Five trading companies are believed to be taking part so far in the international tender from Jordan’s state grains buyer to purchase 120,000 tonnes of wheat which closed on Tuesday, traders said in initial assessments.

 

Participants were believed to be CHS, Cargill, Viterra, Ameropa and Buildcom, they said.

 

No purchase has yet been made and results are expected later on Tuesday, traders said.

India is home to several agricultural and non-agricultural (including manufacturing) products that are region-specific and every district has products that are unique and provide livelihoods and generate income.

 

To realize the true potential of a district, fuel economic growth and generate employment with an aim of impetus to rural entrepreneurship, the Government has launched a transformational scheme One District One Product (ODOP) under Atma Nirbhar Bharat.

 

Rajouri, a border district of the J&K UT has been selected as a dairy district under the scheme as it has huge potential in the dairy sector. The dairy sector is one of the crucial sectors in the Indian economy that not only provides employment to rural households but also contributes to the economy of the country.

 

The dairy field is among the biggest in the Agriculture sector, especially in animal husbandry. This is because there are pastoral societies that keep a big number of cows and also other people who just keep cows as a means for second income earning. The major occupation of the rural people of Jammu and Kashmir is agriculture and livestock rearing making it a major source of income and employment here.

 

 The dairy sector not only generates income and employment among the farmers but also supplements the varied nutritional requirements of the individuals. District Administration under the overall supervision of the District Development Commissioner Rajouri, Vikas Kundal has been taking several measures to strengthen the dairy sector and efforts are being made to enhance milk production in the district.

 

The Department of Animal Husbandry is also working out on all the modalities to help the dairy farmers enhance milk production in the district to make the district an export hub for the identified products.

 

The Department of Animal Husbandry has worked on all parameters before rolling out the schemes. The Department has organized a number of awareness camps, house visits and other distribution activities in the far-flung areas of the district.

 

The major support has been provided by the Panchayat Raj Institutions as they are the backbone of the government. They play a very prominent role in implementing the schemes that are introduced by the government for the socioeconomic development of the people.

 

Another factor which contributed to the expansion of the dairy sector is that the department is in complete contact with the beneficiaries and the department also facilitated them during the Pashudhan mela at Lakhanpur.

 

It is because of the untiring efforts of the District Administration and Department of Animal Husbandry that the district has witnessed fairly reasonable growth in terms of milk production from 3.67 lakh litres per day to 3.85 lakh litres per day since the launch of the ODOP scheme in the district and has become milk surplus.

 

The field functionaries of the department are also encouraging the farmers to take benefit of these farmers’ friendly schemes being implemented by the Department for their socio-economic development.

 

After an increase in production, the major concern for the dairy unit holders is the market linkage facilities; and the department is also working on the lines to establish dairy cooperative societies to provide market linkages to the societies in the district.

 

Efforts of the District Administration are also fully backed by the dairy farmers of the district who are also extending full support for the successful implementation of the ODOP initiative of the Govt.

As many as nine special vostro accounts have been opened with two Indian banks after permission from the Reserve Bank of India to facilitate overseas trade in rupee, a top government official said on Tuesday.

 

Sberbank and VTB Bank -- the largest and second-largest banks of Russia, respectively -- are the first foreign lenders to receive the approval after the RBI announced the guidelines on overseas trade in the rupee in July.

 

Another Russian bank Gazprom - which does not have its bank in India - has also opened this account with Kolkata-based Uco Bank.

 

'Nine accounts have been opened. One in Uco Bank, one in Sber, one in VTB and 6 with IndusInd Bank. These six are different Russian banks,' Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal told reporters in New Delhi.

 

The move to open the special vostro account clears the deck for settlement of payments in rupee for trade between India and Russia, enabling cross-border trade in the Indian currency, which the RBI is keen to promote.

 

The RBI has allowed the special vostro accounts to invest the surplus balance in Indian government securities to help popularise the new arrangement.

 

UCO Bank already has a vostro account-based facility in Iran. Gazprombank, or GPB, is a privately-owned Russian lender and the third-largest bank in the country by assets.

 

Last month, the RBI and finance ministry asked the top management of banks and representatives of trade bodies to push export and import transactions in the rupee. They want banks in India to connect with their foreign counterparts for opening special rupee vostro accounts to facilitate cross-border trade in the Indian currency rather than the popular mode of the US dollar.

 

On when the rupee trade will begin with Russia, the secretary said there is a process involved in it and hopefully it would materialise soon.

 

Barthwal said he held a meeting with officials of UCO Bank, RBI and the Department for Financial Services and discussed ways to promote rupee trade.

 

'We want to promote rupee trade because that is in the nation's interest. We would also not be looking unnecessarily for dollars. To the extent, rupee trade is possible, we will go for it,' he added.

 

Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Shri Narendra Singh Tomar today inaugurated the first Greenfield Farm Machinery Plant of Mahindra & Mahindra at Pithampur in Madhya Pradesh. On this occasion, Shri Tomar said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, today India has reached a point where the world looks at us with hopeful eyes. Shri Tomar said that to make the country fully developed, we have to be fully equipped with technology.

 

Chief guest Shri Tomar said that today everywhere people flaunt ‘Make in India’ products. We are Indians, it is a matter of pride for us, but when our products are appreciated, then it is a matter of even greater pride. This trend also shows the spirit with which our Prime Minister works. Shri Tomar said that mechanization and technology are very much needed today. The population of the country and the world is rising continuously, the challenge of climate change is also in front of us. We not only have to increase our production-productivity, but also supply to domestic as well as other countries as a service to humanity, for which a lot more efforts are required.

 

Shri Tomar said that due to his comprehensive vision, Prime Minister Shri Modi opened Jan-Dhan bank accounts of the poor, in which Rs 1.46 lakh crore is deposited today, giving momentum to the economy. Similarly, Prime Minister Modi started a campaign to build toilets and made the country ODF free and helped India jump in the global rankings. PM Modi made liquid money available in the accounts of poor women, while he distributed free ration to 80 crore poor people during the Covid crisis. Shri Modi believes that the dream of making India a developed nation cannot be fulfilled without the development of this half of the country's population. These works being done by Prime Minister Modi are historic, which will have a positive impact far and wide.

 

The Union Minister said that the trend of testing quality is increasing today. The credibility of branding and quality is increasing in the country and the world. From the point of view of agricultural equipments, this is the first innovative experiment done by Mahindra & Mahindra. This company has also set the target of export of farm equipments. Shri Tomar said that today the need is that India emerges as the world leader. By supplying to the world apart from meeting the domestic demand, India will develop and its reputation as a world guru will also be secured. Shri Tomar said that Swami Vivekananda had said that the 21st Century would belong to India, and we should also make our own contribution to prove it. He expressed happiness that even after getting higher education and good job abroad, many youths have come back to India and have been attracted towards agriculture.

Anantha M. S., senior scientist (Plant Breeding) at ICAR-IIRR, demonstrated the paddy crop grown successfully on a small plot with shallow phosphorous content for about 25 years at the institute's trial field in Rajendranagar. He told that the institute had developed four varieties showing tolerance to low-phosphorous content in the soil.

 

The institute is currently focusing on the States that grow the BPT variety of paddy. About 20 farmers in the Ballari, Kushtagi, and Raichur districts of Karnataka have received small consignments of seeds from this organisation. According to Anantha, ten Telangana and Andhra Pradesh farmers received the seed.

 

The first rice variety in the nation with low phosphorous tolerance for any crop is DRR Dhan 60. The enhanced Samba Masuri variety has bacterial blight resistance and a high yield. The variety produces a maximum yield of 5.19 tonnes per hectare (with 60 kg/ha of phosphorus) after maturing for 125–130 days. The IIRR scientists believe it has this potential and could provide farmers in Eastern India with a viable alternative. Other states that grow rice, like Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Odisha, can also grow it.

 

The other varieties that provide the same advantages are DRR Dhan 66, DRR Dhan 65, and WGL-1487. In collaboration with researchers at Prof. Jayashankar Telangana State Agricultural University, WGL-1487 was created.

 

Satendra Kumar Mangrauthia, a senior scientist, stated that these four varieties 'have the potential to occupy 3–4 million hectares of area under rice cultivation based on the identified zones for which varieties have been released.' The IRRI team screened rice genotypes that can withstand low phosphorus environments to create new varieties.

 

Key Macronutrient

 

As a critical macronutrient for energy storage and transfer within cells, phosphorus is essential for the growth and yields of paddy. Along with accelerating root growth, it also makes it easier for plants to absorb more nitrogen, which boosts grain protein yields.

 

The vast majority of the soils in India's rice-growing regions lack enough phosphorus. The majority of the phosphorus used as fertilizer drains into water bodies, forcing farmers to apply it again and again, he claimed.

 

To make phosphorus-based fertilizers accessible to farmers, India relies on imports and provides substantial subsidies. To replenish the nutrients in the soil, the government and farmers are spending enormous sums on fertilisers. Fertilizers with phosphorus are imported. Another issue is the chemical's limited availability.

 

75 lakh tonnes of phosphatic fertilisers (DAP and NPK) were imported in 2020–2021, making up nearly one-third of all fertiliser imports. According to Mangrauthia, who cited official statistics, the Center has spent 60,939 crore on subsidies for phosphorus and potassium fertilisers, including DAP.

 

R M Sundaram, Director of IIRR, stated: 'Developing varieties that minimise the fertiliser application and enhance the phosphorus utilisation by plants would be the right approach keeping in mind the costs involved and limited availability of the resource. No additional agronomic advice is given to the farmers because these rice varieties were created using conventional breeding methods.'

India hosted the second agriculture ministerial-level meeting of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for MultiSectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC), under the chairmanship of the Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Narendra Singh Tomar. Agriculture ministers of Bhutan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Thailand participated in the meeting.

 

While addressing the meeting through video conference, Tomar urged the member countries to cooperate in developing a comprehensive regional strategy to strengthen cooperation for the transformation of agriculture.

 

Referring to the importance of millet as a nutritious food and the efforts made by India to promote millet and its products during the International Year of Millets - 2023, he urged the member countries to adopt a conducive agricultural food system and a healthy diet for all. He asked participating countries to actively participate in India's initiative to promote millet as a food. Tomar said that natural and ecological farming should be promoted to conserve agricultural biodiversity and reduce the use of chemicals.

 

Tomar said that along with digital farming and precision farming, initiatives under the 'One Health' approach are also taking shape in India. He emphasised the importance of cooperation in agriculture and allied sectors to ensure food security, nutrition, environmental sustainability and livelihood support, for which it is required to increase technical and economic cooperation to deal with the challenges of climate change, agro-biodiversity, microbial preventive resistance under the 'One Health' approach and other programmes.

 

Tomar reiterated Prime Minister Narendra Modi's statement at BIMSTEC Summit held in Colombo in March 2022, on enhancing regional cooperation between BIMSTEC nations for food security, peace and prosperity in the region. At the same time, he expressed India's commitment to promote agricultural productivity, food security and nutrition, sustainability, research and development and enhance cooperation with BIMSTEC in the areas of agri-business, climate change management, digital agriculture.

 

The 2nd BIMSTEC Agriculture Ministerial Meeting adopted the Action Plan for Strengthening BIMSTEC

Agricultural Cooperation (2023-2027). An MoU between the BIMSTEC Secretariat and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) has been signed and approval has been given to bring Fisheries and Livestock sub-sectors under the Agricultural Working Group.

 

BIMSTEC member countries appreciated India's efforts to strengthen cooperation in agricultural research and development and for awarding six scholarships each for postgraduate and PhD programmes in agriculture.

 

The meeting was attended by the Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Kailash Choudhary, secretary, Department of Agriculture Research and Education (DARE) and director general, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), Dr Himanshu Pathak, along with other senior officials of the ministry.

The annual G20 Summit opened on Tuesday with world leaders set to discuss over the next two days challenges triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic and more recently topped by Russia's war in Ukraine.

 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was welcomed at the summit venue by Indonesian President Joko Widodo, ahead of the formal opening of the summit.

 

'The Summit will witness extensive deliberations on ways to overcome important global challenges. It will also focus on ways to further sustainable development across our planet,' the Prime Minister's Office tweeted.

 

He also briefly interacted with US President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron.

 

'Recover Together, Recover Stronger. Indonesian President @jokowi welcomes PM @narendramodi for the G20 Bali Summit. Detailed deliberations on contemporary global challenges including food & energy security and health are on the @g20org Summit agenda today,' Spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs Arindam Bagchi said in a tweet.

 

In his remarks at the G20 Summit that began here on Tuesday, Indonesian President Widodo asked world leaders to follow the UN charter and called for an end to 'the war', a reference to the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

 

He said all leaders have a responsibility towards the people of the world. Being responsible meant following the UN charter 'consistently', he said.

 

'Being responsible means we must end the war,' he said in the English portion of his brief opening remarks.

 

He did not name Russia or Ukraine in English but a part of his address to Group of 20 leaders was in Bahasa Indonesia.

 

It will be difficult to move forward if the war is not ended, he said, adding that the world must not slip into another Cold War.

 

Leaders from the world's major economies are set to discuss over the next two days challenges triggered by the Covid pandemic, topped more recently by Russia's war in Ukraine.

 

After the meeting in Indonesia, India will take over the Group of 20 presidency for one year.

 

'Recover Together, Recover Stronger' was the theme picked by Indonesia when it took charge last year. But the Russia-Ukraine war that began in February now threatens food and fuel shortages.

 

The leaders will hold three working sessions – on food and energy security, digital transformations, and health. Modi is expected to participate in all three.

 

On the sidelines of the summit, Modi has bilateral meetings scheduled for Wednesday with Indonesian President Widodo, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, French President Macron and Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

 

The list declared so far by Delhi does not mention Chinese President Xi Jinping, with whom Modi has not met face to face since the Galwan Valley clash between the troops from both sides in 2020.

 

There was no mention either of a separate meeting with Britain's new prime minister Rishi Sunak. But there is a possibility of more bilateral meetings being squeezed into the schedule.

 

The G20 comprises 19 countries: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the UK, the USA and the European Union (EU).

 

Together, they account for over 80 per cent of the global GDP, 75 per cent of international trade and two-thirds of the world population.

 

A day ahead of the summit, US President Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi met for three and a half hours in Bali, striking a conciliatory tone against the backdrop of a strain in their ties over self-ruled Taiwan.

 

Russian President Vladimir Putin has opted out of the Bali summit and sent foreign minister Sergei Lavrov to represent the country.

 

But western leaders who seemed to be preparing for a possible showdown over Russia's invasion of Ukraine are unlikely to back down. Russia can expect flak, for instance, when the summit discusses 'Food and Energy Security'.

 

Britain's new Prime Minister Sunak made his intention clear before leaving London for the meeting.

 

'This G20 Summit will not be business as usual,' he declared.

 

There is also speculation over difficulties in drafting the summit communique, a consensus document, with the Ukraine issue becoming a stumbling block. There is also a possibility of Ukrainian President Vlodoymyr Zelensky virtually addressing the gathering.

India is going all out to celebrate 2023 as the International Year of Millets as declared by the United Nations General Assembly.

 

To promote shipment of nutri-cereals, the India's Commerce and Industry Ministry, through its apex agricultural export promotion body, Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), has prepared a comprehensive strategy to promote Indian millets exports across the globe, commencing December 2022.

 

For exports of Indian millets, the Indian government has planned to facilitate participation of exporters, farmers and traders in 16 international trade expos and Buyer Seller Meets (BSMs).

 

As per the government's robust strategy, Indian missions abroad would be roped in branding and publicity of Indian millets, identification of international chefs as well as potential buyers such as departmental stores, supermarkets and hypermarkets for organising B2B meetings and direct tie-ups.

 

In addition, Ambassadors of Foreign missions in India of the targeted countries and potential importers would also be invited to showcase various millet-based products, including Ready to Eat millet products and facilitate B2B meetings.

 

The APEDA has planned to organise millet promotional activities in South Africa, Dubai, Japan, South Korea, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Sydney, Belgium, Germany, the UK and the US by facilitating participation of different stakeholders from India in some of the significant food shows, Buyer Seller Meets and roadshows.

 

As part of the promotion of Indian millets, APEDA has planned to showcase millets and its value-added product at various global platforms such as Gulfood2023, Foodex, Seoul Food & Hotel Show, Saudi Agro Food, Fine Food Show in Sydney (Australia), Belgium's Food & Beverages Show, Germany's BioFach and Anuga Food Fair, San Francisco's Winter Fancy Food Show among other places.

 

India is one of the leading producers of millets in the world with an estimated share of around 41 per cent in the global production. As per FAO, world production of millets in the year 2020 was 30.464 million metric tonnes (MMT) and India's share was 12.49 MMT, which accounts for 41 per cent of the total millet production. India recorded 27 per cent growth in millet production in 2021-22 as compared to millet production in the previous year was 15.92 MMT.

 

India's top five millet producing states are Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh. Share of export of millets is nearly 1 per cent of the total millet production. Exports of millets from India include mainly whole grain.

 

It is estimated that the millets market is set to grow from its current market value of more than USD 9 billion to over USD 12 billion by 2025.

 

For promotion of Indian millets and its value-added products, the Indian government has developed 30 e-Catalogues on each of the targeted countries comprising information on various Indian millets and range of their value-added products available for export, list of active exporters, start-ups, FPOs and importer/retail chain/hyper markets, that to be circulated to the Indian Embassy abroad, importers, exporters, start-ups and stakeholders.

 

The Indian government is also mobilising start-ups for export promotion of value-added products in the Ready to Eat (RTE) and Ready to Serve (RTS) category such as noodles, pasta, breakfast cereals mix, biscuits, cookies, snacks, sweets among others.

 

Major international retail supermarkets like Lulu group, Carrefour, Al Jazira, Al Maya and Walmart would also be roped in to establish millet corner for branding and promotion of millets.

 

The Indian government has also started formulating five-year strategic plan for the promotion of millets and value-added millet products in the international market in association with ICAR-Indian Institute of Millets Research (IIMR), Hyderabad, ICMR-National Institute of Nutrition, Hyderabad, CSIR-Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI), Mysore and Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs).

 

India has created the Nutri Cereals Export Promotion Forum to give impetus to the export of potential products, including millets, and to remove the bottlenecks in the supply chain of Nutri cereals.

 

Millets have superior nutritional values in comparison to highly consumed cereals such as rice and wheat. Millets are rich in calcium, iron, and fibres that help in fortifying essential nutrients for the healthy growth in children. Also, the usage of millets in infant food and nutrition products is increasing.

A programme was organised on the last day of farmers’ fair. At the programme, Union Agricultural Minister Narendra Singh Tomar laid the foundation stone for schemes to develop the agriculture sector.

 

Additionally, a farm is being prepared by National Seed Corporation in Chambal's 800-hectare ravines. The government has kept a provision of Rs 10,000 crore for setting up food processing units and Rs 500 crore for beekeeping. Many schemes have been provided with new technology to make farmers self-reliant. The loan amount of Rs 25,000 available on the Kisan Credit Card has now been increased to Rs 4 lakh. Many schemes are being implemented to improve soil health.

 

While addressing the farmers, Minister Tomar said, "The results of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's efforts to increase production in agriculture and double the income of farmers are now visible. Due to excellent work done by the country's agricultural scientists and technical experts, cultivation is being done on rocky land. Crops that require less water are being prepared by inventing new varieties of crops of paddy and sugarcane that require more water.'

 

Tomar added, 'India leads in agricultural production in the world. Schemes will generate employment in the village. The government is providing 50% concession to buy drones.'

 

On occasion, Khajuraho MP and state BJP president Vishnu Datt Sharma, Madhya Pradesh Agriculture Minister Kamal Patel, Horticulture Minister Bharat Singh Kushwaha, and others were present.

 

In the end, MP Urja Vikas Nigam Limited Chairman Giriraj Dandotiya expressed gratitude to the farmers. On this occasion, Chambal Divisional Commissioner Deepak Singh, Collector Ankit Asthana, Superintendent of Police Ashutosh Bagri, ADM Narottam Bhargava and other officers were present.

Hailing the development projects started in last eight years by PM Modi, Union Minister Piyush Goyal on Monday said that today India is emerging as a bright spot in the world’s economy.

 

'Under the leadership of PM Modi, the country is moving toward development. For our startups, women entrepreneurs, who are manufacturing in India, a dedicated ‘Swadeshi fair’ should be organized where we’ll present quality products in front of the world,' Union Minister said the mediapersons in New Delhi.

 

'In the last eight years, PM Modi introduced many development projects & due to this, today India is emerging as a bright spot in the world’s economy,' he highlighted.

 

Goyal on Monday inaugurated the 41st edition of the India International Trade Fair.

 

He pointed out that, 'with the help of India, the world economy will move forward. India will lead the world in future.'

 

Earlier on Sunday, Goyal talked the idea of every campus must become an incubator for startups and must strive to nurture and develop innovation and entrepreneurship.

 

During a meeting with the heads of all premier educational institutes in India like NIFT, the commerce minister asked the institutions to introspect if their education was tailor-made to cater to the needs of tomorrow.

 

He said, 'We must aspire to take India’s fashion technology to the developed markets of the world. He also observed that there is a need to expand our faculty base and invest greatly in faculty development' during the meeting with the heads and senior faculty members of Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT), Indian Institute of Packaging (IIP), National Institute of Design (NID), National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) and Footwear Design and Development Institute (FDDI) in New Delhi on Saturday evening.

 

As per a statement from the commerce ministry, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal asked eminent institutions of design in India to increase their student intake by a minimum of 10X.