporting transport equipment, chemicals, textiles, and other manufactured and agricultural products.

 

The FTA review aligns with the Indian government's Look East policy. Experts suggest that restructuring trade and investment relations with ASEAN is crucial, as these economies are poised to significantly influence global trade flows.

 

Dattesh Parulekar, assistant professor of International Relations at Goa University, highlights the importance of equitably addressing market access issues in goods and services trade. “India and ASEAN need to address each other's concerns towards building a common supply chain product lines resilient framework, even whilst addressing concerns that RCEP (Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership) provisions will override mutual trade accords.'

There are unlimited opportunities for India-Australia economic cooperation in today’s challenging geostrategic and geoeconomic context, provided both sides adopt a flexible and pragmatic approach.

 

This was the broad sense of a high-level panel discussiontitled, 'Australia and India: Trade Strategies in an Era of Great Power Competition', held at the Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University, Canberra.

 

The panel discussion was the first in a series of events being organised in different cities of Australia over the next few days to commemorate the 40th anniversary of CUTS International, a global public policy think tank.

 

During the two-hour session, various facets of the bilateral trade relationship and the state of the multilateral trading system were discussed.

 

Experts agreed that the India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA) was an important milestone in bilateral trade. Both sides deserved credit for sealing the deal, supported by political guidance from the highest levels.

 

The early upward trends seen in levels of goods trade and a strong potential for greater services trade and business mobility were pointed out as positive signs.

 

However, there was a sense that the ongoing negotiations towards the full Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) will be more challenging, given that the most sensitive issues for both sides are the ones remaining to be tackled. Yet, there was optimism that the new areas of collaboration identified within the CECA framework will enhance levels of cooperation in so far underutilised sectors.

 

Another key point of discussion was the need to ensure that trade is not seen as a zero-sum game. Experts agreed that more effort is required to build the narrative that trade is a complementary process requiring not just an export orientation, but also an openness to imports.

 

On the multilateral trading system, it was pointed out that both Australia and India were strong votaries of the WTO. However, they have traditionally had divergent negotiatinginterests within the institution, aligned with their respective domestic priorities. There was a view that both sides need to try and work together to preserve the open, rules-based multilateral trading system and ensure that the dispute settlement system is revived.

 

It remains to be seen how the goodwill generated through greater bilateral trade cooperation through the ECTA/CECA can be translated into efforts to revive and embrace trade multilateralism.

 

Furthermore, the discussions touched upon India-Australia cooperation within other platforms such as the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF), Quad and the Supply Chain Resilience Initiative (SCRI).

 

In terms of Australia India cooperation, mention was also made on defence equipment trade and investment. The return of industrial policy globally caused some concern because of the inherent protectionism which arises due to it.

 

Cooperation with like-minded countries within these frameworks serves as a complement to the bilateral relationship. Experts pointed to the need to advance discussions in these fora with a view to achieving synergy between them.

 

Participants at the high-level panel discussion included Pradeep S Mehta, Secretary General, CUTS; Shiro Armstrong, Editor, East Asia Forum; Tim Yeend, Associate Secretary, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), Australia; Ravi Kewalram, First Assistant Secretary & Chief Negotiator, DFAT; Amb. Anil Wadhwa, Distinguished Fellow, CUTS; Peter Draper, Executive Director, Institute for International Trade, Adelaide; Prudence Gordon, Executive Director, Australian Centre for International Trade and Investment, among others.

The India-Africa Dialogue on Farm Mechanization, held in January at the Ludhiana Exhibition Hall in India, brought together a diverse group of experts, practitioners, researchers, machinery manufacturers, financial institutions, and policymakers from both India and various African nations to foster South-South learning on farm mechanization.

 

The event was jointly organized and represented a collaborative initiative by institutions including the International Crops Research Institute for the Arid and Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), the All India Agricultural Machinery Manufacturers Association, the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare of the Government of India, Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), CGIAR- Excellence in Agronomy (EiA), and Udan Media and Communications in Ludhiana.

 

The dialogue aimed to address the challenges and opportunities related to agricultural mechanization in Africa and focused on developing, refining, adapting, and targeting scale-appropriate mechanization solutions.

 

The participants discussed the need for context-specific, value-chain mechanization solutions to enhance food security, increase productivity, and reduce environmental footprints.

 

 

Director General of ICRISAT, Dr Jacqueline Hughes said that the India-Africa Dialogue on Farm Mechanization highlights the transformative impact of sustainable agricultural mechanization on dryland farming communities.

 

'Mechanization contributes to positive outcomes, including increased productivity, reduced costs, and minimised post-harvest losses as but some examples.

 

 

'Events like these are crucial to promote cooperation among nations in the Global South, to enhance technology transfer, food security, productivity, and environmental sustainability,' said Dr Hughes.

 

Dr ML Jat, Global Research Program Director for Resilient Farm and Food Systems at ICRISAT highlighted the commonalities between India and Africa in terms of agriculture, emphasizing the potential for co-learning.

 

 

'One of the key areas of that learning is related to increased agricultural mechanization at farm level and in the agrifood value chain that are economically, environmentally and socially sustainable.

 

'In this context, use of agricultural mechanization within a sustainability framework can bring a wide range of benefits through time efficiency speeding up operations in the food production process, increase yields, reduce production costs, increase cropping intensity, increase efficiency of production inputs, reduce post-harvest losses and reduce drudgery of farm workers' said Dr Jat.

 

During panel discussions, participants emphasized the importance of sustainable mechanization, which takes into account economic, environmental, and social aspects. They also highlighted the advantages of mechanization, such as saving time, boosting yields, cutting production costs, increasing cropping frequency, and enhancing the use of production resources.

 

The chair of the panel, VN Kale, who serves as the Commissioner of Mechanisation in the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Government of India, emphasized that dialogues offer significant opportunities for Africa.

 

He encouraged participants to apply the lessons learned immediately for implementation. Furthermore, he stressed that bilateral partnerships would be crucial for promoting scale-appropriate farm mechanization in Africa.

 

'India through its partners will play a key role in supporting Africa in mechanization, strengthening the process of visiting experts to African countries and arranging seminars/workshops for dealers and manufacturers in Africa.

 

'South-south cooperation is a key framework for knowledge exchange and India is ready to support and strengthen mechanization in Africa' said' VN Kale.

 

African representatives, including Saidi Mkomwa from the Africa Conservation Tillage Network, highlighted the significance of mechanization in addressing food security challenges, especially in the face of increased population and climate change.

 

'Africa is facing challenges like increased population and climate change. What we have learned here is critical in agricultural transformation.

 

'The African Congress on Sustainable Mechanization will be organized shortly in Africa. We request India to support this cause and use this opportunity to showcase the state-of-the-art scale appropriate Machinery suitable to Africa as a part of south-south collaboration.' said Mr. Saidi.

 

Patrick Ketiem, Director, Kenya Agriculture and Livestock Research Organization, emphasized the need for technology and knowledge beyond tractors and he challenged ICRISAT and its partners to upscale collaboration with the government on scale-appropriate mechanization primarily for inter-cultivation, processing, and post-harvest operations in the country.

 

Dalisto Varegeyi, Provincial Mechanization Director from Zimbabwe in his remarks noted that the Government of Zimbabwe is promoting mechanization suitable for large-scale farmers but he underscored the importance of focusing on smallholder farmers.

 

'The requirement for African countries is basically for seeding, harvesting, and aftercare as the latter accounts for almost 30-40 percent losses of food grain production every year.

 

'Gender-inclusive mechanization is required at the value chain level. Small-scale farmers do not need small machines but they need smart machines' said Mr Varegeyi.

 

Sekou Sala Guindo, Head of Mechanization in Mali, pointed out the low mechanization rate in Mali, where all field operations, including ploughing, seeding, and harvesting, are done manually. He highlighted the potential for significant farm mechanization in Mali due to its youthful agricultural workforce.

 

He expressed gratitude to ICRISAT and partners for their support in introducing appropriate tools and machinery to the country.

 

HS Sidhu, Principal Agricultural Engineer from Punjab Agricultural University, India, and HS Jat, Director of ICAR-Indian Institute of Maize Research, highlighted the advancements in mechanization in India that could benefit African farmers. Mr. Sarabjit Singh, the Secretary of the All India Agricultural Machinery Manufacturers Association, India, expressed readiness to introduce suitable machinery and engage in knowledge sharing in response to the panel’s discussion on the state of mechanization and challenges in Africa.

 

The dialogue concluded by discussing the mechanization status in India and Africa, finding cost-effective mechanization solutions for African farmers, and promoting partnerships between Indian and African stakeholders.

 

A key takeaway from the event was the commitment to enhance farm mechanization through collaboration between countries in the Global South.

The 'threat' posed by China offers an opportunity for the US and India to make strong agreements, including a genuine Free Trade Agreement (FTA) to ensure that the two countries will look at each other as first partners, according to Darrell Issa, an influential American lawmaker. Issa, a Republican Congressman from California, said this during a conversation with Aparna Pande, Research Fellow, India, and South Asia with the think tank Hudson Institute here on Monday.

 

Agreeing that the India-US relationship today does seem to be based in no small part on the China threat, he said, 'Having said that, I view this China threat as an opportunity to do with that we did not do.'

 

The items produced in China could be produced in India, at substantially similar costs (and) would more than allow for India to substantially replace its dirty fuel with clean fuel, Issa said.

'But that requires that the two countries really make strong agreements, including a genuine Free Trade Agreement (FTA), one that ensures that the two will look at each other as first partners. I think we're a long way down the road toward doing it,' he said at the event, 'A Conversation with Rep. Darrell Issa on US-South Asia Relations.'

 

'Who are the people running some of our largest and most successful companies in the United States? Who are the innovators in the United States? Who dominates our universities? Answers quite frankly -- Indian exchange students, who want to remain here and Chinese students, who China wants to take back to China! We can harness those together. We already have,' he said.

 

Pointing out that he is someone who's been working on immigration reform for 20 years, and has seen that the number one challenge for Indian H-1B and other temporary visa programmes (for people) who want to become permanent residents and citizens, the Congressman acknowledged that the backlog is huge.

 

'The fact is that the amount of Indian investors who would like to expand their L visas like to bring greater amounts over is massive. These are people who, yes, they want to have a nexus to the country of India. But they also want to have a real foothold in the United States,' he said.

 

Advocating the FTA, Issa said, 'India and the US cannot be partners only against something and expect it to last. Britain, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and for that matter, the NATO alliance ... all have common sides. But they also have ever-growing free trade agreements, ever-growing mutual agreements to share technology. They also have companies which are headquartered in one and substantially doing business in the other.'

 

'The same has to be done for India. Are we equal partners? No, we're not. We have more money. You have more people. We have more people who want to be lawyers. You have more people who want to be engineers,' he said.

 

The Congressman observed how the Indian and the US societies 'share many of the same values, but approach the work ethic and the education ethic in a substantially different way' in which the shortages in the US are disproportionately able to be filled in partnership with India.

 

'I don't believe in one world. I believe that the world is made up of partnerships. And a partner of one to another is bilateral. But when a partner of one has five other partners and invites them into that relationship, then you build a multilateral relationship,' he said.

 

Responding to a question on the upcoming elections in Pakistan, Issa said the country does not have a free and fair election.

 

'Pakistan does not have free and fair elections. Pakistan, at best, has elections in which somebody can win in spite of the incumbent system pushing against them. But that means the only time there's a change in power in Pakistan is when it gets really bad when the people are so adamantly opposed, that in spite of all that, there is a change.

 

'When there is it usually doesn't end up being because you still have the corruption that is endemic in there the absence of rule of law and foremost, you have the military, and no government can long remain independent when at the end of the day, your ability to be independent is kept in the hands of the military,' he said.

 

'If you displease them, one way or the other, you'll be gone,' he said, adding that he continues to believe that there are small differences. In democracies, local elections sometimes can give you honesty and improvement, national elections are usually the last ones to give you that. The same is true in India,' he said.

An orientation session was held for about 500 farmers and prospective agri entrepreneurs from Tiruchi, Pudukottai, and Perambalur districts about the opportunities available for exporting agriculture produce at a seminar-cum-exhibition hosted by the Department of Agricultural Marketing and Agri Business and Agricultural Marketing Board here on Tuesday.

 

Exporters, agri entrepreneurs and officials handled the sessions on various topics to apprise farmers, farmers producers organisation members, and prospective agri entrepreneurs of the export opportunities, value addition, procedure for obtaining licences, government support and other issues.

 

Key aspects such as export regulations, international standard certification, smart export packing techniques, labelling prerequisites and food processing machinery and importance of value addition to meet international market requirements were discussed. Participants were given an overview on starting a firm, selecting markets, sending samples, and determining the appropriate price for their products.

 

Officials said the event was aimed at educating farmers about exporting their produce directly without intermediaries. The diverse range of agricultural products exported from Tamil Nadu was showcased.

 

M. Sakthivel, Joint Director of Agriculture, and G. Saravanan, Deputy Director, Agricultural Marketing and Agri Business, spoke.

 

Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy and Australian High Commissioner to India Philip Green on Tuesday discussed opportunities to expand ecotourism and deploy advanced technology in agriculture.

 

Mr. Philip Green called on Mr. Revanth at the Secretariat, where the two discussed the educational development programmes in Telangana and hoped that direct connectivity between Hyderabad and Australia would improve soon. Minister for Industries and IT D. Sridhar Babu, Minister for Forest Konda Surekha and others were present.

 

Thousands of farmers' collectives across various states are now benefitting from the opportunity to sell a diverse range of agricultural products on the government's e-commerce platform, the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC). Since the inclusion of farmers' producer organisations (FPOs) on the ONDC platform in April 2023, approximately 4,000 such bodies have successfully marketed 3,100 varieties of value-added agricultural products.

 

How Does ONDC Help?

The ONDC plays a crucial role in supporting and training FPOs, offering free registration and assistance in developing and digitising product catalogues. Additionally, the platform aids in generating shipping labels, identifying delivery partners, and facilitating digital payments. This comprehensive support empowers FPOs to leverage the digital marketplace efficiently for marketing their products.

 

The collaboration between ONDC and the Small Farmers Agribusiness Consortium (SFAC), an entity under the agriculture ministry, aims to address challenges faced by FPOs in accessing markets nationwide.

 

What is ONDC?

Launched in April 2022 as a section 8 company by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, ONDC has emerged as a pivotal platform for agricultural commerce. The recent partnership with Meta underscores the platform's commitment to upskilling small businesses, including FPOs, highlighting the convergence of technology and agriculture.

 

For FPOs, the digital network provided by ONDC offers direct access to digital marketing, online payment systems, and facilitates both business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) transactions. This not only enhances the market reach for FPOs but also encourages local value addition, contributing to the growth of logistics in rural areas.