As a pre-launch to India’s year-long grand celebration of ‘International Year of Millets (IYOM) 2023’, the Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare (DA&FW) and the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) is hosting a special ‘millet luncheon’ with the Ambassadors/High Commissioners of different countries appointed to India, in New Delhi tomorrow.

 

With the aim to generate mass awareness, increase production, productivity and strengthen the Millet value-chain towards enhanced Millet consumption, accepting Government of India’s proposal, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) declared the year 2023 as the International Year of Millets (IYOM). Government of India is at the forefront to celebrate IYOM 2023 in a grand manner as per the vision of the Prime Minister of India, by making it a ‘Peoples’ Movement’.

 

High Commissioners/Ambassadors to India from more than 60 countries are expected to attend the official luncheon to be organized on Thursday. The key objective of the luncheon is to spread awareness about Indian millets and engage with other nations for a successful and impactful global celebration of IYOM 2023.

 

Shri Narendra Singh Tomar, Union Agriculture Minister and Dr. S. Jaishankar, External Affairs Minister will share the vision of the Government for successful celebration of IYOM 2023.

 

A video showcasing the miraculous impact of Millets on consumers, farmers and the mother earth will be shown at the beginning to make the delegates walk through a visual journey of the ‘Super grain’.

 

The lunch to be served will include an elaborate curated Millet spread to highlight the diversity of Indian Millets & variety of Millet cuisines. Alongside the millet culinary experience and formal interaction, around 30 Millet based Indian start-ups will participate in an exhibition at the event venue to showcase various food products, including ready-to-eat and ready-to-cook millet items.

 

The GoI has kick-started the pre-launch celebration in a big way and has planned a total of twenty-three international events through APEDA & MEA. The international events will encourage multi-stakeholder collaboration and include B2B, B2G and G2G interactions, showcasing of millet based value-added products. Indian diaspora, Indian embassies, Chefs, Media and community at large will play crucial roles to promote millets and IYOM 2023.

The India-Australia Free Trade Agreement by the Australian Parliament will lead to big gains for the alcohol beverage sector, industry body Confederation of Indian Alcoholic Beverage Companies (CIABC) said.

 

Vinod Giri, Director General of the CIABC said the development would open up the Indian market for Australian wines, and on the other hand, aid the Indian wine industry to evolve.

 

'Australian wines will benefit from easier market access to India and the Indian wine industry will gain from the technical collaboration and potential investment coming from Australia,' he said in a statement.

 

He said the two industries have begun collaboration through Australia Grape & Wine and CIABC.

 

The industry body added that the FTA envisages a time-bound resolution of the Australian laws which restrict exports of Indian liquor products to Australia.

 

CIABC said with India emerging as a producer of high quality liquor, single malt whiskies like Amrut and Rampur, as are craft gins such as Jaisalmer, Terai and Stranger & Sons, are gaining traction in overseas markets.

 

'This FTA provides the template which will help India turn from being the world’s buyer to become the world’s supplier for alcobev,' Girl said.

 

The India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement needed ratification by the Australian parliament before being implemented. Agreements such as these are approved by the Union Cabinet in India.

India and Australia would now implement the free trade agreement on a mutually agreed date as the Australian Parliament on Tuesday approved the pact between the two countries.

 

'BREAKING: Our Free Trade Agreement with India has passed through parliament,' Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said in a tweet.

 

The India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (AI-ECTA) needed ratification by the Australian parliament before its implementation. In India, such pacts are approved by the Union Cabinet.

 

The agreement was signed between the two countries in April this year.

 

Commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal said in a tweet: 'Delighted that India-Australia Economic Cooperation & Trade Agreement has been passed by the Australian Parliament. A result of our deep friendship, it sets the stage for us to unleash the full potential of our trade ties & spur massive economic growth.'

 

Speaking at a function here on Tuesday, Goyal said that now the Australian government will take approval from their executive council and the ministry from the Union Cabinet here.

 

These approvals, he said, are 'very much doable' quickly.

 

Goyal added that after then there will be harmonisation of codes and customs regime so that 'we can enter into force at an early date'.

 

The deal is fair and good for India, he said.

 

The minister asked the steel industry to take benefit of zero duty in the Australian market and push their exports.

 

Last week, the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties of Australia recommended the Australian government to ratify the pact.

 

After the ratification, both sides will decide a date to implement the pact and customs authorities will also issue a notification a day before the implementation.

 

Meanwhile, Australian trade minister in a statement said that the ECTA will enter into force 30 days (or another mutually agreed time) after the respective parties have confirmed in writing that they have completed their domestic requirements.

 

Australian exporters, businesses, workers and consumers will soon be able to reap the opportunities and benefits of more open trade with India with today’s passage of implementing legislation through the Parliament, it said.

 

'The Albanese government has worked hard to expeditiously advance all processes necessary' to ensure that Australia is in a position to implement the free trade agreements before the end of 2022, the statement said.

 

The Australia-India Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA) is a great opportunity for Australian businesses as it will open up new markets to reach around 1.4 billion consumers in the world’s fastest growing major economy, it added.

 

Australia’s Minister for Trade and Tourism Don Farrell said that the agreement will support businesses to grow, to offer more employment opportunities, and will give Australian consumers more choice at the checkout.

 

He further said that Australia will work closely with the Indian government to implement the trade agreement 'as soon as possible'.

 

The agreement, once implemented, will provide duty-free access to the Australian market for over 6,000 broad sectors of India, including textiles, leather, furniture, jewellery and machinery.

 

Under the pact, Australia is offering zero-duty access to India for about 96.4 per cent of exports (by value) from day one. This covers many products that currently attract 4-5 per cent customs duty in Australia.

 

Labour-intensive sectors which would gain immensely include textiles and apparel, few agricultural and fish products, leather, footwear, furniture, sports goods, jewellery, machinery, electrical goods and railway wagons.

 

India’s goods exports to Australia stood at USD 8.3 billion and imports from the country aggregated to USD 16.75 billion in 2021-22.

 

Goyal had earlier stated that the agreement would help in taking the bilateral trade from USD 27.5 billion at present to USD 45-50 billion in the next five years.

The ODOP scheme is being implemented throughout the country as part of the PM formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprises (PM FME) Scheme, which the Ministry of Food Processing Industries launched under the banner of the 'Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan.'

 

The ODOP crop of Kerala's Pathanamthitta district is jack fruit. The release recognises the pioneering efforts of ICAR- Krishi Vigyan Kendra, CARD, Pathanamthitta in transforming Jackfruit from the most 'wasted fruit' to Kerala's 'State Fruit.' Pathanamthitta Head Post Office released the special cover.

 

In his inaugural address, Rt. Rev Thomas Mar Timotheos Episcopa, Chairman, Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Pathanamthitta, emphasised the KVK's efforts to re-define Jack fruit. He also stated that the Processing technologies developed by Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Pathanamthitta are providing employment opportunities for a large number of people and entrepreneurs.

 

He emphasised that India Post's release of a special cover for Jackfruit products will greatly aid the spread of technologies among the rural population.

 

According to. K. K. Devis, Director of Postal Services, value addition of jackfruit has dramatically increased demand for jackfruit and the income realised by growers.

 

According to Dr. Jacob John, Director of Extension at Kerala Agricultural University, the ODOP scheme assists farmers in increasing their profits through processing and value addition of their agricultural produce.

 

The KVK has created over 25 commercial jackfruit processing technologies and has assisted in establishing 17 jackfruit processing entrepreneurs who sell their products in domestic and international markets.

 

The KVK assists new entrepreneurs in developing and producing jackfruit processed products. Staff from the Postal Department, the Krishi Vigyan Kendra in Pathanamthitta, and members of the general public attended the ceremony.

Highlighting India’s humanitarian assistance to Yemen, India’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ruchira Kamboj on Tuesday (local time) said that New Delhi took steps to address food security in Yemen by prioritizing wheat exports.

 

Speaking at a United Nations Security Council meeting on Yemen, she said, 'India has also taken steps to address food security in Yemen by prioritizing wheat exports to the country. Despite our national regulations on wheat exports, we have continued to export wheat to Yemen to mitigate the adverse impacts of supply changes in the global commodity markets. We remain committed to doing so in future as well.'

 

'On the humanitarian side, two wheat shipments of almost 85,000 metric tons have departed for Yemen under the Black Sea Grain Initiative within the last 30 days. We welcome this development and hope that this important initiative will continue to benefit Yemen,' she added.

 

She urged Yemen to embrace the path towards peace by shedding the military approach and by extending and expanding the troops into a comprehensive nationwide ceasefire.

 

'Yemen is at a crossroads, one path leads to the peaceful resolution of the conflict, and the other leads to the resumption of active hostilities, which will only exacerbate the suffering of the Yemeni people. The choice is clear for the parties to the conflict to make,' said the Indian envoy.

 

She further emphasized that the focus should be on cooperative and confidence-building measures to alleviate the lives of the Yemeni people by starting an inclusive political dialogue to end the conflict.

 

'In this regard, we are concerned by the actions of Ansar Allah and condemned their attacks on the ports and shipping vessels in Yemen and their threats to the shipping vessels travelling in and out of Yemen. The use of sophisticated missiles and drones in these attacks raises questions over the implementation of the targeted arms embargo established by this council,' said Kamboj.

 

The Houthi movement, officially called Ansar Allah and colloquially simply Houthis, is an Islamist political and armed movement that emerged from Saada in North Yemen in the 1990s.

 

Reiterating India’s call for the strict implementation of the arms embargo to effectively eliminate use of sophisticated missiles and drones, she said, 'I reiterate India’s call for the strict implementation of the arms embargo to effectively eliminate such threats in the future. These attacks, which have particularly targeted the oil sector, will have severe consequences for the already fragile economy of Yemen. Such actions can also turn the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea into a potential conflict zone, thereby destabilizing the maritime security of the region.'

 

The Indian envoy called upon all parties to engage constructively with the special envoy in his efforts to renew the truth and seek a political solution to the conflict.

 

'This council should send a strong and clear signal to anyone who stands in the way of these efforts,' said Kamboj.

 

The Yemeni Civil War is an ongoing protracted conflict with multiple factions involved. The civil war has been raging from 2014 to the present day.

 

The conflict is mainly between the Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi-led Yemeni government and the Houthi armed movement, along with their supporters and allies. Both claim to constitute the official government of Yemen.

 

The conflict so far has already resulted in an unprecedented humanitarian tragedy in Yemen with an enormous loss of lives, endangering millions of civilians with chronic food insecurity, as well as exacerbating the miseries of the people, particularly women and children.

India and Myanmar have explored the possibility of trade in national currencies and establishing direct maritime connectivity when Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra called on PM and junta Senior General Min Aung Hlaing in Nay Pyi Taw.

 

'At the meeting, they frankly exchanged views on cooperation in security, peace and tranquilli­ty at the border region of both countries, further promotion of cooperation, cooperation in de­fence measures, situations of further enhancement of bilateral relations, trade promotion and increase of investment, imple­mentation of Kaladan Multimodal Project and prospects for direct maritime trade measures, fur­ther improvement of the border region, efforts for the rupee/ kyat direct payment in the bi­lateral trade sector,' according to a statement issued by the Myanmar government following Kwatra’s visit on Sunday and Monday.

 

The two sides also discussed efforts of Myanmar to improve relations with the international community including neighbour­ing countries.

 

Interestingly, the two sides, according to the Myanmar government, discussed strengthening closer collabora­tion in regional and multilateral contexts including the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and the United Nations. The visit by Kwatra happened when the Sino-Pak axis has developed defence industrial links with the Myanmar junta.

 

The MEA statement noted, 'During his meetings with the senior leadership of Myanmar, Foreign Secretary discussed maintenance of security and stability in the border areas of India and Myanmar; raised the issue of human trafficking by international crime syndicates in the Myawaddy area of Myanmar in which many Indian nationals have been caught and reviewed bilateral development cooperation projects.'

 

Foreign secretary expressed India’s continued support to people-centric socio-economic developmental projects, including those along the India-Myanmar border areas, as well as India’s commitment towards an expeditious implementation of ongoing connectivity initiatives such as the Kaladan Multimodal Transit Transport Project and the Trilateral Highway,' the Ministry of External Affairs said.

 

He also reiterated India’s commitment to continue with the projects under Rakhine state development programme and border area development programme for the benefit of the people of Myanmar. India and Myanmar share a long land border of over 1600 km and a maritime boundary in the Bay of Bengal.

 

Myanmar is critical for India’s Act East Policy and safeguarding security interests in the Northeastern states. The Indian military maintains strong ties with its Myanmar counterpart.

The proposed free trade agreement (FTA) between India and the UK is a high priority for both the countries and the next round of negotiations for the pact is slated to happen next month, commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal said on Tuesday. He said that things are progressing well and it will yield good results.

 

'We are all very well aware that it was progressing very fast until we had a little bit of a blip because of political happenings in the other country. Fortunately, we have a stable government. I believe in office now (in the UK) and I am already in touch with my (UK) counterpart. We are working together to possibly have an in person meeting also very soon but our teams are already engaged. Next month, the next round of negotiations are slated to happen,' Goyal said here at a steel industry event.

 

He said that industry support is required for the agreement and it should be a fair, equitable and balanced FTA.

 

He also said that there should not be any strict timelines to conclude negotiations for an FTA as such agreements have to be thought through and carefully calibrated and negotiated.

 

'With UK we are doing a comprehensive deal like the UAE ....I assure you that it is a high priority of both countries. It has been reiterated in the meeting of the G20,' Goyal said.

 

India and Britain launched negotiations for the FTA in January with an aim to conclude talks by Diwali (October 24), but the deadline was missed due to political developments in the UK. There are 26 chapters in the agreement, which include goods, services, investments and intellectual property rights.

 

Reduction or elimination of customs duty under the pact would help Indian labour intensive sectors like textiles, leather, and gems and jewellery to boost exports in the UK market. The UK is seeking duty concessions in areas like Scotch whiskey and automobiles.

 

So far, five rounds of talks are already completed between the officials of the two countries till July.

 

The bilateral trade between the two countries increased to USD 17.5 billion in 2021-22 compared to USD 13.2 billion in 2020-21. India's exports stood at USD 10.5 billion in 2021-22, while imports were USD 7 billion.

 

There are 26 chapters in the agreement, which include goods, services, investments and intellectual property rights.

 

India's main exports to the UK include ready-made garments and textiles, gems and jewellery, engineering goods, petroleum and petrochemical products, transport equipment and parts, spices, metal products, machinery and instruments, pharma and marine items.

 

Major imports include precious and semi-precious stones, ores and metal scraps, engineering goods, professional instruments, non-ferrous metals, chemicals and machinery.

 

The UK is also a key investor in India. New Delhi attracted foreign direct investment of USD 1.64 billion in 2021-22. The figure was about USD 32 billion between April 2000 and March 2022.

 

In the services sector, the UK is one of the largest markets in Europe for Indian IT services.

Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and Textiles, Shri Piyush Goyal said that duties on 100 percent tariff lines would be eliminated by Australia under the landmark India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (Ind-Aus ECTA). He was addressing a press conference on the ECTA following the approval of the Agreement by the Australian Parliament today. 

 

Minister expressed his gratitude to Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and said that the ECTA was made possible because of the bond that he had built with the leadership in Australia cutting across party lines. 

 

Shri Goyal said that the ECTA would give a big boost to several sectors of the economy, especially textiles, gems and jewellery and pharmaceuticals. It may be noted that 10 lakh jobs are estimated to be created as the result of the ECTA. He noted that the Agreement would also open new opportunities for the service sector in India and would immensely benefit students by offering them an opportunity to work in Australia. Annual Visa quota of 1800 is to be instituted for India Yoga teachers and Chefs.

 

The Minister underscored that the Agreement was finalized after extensive and exhaustive stakeholder consultations and pointed out that it was unanimously accepted and supported by all quarters. 

 

Shri Goyal observed that the Agreement reflected the confidence and trust between the two countries, and India’s growing stature in the world. He said that ECTA would further deepen India’s relationship with Australia, a vibrant democracy which shared several of India’s interests. 

 

IndAus ECTA which was signed on 2 April 2022, is now ready for ratification for its early implementation, with the Ind-Aus ECTA Bill and the DTAA amendment bill being passed by the Australian Parliament today and is being placed before Executive Council to get Royal Assent. The Agreement will enter into force shortly, on a mutually convenient date once both the sides have completed their domestic processes.   

 

Australia is an important strategic partner of India and both the democracies are part of the four nation QUAD, Trilateral Supply Chain Initiative and the Indo-Pacific Economic Forum (IPEF). The trade relationship facilitated through ECTA will open a new chapter on India-Australia Comprehensive Economic Partnership between two vibrant economies with shared interest and trade complementarities. This agreement initiated by the Hon’ble Prime Ministers of both the sides, is the cornerstone of our multi-faceted bilateral relations. ECTA is the first trade agreement of India with a developed country after more than a decade. The Agreement encompasses cooperation across the entire gamut of bilateral economic and commercial relations between the two friendly countries. This will also connect with more than seven lakhs of Australia’s Indian diaspora, second highest taxpaying diaspora, which makes a significant contribution to Australia’s society and economy. 

 

ECTA provides for an institutional mechanism to encourage and improve trade between the two countries. For the first time, decisions completely based on extensive stakeholder consultations with every industry, Ministries, trade associations etc unlike the previous FTAs was undertaken. It is expected that with this agreement, the total bilateral trade will cross US$ 45-50 bn in 5 years from existing US$ 31 bn. India’s Merchandise Exports is likely to increase by 10 billion by 2026-27. Moreover, since the labour-intensive sectors will be benefitted, it is expected to create an additional employment of atleast 10 lakhs jobs in India, create ample opportunities for investment, promotion of start-ups. Similarly, it would provide enhanced job opportunities for Indians in Australia and increased remittance flows to India. 

 

Around 96% of Australia’s exports are raw materials and intermediate products which will allow many Indian industries to get cheaper raw materials and make them competitive. Investments will help increasing presence of higher value products of advanced technology, thereby promoting vertical Movement in the value chain (Engineering, Electronics, Pharmaceuticals & Medical devices). Another major gain is in Pharmaceuticals sector, where Drugs approved in other developed jurisdiction will get fast track approval for patented, generic and biosimilar medicines.

 

 As regards trade in services, Australia has offered wide ranging commitments in around 135 sub sectors. which cover key areas of India’s interest like IT, ITES, Business services, Health, Education, and Audio visual. Some of the key offers from Australia in the services space include: Quota for chefs and yoga teachers; Post study work visa of 2-4 years for Indian students on reciprocal basis; mutual recognition of Professional Services and Other licensed/regulated Occupations; and Work & Holiday visa arrangement for young professionals. Moreover, the long pending issue under Double taxation related to IT/ITES has been resolved under this Agreement which will provide a financial savings of more than US$ 200 million per year as per the estimates received from the Industry Associations. 

 

As part of the commitments under ECTA, for the Comprehensive Ind-Aus ECTA, Chief Negotiators from both the sides will have a meeting shortly to finalise the Scoping document.

 

In a nutshell, the India-Australia ECTA will further cement the already deep, close and strategic relations between the two countries and will significantly enhance bilateral trade in goods and services, create new employment opportunities, raise living standards, and improve the general welfare of the peoples of the two countries.

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is proposing to bring in standards and labelling norms for traditional Indian sweets ( mithais) and namkeens sector. Sources said that the food safety authority has had several rounds of deliberations with the industry on the same. It is in the process of seeking stakeholder views on the draft Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Amendment Regulations, 2022 which is proposing these standards.

 

The draft regulation defines Indian Mithais as sweets and Namkeens as salty savoury products that are 'traditional and innovative-based from Indian heritage and culture.' 

 

Categories

The regulator is proposing standards categorising traditional Indian sweets into milk-based, non milk-based and composite sweets . Milk based- mithais include milk-concentration-based, channa-based and khoa-based mithais. Non-milk based traditional sweets refer to those that are grain-based, dry fruits, nuts and seeds-based mithais.

 

In terms of labelling norms, the draft regulation proposes that a mithai packages should have the name of the product (such as Khoa burfi) along with relevant categories (such as khoa-based mithai) on the label . In case of milk-based mithais,the Food Business Operator will need to declare the percent and type of milk solids under the list of ingredients on the label, the draft regulation stated.

 

The draft has also proposed standards for various categories of Namkeens including fruit and vegetable based, dry fruit and nut-based and composite products besides labelling norms.

 

Industry’s concerns

Industry players have expressed some concerns over the implementation and impact on the growth of the sector which has a large number of unorganised players. As per some estimates, there are over one lakh traditional Indian sweets shops in the country. In Namkeens sector too, there are a large number of regional and local players besides pan-India players.

 

Firoz Naqvi, Director General, the Federation of Sweets and Namkeen Manufacturers said, 'There is a wide diversity in consumption trends and recipes of sweets and namkeens in the country. For instance, we have over 2,000 varieties of Indian sweets. Implementation of the proposed standards will be very difficult in this fragmented industry and could end up adversely impacting innovation in the segments. As an industry association, we are trying to get samples of various mithais and namkeens tested so we can give as much data as possible to the authority in our comments,' he added.

 

India and the United Arab Emirates held wide-ranging discussions on Tuesday on strengthening energy and food security linkages amid geopolitical upheavals. They also discussed launching bilateral trade in the national currencies, rupee and dirham.

 

External affairs minister S Jaishankar met the foreign minister of the UAE, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, in Delhi. The meeting was also attended by the UAE minister of state for international cooperation, Reem Al Hashimy, and India's foreign secretary Vinay Kwatra.

 

The foreign ministers appreciated the progress in bilateral relationship, especially in trade, investment, consular matters, education and food security, and discussed expanding partnership in these sectors, said officials.

 

The ministers noted that bilateral trade has shown appreciable growth under the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), which came into force on May 1. India's exports to the UAE from April-September increased 24% year-to-year to $16 billion while India's imports increased 38% year-on-year to $28.4 billion.

 

On food security cooperation under I2U2 (India-Israel-US-UAE), a delegation led by the CEO of ADQ visited India in October to take discussions forward with different stakeholders. IIT Delhi has held meetings with its Abu Dhabi partner, ADEK, for establishing IIT Delhi campus in Abu Dhabi.

 

Both sides have taken forward their discussions on other areas of cooperation, including energy, healthcare, defence, space, climate change, skills, fintech and startups.

 

On Tuesday, the foreign ministers also exchanged views on the global situation and various regional hotspots as well as cooperation between the two countries in the United Nations Security Council. Both India and UAE are currently non-permanent members of the UNSC.

 

Both countries are also discussing making use of UPI as a payment platform for remittances from the 3.5 million strong Indian community in the UAE.

 

Under I2U2, both countries are discussing investment of $2 billion from the UAE to develop food corridors in India and another $300 million for building a 300 GW hybrid (wind and solar) power plant. The UAE has been invited to attend the G20 Summit as a special invitee.