Switzerland is keen to accelerate bilateral ties with India by tapping more trade and investment opportunities, and both countries are also working to create an innovation platform, according to Swiss Ambassador to India Ralf Heckner.

 

Emphasising that his 'expectations are very high', he said innovation and a free trade agreement can take the bilateral relations to the next level.

 

In an interview with PTI here, Heckner said he sees a lot of convergence between both countries when it comes to innovation.

 

'Switzerland being the most innovative country and more innovations (are) being created in India, what I would like to see is the most strategic innovation relationship. We are working with the Indian government to create an innovation platform that will bring the best universities, IITs and federal institutes of technology in Switzerland together with very innovative Swiss and Indian businesses,' he said.

 

The idea of creating an innovation platform is at an initial stage, and in this regard, a pilot project that is focused on anti-microbial resistance is in progress.

 

'By the end of the year, we will be presenting our first results when it comes to the pilot project,' the Ambassador said, adding that there is also convergence in terms of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR).

 

'The more innovative India becomes, India will have an interest in IPR. Switzerland attaches a lot of importance to IPR and I see India moving into that space. That will also open up quite some interesting cooperation,' he noted.

 

In the Global Innovation Index 2022, India’s ranking improved to the 40th position and the list was topped by Switzerland.

 

On the trade front, negotiations between India and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) have been going on for some time. EFTA is an inter-governmental organisation of Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.

 

Against the backdrop of India recently concluding trade deals with Australia and the UAE, Heckner said that he would like to see the negotiations on a free trade agreement between India and EFTA moving forward at a quick pace.

 

'I feel that the Indian government is now open for trade deals…The proof of the pudding is already there, because of trade deals that India has signed with Australia and the UAE.

 

'The next important visit will be that of the State Secretary for Economic Affairs to Delhi in the beginning of February. If we are able to move our negotiations forward, that would take our relations to the next level,' he said.

 

In 2020 to 2021, bilateral trade between Switzerland and India stood at around 11 billion Swiss francs.

 

'In 2023, I would like to see our bilateral relations accelerating… we are not only celebrating 75 years of India’s independence but also 75 years of friendship.

 

'It is so important that countries that are friendly work together. So, we would like to celebrate our friendship, and we expect high-level visits to India and from India also,' Heckner said.

The President of the Republic, H.E. Dr. George Manneh Weah, has issued two Executive Orders affecting critical national issues germane to the security and wellbeing of citizens. On Friday, January 6, the President issued Executive Order #113 suspending the import tariff on rice and Executive Order #114 establishing the West African Police Information System (WAPIS).

 

Executive Order #113 is in consideration of the expiration of Executive Order #105 and the government's commitment to ensuring that the prices of certain basic commodities on the market are affordable and do not impose an unnecessary burden on the citizens.

 

'Now, therefore, the government of Liberia, in its desire to continue bringing relief to the public, hereby issues this Executive Order #113, suspending the import tariff on rice as classified under tariff nos. 1005.30.00 (in packing of more than 5kg or in bulk); 1006.30.00 (in packing of at least 5kg); and 1006.40.00 (broken rice) under the Revenue Code of Liberia Act with immediate effect,' asserts the President.

 

President Weah further indicated that Executive Order #113 is issued against the backdrop of an assessment and evaluation conducted by the government on the causes of increases in the price of various strategic commodities, including rice, with an intent to ameliorate the situation.

 

According to President Weah, based on the findings of the assessment, the government has seen the need to curb 'the continuous increase in the price of rice, in order to make it affordable to the public for purchase.'

 

The Liberian Leader also insists that there exists a need for what he calls 'exigent measures to achieve the desired objectives of easing the economic burden on the citizens and residents to enable access to rice, the staple food, and such measures can't await long legislative processes.'

 

Regarding Executive Order #114 establishing the WAPIS program, President Weah said the decision aligns with an ECOWAS mandate of December 12, 2017 that all member states endorse the West African Police Information System (WAPIS) program.

 

He said it's also against the backdrop that Liberia is a member of International Criminal Police Investigation and implementer of the WAPIS program in the sub-region.

 

The Executive Order opines: 'Whereas, the government of Liberia desires the establishment of a national electronic police information system to be shared by the national law enforcement agencies in Liberia as part of the WAPIS program.'

 

The organic objective of the WAPIS program is to strengthen information exchange and coordination among regional law enforcement agencies.

 

The Executive Order is accordingly consistent with the MOU signed on December 17, 2018 between the government of Liberia and the International Criminal Police Investigation (INTERPOOL), coupled with the fact that actions and activities leading to the establishment of the program have not been enacted by the appropriate Status to enable to operationalize the WAPIS program in Liberia.

 

As per Executive Order #114, a National Steering Committee, or WANACO, has been established to administer the affairs of the WAPIS program, which falls under the Executive Branch of Government and is directly overseen by the Minister of Justice and Attorney General.

 

The Executive Order states that WAPIS will be headquartered in Monrovia at the edifice of the Liberia National Police.

While addressing the international seminar on ‘Sufalam Prithvi Tatva’ on Sunday, Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister, Narendra Singh Tomar said that now is the time when the government and society should come to work together in order to stop the negative impacts on the soil and planet earth.

 

At present, the entire globe is debating on the significant issue of climate change and its negative effects, for which humans are to be blamed, he added.

 

The initiative for corrective measures will need to fall to someone. Our Prime Minister Narendra Modi is working to educate the world about the conservation of the five elements of earth, water, fire, wind, and space as well as the Indian philosophy of 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam' (the world is a family), he noted.

 

He further said that it is true that the country produces an abundance of food grains now, but we also need to improve ourselves so that the future is secure and there is harmony with nature. According to Tomar, who also stated that PM Modi is directing the nation toward natural farming, livestock plays a crucial role in organic farming.

 

Tomar further emphasized that similar to yoga, PM Modi also helped bring awareness to millets' significance across the world. He said that the United Nations had declared 2023 to be the International Year of Millets, with India serving as its chairman, in order to promote nutritional grains throughout the nation and the world.

 

The fact that India is hosting the G20 this year is also a source of pride for the country, according to Tomar, who also said that this will encourage people throughout the world to consider the concept of 'one earth, one family, one future'.

 

The Institute of Agriculture Science, Banaras Hindu University, Bhaurao Devras Trust, Bhartiya Kisan Sangh, and Akshya Krishi Parivar collaborated to host Sufalam Prithvi Tatva on Sunday in the Shatabdi auditorium at the BHU campus.

 

Bhaiyyaji Joshi, a member of the Rashtiya Swayamsevak Sangh’s (RSS) national leadership, emphasized the custom of respecting the five elements—earth, water, fire, wind, and space—and discussed the scientific facets of Indian ideology in his remarks at the ceremony.

 

The life of the soil and the ground must likewise be remembered by the world, he asserted, saying that India always keeps its doors open to ideas from throughout the world for solutions to the world's problems, which must be given priority.

 

Various such seminars were held across the country from January 7-8 wherein models, posters, and documentaries were used to showcase the key components of the earth element.

 

Director of Environment and Sustainable Development Institute, Prof. AS Raghuvanshi, National Organization Minister of Bharatiya Kisan Sangh K Dinesh Dattatreya Kulkarni, All India Gau Sewa Chief Ajit Prasad Mohapatra, Suflam Secretary Prof. Rakesh Singh along with many agricultural scientists and office bearers of farmer's organization were present at the event.

Plant-based meats (i.e., products which have the properties of animal-based items but are sourced purely from plants) and plant-based dairy products (i.e.,products using plant-based alternatives to derive the whole range of dairy products from milk, yogurt, cheese, paneer and so on) have been the rage all across – particularly the Western world over the last couple of years. India was not far behind; we, Indians, have been introduced to this category of food products by a number of startups that entered this arena. A lot of influence has been added using Bollywood and cricket stars, who have taken up promoting this category to the masses. In addition, major QSR brand Dominos introduced a plant-based option as part of their pizza range and ITC introduced an SKU or two as part of their frozen range. Albeit with little success.

 

Plant-based alternatives started to make deeper inroads during the pandemic when there was a concern for health, well-being and hygiene, and, moreover, a lot of consumption was limited to indoors, with out-of-home consumption severely impaired. Furthermore, the talk of how strong an environmental impact plant-based options have over real meat was an added selling point, particularly to the younger generation of consumers who are environmentally-conscious to a greater degree. This gave plant-based alternatives the necessary fillip with a lot of media bites and also became a strong conversation piece across all forms of media.

 

However, the situation in more developed markets, which saw the rapid rise in the introduction, consumption, and acceptance of plant-based alternatives,seems to be flattening out over the last two quarters. For instance, Beyond Meat Inc., a Los Angeles–based producer of plant-based meat substitutes listed on NASDAQ, lost over 75% of its share value in 2022. Particularly so with the retail-focused D2C brands in this segment. About two-thirds of the plant-based meat products are in the frozen category and the rest are in the chilled section.

 

Additionally,apart from the largely funded startups in this space, we have also witnessed the entry of large CPG behemoths such as Unilever, Nestle, and more, who have acquired some of the challenger brands and entered this category. Subsequently, all leading QSR brands such as Domino’s, McDonald's, Burger King and Starbucks have all been adding plant-based meat options to their menus. Ikea, which is amongst the top 10 food chains globally, has introduced a lot of plant-based options in its stores and is targeting a 50% switch to plant-based options over the next 3 to 5 years. Thus, what we can infer is that the foodservice channel is continuing its efforts to introduce the consumer to different plant-based options,with possibly a large number of trials being initiated. Notably, any major food trend initially starts off first in the out-of-home setting and then only gravitates inwards into the house kitchen or refrigerator.

 

Plant-based meat is made from proteins isolated from plant sources, including soy and peas, and dairy-product alternatives are derived primarily from oats, almonds, rice, and soy. Mimicking the taste and texture of what meat products actually taste like requires a whole lot of scientific engineering, processing, the addition of taste-maskers and enhancers, a whole range of chemical additives, colour, flavour, taste-enhancers and so on.

According to the final report on foodgrain output for the previous year, Bihar's production of foodgrains has been recorded at 184 lakh metric tonnes in 2021–2022, an increase of 5 lakh metric tonnes from the year 2020–2021.

 

As per the most recent data on foodgrain production for the years 2021 and 2022, Bihar produced 77.17 lakh metric tonnes of rice and 68.89 lakh metric tonnes of wheat. In the kharif and rabi seasons, a total of 184.86 lakh metric tonnes of food grains were produced in Bihar.

 

The production of food grains in the recently concluded year has surpassed that of the previous several years. The concerned government authorities are seeing these figures as encouraging, assuming it will help with food security.

 

 The achievement is credited to increased seed distribution, enough rainfall in 21 and 22, and other efforts to assist farmers in expanding their cultivation areas for the increase in foodgrain production.

 

The state has produced food grains steadily for the past few years. While the production was 163.80 lakh metric tonnes in 2019–20, it increased to 179.52 lakh metric tonnes in 2020–21.

 

Seeing the latest data, it is anticipated that there would be substantially more wheat produced because the rabi crop thrives in cold, moist weather. Farmers in several sections of the state have already sown wheat, and are expecting a good harvest.

 

Notably, around 70 lakh metric tonnes of wheat are anticipated to be produced this year, an increase of almost 4 lakh tonnes from the previous year (2021-22). With a crop area of 22.38 lakh hectares, the state produced 68.89 lakh metric tonnes of wheat last year.

 

Additionally, there is a chance that a successful rabi crop may boost overall foodgrain production after the kharif season was negatively impacted by insufficient rain and protracted dry periods. The production of rice is anticipated to reach between 60 and 62 lakh metric tonnes in 2022–2023, however, official figures have not yet been released.

 

Moreover, Bihar has recently seen exceptionally cold temperatures, as low as 10 degrees Celsius recorded in numerous districts.

India today is a land of opportunity and can be a 'trusted partner' for global and American corporations in their supply chains and investment portfolios, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said. He also exuded confidence that the country will soon be the third largest economy in the world, as transformational reforms and a young population drive future growth.

 

'I would urge all of you to take this message to the world, to the Americans and American corporations and to the sphere of influence that each one of you has that India is the place to be, India can be your trusted partner in your supply chains, in your investment portfolio, in your business,' Goyal said on Sunday as he addressed diaspora and members of the Indian-American community at a reception Jersey.

 

Goyal arrived in New York on Sunday on an official visit till January 11 during which he will also travel to Washington DC. In the first leg of the visit, he will interact with CEOs of multinational enterprises, join roundtable meetings with business leaders and think tanks and visit industries in New York.

 

He will attend the 13th Trade Policy Forum (TPF) meeting in Washington on January 11 and also hold bilateral meeting with US Trade Representative Ambassador Katherine Tai.

 

Addressing the community reception attended by Consul General of India in New York Randhir Jaiswal and prominent members of the diaspora from the tri-state area on the eve of the Pravasi Bhartiya Divas 2023, Goyal said members of the diaspora, their forefathers immigrated from India to the US in search of a better life.

 

While America 'has given you a lot and I'm sure each one of you has given back to the US manifold, today India is that land of opportunity.

 

'Today India beckons your contribution to make India a great superpower,' Goyal said adding that as 'we work towards making India a developed nation', he is confident that the country's diaspora will also be contributing to take India back to the 'old glory that we had a few 100 years ago' to the time when India was one of the largest contributors to global economy. 'I think it's time we got that glory back in our nation.'

 

Goyal highlighted that India quickly rebounded after the lockdown and economic stress unleashed by the pandemic, underlining that last year was a 'record year in terms of growth in all spheres, including our international engagement.'

 

He said India's exports crossed USD 670 billion for the very first time in the country's history and foreign direct investment was also at an all-time high, with nearly USD 84 billion FDI inflows in 2021-22.

 

He said investments in India get one of the finest returns, which no other country has, as he cited a study to note that if one looks at a 20-year horizon, nearly one out of four companies on the top 500 companies on the Indian stock exchange have given a 20 per cent plus compounded return to investors, more than anywhere else in the world and ahead of the US and China.

 

Goyal added that a 'metamorphosis' is needed back home in India. 'The transformational reforms that we have seen over the last few years have made India the world's fifth largest economy. Four or five years from now, we're very confident we will be the third largest economy.'

 

Assuring that no one in India will rest on this laurel, Goyal said several steps have been taken to ensure ease of doing business in India and ease of living and this 'will hold us in good stead' as the country's young skilled and talented population drives the Indian economic growth in the next 25 years. 'There is fire in the belly of every Indian,' he added.

 

Goyal noted that under India's G20 presidency this year, 'we are demonstrating to the world our abilities and our contributions as we see them in the next 25 years.'

 

He gave a clarion call to the diaspora to strengthen brand India, 'bring high quality to everything that we do, both in India and internationally', buy Indian-made products, present the India investment opportunity to investors in the US and contribute to India's growth story through a greater degree of philanthropy and knowledge transfer.

 

'Your accomplishments in the US have been huge. You are uniquely positioned to contribute to India's growth story also. We invite you not only to share your ideas, your vision, your achievements and the possibilities that are there in India. In this century, which the world today acknowledges as India's century, I invite you to help us shape the contours of a new India, a powerful India, an India that will lead global growth, an India that is destined to be a 'Vishwa Guru',' he said.

 

Goyal stressed that both the US and India are vibrant democracies. 'We both have very strong linkages and bonds of friendship, very strong geopolitical ties, huge interests in business, trade, in economic well being of both countries. In fact, India is happy that the US is our largest trading partner,' Goyal said.

 

The Indian diaspora holds the Indian flag high and continues 'to act as the living bridge between India and the US,' the minister added.

Commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal will be on a three-day visit to the US, where he will meet the heads of top multinational companies.

 

The minister will also attend the 13th Trade Policy Forum (TPF) that aims to expand economic ties between the two nations.

 

'He (Goyal) will attend the 13th Trade Policy Forum in Washington DC on January 11. Before delegation-level talks, he will also hold a one-to-one meeting with USTR (US Trade Representative) Ambassador Katherine Tai,' an official statement said on Sunday.

 

The TPF aims to iron out key trade and investment-related issues between India and its largest trade partner — the US.

 

Bilateral merchandise trade during April-October stood at $77.25 billion. The US is also the biggest destination for India’s exports.

 

Established in 2005, India-US TPF held its 12th ministerial-level meeting in New Delhi in November, 2021. It was after a four-year gap.

 

Under the TPF, there are working groups on five broad areas including agriculture, non-agriculture goods, services, investment, and intellectual property.

 

In the last meeting, both the nations discussed their view on potential ‘targeted tariff reductions’. The TPF will be co-chaired by Goyal and Tai.

 

'Working groups were reactivated after the last ministerial. TPF is a platform for continuous engagement between the two countries in the area of trade. It is also to further the trade and investment relations between the two countries. Both the countries are looking forward to the meeting and confident of making progress on trade issues,' the statement said.

 

While the agenda of the TPF is unknown, Business Standard last week reported that in the sidelines of the meeting, India may propose out-of-court settlement to the US.

 

This is in regard to the case where the World Trade Organization’s (WTO’s) dispute panel in 2019 had agreed with the US that India provides export subsidies to its exporters.

 

In the first leg of his visit, the minister will travel to New York to interact with the heads of key multinationals.

 

Goyal will participate in community events, join roundtable meetings with business leaders and think tanks and visit industries.

 

In Washington DC, Goyal will also have a bilateral meeting with US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo. There will also be interaction with some captains of industry.

In sync with the G-20 theme of ‘Recover Together, Recover Stronger’ in the International Year of Millets (IYoM) 2023, India is set to make the world a healthier place with an increased emphasis on its export of nutritional millets. The traditionally grown, healthy cereal group is fast becoming the new identity of India as it is a sustainable commodity. Bajra, ragi, jowar, and buckwheat are now going to be globally-enjoyed cereals.

 

The Covid-19 pandemic, climate change, growing awareness on calorific intake have nudged the globe towards this smart food and its nutritional benefits. India—the largest producer of millets with a 19% share—has taken up the responsibility of ushering in the millet revolution and bringing about a revolutionary change in its exports, targeting global millet trade with the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority’s (APEDA’s) marketing strategy.

 

As a part of the Millets Export Promotion Strategy, a Millet Conclave was organsied to take India ahead and create awareness among the top 100 trading nations, displaying a wide range of value-added, innovative millet products and inviting buyers to experience the unique products that India has to offer. This was to ultimately secure a space for Indian millets in every diet and every meal across the globe. APEDA, which works under the ministry of commerce and industry, has plans to achieve a $100 million target by 2025. A global marketing campaign is being prepared, after assessing India’s potential. Accordingly, an e-catalogue of 30 importing countries and 21 millet-producing states has been prepared, and a virtual trade fair platform was launched to give the impetus for the export of millets as well as its value-added products.

 

As the world is moving towards nutritional security, there is a decadal rise in international imports of millets—5.4% in terms of value and 14% in terms of quantity. Millets have grabbed global attention due to their exceptional quality attributes—they are gluten-free, high in protein, and high in fibre. As a rice/wheat substitute, millets are potentially beneficial in diabetes management, weight management, anaemia control, management of blood pressure and other cardiovascular disorders.

 

In all aspects, millets are considered superior to wheat, rice, and maize. If India moves ahead with the agenda of disease eradication with millets, this can replace upto one-third of the recommended cereal diet of diabetics and anemic women. This, in turn, will yield an opportunity for 100 grams of millet intake per capita per day. This will, without doubt, help India achieve the target of 'Millets, a staple food in every diet' in the IyoM.

 

For the promotion of Indian millet exports, the Centre is in the process of facilitating participation of exporters, FPOs/FPCs, traders in various international events by organising Buyer-Seller Meets at more than 16 International Trade Fairs. India has already promoted millets and their value-added products at an event to celebrate IYoM 2023 that was organised by the FAO at its HQ in Rome, Italy and at Buyer-Seller Meets in Jakarta and Medan, Indonesia, in association with the Indian embassies in these countries. Plans are in place to facilitate participation in the international trade fairs, such as at Gulfood 2023, Dubai, Foodex, Japan, Fine Food, Australia, Anuga Food Fair, Germany, etc, to promote millets.

 

Leading importers and departmental store/super-market/hyper-market chains would be roped in through the embassies to promote millets, and food sampling and tasting campaigns will be organised. There would be branding/ publicity of Indian millets in the targeted countries and market in association with the IBEF, and through promotion campaigns in social media.

 

India’s top five millet-producing states are Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Gujarat, and Madhya Pradesh. There are 16 major varieties of millet, including sorghum (jowar), pearl millet (bajra), finger millet (ragi), minor millets (kangani), proso millet (cheena), kodo millet (kodo), barnyard millet (sawa/sanwa/ jhangora), little millet (kutki), pseudo millets (buckwheat/kuttu), Amaranthus (chaulai), and brown top millet.

 

Exports of millets from India are mainly whole-grain, and the export of value-added products of millets is negligible. The government is also mobilising start-ups for export promotion of value-added products in the ready-to-eat (RTE) and ready-to-serve (RTS) categories, such as noodles, pasta, breakfast cereals mix, biscuits, cookies, snacks, sweets, etc.

 

Countries of major millert exports from India are the UAE, Nepal, Saudi Arabia, Libya, Oman, Egypt, Tunisia, Yemen, the UK, and the US. The varieties of millets exported by India include bajra, ragi, kangani, jowar, and buckwheat. The US stands at the top for unit price realisation in exports of sorghum, kangani, bajra, and ragi, whereas Saudi Arabia gave better returns on buckwheat and exports of other millets. In general, buckwheat fetched far higher prices than sorghum and other millets. The major millet importing countries in the world are Indonesia, Belgium, Japan, Germany, Mexico, Italy, the US, the UK, Brazil and Netherlands.

 

India is moving ahead in promoting millets across the world to reform millet as part of staple food in every diet.

The Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI) has approved 57 proposals received against expression of interest dated June 21, 2022, under the scheme for integrated cold chain & value addition infrastructure. However only 24 proposals will be getting funds due to limited funds availability with the ministry.

 

According to the MoFPI in response to the EoI, the Ministry had received 73 proposals (including 1 proposal withdrawn by the applicant) on SAMPADA Portal of MoFPI. Technical Committee (TC) evaluated all the 73 proposals and recommended 57 proposals as per scheme guidelines.

 

The projects were approved by the PAC (Project Approval Committee) headed by the Cabinet Minister MoFPI. However, the PAC observed that the budget available with the Ministry under the scheme was not sufficient for approval of all the recommended proposals as eligible, which were found proper by PAC. Hence PAC decided that the proposals based on merit of eligible proposals for general category shall be made wherein 24 proposals were approved.

 

Further, it was also observed by the PAC that the eligible proposals amongst the proposals which are lower in the merit list may be considered for approval by the Ministry later on if funds become available with the Ministry under relevant budget head of the scheme while the eligibility of the proposals and decision taken in their respect do not confer any legal right to the respective applicants to claim grants-in-aid from the Ministry without the issuance of formal approval letters in respect of their individual proposals.

India, the world’s biggest rice exporter, is likely to lift restrictions on grain shipments in a move that would mark a further easing of a global wave of food protectionism after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Authorities are actively considering removing curbs on some rice exports as domestic prices are stable, according to a person familiar with the matter.

 

Government stockpiles are adequate to meet the needs of welfare programs, said the person, who asked not to be identified as the information is private. India accounts for about 40% of global rice trade. Any relaxation of the export curbs will likely cool benchmark prices in Asia, which are trading near the highest since mid-2021. The move is being discussed as concerns over food inflation have eased.

 

Global food costs ended 2022 roughly where they started despite a year of disruptions from the war in Ukraine and extreme weather. A spokesperson for the food and commerce ministries declined to comment. India imposed a 20% duty on shipments of white and brown rice in September, and banned broken rice sales abroad. The curbs, which apply to about 60% of Indian rice exports, came on top of restrictions on wheat and sugar sales. Rising Global Food Protectionism Risks Worsening Inflation.

 

The Rice Exporters Association will call on the government to scrap some limits on exports as domestic supplies have increased following the harvest of monsoon-fed crops. The industry group will seek approval to ship at least 1 million tons of broken rice and request that the 20% tax on white rice exports be removed, according to B.V. Krishna Rao, president of the group. Officials are also considering selling about 2 million tons of wheat from state reserves in the local market to control prices, according to the person. This may be sold at a fixed price to users including flour mills, the person said.