Calling India a 'bright spot', International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva on Thursday said that country was a fast-growing economy, even during these difficult times.

 

'India deserves to be called a bright spot on this otherwise dark horizon because it has been a fast-growing economy, even during these difficult times, but most importantly, this growth is underpinned by structural reforms,' Georgieva said.

 

India’s economy posted double-digit growth of 13.5 percent in April-June quarter, as a favourable base effect and improved activities following the relaxation of pandemic-led restrictions outweighed the rippling effects of geopolitical and global concerns.

 

Most importantly, this growth is underpinned by structural reforms, she said at a media briefing in Washington DC.

 

She said digitisation was playing a big role in India’s success. 'Among the remarkable success in digitisation in India from digital ID to providing all services and support on the basis of digital access.'

 

'The country is now stepping into taking the lead in G20 from that position of strength which makes me strongly believe that we would see India leaving a mark on the world for years to come during next year’s presidency,' she said responding to a question of India’s G20 presidency next year.

 

The IMF’s top official said that India will leave a mark in the areas of digitalisation and digital money.

 

'We know that we need regulation of crypto; we know that we need to get some more attention to cross-border payments; we are proposing public investments in the infrastructure of the cross-border payment platform.'

 

She said India can play a role in bringing more fairness to IMF. India has been a very strong voice for the Fund to be financially strong and also to be a strong institution on the basis of fair representation of members.

 

India could also play a role in renewable energy. 'India has really leapfrogged in terms of solar and other forms of renewable energy. So, I very much look forward to next year and I am sure that it would make the people of India, the whole nearly one point four billion of them very proud.'

 

The statements by the IMF chief came at a time the IMF cut India’s FY23 GDP forecast to 6.8% from its earlier projection of 7.4%.

 

This was the third downward revision for India. FY23 GDP forecast was downgraded to 7.4% in July from 8.2% estimated in April keeping in view negative changes in external conditions, besides rapid monetary policy tightening.

 

Growth projection was cut in April to 8.2% from 9% owing to higher commodity prices.

The Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Shri Narendra Singh Tomar has said that the Agriculture sector is the backbone of our country and our rural economy and agriculture have such strength that the country can easily overcome even the adverse situations. The Indian Agriculture sector has shown this during the Covid pandemic. The Government of India provided food security to 800 million people of the country, as well as helped friendly countries. Today we are in the first or second place in the world in terms of most of the agricultural produce. Despite this, there are some challenges before the Agriculture sector. There is a need to work in this direction to transform agriculture into advanced farming, technology should be used in agriculture and its continuity should be maintained.

 

Shri Tomar said this in his virtual address to the National Conference on Enhancing Agricultural Productivity on the topic 'Integration of Improved Seeds and Agri Inputs', organized by the Associated Chamber of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) in New Delhi today. Shri Tomar said that the stronger and more profitable the Agriculture sector is, the stronger the country will be. There is a need to consider the challenges facing Agriculture today. In spite of all the favourable conditions, the area under farming and its profit and loss depend a lot on the nature. People's curiosity and attachment towards agriculture should increase, agriculture should be attractive for the next generation and farmers can be retained for farming, more work needs to be done in this direction. Shri Tomar said that the government is working to reduce the gap between farmers and the market, providing infrastructure in rural areas and eliminate the role of middlemen. He said that the number of small farmers in the country is more, who have small acreage and do not have money for investment; for such farmers, the Central Government is setting up 10,000 new FPOs, for which a provision of Rs 6,865 crore has been made and small farmers are being mobilized. It is the effort of the government that farmers should do group farming, so that the input costs can be reduced, production quality improves and small farmers can shift to remunerative crops and get the price for their produce on their own terms. FPOs can also process products. For this, the government has extended loans up to Rs. 2 crore without guarantee.

 

Shri Tomar said that to reduce import dependence in oilseeds, the Oil Palm Mission has been started with a provision of Rs.11,000 crore. 28 lakh hectares of land in the country is suitable for oil palm cultivation. The prospects are high in the Northeast. Provision of Rupees One lakh crore Agri Infra Fund has been made for creation of infrastructure in the villages. Provision has also been made for special packages for Animal Husbandry, Fisheries and Medicinal Farming. Shri Tomar said that the Government of India is also working on the Digital Agriculture Mission, in which farmers, banks and other institutions will be linked, crop assessment made, data collected and crop losses will also be assessed with technology. Mapping will be done in such a way that farmers across the country can be advised through the State Governments as to where and which consumption is there, accordingly profit can be earned by producing as much needed. There will be no panic and there will be no loss. The Government has also emphasized on Natural Farming, in this direction we all need to work ahead. ASSOCHAM members including Secretary General Shri Deepak Sood, Shri Asghar Naqvi and Shri Jai Shroff were present in the programme. A knowledge paper was released on the occasion.

India will allow overseas broken rice shipments of 397,267 tonnes backed by letters of credit (LCs) issued before Sept. 8, the government said in a notification on Wednesday, as a sudden ban on exports of the grain prevented the loading of cargoes.

 

On Sept. 8, India banned exports of broken rice as the world's biggest exporter of grain tries to augment supplies and calm local prices after below-average monsoon rainfall curtailed planting.

 

The surprise move trapped nearly 1 million tonnes of rice that was moved to the ports or was in transit before the government made the announcement.

 

The concession to allow exports against already issued Lcs will help traders as a lot of cargoes were trapped and buyers were requesting quick dispatch, said B.V. Krishna Rao, president of the Rice Exporters Association.

 

He added that for many low income African countries, buying from other suppliers meant paying a 'very high price'.

 

'Indian broken rice was at least 30% cheaper than other origins,' he said.

 

China was the biggest buyer of Indian broken rice - which it uses for animal feed - with purchases of 1.1 million tonnes in 2021, while African countries such as Senegal and Djibouti bought broken rice for human consumption.

 

India accounts for more than 40% of global rice shipments and competes with Thailand, Vietnam, Pakistan and Myanmar in the world market.

According to the information given by the Chhattisgarh Public Relations and Information Department on October 11, 2022, the International Agricultural Madai 'Agri Carnival 2022' will be organized from October 14 to 18 at the Indira Gandhi Agricultural University campus in Raipur, the capital of Chhattisgarh.

 

Key Points

Directors of international and national level agricultural institutions, agricultural scientists, senior officials of various agricultural product manufacturing companies, startup entrepreneurs and a large number of progressive farmers will participate in the Agri Carnival being organized at Indira Gandhi Agricultural University campus.

 

A mega international agriculture fair exhibition will also be organized on the occasion. During the Agri Carnival, every day a tour of the crops and agricultural exhibition being grown in the research area of the university will be organized for the farmers, students and common citizens.

 

International Agricultural Farming 'Agri Carnival 2022' is organized by Indira Gandhi Agricultural University, Raipur, State Government Agriculture Department, Chhattisgarh Biotechnology Promotion Society, International Rice Research Institute, Philippines, NABARD, Consultative Group of International Agricultural Research, Agriculture and Processed Food Export Development Authority ( APEDA), NABL and other institutions.

 

Various programs will be organized during the five-day Krishi Madai, including buyer-seller conference to increase export of agricultural produce, workshop on innovation startups and entrepreneurship, seminar on processing and export of minor forest produce, training workshop for biodiversity conservation and registration of farmer species. , Training by NABL for validation of testing laboratories, Crop Breeding Modernization and Digitization etc. are prominent.

 

In agriculture, new varieties of crops, alternative crops that give more income, new agricultural technology, natural and organic agriculture, biofertilizers and biopesticides, animal husbandry, fish farming and fodder production, integrated crop nutrients and pest and disease management, soil Information regarding fertility and soil health, rainwater management and ground water enrichment, protected farming, advanced agricultural machinery processing and value addition etc. will be given by subject-expert scientists. During this, the successful entrepreneurs of agro-based startups will also be provided guidance to the youth willing to set up new startups.

 

About 20 thousand farmers are likely to participate in the International Agriculture Madai.

An exporters conclave-cum-expo aimed at promoting agricultural products of the coastal region will be held in Udupi on Friday.

 

Organised by Laghu Udyog Bharati-Karnataka and IMS Foundation in association with Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), the event will be held at Seshashayana Hall, Hotel Kidiyoor, at 10 a.m.

 

Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Shobha Karandlaje will inaugurate the conclave, along with Minister for Agriculture B.C. Patil.

 

The objective of the conclave is to bring key stakeholders, including various government departments related to agriculture and horticulture, Farmers Producer Organisations (FPOs), the farming community, exporters, and others to promote agricultural products and explore export business in the coastal belt of the State.

 

The conclave will also have a technical session focusing on these main themes, business models, value addition and technology intervention, government support system and sharing of success stories.

 

The day-long conclave will see several top speakers such as M. Angamuthu, Chairman, APEDA, Union Department of Commerce, M.V. Venkatesh, Commissioner, Watershed Development Department, Karnataka, K. Nagendra Prasad, Director of Horticulture, Karnataka, Manoj Rajan, Special Secretary to Government, Food Processing and Harvest Technology, Karnataka, T. Ramesh, Chief General Manager, National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development, Regional Office, Bengaluru, sharing their thoughts on how the FPOs operate and how the farming community can benefit from the various government schemes and also upscale to the next level thereby fetching good prices for the produce they grow.

 

To bring about a visible change and development in the agriculture sector, Laghu Udyog Bharati-Karnataka is collaborating with APEDA to explore and promote export potential in the coastal belt of the State, Laghu Udyog Bharati and IMS Foundation said.

 

The products from the region that export potential comprise cocoa, cashew, jackfruit, organic products, Mattu Gulla and Udupi Mallige, both of which have GI tag, beetel leaves, arecanut, pan and supari.

 

A few export houses will be present at the venue to showcase what can be exported from Udupi, Chikkamagaluru, Dakshina Kannada and Hassan region.

 

Around 250 participants comprising important stakeholders will be attending the event. Over 25 stalls will exhibit various products from the coastal region to the participants.

Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Narendra Singh Tomar on Wednesday said the digital agriculture mission launched by the government to help farmers plan their selection of crops more judiciously will also be beneficial for all the stakeholders. At the same time, focus should be on raising productivity amid declining farm lands.

 

Highlighting that the agriculture sector is the backbone of the economy, Tomar said: 'During the Covid pandemic, our agriculture has shown that it can provide strong support to the country even in adverse conditions. It has not only been able to meet the food requirements of our country but met the needs of other friendly countries.'

 

Avoiding disenchantment

Addressing the concluding session of a conference on 'Enhancing Agricultural Productivity: Integration of Improved Seeds & Agri Inputs', organised by industry body Assocham, he said the government is starting to assess the yield of agriculture in a digital way. 'It usually happens that when the price of any agricultural produce is high in the market, most of the farmers start growing the same agricultural produce in the next crop season. This invariably results in lowering the prices of that produce and leaves farmers feeling disheartened.

 

'To avoid this situation, the government has emphasised on the Digital Agriculture Mission, so that the farming done in different areas can be assessed through new technology. This way all the information will be collected through satellite and agriculture will be monitored.'

 

The minister also spoke on the importance of organic farming amid the degradation of soil. He said organically-produced agricultural products are preferred all over the world and such products have been exported from India. But more work to be done he said and asked the industry to work together to ensure that agriculture is linked to the market and sustain the increase in productivity.

 

Expanding e-NAM

Tomar explained various steps the government has been taking to eliminate middlemen in the agri value chain and ensure better returns for the farmers. He, however, did not refer to the now repealed three farm reform laws that were brought in to connect farmers directly with buyers. The minister said one of the challenges that farmers encounter includes fluctuations in prices and the distance they need to cover to get a better price. The electronic National Agriculture Market (e-NAM) could bring the solution, he said, adding more mandis will be connected with the platform from current 1,000 market yards.

 

Earlier, Jaidev Shroff, chairman of Assocham’s National Committee on Agriculture and Farming Inputs, said food security is a major challenge for all farmers, industries, and governments, but it also represents a significant opportunity. 'We need to equip our farmers with the tools they need to thrive in any situation, and better technology will help them do so,' said Shroff.

Applauding India’s digitisation efforts, the chief economist of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said the move was a game changer as it had allowed the Indian government to do things that would have been extremely difficult otherwise.

 

'Digitisation is helping along a number of dimensions. One is financial inclusion, obviously because there are a lot of people in countries like India that were unbanked. And having access to digital wallets is a way in which they can enter into transactions that are not just cash transactions, which are very inefficient,' Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas, the chief economist of IMF, told PTI in an interview in response to a question about India’s digitisation efforts.

 

'I think it (digitisation) has allowed the (Indian) government to do things that would have been extremely difficult to do otherwise. Yes (it is a game changer). It is certainly something that is a very welcome development,' Gourinchas suggested.

 

'So that's a huge plus in terms of bringing people into a more modern economy. That’s a factor for growth,' he said, adding that your market becomes very different if you are plugged into this digital instrument.

 

'The second one which I think has also been important in the case of India is these digital instruments also allow governments to reach and disburse systems in ways that are much harder to do sometimes with some of the regular pipes of the safety net,' he said.

 

'One of the lessons we've learned from both the pandemic and we're learning it again with the energy crisis, is how can we provide the assistance where it's needed. Because it's enormously costly to just have a blanket policy that is going to cover everyone,' he said.

 

Most people don't necessarily need this and most businesses may not need it. But sometimes it has to be done that way because that's the only way it can be done, he added.

 

'Digitisation offers the promise of more targeted assistance when it's needed. That is potentially a game changer because it means that now policy can be more nimble. It can have less of an impact on sort of the overall fiscal stance. So, more protection, more insurance can be provided,' Gourinchas said.

 

'That's also a very important factor for supporting the economy and helping it rebound when it's done. There's going to be shocks of all kinds of things happening and it offers this possibility for something that is much more agile and targeted,' he said in response to a question.

India, known as the home of spices, boasts a long history of trading with the ancient civilisations of Rome and China. Today, Indian spices are the most sought after globally, given their exquisite aroma, texture, taste and medicinal value. India has the largest domestic market for spices in the world. Traditionally, spices in India have been grown in small land holdings, with organic farming gaining prominence in recent times. India is the world's largest producer, consumer and exporter of spices; the country produces about 75 of the 109 varieties listed by the International Organization for Standardisation (ISO) and accounts for half of the global trading in spices.

 

India is the world’s leading producer and exporter of spices. The spice industry has played a significant role in the last seven decades. Spice growing, processing, manufacturing, grading, marketing, and other associated industries have long been a key source of income for people in India. Due to their incomparable aroma, flavour, and medicinal potential, Indian spices have been popular globally. The lure of spices led Vasco Da Gama to chart a seapath to India, and his arrival on the coast of Kerala in 1498, changed the world spice map forever. Indian spices are used in some of the world’s most well-known foods, including Mexican sauces, English curries, and Kahwa (popular Arabic drink). In India, spices have traditionally been farmed on tiny plots of land, with organic cultivation being popular and a norm for some spices.

 

India sells spices to almost 180 countries, with exports rising from $230 million in 1987 to around $5 billion. Spices like turmeric, ginger, coriander, and cumin are in high demand. So far, 26 Indian spices, including green cardamom from Coorg, Mizo ginger, and Kanyakumari cloves, have been given the GI (Geographical Indication) label. However, there are difficulties when it comes to export of raw spices. Many other Asian and African countries have a cost advantage over India. Let us look at how India can remove bottlenecks in the spice supply chain and accelerate the growth of spice exports.

 

India produces a wide range of spices and holds a prominent position in world spice production. Because of the varying climates - from tropical to sub-tropical to temperate-almost all spices grow splendidly in India. In reality almost all the states and Union territories of India grow one or the other spice. Under the Act of Parliament, a total of 52 spices are brought under the purview of Spices Board. However, 109 spices are notified in the ISO list.

 

Spices Board (Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India) is the flagship organisation for the development and worldwide promotion of Indian spices. The Board is an international link between the Indian exporters and the importers abroad. The Board has been spearheading activities for excellence of Indian spices, involving every segment of the industry. The Board has made quality and hygiene the corner stones for its development and promotional strategies.

 

Spices Board, the statutory organisation constituted on February 26, 1987, under the Spices Board Act, 1986, with the merger of the erstwhile Cardamom Board and Spices Export Promotion Council under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India, is responsible for the export promotion of the 52 scheduled spices and development of Cardamom (Small and Large). Spices Board is the flagship organisation for the development and worldwide promotion of Indian spices. The Board has been spearheading activities for the excellence of Indian spices, so as to help the Indian spice industry in attaining the vision of becoming the international processing hub and premier supplier of clean and value-added spices and herbs to the industrial, retail and food service segments of the global spices market.

 

The mandate of the Board is primarily development of Cardamom (Small and Large), promotion of export of spices and regulating the quality of spices for export. During 2020-21, despite the continuance of Covid-19 pandemic and the consequent recession in the global economy, spices export from India continued its upward trend and crossed the milestone of $3.6 billion mark for the first time in the history of spices export. The estimated export during 2020-21 has been 15,65,000 tonne valued Rs 27,193.20 crore ($3624.76 million) against 12,08,400 tonne valued Rs 22,062.80 crore ($3110.20 million) achieved during the previous financial year. The spices export during 2020-21 attained an all-time record in terms of both volume and value. Compared to 2019-20, the export has shown an increase of 30% in quantity and 23% in value. In dollar terms, the increase is 17%.

 

Indian spices and spice products were exported to 180 destinations globally in 2020-21. The leading destinations among them were China, USA, Bangladesh, Thailand, the UAE, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, the UK, Indonesia, and Germany. These nine destinations contributed more than 70 per cent of the total export earnings during 2020-21.

 

During 2020-21, chilli is the single largest spice exported from the country followed by mint products, cumin, spice oils and oleoresins, and turmeric constituting 80 per cent of the total spices export from the country.

 

There is a consensus among stakeholders that India’s spice industry needs to focus on enhancing exports of value-added spices. Given the constant competition from low-cost economies, value-addition is critical to maintaining India’s leadership position in the global spice market. The Spice Board has reintroduced value-added programmes and is publicising the benefits of different government initiatives aimed at encouraging value addition for exports. Through the eight spice parks built up in major production centres across India for the benefit of growers and entrepreneurs, the Spice Board has enabled access to primary processing and value addition in spices, assisting in greater price realisation.

 

Most of the latest trade restrictions erected against local producers revolve around quality. India needs to upgrade its production and manufacturing systems to match the high quality and food safety standards set by countries around the world. India’s goal should be to maintain the Indian spice industry’s competitive edge while also focusing on meeting demanding quality and food safety regulations.

 

The Spices Board has digitised essential compliances as part of the Commerce Ministry’s initiative to streamline compliances and make doing business in India easier. As a result, the method for issuing Certificates of Registration for Spice Export has gone completely online. In this connection, the Ministry is now reviewing the Spices Board Act in order to remove restrictive measures and create a more business-friendly environment.

 

The Indian spice industry hopes to increase the share of value-added products in the export basket from 50% to 70% by 2026.  The Indian government is taking a multi-pronged approach to help make Indian spices a bigger attraction. For example, collaboration with state governments is being considered to organise tours, sampling festivals, and exhibitions to raise awareness about Indian spices throughout the world. The government has declared its intention to scale-up India’s exports to $10 billion in the following five years, by 2027, and then double again by 2032.

After signing a free trade agreement in May, India and the UAE are exploring ways to carry out bilateral trade in national currencies, the commerce and industry ministry said on Tuesday. This comes as central banks globally are witnessing a depletion in forex reserves owing to the appreciation in the US dollar and rising oil prices in the backdrop of the Russia-Ukraine war. 

 

Mint had earlier reported that India’s trade gap with the United Arab Emirates ballooned fourfold in the May-June period, the first two months since the India-UAE free trade agreement came into effect, driven by a jump in oil and gold imports. The country’s trade deficit with the UAE widened to $3.92 billion in the two-month period from $980 million the year earlier.

 

'An important area discussed was the creation of a mechanism for carrying out bilateral trade in national currencies. Referring to the ongoing discussions between the Reserve Bank of India and Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates on Unified Payment Interface (UPI) as a common digital payments platform, both sides agreed to continue discussions,' the ministry said in a statement. 

 

The ministry further informed that the UAE has sought tax incentives for certain UAE sovereign investment entities under the existing UAE-India Tax Treaty and both countries are exploring 

 

establishment of efficient and integrated Single Window Solutions and Virtual Trade Corridors to reduce costs and time involved in trade and investment-related procedures.

 

The tenth meeting of the UAE-India High-Level Joint Task Force on Investments took place today in Mumbai. It was co-chaired by Piyush Goyal, Minister of Commerce & Industry, Government of India, and His Highness Sheikh Hamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Member of the Executive Council of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.

 

The Joint Task Force was established in 2013 to promote trade, investment and economic ties between the UAE and India. This was the first meeting of the Joint Task Force since the signing of the India-UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA). 

 

India UAE trade deal was negotiated in record 88 days and was signed between the two sides on 18 February. It is the first major free trade pact signed by the Narendra Modi-led government since it came to power in 2014 and is likely to benefit about $26 billion worth of Indian products that are subjected to 5% import duty by the UAE.

The government on Wednesday permitted the export of specified quantity of raw sugar to the US under the Tariff-Rate Quota (TRQ) till December-end this year. Earlier, it was permitted till September 30.

 

'The validity for export of raw sugar to the US under TRQ has been extended from September 30, 2022 to December 31, 2022,' the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) said in a public notice.

 

TRQ is a quota for a volume of exports that enters the US at relatively low tariffs. After the quota reaches its limit, a higher tariff is applicable to additional shipments.

 

In May, the government permitted additional export of 2,051 metric tonne of raw sugar under the TRQ to the US for its fiscal year ending September 30, 2022. With this quantity, total sugar export to the US under TRQ during its fiscal year 2022 would be 10,475 MT.

 

India, the world's second-biggest producer and the largest consumer of sugar, has a preferential quota arrangement for sugar export with the European Union as well.