Russia and India plan to drop all use of the US dollar and the euro in bilateral settlements and conduct all trade transactions in rupee and rouble, a senior Russian official has said.

 

While it's a fundamental decision by both sides, it is necessary to address the imbalance in trade for a full-fledged transition to national currencies, Zamir Kabulov, head of India division in Russia's ministry of foreign affairs, said.

 

Officials are currently trying to address this issue, the Russian diplomat who is also its special envoy for Afghanistan told Russia's state-run news agency RIA Novosti.

 

India currently buys from Russia five times more than it sells.

 

The move to address trade imbalance would involve expansion of Indian exports to Russia based on Moscow's request for exports of certain items, ET has learnt.

 

Foreign minister S Jaishankar had discussed the issue to increase Indian exports to Russia during his Moscow visit last month.

 

India's trade with Russia is growing, led mainly by the energy sector but also involves fertilisers, coal, coking coal among other commodities. Bilateral trade has reached $27 billion this year mainly due to imports of large volumes of oil and fertilisers from Russia.

 

India's ambassador to Moscow Pavan Kapoor suggested that 'Russian businessmen look at India as the main source of their activities' to make trade between the two countries 'more balanced'. , 'This concerns not only pharma, but also agricultural products, ceramics, and chemical products,' he said.

 

'We are trying to conduct as many transactions in national currencies as possible, for which balanced trade is required as one side accumulates more, while the other [accumulates] less, and we should search for solutions to this situation,' Kapoor said at Russia-India Business Dialogue Forum on Thursday.

 

He suggested several ways to balance two-way trade, including the use of surplus rupees accumulated by Russian banks in India for imports from India and investments in manufacturing backed by the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme.

 

If the two countries switch to rupee-rouble settlement without addressing trade imbalance, then Russian banks that accept rupee payments from Indian buyers and release the corresponding amount to Russian sellers in rouble will see a huge pile-up of the rupee even after buying back all the rouble Russian buyers pay for Indian products and services. Meanwhile, Indian exporters and investors are being encouraged to expand trade and invest in Russia.

 

The ninth session of India-Russia Working Group on Modernisation & Industrial Cooperation of the India-Russia Intergovernmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technological and Cultural Cooperation was held here on Friday to push bilateral trade.

 

Anurag Jain, secretary of the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), and Alexey Gruzdev, deputy minister of industry and trade of the Russian Federation, cochaired the session.

 

Russia has emerged as India’s fifth largest trading partner with bilateral trade of $22.7 billion during April-September this year.

 

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had in July this year introduced a new mechanism for international trade settlements in rupees, aiming to promote exports and facilitate imports.

 

The central bank has allowed HDFC Bank Ltd and Canara Bank Ltd to open a special ‘Vostro accounts’ for trade in rupees with Russia. Vostro accounts are held by a bank on behalf of another, often foreign bank, and this forms a key part of correspondent banking.

 

Russian energy major Gazprom has opened an account with UCO Bank while VTB Bank and SberBank have opened accounts with their own India-based branch offices. Commercial transactions to be settled in rupees will be done through these accounts.

 

Next year has been declared as Year of Millets by the United Nations (UN) and as part of this Indian Millet Park has been proposed to be set up in Zimbabwe, Africa.

 

This was announced by President of India Droupadi Murmu when Speaker of the Parliament of Zimbabwe Advocate Jacob Francis Nzwidamilimo Mudenda accompanied by four Members of Parliament had called on her at Rashtrapati Bhavan. 

 

Welcoming the delegation, the President Murmu said that relations between India and Zimbabwe are centuries old. She also highlighted the presence of about 9000 people of Indian origin – which is an important link between the people of the two countries.

 

Year of Millets

 

In 2023, the potential of millets for the well-being of people and the environment will be unleashed. This was a proposal made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to mark the Year 2023 the International Year of Millets (IYM).

 

Food Security

 

Millets which are nutritious are good for the consumer, cultivator and can easily be cultivated in semi-arid zones as it consumes less water for irrigation.

 

India – Zimbabwe: Robust Partnership

 

The Indian Economic Trade Organization (IETO) in association with the Zimbabwe India Trade Council hosted the India-Zimbabwe Meeting in New Delhi. And during the meeting which was attended by many entrepreneurs from all over the country, IETO committed to pledge support between the two nations for a robust partnership.

 

The President of IETO Dr Asif Iqbal welcomed the Speaker of the Parliament of Zimbabwe Advocate Jacob Francis Nzwidamilimo Mudenda was accompanied by four Members of Parliament (MP).

 

In her meeting with the Speaker of Zimbabwe, President Murmu also said that the ITEC and ICCR scholarships from India are popular among Zimbabweans. And said that more efforts need to be made to further enhance bilateral cooperation between the two countries.

 

Bilateral Trade

 

Speaking to Financial Express Online Dr Iqbal, President of IETO, 'There is a huge interest in India for Zimbabwe, a country with great scope for bilateral trading opportunities in Minerals, Industrial development, Pharma, Agriculture and Mines, by Indian companies.'

 

'Recently, an Indian delegation from the IETO visited Harare and Bulawayo to participate in the Zimbabwe – India summit in 2022 that saw the participation of many companies globally,' he added.

 

Bilateral trade is around US$200 million. And, several Indian companies have invested close to around US $500 million in there, and India has besides extending five Lines of Credit to Zimbabwe, has set up a vocational training centre too.

 

Millets & Zimbabwe

 

'India has all the opportunities to become Zimbabwe’s large trade partner as both countries share long-standing historical ties. We are keen to have Indian exports as the main focus of the ties and increase the export revenue especially the millets next year,' said Dr Iqbal.

 

According to him there is a growing interest in the African nation and Zimbabwe Ambassador Dr Godfrey Majoni Chipare has been extending his full support to collaborations between the businesses of the two countries.

 

He explained how Indians are aware about Zimbabwe and want to visit the beautiful country especially Victoria Falls — the 7th wonder of the world. During the IETO delegation visit to  Harare and Bulawayo several MOUs were signed in various sectors including Solar Energy, tourism & hospitality, agro forestry and pharma products.

 

'There is a large market for Zimbabwean lithium in India and there is a potential for deepening bilateral trading in sectors like gold, minerals, Skill Development and affordable housing,' added Dr Iqbal.

 

The High Commissioner of India in Namibia, Vijay Khanduja, in the last one year has met with various business delegations and has extended full support and assistance to the Indian businessmen.

 

The Indian Mission has also arranged B2B meetings that saw many Indian Zimbabwean companies collaborating with each other. 

 

Next year there are plans to set up three more Zimbabwean trade desks and they will be located in Kolkata, Mumbai and Gujarat. This will help the businesses to accelerate through these trade desks and further build relationships between people to people of both countries.

The agri-allied sectors of Arunachal Pradesh are one of the major drivers of the economy in the region. Keeping in view the larger interest of the farmers for zero wastage of agri-horti as well as allied commodities, the Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI) has granted approval to the establishment of a Mega Food Park (MFP) under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan SAMPADA Yojana scheme at Dolikoto, Banderdewa, Papum Pare district. The MFP has been envisaged to tap into the organic abundance of fresh produce of Arunachal Pradesh and create a comprehensive ‘farm to fork’ supply ecosystem.

 

Deputy Chief Minister Arunachal Pradesh Chown Mein visited the Mega Food Park and Green Gold integrated farm today on December 23 2022 to inspect the site comprising 75 acres of land, 200 ha of rubber plantation, 100 ha of Thailand seedless lemon plantation, 5 ha of freshwater fishery ponds, dairy farms and various livestock farms including piggery, goatary, fishery, duckery, in a walkable distance area.

 

The visit was also graced by Minister of Industry & Commerce, Tumke Bagra, Minister of Agriculture, Tage Taki, Minister of Education, Taba Tedir, MLA Doimukh, Tana Hali Tara, Mayor IMC, Tamme Phassang, Secretary Industry, Hage Tari, DC Itanagar Capital Complex, Talo Potom, CE Power (WZ), Bar Takam, President AAPSU, Dozi Tana Tara, and Lead Promoter of the Mega Food Park, Likha Maaj.

 

The MFP is aligned with PM Narendra Modi’s vision of doubling farmers’ income and strengthening the economy under ‘vocal for local’. The farm will also generate direct and indirect employment opportunities for the youths of the region. As of now, the integrated farm employs more than 300 skilled and unskilled unemployed youths. Meanwhile, four-lane road connectivity, a 4 km long RCC boundary wall, and land development spanning 50 acres have been completed for the Mega Food Park and are ready for setting up of different food industries.

 

Speaking on the occasion, Chowna Mein stated that Arunachal has one of the highest land banks toward becoming the food bowl of India. ‘We have initiated many subsidised schemes like Atma Nirbhar Krishi Yojana, Atma Nirbhar Bagwani Yojana, Atma Nirbhar Matsya Palan Yojana, and Atma Nirbhar Plantation Yojana to enhance farmer’s productivity and income and also to achieve self-reliant Agriculture in Arunachal Pradesh’, Mein added. He further advocated for formulating a road map for agriculture and horticulture development through effective policy implementation in the state and urged for fast-track single window clearance to facilitate the establishment of food processing units and agro-based industries through ease of doing business.

 

The MFP once functional will accommodate 35 food industries spanning 73.5 acres of land, indirectly employing more than 5 lakh farmers of the state. The multi-sectoral MFP will comprise rice & flour mills, snack units, canning units, pickle units, squashes, and juice units, bakery units, sweet & savoury units, ready-to-eat packaged food units, frozen and RTI units, ancillary units; along with dairy, meat and seafood units, and so on.

 

To facilitate the early establishment of the Mega Food Park, Mein has directed the Department of Industry and Forest to expedite the process of diversion of the Dorpong Reserve Forest for forest clearance. He has also assured to look into the link road from the bypass road to Hollongi connecting rural villages in order to facilitate transportation of their agricultural produce.

 

During the visit, Mein inaugurated the newly set up Green Gold Resort inside the integrated farm situated 29 km away from Itanagar, 15 km away from Donyi Polo Airport, and 7 km away from Harmuti railway station. The resort is anticipated to boost tourist footfall in the area. The Deputy Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh also inspected the 33kv power station & 3MLD Water Treatment Plant, which is currently under construction. Once completed, the complete support infrastructure will ensure a reliable and consistent supply of energy and water to the park.

 

The commencement of the park is set to generate up to 5000 direct employment and will play a crucial role in bringing down the unemployment curve in the state. The annual revenue projection of the MFP is expected to touch Rs. 450-500 crores with a collective investment of around Rs. 250 crores into the project.

 

For making Aatmanirbhar Bharat, Union Government under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi is implementing many national programmes to increase production of deficit commodities like oilseeds and pulses besides ensuring food security. Overall strategy is to sustain food security, reduce import dependency and utilize emerging opportunities in agricultural exports.  Timely supply of quality seeds of high yielding varieties (HYVs), inputs, latest production technologies, credit, crop insurance, micro-irrigation and post harvest facilities  are few of such interventions taken to increase agricultural production and productivity. All these interventions have to large increase in area under rabi crops this year.  

 

Monitoring of rabi crops sowing has shown that momentum gained in sowing of Rabi crops is progressing well. As on 23-12-2022, area sown under rabi crops has increased by 4.37% from 594.62 lakh hectares in 2021-22 to 620.62 lakh hectares in 2022-23. This is 25.99 lakh hectares more this year compared to corresponding period of 2021-22. The increase in area is across all crops; highest being in wheat. Out of 25.99 lakh hectares increase in all rabi crops, increase in wheat area is 9.65 lakh hectares from 302.61 to 312.26 lakh hectares. Though sowing of rabi crops is still under progress, area brought under wheat this year (312.26) till 23-12-2022 is more than normal rabi sown area (304.47) and total sown area of last year (304.70)   This increase in wheat area is very assuring in the background of crisis faced by world for wheat availability due to Russia-Ukraine war and for ensuring our own food security. Thus, a record area coverage and production of wheat is expected this year.

 

Oilseeds production is a major cause of concern as country has to spend heavily on import of edible oils to meet domestic demand. In 2021-22, country has to import 142 lakh tonnes of edible oils at a cost of Rs 1.41 lakh crore.  The government focus is on increasing oilseeds production to reduce import dependency in edible oils. Due to renewed focus on oilseeds, area under oilseeds increased from 93.28 lakh hectares during 2021-22 to 101.47 lakh hectares this year. This is a quantum jump of 22.66 lakh hectares over normal sown area of 78.81 lakh hectares. It is even higher than the record area of 93.33 lakh hectare attained during 2021-22. Increase in area under oilseeds at the rate of 9.60% is highest among all crops.  This is more than double the rate of increase of 4.37% in all crops together. 

 

Rapeseed & Mustard contributed maximum in increasing oilseeds area during this rabi season.  Mustard area increased by 7.32 lakh hectares from 85.35 lakh hectares in 2021-22 to 92.67 lakh hectares in 2022-23. Thus, out of 8.20 lakh hectares increase in area under oilseeds, rapeseed & mustard alone accounted for 7.32 lakh hectares. Area brought under cultivation of rapeseed & mustard till now is markedly higher than normal sown area of 63.46 lakh hectares and record area attained during 2021-22. Implementation of Special Mustard Mission for last 2 years is mainly responsible for renewed interest of farmers in the cultivation of mustard. During last 2 years, area of rapeseed & mustard increased by 17% from 68.56 in 2019-20 to 80.58 lakh ha in 2021-22. During Rabi 2022-23. 26.50 lakh Seed Minikits of HYV having yield potential of more than 20 quintals per hectare were distributed to the farmers in 301 districts of 18 States under the National Food Security Mission- Oilseeds. Latest varieties like RH- 106, RH – 725, RH – 749, RH - 761, CS – 58, CS – 60, Giriraj, Pant Rai-20, GM-3, PDZ -31 having yield potential in the range of 2500-4000 quintals per hectare were distributed. The higher area and productivity will bring quantum jump in oilseeds production and bring down demand for imported edible oils.   

 

Pulse production is being focused to make country self sufficient in these commodities.  Special programme under National Food Security Mission nicknamed NFSM ‘TMU370’ has been  launched with aim of increasing productivity of 370  districts having less than state average yields of pulses due to lack of good seed and technological interventions. Area under pulses increased by 3.91 lakh hectares from 144.64 to 148.54 lakh hectares.  Lentil alone accounted for 1.40 lakh hectares increase out of 3.91 lakh hectares for all pulses. Similarly area under gram cultivation increased by 0.72 lakh hectares. About 4.04 lakh seed minikits of HYVs were distributed under ‘TMU370’ to farmers free of cost for lentil. The high yielding varieties distributed included IPL 220, IPL 315, IPL 316, IPL 526. For urad, 50,000 seed minikits of LBG-787 were distributed among farmers of selected districts.

 

The United Nations General Assembly has declared the year 2023 as the International Year of Millets. This was adopted by a United Nations Resolution for which India took the lead and was supported by over 70 nations. This will help to create awareness throughout the world of the importance of millets, its role in sustainable agriculture and its benefits as a smart and super food. In order to meet growing demand of millets around world, the Government is promoting millet production through the NFSM-Nutri Cereals component of National Food Security Mission (NFMS) programme in 212 districts of 14 states. Coarse cum Nutri-cereals saw an increase of 2,42 lakh hectares in area under cultivation from 41,50 lakh hectares in 2021-22 to 43,92 lakh hectares in 2022-23 till date. India is at the forefront in celebrating the IYoM in a big way and is poised to become the global hub for the millets. Besides supporting sustainable production, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare is creating awareness for higher consumption, developing market and value chain and funding research and development activities.

 

Under various programmes aimed at ensuring food security and making country Aatmanirbhar in deficit agricultural commodities, assistance is given through state governments to farmers for interventions like cluster demonstrations on improved package of practices, demonstrations on cropping system, distribution of seeds of High Yielding Varieties (HYVs)/hybrids, improved farm machineries/resource conservation machineries/tools, efficient water application tools, plant protection measures, nutrient management/soil ameliorants, processing & post-harvest equipments, cropping system based trainings to the farmers etc. In addition, farmers are provided easy credit, ensured against damage by weather, remunerative prices for their produce and supported through Farmers Producers organization (FPOs) through various government programmes.

 

Union Government focus on Aatmanirbhar Bharat has laid emphasis on increasing productivity of all crops with focus on crops where demands is met through costly imports like oilseeds and pulses. For this, seed minikits of HYVs are given free of cost to farmers along with technology support and critical inputs. The increased area brought under wheat, oilseeds, pulses and nutri-cereals along with higher productivity due to use of HYV seeds will bring a milestone in food grain production in the country. This will result in bringing self sufficiency in pulses, reducing import of edible oils and meeting global demands for wheat and millets. The farmers of the country will play major role in making country Aatmanirbhar in agriculture. 

Amidst a growing opinion in favour of a free trade agreement between India and Vietnam, a boom in bilateral trade, rising FDI, value chains linkages and services trade are quietly underscoring the deepening economic cooperation between the two partners, with a deal being seen as a natural corollary to the South-East Asian nation’s increasingly strategic importance for India. Though the idea has yet to crystallise into action, early indicators suggest the likelihood of a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement that Vietnam is interested in, sources aware of the development told The Sunday Guardian.

With India-Vietnam bilateral trade surging from USD 3.48 billion to USD 11 billion in 2021 and likely to exceed USD 15 billion by 2022, it serves India’s interests in Vietnam’s progression to a world FTA hub after signing a slew of several 'quality' regional and bilateral agreements. Vietnam has many common FTA partners with India within the framework of the ASEAN-India FTA since the year 2010. With over 25 regional trade agreements including partnership with RCEP, CPTPP, IPEF, ASEAN as well as FTA with Korea, Japan, China, an India-Vietnam deal can strengthen the partnership to become a building block in the Indo-Pacific. The latest FTA with the European Union also makes Vietnam the only other country in ASEAN apart from Singapore to have an FTA with EU.

 

'One of the reasons why Vietnam is very important for India is the presence of value chains which is a thrust area for the government,' said Prabir De, Professor at Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS), who also heads the think tank’s ASEAN-India Centre. De said that Korean giant Samsung with headquarters in Seoul, has one of its largest production facilities in Noida in India and another equally large unit in Hanoi in Vietnam. 'There was a time when Vietnam used to import all the mobile phones but now all the phones manufactured by Samsung are exported by Vietnam. Samsung units in Noida and Hanoi have very strong production links,' De said. In a free trade between India and Vietnam, those dynamics are expected to generate such high-end items and that’s why India needs Vietnam on its side to enhance the production linkages in automobile, consumer durables, De added.

While prospects of stronger economic cooperation between New Delhi and Hanoi are on an upswing, it is also a fact that Vietnam has effectively positioned itself as an attractive foreign investment destination, luring global businesses and companies and outpacing many including India in the race to wean away investors looking for alternatives to China. A key advantage for Vietnam is its geo-strategic location, which has allowed it to develop a very skilled labour force, according to Prabir De. As Vietnam and China share a border, workers go and train in Guangdong, China, picking up skills and discipline and adding value to the human capital.

 

Amidst expanding trade ties with India, Vietnam has also gained higher market access in India and a trade surplus with changing trade composition between 2010 and 2020. India’s top three exports to Vietnam in 2010 were oil-cake and other solid residues, light-vessels, fire-floats, dredger and meat of bovine animals and frozen. In 2020, the composition of the top three changed to flat-rolled products of iron or non, meat of bovine animals and frozen, followed by parts and accessories of motor vehicles. On the other hand, Vietnam scaled up its exports to India with the top three items in 2010 comprising transmission apparatus for radio-telephony, natural rubber, balata, gutta-perch followed by coal, briquettes, ovoids and similar goods. In 2020, while India’s imports of transmission apparatus for radio-telephony grew significantly from Vietnam, the second and third places were taken by electrical apparatus for line telephone and reception apparatus for television.

These successes in FTAs, investments and trade are a result of Vietnam’s well thought out agenda of economic growth and efforts since 1986 to liberalise their economy. According to Pankaj Jha, Professor & Dean (Research) at Jindal School of International Affairs, what makes Vietnam attractive for an FTA with the EU is the absence of strictures with the bloc and conscious adoption of the position that if they open up their market they will have access to a bigger market in EU. 'Vietnam believes that instead of looking for low hanging fruits, let’s look for the complete tree,' Jha said. Moreover, Vietnam’s anti-corruption measures undertaken by the party leadership has been extensive. 'Their main criterion is to be in the league of upper middle income countries by 2045 and a middle power in Asia. That is their purpose and they are driving themselves towards that,' Jha said.

A combination of strategic moves is winning the game for Vietnam like focus on select sectors which can be positioned strongly coupled with extra efforts with regard to their policies and regulations for a few countries like Japan, Thailand and Indonesia to facilitate more investments for Vietnam. Though their currency is not fully convertible and Vietnam still does not have capital account convertibility and financial institutions are not up to the international standards, the amount of investments Vietnam has been drawing from across the world in the last five odd years is to the tune of USD 18-19 billion, especially in the iron steel and cement, according to Jha.

Going ahead, an India-Vietnam bilateral FTA will help India at a time when it is looking to scale up market access for its exports, improve the trade facilitation, encourage investment, improve the rules affecting issues such as intellectual property, e-commerce and government procurement and bring down barriers to trade. India’s exporters face several barriers in Vietnam, says De, since Indian processing units are not listed with government, which hinders India’s exports. Whenever Indian exporters of marine products face trouble in exporting to ASEAN countries, Vietnam buys from Indian exporters and then exports to China, since it imposes a zero tariff on these imports from Vietnam. Moreover, while India offers a single market (after introduction of GST) to all trade partners, including ASEAN, India has to face 10 different economies in ASEAN and 10 different trade regimes as ASEAN is yet to be a single market.

In the run-up to a potential FTA, India and Vietnam can work on strengthening digital linkages, fintech, digital payments, inter-operability and financial cooperation between central banks and other EXIM banks. Improving maritime trade and connectivity with direct shipping links between India and Vietnam, trade facilitation through customs cooperation, single window, standards accreditation and setting up an India-Vietnam B2B portal on trade and investment are among other groundworks being recommended to set in motion the FTA process.

While uthorities are working in mission mode to increase millet production and consumption, exports data shows that exports of agricultural and food items, especially other cereals, continued to grow at a brisk pace.

 

In November this year, an increase of only 0.62 per cent was registered in the total export of commodities as compared to November last year, but there was a double digit increase in exports of almost all the items of agriculture and food items. A growth of 53.78 percent was registered in the export of various other types of cereals in the month.

 

The United Nations has declared 2023 as the International Year of Millets (IYOM) and this will give a boost to the export of coarse grains. According to the data of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, in November, the export of tea, rice, various cereals, tobacco, oil meal, oilseeds, fruits and vegetables, various types of finished grains, and processed items increased in double digits as compared to November last year.

India exported 46.56 lakh tonne of wheat worth USD 1.5 billion during April-October this fiscal year as against USD 2.12 billion in 2021-22, Parliament was informed on Friday. Exports of basmati rice during the first seven months of 2022-23 stood at USD 2.54 billion (24.10 lakh tonne), according to data provided by Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Anupriya Patel in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha.

 

Though the government banned wheat exports in May, some shipments are allowed to meet food security needs of the countries that request for it.

 

In a separate reply, the minister said 186 exporters have been given permission to export wheat in accordance with provisions of transitional arrangements under the Foreign Trade Policy, 2015-2020.

 

As there was a sudden spike in global prices of wheat, the government on May 13 prohibited the exports in order to provide for overall food security of the country and to support the needs of the neighbouring and other vulnerable countries. Export of wheat was permitted under certain conditions.