Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday batted for investments in Karnataka saying that the state is a leader in many sectors and has attractive policies to promote industries. The Union Minister, who is a Rajya Sabha member from Karnataka, said investors are willing to come to the state because of the record of Karnataka and Bengaluru in facilitating industries.

 

'Karnataka is a leader in many sectors. First in renewable energy, because 63 per cent of all our installed capacity lies in renewable energy. First in electrical maintenance, innovation, home to about seven plus auto Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) -- more than seven of them are here and 50-plus auto component manufacturers are here,' Sitharaman said addressing the gathering at the launch of the three-day Global Investors' Meet titled 'Invest Karnataka'.

 

The industry consultative process which happens in Karnataka is one which is extensive, the Finance Minister said.

 

Quoting Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, Sitharaman said that initially when the GIM was planned, the state government's expectations and target of investment was somewhere in the range of Rs 5 lakh crore.

 

However, it went upwards to about Rs 7.5 lakh crore, of which Rs 2.8 crore related proposals have already been cleared, she said.

 

'That is the pro-active nature of this government being led by Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai and it is at that speed, which gives confidence to the investors,' Sitharaman pointed out.

 

She highlighted that the MoUs are coming up in the sunrise areas, including green hydrogen. Sitharaman said the state government is making sure that the corridors are coming up for industries and the ports are connected.

 

According to her, the state's new Information Technology Policy 2020-25 is a big step forward as it also looks at electronic system-defined manufacturing and telecom services in six clusters.

 

Further, the industrial clusters are not just going to be located in Bengaluru but outside the city in places like Mangaluru, Tumakuru, Mysuru, Hubballi, Shivamogga and Kalaburagi.

 

'The 'one district, one product' is something which the state is moving at a rapid pace. Land reforms are happening. Similarly, the renewable energy policy of the state is something which I think is very rewarding and as a result, you have a lot of investments happening in the renewable energy area as well,' Sitharaman said.

According to the Observatory of Economic Complexity, a global trade statistics platform, India increased monthly imports from Russia by 430 per cent compared to the five-year average.

 

The Ministry of Industry and Trade of India reported that trade turnover between Russia and India exceeded $18.2 billion in the first five months of the fiscal year. The surge in trade between the two countries made Russia the country's seventh largest trade partner, rising from 25th place with a total trade turnover of $13.1 billion in 2021.

 

Of the total bilateral trade from April to August, India's imports from Russia totalled $17.2 billion, while Indian exports to Russia totalled $992.73 million.

 

The start of transportation along the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) and the partnership relations established between the countries in recent years have largely contributed to bilateral trade growth.

 

'Our economies are increasingly benefitting from the interaction. The leadership of Prime Minister Modi saw many achievements in recent years, and the trade between our countries is growing. For example, Prime Minister Modi asked me to supply more fertilisers, which are vital for Indian agriculture. And we have done so. We increased our fertiliser exports to India by a factor of 7.6. Not 7.6 per cent but 7.6 times,' said Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Valdai Club meeting.

 

He also mentioned that trade in agricultural commodities between the two countries has doubled.

 

'Indian entrepreneurs should leverage the current situation in Europe to strengthen trade ties with Russia,' stated S. Adikesavan, former CEO of the State Bank of India (NS:SBI).

 

'After the West imposed anti-Russian sanctions, trade turnover between Russia and India increased. Trade in INR and RUB will help India reduce its dependence on the US dollar,' he explained.

 

Increased energy exports from Russia have already allowed India to pursue its energy relief plan, while trade growth has enabled the country to increase its GDP and become a leader among the world's economies. The development of international economic and transport corridors, such as the INSTC, is crucial to these efforts.

 

Professor Agnieszka Kuszewska of the Polish Institute of Middle and Far East, speaking at an international conference on Central Asia in Bishkek, stated that the 7,200-km-long INSTC serves as a geostrategic alternative to China's New Silk Road stipulated by the Belt and Road Initiative.

 

According to the professor, INSTC could potentially strengthen India's geostrategic position in the region manifold, increasing its chances to counteract China's expansionism, while cooperation with Iran and Central Asian countries would allow Indian cargoes to bypass Pakistan.

 

The growing role of the INSTC in trade between the two countries is driven not only by the sanctions against Russia, but also by the change in economic hubs.

 

According to Andrei Belousov, First Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, the longitudinal transport infrastructure between Russia and neighbouring countries no longer meets global trends, as now the key role is played by latitudinal routes, especially the North-South route. Belousov also believes that the corridor could become a full-fledged competitor to the Suez Canal.

 

'By 2030, we expect to double the volumes of Russian cargo passing through the INSTC, reaching 32 million tonnes as compared to the current 17 million tonnes. Furthermore, we have great hopes for the western route that passes through Azerbaijan,' said the First Deputy Prime Minister of Russia.

 

'For Russia, the INSTC is a powerful, landmark trade route that will bring us closer to Iran and India, the two key players at this time. In the long term, India may prove to be a much bigger strategic partner for us than China,' suggested Konstantin Andrianov, associate professor at the State University of Management, member of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences, and an expert at the Russian State Duma.

 

According to the expert, India is currently the leader in economic growth and has the potential to become the world's largest economy, as it regularly outpaces even China's development.

 

Once the INSTC is fully operational, India will be in a position to fully meet its demand for energy, metals, and military equipment, cutting delivery time and cost.

 

Moreover, the country would stand to develop international collaboration in new and promising sectors and industries, including aluminium, pharmaceuticals, and food exports.

The country's wheat exports more than doubled to USD 1.48 billion during April-September 2022-23 as compared to the year-ago period, the commerce ministry said on Wednesday. The exports stood at USD 630 million in the year-ago period.

 

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

 

'Wheat export rose to USD 1,487 million in April-September 2022 from USD 630 million in April-September 2021,' the ministry said.

 

The global wheat supply has been seriously disrupted because of the Russia-Ukraine war. Both nations are major wheat producers.

 

The ministry also said exports of agricultural and processed food products rose 25 per cent during the six- month period of this fiscal year.

 

The overall export of Agricultural and Processed Food Export Development Authority (APEDA) products increased to USD 13.77 billion in April-September 2022 from USD 11.05 billion in the same period a year ago.

 

For 2022-23, an export target of USD 23.56 billion has been fixed by APEDA and export of USD 13.77 billion has already been achieved in the six-month period, it added.

 

Similarly, export of fresh fruits increased to USD 313 million during the period under reviews as compared to USD 301 million a year ago.

 

Export of lentils increased from USD 135 million to USD 330 million.

 

Basmati rice exports too increased to USD 2.28 billion during April-September 2022 from USD 1.66 billion a year ago.

 

Shipments of non-basmati rice registered a growth of 8 per cent to USD 3.20 billion.

 

Similarly, export of poultry products rose 83 per cent to USD 57 million, while shipments of dairy products increased 58 per cent to USD 342 million.

Yields in rice for a long time have stagnated. Though there has been an incremental increase here and there, yields, say for example, in the popular variety, Samba Mahsuri (BPT5204) hover around 5-6 tonnes a hectare.

 

Scientists at the Indian Institute of Rice Research (IIRR), an Indian Council of Agricultural Research institute, have used a modern tool called genome editing to increase the yields by up to 30-35 per cent.

 

'The new breeding technique, which is generating a lot of interest across the world, lets scientists to carry out targeted changes to genomes, to get the best possible features, to improve a wide range of traits in various crops,' R M Sundaram, Director of IIRR, told businessline.

 

Great challenge

A team of scientists has successfully completed two seasons of testing of the edited rice variety at the biosafety screen house. They used a genome editing technology called CRISPR/Cas (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats) to edit and mutate the negative regulator.

 

'It has been a great challenge for researchers to enhance the yield potential of Samba Mahsuri, which is highly popular for the grain quality, while retaining the original grain and cooking qualities,' he said.

 

'We have edited a negative regulator that limits the number of grains per panicle. As a result, the number of grains per panicle showed an increase of 35 per cent,' Satendra Kumar Mangrauthia, a Senior Scientist at IIRR that headed the research team, said.

 

Usually, a Samba Masuri plant gives 200-250 grains per panicle, while the genome-edited plant gives over 450 grains per panicle. 'This is going to significantly increase the yields,' he said.

 

Rise in farmers’ income

This, however, requires IP clearances and permissions for field evaluations before going for elaborate trials and commercial releases.

 

Satendra Kumar said because of the swiftness involved, the process can help accelerate the delivery of improved varieties.

 

Satendra said the method could significantly improve the incomes of farmers and ensure food and nutritional security.

 

Going forward, this technology can also be used to develop varieties that require paddy plants to use less water, fertilisers, and pesticides.

 

Satendra Kumar and his team started working on genome editing in 2016. They received funding from ICAR- National Agricultural Science Fund (NASF) in 2018 to carry out the genome editing work .

 

'After establishing initial protocols and standardisation of techniques, the IIRR team developed high yielding version of Samba Mahsuri in two years,' he said.

 

'We have seen a 35 per cent increase in grain yield while retaining its original grain characteristics. Besides, the edited lines showed strong culm strength that helps in lodging resistance,' he said.

 

The transgene free homozygous edited lines are ready for field testing and commercialisation.

 

Impediment

He felt that it would be desirable to develop some mechanism to acquire licensing for using the technology for the benefit of farmers and society.

 

Researchers at IIRR informed that there are several such negative regulators present in rice genome that can be targeted for genome editing to improve yield, disease resistance, insect resistance, and abiotic stresses.

 

The Centre, in its Office Memorandum of March 30, 2022, expedited genome editing by exempting plants falling under the categories of (Site-Directed Nuclease) SDN1 and SDN2 from certain provisions of the Environmental Protection Act Rules, 1989, which governs the regulatory and biosafety of genetically modified organisms (GMOs).

 

This has helped SDN1 and SDN2 genome-edited plants from not being regulated as GMOs. The development is expected to result in accelerated development of crop varieties with different improved traits, particularly to impart resistance to devastating plant diseases and fight climate change and malnutrition.

With 14 per cent growth in millets exports, Government’s agri export promotion body, APEDA has decided to focus on shipments of its organic variety to achieve the target of at least Rs.2,000 crore export by FY26. Millets exports were to the tune of about Rs.460 crore in 2021-22.

 

'We intend to exceed Rs.2,000 crore by 2025-26 by touching at least 100 plus countries in value-added and processed organic millet products,' said M Angamuthu, Chairman of Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA). He said APEDA has prepared a country-specific millet products catalogue to promote and facilitate export and international business. Currently, millets go to about 30 countries.

 

India ranks at fifth position in global millet trade, while shipments go to UAE, Saudi Arabia, Nepal, USA, Japan, Germany, Bangladesh and many others. Export of millet is less than one per cent of its domestic production.

 

It is possible that with the collective efforts in expansion of area under millet cultivation, use of technology and packing for value-added products and through promotional programme, the export can be geared up to great extent, he said.

 

By default, the entire export is of organic nature only, an official said adding the need is to bring these products under certification process so that they get into the international market. Certified organic millets are mainly produced in Karnataka and Rajasthan and some quantities in Uttarakhand, too.

 

Sorghum (jowar), pearl millet (bajra), and ragi are commonly certified organic millets. Though much quantity has not been commercially produced as organic, processed millets are being exported as organic from the country. Millet as flour, flakes, and in whole are being exported as organic to South America, Europe, USA, Canada, and New Zealand.

 

Time to make the millet mighty again

Consumption of millet as direct food has significantly declined in India due to policies centred around Green Revolution–led food security from the 1960s onwards

 

'The market demand for value-added millets is more when it is certified as organic as well. With the appropriate use of processing technologies for development of value-added products, the market acceptance of organic millet-based products can be enhanced as they possess unique nutritional properties making them superior to other cereals, APEDA officials said.

 

As millets are already popular in African countries and are largely consumed, the introduction of multiple varieties and processed forms can attract consumers, the officials said. APEDA is eyeing to see organic millet-based products to substitute popular rice-based food in south Asia, at least partially.

 

'The change in food habits and adaptability to new products requires time. Massive promotional activities for millet-based products have been proposed targeting potential markets, such as UAE, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Japan, Korea USA, Europe, South Africa,' Angamuthu said.

 

Agri products export grows 25% to $13.8 billion in H1 FY23

There has been an impressive over 100% jump in export value in wheat, pulses, and milled products, while guar gum and poultry registered more than 80% growth

Intensive negotiations continue towards a free trade agreement (FTA) between India and the UK and new British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is committed to achieving a balanced deal, Downing Street said on Wednesday.

 

Sunak, who took charge at 10 Downing Street last week, had a 'very warm' introductory call with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during which both sides expressed their commitment towards an FTA.

 

The UK Prime Minister's office also reiterated that the focus remains on a balanced trade deal that benefits both sides and therefore no timeframe is being specified after a proposed Diwali timeline had to be abandoned last month amid political turmoil in the UK.

 

'Both sides are very committed to it, intensive negotiations are continuing led by the Department for International Trade (DIT),' a spokesperson told reporters at a Downing Street briefing.

 

'The Prime Minister had a very warm, introductory call with Prime Minister Modi last week. In terms of the speed of it [FTA], we have been very clear that we won't sacrifice quality to achieve speed. We will sign when we have a balanced deal that represents both of our interests but both sides remain committed,' the spokesperson said.

 

In his first phone call after taking charge as Prime Minister last week, Sunak had referenced 'good progress' being made to finalise the FTA.

 

'The Prime Minister hoped the UK and India could continue to make good progress in negotiations to finalise a comprehensive Free Trade Agreement,' a Downing Street readout of the call said.

 

The two leaders are expected to meet in person at the G20 Summit in Indonesia later this month, unless they meet at the COP27 Summit in Egypt where the UK Prime Minister has confirmed attendance of the Leader's Day but Modi's visit is as yet unconfirmed.

 

Sunak is on the record expressing his commitment to an FTA with India while Chancellor of the Exchequer at No. 11 Downing Street when he flagged financial services as a particularly 'exciting' aspect of the bilateral trade relationship.

 

The City of London Corporation, the financial hub of the UK capital, has expressed the hope that Sunak's focus on services would take the FTA in the right direction.

 

'Services make up around 70 per cent of annual trade between our countries. So, a deal that doesn't deliver for this sector would be a missed opportunity,' said Chris Hayward, Policy Chairman at the City of London Corporation.

 

The focus of the FTA negotiations is on reducing the barriers to trade, cutting tariffs, and supporting easier imports and exports into each other's markets.

 

According to official UK government data, India-UK bilateral trade currently stands at around GBP 24.3 billion a year and the aim is for that to be at least doubled by 2030.

The Government of India has announced Special Campaign 2.0 from 2nd to 31st October, 2022, with a focus on 'Swachhata (cleanliness) and reducing pendency in Government'.

 

During the Special Campaign, various activities were undertaken by the Department of Agricultural Research and Education (DARE) and its autonomous body viz. Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). ICAR has 113 Institutes and over 700 Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) across the country. During this Special Campaign, attention is given to the field/outstation offices of DARE/ ICAR.

 

The Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) have taken part in various activities in the thematic areas viz.  Adoption of villages for Microbial based Agricultural Waste Management using Vermicompost; Awareness programme about Swachhta; Crop Residue Management; Demonstration of technologies on waste and wealth; Cleaning of villages programme with farmers; Orientation of school children on various topics like hygiene, sanitation, cleanliness; Cleaning of offices and campus and disposal of scraps etc.

 

The salient achievements during this month’s special campaign are: -

 

More than 1,200 villages were adopted by KVKs for promoting 'agricultural waste management using vermicompost technology' with the participation of more than 38,000 participants.

 

Participation of over 91,000 persons in the Swachhta awareness programme.

 

About 980 activities related to 'Crop Residue Management' were conducted by the KVKs involving more than 35,000 participants of which about 28000 were farmers.

 

About 960 activities were conducted by KVKs for the demonstration of technologies on waste to wealth. More than 22,000 persons participated in these activities.

 

The activity of cleaning the villages was taken up in more than 1800 villages with the participation of more than 38,000 participants which includes school children, farmers and other members of the society.

 

About 28,000 school children were oriented on various topics like hygiene, sanitation and cleanliness through more than 790 activities.

 

More than 8,000 staff members of KVKs were involved in the cleaning of offices, and disposal of scraps through around 2290 different activities.

 

Revenue to the tune of Rs.40.00 lakhs has been generated by the disposal of office scrap during this Special Campaign.

 

Exports of agricultural and processed food products rose by 25 percent within six months of the current Financial Year 2022-23 (April-September) in comparison to the corresponding period of FY 2021-22. According to the provisional data released by the Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics (DGCI&S), the overall export of agricultural and processed food products has witnessed a growth of 25 Percent in USD during April-September 2022.

 

The overall export of Agricultural and Processed Food Export Development Authority (APEDA) products increased to USD 13771 million in April-September 2022 from USD 11056 million over the same period of the last fiscal year.

 

The initiatives taken by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry through APEDA have helped the country achieve 58 percent of its total export target for the year 2022-23 within six months of the current fiscal.

 

For the year 2022-23, an export target of USD 23.56 billion has been fixed by APEDA for the agricultural and processed food products basket and an export of USD 13.77 billion has already been achieved in these six months of the current fiscal.

 

As per the DGCI&S provisional data, processed fruits and vegetables recorded a significant growth of 42.42 percent (April-September 2022), while fresh fruits registered 4 percent growth as opposed to corresponding months of the previous year.

 

Also, processed food products like cereals and miscellaneous processed items reported a growth of 29.36 percent compared to the first six months of the previous year.

 

In April-September, 2021, fresh fruits were exported to the tune of USD 301 million which increased to USD 313 million in the corresponding months of the current fiscal. Exports of processed F&V jumped to USD 1024 million in six months of the current fiscal from USD 719 million in the corresponding months of the previous year.

 

The export of pulses has witnessed an increase of 144 percent in Q2 of the current fiscal in comparison to the corresponding months of the last fiscal as the export of lentils increased from USD 135 million (April-September 2021-22) to USD 330 million (April-September 2022-23).

 

Basmati Rice exports witnessed a growth of 37.36 percent in six months of FY 2022-23 as its export increased from USD 1660 million (April-September 2021) to USD 2280 million (April-September 2022), while the export of non-Basmati rice registered a growth of 8 percent in Q2 of current fiscal. Its export increased to USD 3207 million in six months of the current fiscal from USD 2969 million in the corresponding months of the previous year.

 

The export of meat, dairy & poultry products increased by 10.29 percent and the export of other cereals recorded a growth of 12.29 percent in six months of the current fiscal. The poultry products alone registered a growth of 83 percent as its export rose to USD 57 million within the half-year bracket of the current fiscal from USD 31 million recorded for the corresponding months of the previous year.

 

Similarly, dairy products recorded a growth of 58 percent as its export rose to USD 342 million in Q2 of the current fiscal from USD 216 million in Q2 of the previous year.

 

Wheat export registered an increase of 136 percent in Q2 of the current fiscal. Wheat export rose to USD 1487 million in April-September 2022 from USD 630 million in April-September 2021.

 

Other cereals’ export increased from USD 467 million in April-September 2021 to USD 525 million in April-September 2022 and the export of livestock products increased from USD 1903 million in April-September 2021 to USD 2099 million in April-September 2022.

 

On the achievement, M Angamuthu, Chairman, of APEDA, said, 'We have been working with all the stakeholders such as farmers, exporters, and processors to ensure that quality agricultural and processed food products are exported from the country.'

 

As per the DGCI&S data, the country’s agricultural products exports had grown by 19.92 percent in the latest FY of 2022 to touch USD 50.21 billion. The growth rate is significant as it is over and above the growth of 17.66 percent at USD 41.87 billion achieved in the previous FY 2020-21 and has been accomplished despite unprecedented logistical challenges in the form of high freight rates and container shortages, etc.

 

APEDA had scripted a new history by facilitating the export of agricultural and processed food products worth USD 25.6 billion in 2021-22, which was around 51 percent of India's total agricultural goods exports of more than USD 50 billion.

 

'Through creating a necessary eco-system of exports along with collaboration with key stakeholders in the agri-exports value chains, we are aiming to sustain the growth in India’s agricultural and processed food exports in the current fiscal as well,' Angamuthu, said.

 

The rise in the export of agricultural and processed food products is the outcome of centre’s initiatives for export promotion of agricultural and processed food products such as organising B2B exhibitions in different countries, exploring new potential markets through product-specific and general marketing campaigns by the active involvement of Indian Embassies.

 

Government has also taken several initiatives to promote products that have registered geographical indications (GI) in India by organizing virtual Buyer Seller Meets on agricultural and food products with the United Arab Emirates and GI products, including handicrafts with the USA.

 

In a bid to give a boost to the export of Indian wine, APEDA facilitated the participation of 10 wine exporters in the London Wine Fair held between June 7- 9, 2022.

 

Centre, through APEDA, recently organized a conference on boosting the export potential of natural, organic, and GI-agro Products from the north-eastern states in Guwahati, Assam. The objective of the conference was to promote the export of natural, organic, and GI agro-products grown in Assam and neighbouring states by creating international market linkages.

 

In collaboration with the Union Territory of Ladakh, APEDA recently organized an International Buyer Seller Meet, which aimed at boosting exports of Apricots and other agri-products from Ladakh. Eighteen entrepreneurs from UTs of Ladakh, Jammu, and Kashmir displayed a range of Apricots and other Agri Products. Twenty buyers from India, the USA, Bangladesh, Oman, and Dubai participated in this event.

 

APEDA launched an eight-day-long Mango Festival in the Kingdom of Bahrain on June 13. At the show, 34 varieties of mangoes from eastern states, including West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, and Odisha, were displayed at Bahrain's Al Jazira group supermarket.

 

The mango show in Bahrain is part of APEDA’s new initiatives to explore international markets for Indian mangoes under the ‘Mango Festival 2022’. It’s the outcome of APEDA’s commitment to providing a global platform for Indian mangoes. It is to be noted that for the first time 34 varieties of mangoes from eastern states have been showcased in Bahrain. On earlier occasions, mango varieties from Southern states like Alphonso, Kesar, Banganpalli, etc were showcased in most of the global shows.

 

To ensure seamless quality certification of products to be exported, APEDA has recognized 220 labs across India to provide services of testing to a wide range of products and exporters.

Export-Import Bank of India (India Exim Bank) has concluded a Master Risk Participation Agreement for supporting trade transactions with FirstRand Bank (FRB) Limited. The agreement was signed in Johannesburg on Monday on the sidelines of the India - Southern Africa Regional Conclave, in the presence of. Silvino Augusto Jose Moreno, Minister for Industry and Commerce, Mozambique, Jaideep Sarkar, High Commissioner of India to South Africa and Busi Mabuza, Board Chairperson, Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa Limited, and Chair, BRICS Business Council.

 

FRB has a presence in Botswana, Eswatini, Ghana, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania and Zambia, besides a representative office in Mumbai. The agreement opens financing avenues to support trade between India and Africa, aiming to strengthen the growing economic engagement between India and African nations.

 

The agreement has been signed under India Exim Bank’s latest trade facilitation initiative, the Trade Assistance Programme. Under this programme, India Exim Bank provides credit enhancement to trade instruments, thereby augmenting the capacity of commercial banks / financial institutions to undertake cross-border trade transactions involving markets where trade lines are constrained, or where the potential has not been harnessed.

 

Speaking on the occasion, India Exim Bank’s Chief General Manager, Vikramaditya Ugra, highlighted, 'Over the last few months, India Exim Bank has supported multiple trade transactions under the programme, covering a wide range of sectors including agriculture, automotive parts, capital and engineering goods, food, iron & steel and textiles.'

 

India Exim Bank’s publication ‘Reinvigorating India’s Economic Engagements with Southern Africa’ was also released at the Conclave. With the increasing diversification of India’s global trade towards developing countries, Southern African countries have emerged as significant trade partners for India. India Exim Bank finds substantial complementarity in India’s exports and the Southern African Custom Union (SACU)’s imports over the last decade. The study identifies products with strong export potential from India to SACU. A Preferential Trade Agreement is expected to ease the trade hurdles between India and SACU, leading to overall increase in India’s trade and investment with SACU and with the broader region of the Southern African Development Community (SADC). As new trade and investment partnerships are forming across the world, the study highlights the necessity of India and Southern African countries to forge mutually beneficial collaborations in several areas of interest.

The government's paddy procurement for the central pool rose 12 per cent to 170.53 lakh tonnes till October of the ongoing 2022-23 kharif marketing season, according to the food ministry data. Higher quantities of paddy were purchased from Punjab, Haryana and Tamil Nadu.

 

Normally, paddy procurement begins immediately after the withdrawal of the Southwest monsoon from October onwards. However in southern states, especially in Kerala and Tamil Nadu, it begins from September.

 

The government aims to procure 771.25 lakh tonnes of paddy in the 2022-23 kharif marketing season (October-September). The actual procurement stood at record 759.32 lakh tonnes in the previous kharif marketing season.

 

According to the official data, the overall paddy buying has increased to 170.53 lakh tonnes till October 31 of the 2022-23 kharif marketing season from 152.57 lakh tonnes in the year-ago period.

 

Out of the total, about 107.24 lakh tonnes of paddy has been purchased from Punjab till October-end compared to 99.12 lakh tonnes in the year-ago period. From Haryana, 52.26 lakh tonnes were bought as against 48.27 lakh tonnes in the same period a year ago.

 

However, in Uttar Pradesh, paddy procurement remained lower at 33,668 tonnes till October-end of this kharif marketing season as against 83,766 tonne in the year-ago period, the data showed.

 

The procurement in Uttarakhand remained slightly higher at 2.46 lakh tonnes as against 2.35 lakh tonnes. In Jammu and Kashmir, the procurement was higher at 11,170 tonnes as against 6,756 tonnes in the same period a year ago.

 

In Himachal Pradesh, the paddy procurement, however, has been slightly lower at 6,111 tonnes till October of this season as against 7,374 tonnes in the year-ago period.

 

As per the data, in Tamil Nadu, about 7.90 lakh tonnes of paddy have been procured till October-end of this kharif marketing season as against 1.77 lakh tonnes in the year-ago period.

 

In Kerala, 4,159 tonnes of paddy have been purchased till the end of October compared to 5,203 tonnes in the year-ago period.

 

The paddy procurement is undertaken by both state-owned Food Corporation of India (FCI) and private agencies. The paddy is procured at the minimum support price directly from the farmers and is utilised for meeting the demand under several welfare schemes.

 

Paddy is grown in both kharif (summer) and rabi (winter) seasons. But 80 per cent of the country's total paddy production comes from the kharif season.

 

According to the first estimate of the agriculture ministry, the country's paddy production is estimated to decline 6 per cent to 104.99 million tonnes in the 2022-23 kharif season due to decrease in paddy acreage in the wake of poor rains in key producing states, especially in Jharkhand.