India and its economic partner in Africa— Tanzania have explored possibilities of opening an Indian SEZ in Tanzania and bilateral trade in Indian Rupees and Tanzanian Tshilling.

 

These ideas were explores when Secretary (ER) in MEA Dammu Ravi visited Tanzania on 06-07 October. During the visit, he met with Joseph Edward Sokoine, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation and Emmanuel M. Tutuba, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Finance & Planning.

 

During his meeting with Sokoine, comprehensive discussions were held on the India-Tanzania bilateral relations. In the meeting with his Finance Ministry counterpart, Secretary (ER) discussed a range of issues including development cooperation, alternative ways of financing of projects, exploring possibilities of opening an Indian SEZ in Tanzania and bilateral trade in Indian Rupees and Tanzanian Tshilling. The Tanzanian side welcomed the ideas and both sides agreed to work on these, according to a statement by MEA.

 

The Secretary (ER) also addressed a business event at the High Commission of India where he interacted with about 85 entrepreneurs and CEOs of Indian and Tanzanian companies. Prominent members of the Indian diaspora also attended the event.

 

During his visit to Zanzibar on 07 October 2022, Secretary (ER) called on Hussein Ali Mwinyi, President of Zanzibar. President of Zanzibar welcomed the Indian development cooperation in Zanzibar and invited Indian investment in various sectors including IT, blue economy and healthcare in the island. Secretary (ER) also visited a project site under construction for supply of water to households of Zanzibar. Three Indian companies are presently implementing water supply projects in Zanzibar under Government of India Lines of Credit.

 

Tanzania is one of India’s major development assistance partners in Africa with over US$ 1.1 billion Lines of Credit and 700 annual scholarships for short-term and long-term courses. Bilateral trade stands at US$ 4.5 billion for 2021-22 and Indian investment in Tanzania is US$ 3.6 billion.

'What gives us strength is the fact that domestic consumption is the biggest driver of growth,' he told ET in an interview on Thursday. 'I would argue that once the current one-off exogenous external shocks dissipate, I am still confident that the sustainable growth rate will be closer to 7%.'

 

He dismissed reports of JP Morgan not including India's sovereign bonds in a widely popular global index due to concerns about the country's market infrastructure.

 

'We have to understand that the stated reasons are not real reasons--this is a very specious excuse,' he said. 'India's infrastructure is far more advanced.'

 

India has made its stance clear about not giving up its sovereign right to tax, he said.

 

Geopolitics, Oil Concern Areas

Countries with capital gains tax have had their bonds included in these indices, the CEA said.

 

'We have to wait and see where this conversation and so-called public diplomacy and public bargaining eventually converge,' he said.

 

India's fiscal policy was not overly expansionary during the pandemic. Monetary policy did not expand the balance sheet as much as in other countries, nor was there a leverage build-up.

 

'All these are working in our favour,' Nageswaran said, adding that the private sector is beginning to spend.

 

What the government is doing with respect to the production linked incentive (PLI) schemes and Aatmanirbhar Bharat to boost manufacturing makes sense.

 

While immediate data may not be available, 'we hear anecdotally that there are many sectors and industries where inquiries for setting up shop in India to diversify their production base and export base out of China are proliferating,' he said.

 

He said there were many worries for the global economy, including monetary tightening and higher interest rates.

 

'Geopolitics is the much bigger elephant in the room,' he said, flagging oil as a greater worry after OPEC decided on a 'very significant' production cut. However, unlike in the previous decade, he did not see the global situation as a big drag on India given reforms in recent years.

 

The financial system has been repaired, GST is maturing and helping formalise the economy, there is a public digital infrastructure and the government's capital expenditure has ramped up. In a globally risk-averse environment, capital flows are going to be a challenge.

 

'We need to keep an eye on whether it is in terms of curbing unnecessary imports to the extent possible or finding other ways to attract capital,' he said.

 

The central bank last week lowered its FY23 growth forecast to 7.0% from 7.2% earlier.

The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) has released the draft rules pertaining to the Customs Valuation of imported goods, which will effectively implement the amendment proposed in Section 14 of the Customs Act which deals with valuation of imported goods.

 

The budget had proposed to amend section 14 of the customs act by imposing additional obligations on the importer in respect of a certain class of imported goods, where the board believes that importers are evading duty by not declaring the true value, causing loss to the exchequer.

 

The specified goods will be the list of items, selected by the Board where it has reason to believe that the value of such goods may not be declared truthfully or accurately. According to the draft the list of such goods will be prepared and recommended by a screening committee and evaluation committee.

 

The list may include or remove an item vide a notification and the screening committee will keep on reviewing the list every six months.

 

 

'the assessment of goods shall be subjected to specified checks so as to enable and assist the importer to demonstrate the truthfulness and accuracy of the declared value,' the draft says.

 

Also, where the importer has not already fulfilled the specified additional obligations on the Customs Automated System, the proper officer would provide a time of 10 days for compliance.

 

'These draft rules are likely to provide a measure for addressing the issue of undervaluation in imported goods in specified cases,' Saurabh Agarwal, Tax Partner, EY said.

 

The board has invited feedback on the draft by October 14.

 

He added that selection of ‘identified goods’, which will be based on certain examination and reference material.

 

'With such regulations, the Government has to walk the thin line between ensuring compliance and maintaining ease of doing business,' Abhishek Jain, Partner Indirect Tax, KPMG in India, says.

Haryana delegation led by Mr. Jai Prakash Dalal, Hon’ble Agriculture & Farmers Welfare Minister has visited IFEMA Madrid-2022 in Spain & also inaugurated INDIA- APEDA stall in the opening ceremony on 04/10/2022 in the gracious presence presence of Dr. Sumita Misra, Addl. Chief Secretary, Agriculture Deptt. and Mr. Dinesh Pattanayak- Ambassador of India in Madrid, Spain.

 

IFEMA Madrid is spread over in 57 acres & having 12 halls, 2 congress centres, 2 auditoriums and more than 80 meeting rooms.

 

This exhibition is primarily for fruits & vegetables and companies showcase new crops, new varieties, newer technologies & supply chain machines.

 

Hon’ble Minister has invited infrastructure companies & exporters for collaboration with Govt. and farmer organisations for export of Haryana produce.

India is drawing up a roadmap to figure among the top three exporters of millets by 2025, improving upon its fifth rank at present. The commerce and industry ministry is working to promote about 200 startups in millet products, standardise and improve the shelf life of millets such as bajra, ragi and jowar, and their products, and facilitate tie-ups of exporters with global supermarkets and retail chains such as LULU and Carrefour.

 

Canada, Russia and Ukraine are the top three exporters of millets, followed by the US.

 

'Our aim is to be in the top three exporters in the world by 2025,' said an official aware of the development. Efforts are on by Indian Council of Agricultural Research and Indian Institute of Millets Research to improve shelf life and quality of millets in the supply chain, he said.

 

At present, millets are exported primarily for fodder.

 

Global exports of millets increased to $402.7 million in 2020 from $380 million in 2019. In 2020-21, India exported millets worth $28.8 million against $26.7 million in 2019-20, mainly to Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Nepal, Oman, the UK, Japan, Taiwan and South Africa.

 

The Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) has promoted 13 new millet startups.

'APEDA will push value-added and processed forms of millets globally, targeting various hypermarkets and retail chains. We have identified top 50 countries, exporters, importers and supply sources linking production bases,' said APEDA chairman M Angamuthu.

 

Exports are likely to increase in the peak season from November to March 2023, according to the official.

'The share of millet based value added products is expected to increase 10-20% per year in the export of ready to eat and ready to cook categories under the head ‘Cereal Preparations,' said the official, who did not wish to be identified.

 

The APEDA has promoted 13 new millet startups which have made millet products for all age groups at prices ranging between Rs 5-400.

 

The government’s strategy comes ahead of the prelaunch of the International Year of Millets 2023 in Delhi later this year and includes organising food sampling and tasting at the retail level in supermarkets and key local bazaars, besides branding and publicity in the targeted countries.

Rice exporters in Gujarat are taking heart from a Gujarat High Court order granting interim relief to an exporter who had challenged the duty on exports of non-basmati rice on the grounds that his shipping bills were registered before 8 Sept, when the 20% duty was imposed.

 

The Gujarat order followed an Andhra Pradesh HC judgment last month allowing three rice exporters to ship out rice subject to certain conditions. Hundreds of thousands of tonnes of rice got stuck at ports after the Union government decided to regulate rice exports citing domestic food security concerns. 'Merely because the goods could not be sailed in the vessel, the customs authorities were not justified in taking to levy the duty,' the Gujarat HC said. The rice consignments which were destined for Ghana belonged to Kunvarji Comtrade. The company argued that its goods were inspected and allowed for 'Let Export' on 5 Sept by Customs. 'Interim order is just a temporary thing. It could go either way. So if the decision is in favour of the government on the justification that they give, exporters will have to repay the duty. As far as shipping bills are concerned, in the rice business these bills are made much earlier. We don’t know what will be the final decision,' said Vinod Kaul, senior executive director, All India Rice Exporters Association.

 

'These orders are high court orders and so will be applicable to those particular states alone—in this case, Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat. And of course other exporters in the region will be able to take the benefit of the same. But it will be important to see if the government challenges the order,' said Ajay Sahai, director-general of Federation of Indian Export Organizations.

The Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI) is planning to host a mega food event next year in line with the World Food India (WFI) hosted in 2017. This 2023 event envisages providing a platform for B2B, B2G meetings, sector & state-specific sessions and food processing summits for the food processing and allied industries of India.

 

According to the Ministry, the proposed mega food event is envisioned to be an amalgamation of 2 objectives: investment promotion and R & D, with a focus on millets. The Ministry is expecting to host the event in October 2023 wherein a curtain raiser programme is expected to be held in March 2023 in New Delhi.

 

'The event aims to bring together various stakeholders in the food value chain around the world on a single platform. This would enable these stakeholders to exchange knowledge, ideas and innovation,' reads the Ministry's note.

 

The note added that the mega event aims to host a series of activities including but not limited to, domestic and international road-shows, high impact roundtables with government and corporates, knowledge sessions and so on.

 

Further, the event aims to have a special focus on millets in the backdrop of the year 2023 being the International Year of Millets (IYOM). Through promotional events like millet festivals, millet expos, millet conferences, the mega food event aims to create awareness about the innumerable health benefits of millets and thus popularise them among general consumers.

 

Previously, the World Food India 2017, according to the MoFPI, provided a platform to explore the Indian market across the value chain in food processing and food retail.

 

The Ministry added that World Food India 2017 attracted participation from 61 countries. Germany, Denmark and Japan were partner countries while Italy and the Netherlands were focus countries. Seven International Ministers, 9 Ministerial/ Official delegations, 15 business delegations and 11 International Business Chambers participated in WFI 2017.

 

'Its aim was to provide opportunities for both investment and trade in the food processing sector for leading Indian and international companies,' reads the MoFPI note.

Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and Textiles, Shri Piyush Goyal today asked the Quality Council of India (QCI) to strive to bring about convergence of all the various quality and standards organizations in the country so that they may work in tandem towards building a world-class quality system in India and make quality a national mission. He was addressing the gathering at the Silver Jubilee Celebration of QCI in New Delhi today. With the motto ‘Gunnwatta se Atmanirbharta’, the event commemorated the efforts made by QCI in its pursuit of delivering quality of services, products, and lives.

 

“Convergence will also help us scale up absorption of quality standards, help us take the national quality mission to every citizen and every business in the country so that the business environment, the investment environment that we have been able to create in the country can grow from strength to strength and help India become a developed nation by 2047', Shri Goyal said. He also urged QCI to help align India with international quality standards.

 

Other dignitaries in attendance at the event included Shri Amitabh Kant, India’s Sherpa to the G20, Shri Anurag Jain, Secretary, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Shri Anil Agrawal, Additional Secretary, DPIIT, Shri Adil Zainulbhai, Chairperson, QCI and Capacity Building Commission and Secretary General of QCI, Dr. Ravi P. Singh.

 

Shri Goyal emphasized that quality will define brand India in the time to come. He observed that quality never comes at a cost but saved costs and improved productivity. He urged the citizens of the nation to imbibe the determination to do everything they do in a better, more efficient, more cost effective, more useful and more measurable manner. "The culture of quality has to be ingrained in the nation if it is to become a developed country by 2047. This idea of quality can truly transform this country faster than anything else", the Minister added.

 

The Minister spoke of the Panch Pran articulated by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi as India celebrated 75 years of independence and said that PM Modi wanted India to change its mindset, remove the historical baggage of colonialism, become more confident, more self-reliant and bolder in our ambitions to plan for India being a developed nation by 2047. 

 

The Minister said that PM wanted India to be proud of its history, culture, heritage and traditions which held a lot of lessons capable of helping India progress as a society. He said that we must be very proud of the thread of unity that binds us amidst great diversity. He asked that we perform our duties towards fellow citizens and the nation with ‘kartavya bhavna’. The Minister highlighted that commitment to quality was a virtue that would transcend every single one of the Panch Pran, a virtue that would help us achieve all the five vows faster and smarter. 

 

He applauded QCI for bringing quality consciousness into the entire coal ecosystem and said that this initiative of QCI has been in the spirit of national service because it transformed the way coal industry perceived quality. He opined that prior to 2014, there was significant gap in the price paid and the quality of coal received due to lack of adherence to quality standards. He noted that once QCI stepped in and started undertaking initiatives like third party sampling of coal, there was transformative improvement in quality in the sector. 

 

Shri Goyal noted that Food Corporation of India’s (FCI) commitment to quality had resulted in better quality food grains reaching consumers who were mostly underprivileged. Shri Goyal also highlighted that the process of distribution of these food grains was now completely technology enabled using biometrics and said that under One Nation One Ration Card (ONORC), beneficiaries could pick up their food from anywhere in the nation. “The entitlement is transparent, the delivery is transparent and all of this happens through a quality-assured process', Shri Goyal said. 

 

The Minister also applauded the role played by QCI in the One District One Product (ODOP) initiative   to encourage products from remote areas to find markets in India and abroad. He said that QCI was helping the Commerce Ministry introduce the concept of quality in remote parts of the country so that products from these areas also become acceptable in Indian and international markets. He added that QCI had also contributed significantly in the GI tagging initiative and in completing the Swacch Surveykshan. Shri Goyal also appreciated the QCI for helping bring quality consciousness at storage points in various warehouses of FCI, the Central Warehousing Corporation (CWC) and different states. 

 

Shri Goyal pointed out that QCI had played a leadership role in the initiative of the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC). “ONDC will help us save mom and pop stores, save millions of jobs and democratize e-Commerce so that the entire ecosystem gets a chance to engage with modern technology of e-Commerce and become stakeholders of a vibrant future India which cares for every section of the industry, big or small and focuses deeply on customer satisfaction', he said. 

 

Quoting PM Modi, the Minister said that it was time that the nation adopted ‘zero-defect and zero-affect’ policy. He said that a quality orientation can also help us significantly when we are looking at a sustainable future for the country. 

 

While urging QCI to not merely rest on its laurels, the Minister said that the 25th anniversary must re-kindle a new spirit, a new excitement and open up new opportunities, new thinking and aspirations to scale all programs to make them national in character, helping us make quality a part of our day to day life. 

 

Shri Anurag Jain, Secretary, DPIIT, shared his views about India’s journey towards quality and productivity and QCI’s significant role in it at the event. Shri Jain recognized QCI’s contributions in setting up standard operating procedures which have helped in the transformation of processes of the Food Corporation of India (FCI), including live surveillance systems piloted by QCI for monitoring food grains through a tech-enabled approach that has helped bring in greater transparency in public service delivery. He also lauded QCI’s initiative in helping DPIIT incubate the ONDC in a mission mode at QCI. The revolutionary initiative of ONDC has the potential to disrupt e-commerce like UPI did for the payments ecosystem in India. The project shall serve as a game-changer for small retailers, he observed. 

 

Speaking of the journey that QCI had set upon with the goal of enabling quality of life for India's billion-plus citizens, Shri Adil Zainulbhai listed some of the key achievements of QCI including measuring the number of toilets built under the Swachh Bharat Mission, the quality of electricity delivered in villages, houses constructed under PM Awas Yojana, gas cylinders delivery under Ujjwala yojana, and the survey of Swachh Bharat for both urban and rural India. 

 

Renowned musician Sukhwinder Singh composed a special anthem for the occasion that celebrates the positive change brought into people’s lives via multiple avenues. A coffee table book and the 7th Edition of QCI DL Shah Quality Best Practices Book were also launched at the event, highlighting India’s progress towards development, its efforts to improve the lives of billions of Indians and QCI’s contribution towards the goal.

The Spices Board has urged farmers to focus on improving the quality and safety of their produce in order to claw back their lost global market shares and double export earnings to $10 billion in few years.

 

Addressing a national spices producers' conference being organised by the Kochi-based World Spice Organisation here on Thursday, D Sathiyan, secretary of the Spices Board, rued that higher cost of production along with low/poor value addition has led to some of the top spices from the country like pepper losing dominance as cheap produce from Vietnam and Gautemala rule the global markets now.

 

India is the world's largest producer, consumer and exporter of spices such as chillis, black pepper, turmeric, spices oils & oleoresin, mint oils, cumin, coriander, saffron, nutmeg, paprika, and celery, among others, with an annual production of about 10.80 million tonnes. Of this, the country exports only 1.5-1.7 million tonnes or about 15 per cent of total production to over 180 countries, and consume the rest 8.3-8.5 million tonnes, the secretary said.

 

Sathiyan said over the past two years, thanks to the pandemic which has increased demand for spices due to the perception that spices are agents of immunity, health and wellness and the resultant rise in prices, have seen spices exports nearly doubling to $4.1 billion.

 

But 'if we control cost of production and improve the quality and safety of our spices by lowering the use of harmful pesticides and work on value addition then we can easily more than double our export earnings over the next few years to around $10 billion,' Sathiyan said without referring to a clear deadline for the target.

 

However, Ramkumar Menon, chairman of the World Spice Organisation, which is organising the conference, later told PTI, 'We can easily earn over $10 billion from spices exports by 2030 and this year we should cross $ 4.5 billion, because we need to cover a lot of distance when it comes to meeting global food safety standards, and also bridging the missing links on the value addition front.' Sathiyan said at present, spices exports contribute just 1% of the country's total merchandise exports, around 10% of agriculture exports and about a good 40% of horticulture exports.

 

The country tops in exports of chilli, turmeric, spices oils & oleoresin, mint oils, cumin, coriander, celery etc, and has lost out on black pepper and cardamom, which were once the top forex earners. Both these produces are now facing stiff competition from low-cost producers like Vietnam and Gautemala, Sathiyan said.

 

Despite being the pioneers of processing and value addition in spices, value-added spice products enjoy a share of about 50 per cent in total export volume only, he said underscoring the need to improve value addition.

 

'Our higher production cost is a challenge, affecting our price competitiveness and subsidies as a way out may not be a viable long-term solution,' Sathiyan said and pointed out that a durable solutions can be focusing on value addition, and stop selling in raw form, investing in product development, and customisation to meet the requirement of export destinations, preparing export-oriented production systems and by working in partnerships through creating more farmer producer organisations and handholding farmers which all should lead to ensuring quality and safety across the whole production system.

 

According to international trade projections, demand for spices is poised to grow at a CAGR of 6.5% in the next decade, indicating the huge opportunity for exports which are currently only 15% of total production, he said.

 

'We can easily reap the benefits of this global opportunity provided we are successful in addressing a few issues at our backyards, like demonstrating quality and food safety through certifications, authenticity with traceability, and maintain integrity and consistency,' Sathiyan said, adding, 'we also must focus on product diversification to capture the imagination of global buyers and customisation to meet their regional, cultural and other finer expectations, which means that we should stop being comfortable to export what is available, and instead should produce what is desired.' Menon of the World Spice Organization, which is the technical partner of the All-India Spices Exporters Forum, said the focus of the ongoing conference is to drive home the message of food safety and quality standards to farmers and helping them establish better market linkages, with the help of farmer producer organisations.

New Zealand is looking at enhancing trade ties with India and boosting collaborations in dairy and agricultural sectors.

 

The trade minister was in India with a 20-member delegation that included businessmen from various sectors. They had meetings with businessmen in India to look at possible partnerships. The bilateral trade between India and New Zealand stood at $2.64 billion before the outbreak of the pandemic.

 

'There is further scope of expansion in technological know-how, education and tourism,’’ the country’s trade minister, Damien O’Connor, told The New Indian Express.

 

'The major sectors that we can collaborate on are dairy, agriculture and animal husbandry. In the diary sector, for instance, we can provide technological know-how on the traceability of animals. India has the largest cattle population and this will help farmers keep a tab as well as in track diseases,’’ O’Connor said.

 

New Zealand is looking at free and independent trade in the Indo-Pacific, and India is one country they would like to enhance their partnership with. 'We would be happy to see an improved connectivity between our two countries. Direct flights will help in tourism too,’’ the minister added.New Zealand is also looking at partnering with Indian farmers for providing support in growing fruits like kiwi. They are also hoping that during the off-season, import of kiwi fruit from New Zealand is given tariff reductions. 

 

Meanwhile, External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar will visit New Zealand and meet Prime Minster Jacinda Ardern on Thursday. 'A postage stamp will be released commemorating and showcasing Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav in New Zealand. He will also launch the book, Modi @20: Dreams meet Delivery. Another book showcasing PM Modi’s bond with the Sikh community, titled Heartfelt –The Legacy of Faith, will also be released,” according to the Ministry of External Affairs.

 

In Auckland, Jaishankar will have bilateral meetings with his counterpart Nanaia Mahuta to discuss bilateral relations. He will also interact with Priyanca Radhakrishnan, the Minister of Community and Voluntary Sector, Diversity, Inclusion and Ethnic Communities, and Youth. She happens to be the first person of Indian origin to become a minister in New Zealand.