Minister of State for Commerce and Industry, Smt. Anupriya Patel said that constructive co-operation coupled with trust and transparency is key to tap the trade potential of SCO Member States. She was making an intervention at the 21st Meeting of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Ministers responsible for Foreign Economy and Foreign Trade. The Minister mentioned the opportunities available in the SCO region for mutually beneficial, balanced and equitable gains for all SCO Members. She stressed on the need for effective cooperation between SCO Member States for a balanced and equitable growth in trade and commerce.

 

She underscored the importance of collective efforts to achieve balanced and equitable economic growth by way of making trade as an engine of reviving growth and driver of economic recovery.  She emphasised that trust and transparency determine the sustainability of global trade and preserving the fundamental principles and objectives of the multilateral trading system.

 

She stressed on the need to work towards enhancing affordable access to medicines, therapeutics, vaccines as well as health care at affordable prices for fighting any pandemic, such as Covid-19 to preserve the life, livelihood, food and nutritional security of the poorest.

 

To bring prosperity for the human kind, MOS emphasised the need to share the best practices on technological development, optimum utilization of resources, conservation of environment, sustainable distribution of resources so that present and future generation have adequate resource to live with, in a happy environment. On the issue of environment, MOS expressed that the climate agenda at world forum should not be used to introduce measures restricting trade and investment cooperation.

 

MoS also highlighted that there is a significant gap in digital technologies between developed and developing countries which needs to be narrowed down by building digital capacities.

 

She lauded the recent initiative of SCO, wherein City of Varanasi has been nominated as the first-ever SCO Tourism and Cultural Capital for the period of 2022-2023. She expressed hope that this will help promote tourism and people-to-people interaction and boost trade and economic cooperation.

 

In her concluding remarks, MOS emphasized that SCO members must prepare, act and pursue an agenda that is equitable, inclusive and development oriented.

 

The virtual meeting was attended by the representative of SCO Secretariat and Heads of Delegations of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Shri Narendra Singh Tomar, presenting India’s point of view, addressed various sessions at the G-20 meeting in Bali, Indonesia today. Shri Tomar said that Government of India, under leadership of the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, is addressing the sustainability challenges facing agriculture and food systems and several important initiatives have been taken to address these issues. He said that the Government of India is committed to the benefit of small and marginal farmers and many important schemes are being run for their welfare.

 

During the G-20 meeting, on the subject of building friendly and sustainable agriculture and food systems, Shri Tomar said that India will enable farmers to respond to current and future crises by improving their access to inputs, technology and markets. India is committed to further the economic well-being of its farmers by organizing small and marginal farmers into groups, promoting agri-startups and investments in agricultural infrastructure, launching the world's largest crop insurance programme and conducting various activities like facilitating digitization of agriculture. The Innovation in Adaptive Agriculture Project has been launched at the national level, with an aim to develop climate-smart farming practices.

 

To benefit farmers through development of climate resilient varieties of various crops, Shri Tomar said that India is promoting millet cultivation considering millet's tolerance towards harsh climatic conditions as well as their nutritional value. Recognizing these properties of millet, the United Nations has declared the year 2023 as the International Year of Millets on the proposal of India., In order to promote Food Diversity, Shri Tomar sought everyone's support for the initiative to promote the consumption of millets that can be grown with less resources. Shri Tomar said that India should take a big step to conserve its natural resources. Shri Tomar said that in view of the upcoming challenges, India is promoting organic and natural farming practices on a large scale. It is imperative to sustainably increase agricultural production, reduce food losses, and strengthen global food supply chains. Let us all work together to ensure adequate income to our small and marginal farmers. Together we have to harness traditional knowledge and share emerging technologies and best practices. It has to be strengthened and an enabling policy environment has to be created to transform the agricultural ecosystem. An open, efficient and transparent agriculture sector is necessary to ensure availability and affordable food for all, he said.

 

In the session on promotion of trade, Shri Tomar said that India is playing an important role in agricultural trade today. There was a time when India was an importer of food grains, but now under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Modi, agriculture sector has been turned sustainable. Due to the development, India has rapidly emerged as a net exporter of agricultural products and in the last few years, India has maintained trade surplus in agricultural products. Despite the logistical challenges posed by the Corona pandemic, during the financial year 2020-21 exports of agriculture and allied products from India continued to rise, showing a huge growth of 18% over the previous year. During the global pandemic, India's agricultural exports in 2021-22 stood at USD 50.21 billion, reaching an all-time high. Shri Tomar said that India's agriculture and food supply systems have not only reached self-reliance, but India's contribution has been exceptional among other nations since the beginning of the pandemic and India extended all possible help in this time of crisis by sending food grains to other countries. With the spirit of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, India stepped up efforts to make up for the losses faced during the pandemic.

 

Shri Tomar said that we should also find solutions to the food security needs of the big nations that feed large populations and they should consider in their policies and programmes the issues such as the public distribution system of developing countries like India. This includes policies such as procuring food grains at the Minimum Support Price, supply and storage through the PDS system that addresses uncertainties and checks hoarding by middlemen, besides providing a reliable system to help raise the productivity of farmers and provide them a market and ensure affordable food to its citizens. Developing countries should be provided aid such as equipment, technologies and experts so that they can contribute to the food security of other vulnerable regions of the world as well as become self-reliant to be able to produce enough food. In order to provide better livelihood to the small and marginal farmers who feed the world, it is essential to enhance the nutrition-sensitive social security schemes, introduce new technologies and promote the efficient use of fertilizers and investment in sustainable food and nutrition security through programmes to strengthen the food systems. Ensuring food security, availability and affordability around the world is an important objective for which we should strive. It should be ensured that agricultural trade provides equal opportunities to all nations, especially the developing countries, and to the large number of small and marginal farmers.

 

Shri Tomar also addressed the thematic session on improving rural livelihoods through digital technology in agriculture and food value chain. He said that digital technology in agriculture and food value chain is a contemporary issue in improving rural livelihoods. In India, use of mobile technologies in agriculture and food sector and proliferation of remote-sensing services and distributed computing is already leading to reforms benefitting the small landholders by collating their data on trade, market, finance and training. The 'Fourth Industrial Revolution' is poised for positive outcomes in the Agriculture sector. There is immense potential in creating an enabling environment for increasing the income of farming households with the use of technologies like Blockchain, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Drones and Internet of Things. India is adopting digital transformation to improve the decision making ability of farmers, so that they are capable of better managing risks and variability. India is headed towards creating the AgriStack by building a coherent Digital Agriculture Ecosystem with the aim of increasing the income of farmers and raising their standard of living through better implementation of schemes. He proposed to share the AgriStack with the budding Startup–entrepreneurs and others so that both the public and private sectors get benefitted by bringing ease of farming to the farmers. India can share its expertise in this regard with the world, especially in developing and least developed countries, he said.

 

Shri Tomar gave the example of the 'Kisan Call Center' for redressal of farmers’ problems and providing technical information on agriculture and schemes over phone in the local language to the farmers. He also gave details about the National Agricultural Market (eNAM), which facilitates the farmers to get remunerative price for their produce.

 

In the concluding session Shri Tomar said that India has been advocating the values ??of living in harmony with nature since ancient times and has initiated the 'Mission Life' to bring individual practices to the forefront of the Global Climate Action Narrative. Mission Life is a scheme to draw the benefits of the capabilities of the social network affecting the social norms surrounding the climate. The Mission plans to create and nurture a global network of individuals, i.e. 'Pro-Planet People' (P3), who have access to an ecofriendly lifestyle and a shared commitment to promote it. Through the P3 community, the mission seeks to create and reinforce a self-reliant ecosystem that is environment friendly.                                                                                          

Shri Tomar said that the G-20 countries need to pay attention to the various areas of sustainable systems. We have to use emerging digital tools to make farming easier in G20 countries and around the world. We should use technologies and enable the small and marginal farmers, especially farmers from the developing countries, to participate in the global supply chains. Efforts should also be made to integrate the formal scientific knowledge and solutions built on indigenous knowledge systems, so that the rural populations are protected against risks due to climate change and sustainable incomes can be generated, thereby reducing poverty at the family level and ensuring there is no hunger anywhere. Shri Tomar said that at present most of the development taking place in India is reflected in the agenda of the Sustainable Development Goals. India is working towards fulfilling its global commitments by implementing the localization of SDGs. He said that under the able leadership of Prime Minister Shri Modi, the country has made great progress in the last 8 years. Shri Tomar also requested all the delegates to visit India and witness the positive changes taking place.

The government on Wednesday extended the deadline for export of broken rice in transit by 15 days till October 15. A few days ago, the deadline was revised to September 30 from September 15.

 

It had banned the export of broken rice on September 8 but allowed shipments of certain consignments during September 9-15. On September 20, the date was extended till September 30.

 

'Export of consignments of broken rice...as permissible under notification dated September 8 has been...extended till October 15, 2022,' PTI quoted the Directorate General of Foreign Trade as saying in a notification.

 

India banned exports of broken rice and imposed a 20% duty on exports of various grades of rice as the world's biggest exporter of the grain tries to augment supplies and calm local prices after below-average monsoon rainfall curtailed planting.

Iraq’s state grains buyer has issued tenders to buy a nominal 50,000 tonnes of milling wheat, European traders said on Wednesday.

 

The deadline for submission of price offers in the tenders is Oct. 10. The wheat can be sourced from optional origins but Russian wheat cannot be offered, they said.

 

Volumes in Iraq’s tenders are nominal and the country often buys more than sought in the tender.

 

Iraq's Trade ministry said on Sept. 19 the country would announce an international tender seeking 300,000 tonnes of wheat from various origins in coming days.

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has notified regulations that prohibit sale of food for infant nutrition except under the BIS certification mark.

 

The regulations were notified as Food Safety and Standards (Prohibition and Restriction on Sales) First Amendment Regulations, 2022, and shall come into force from April 1, 2023.

 

The regulations read,'No person shall manufacture, sell, store or exhibit for sale food for infant nutrition, except under Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) Certification Mark, wherever BIS standards are available.'

 

The draft was made available in September 2021 and after receiving objections and suggestions from the public, the draft was considered by the FSSAI for final notification.

 

According to FSSAI, food for infant nutrition includes food for infants based on traditional food ingredients, food for special medicinal purposes intended for infants, follow up formula, infant food, infant milk substitute, infant formula, milk cereal based complementary food  and processed cereal based complementary food.

 

The FSSAI has notified the infant nutrition regulation in December 2020 and compliance with the provisions was started from April 2022, after giving time to the food businesses to make arrangements for the compliance with the provisions of these regulations.  The previous date of compliance was July 1, 2021.

The government's current campaign to revolutionalise agriculture, horticulture, irrigation system and promote ancillary activities like mushroom, beekeeping, fisheries, dairy, small ruminants, poultry farming and forestry in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) promises to make it the land of milk and honey.

 

This campaign was long needed to fully exploit the rich potential of this 'Paradise on earth' to keep unemployment and frustration out of it. Well, they say, it is better to be late than never.

 

Agriculture, horticulture and their allied sectors deserved urgent attention because more than 70 per cent of the workforce is engaged in them and they contribute a great deal to the development of J&K.

 

In an interview, Additional Chief Secretary (ACS), Agriculture Production Department, Atal Dulloo, said the government is aiming at completely transforming the lives and outlook of farmers in J&K from subsistence to modern agriculture by 2023.

 

The most difficult but essential part of this campaign is to change the traditional outlook of the farmers about agriculture.

 

The ACS said the Agriculture Extension Officers were trained to wean farmers from traditional practices in favour of, what he called, agri-preneurship that would ensure high returns and respectable employment.

 

In J&K the government has been following a slogan 'Per drop, more crop' and 'Har khet ko paani' (water for each farm). That is to emphasise that the government is giving special attention to creating an irrigation infrastructure.

 

The farming mechanisation policy of the government seeks among other things to promote hill agriculture and also to link farmers with National Farm Market. Efforts are also being taken to mobilise youth and women into Interest Groups (FIGs) and Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) in product-specific clusters to meet the objectives of 'Atmanirbhar Bharat'.

 

The government recently constituted an apex committee consisting of notable scientists under the chairmanship of Mangla Rai, the former Director General of the Indian Council of Agriculture Research, to transform the sustenance of agriculture into a sustainable agri-economy through the investment of knowledge, technology, and capital. The committee is drawing the strategic roadmap for the growth and development of J&K's agriculture landscape.

 

The Union Territory's administration has implemented all the centrally-sponsored schemes on the ground in the agriculture sector. Higher-yielding variety seeds are periodically distributed to farmers at nominal costs, along with quality planting material by the Department of Agriculture.

 

Through awareness programmes, soil health and integrated nutrient management are being given precedence over short-term farming gains like the quantity of crop production. use of soil health cards, promotion and diversification in cropping, farming systems and natural farming is being promoted.

 

With the greenhouse and nethouse units set up by the government, a farmer now can grow off-season vegetables easily. Social schemes like PM-KISAN, PM Kisan Maan Dhan Yojana and crop insurance schemes are helping farmers to truly be self-reliant.

 

When we talk of changing farmers' outlook we cannot ignore the pre-condition of school and adult education. What J&K require is a multi-purpose agriculture university -- perhaps affiliated with Pusa Institute in New Delhi or any known agriculture university in India.

 

Multi-purpose means that the proposed university should also give hands-on training in marketing, accountancy, salesmanship and rudimentary knowledge of laws and packing.

 

These subjects cannot be dismissed as irrelevant to an agriculture university because J&K has plenty of natural gifts. It produces 70 per cent of India's apples. It is virtually the only region that produces walnuts. 90 per cent of trout, a freshwater fish is a delicacy that comes from J&K.

 

Jammu is famous for its rajma (kidney beans), basmati rice, Kala Zeera (black cumin), and apricots. J&K's sheep are the best in the country. ACS Dulloo talked about plans to import new breeds of sheep from New Zealand. The Union Territory's silk and wool have high quality.

 

He said the government has fixed targets to double the contribution of Agri-GDP in the next five years from $4 billion to $8 billion.

 

In Dulloo's view, horticulture can change the overall story of J&K. The latest efforts, among other things, include the establishment of walnut nurseries to strengthen the existing ones.

 

The government has allocated Rs 646 crore for the horticulture sector in this year's budget. This is in addition to the Rs 2,835 crore allocated for agriculture. For the development of the dairy and sheep sector Rs 392 crore has been allocated, Dulloo said quoting Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha.

 

This means in this year's budget the government has allocated a total of Rs 3,873 crore for agriculture, horticulture, and dairy and sheep to effect a change for the better in the lives of farmers in J&K, the ACS added.

In a bid to boost bilateral trade between India and Myanmar, the India Pulses and Grains Association (IPGA) has made a pitch for rupee-denominated trade with the major supplier of pulses such as black matpe (urad) and pigeon pea (tur). IPGA suggested that the export-import trade be directly carried out by the business entities in both the countries.

 

Presently, the pulses trade between Indian and Myanmar is largely carried out through the entities based in Singapore and is denominated in US dollar.

 

'As we are supporting the Myanmar farmers by importing the pulses, we have urged them to carry out the trade in the Indian rupee,' IPGA chairman Bimal Kothari told businessline.

 

Trade delegation visit

In Mumbai, IPGA recently hosted a trade delegation from Myanmar led by Tin Htut Oo, Union Minister, Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation, Myanmar, to discuss various opportunities, avenues and platforms wherein Myanmar and IPGA can collaborate and work together to address issues impacting the trade.

 

'The bilateral trade between the two countries has the potential to grow exponentially. To further foster the trade relationship between India and Myanmar and augment trade volume, we at IPGA would recommend that the import and export between the two countries shall be conducted directly between the business entities located in India and Myanmar and the trade maybe denominated in Indian rupee,' Kothari told the delegation.

 

India has been importing , urad and moong bean from Myanmar for over four decades. Moreover, the deals carried out through Singapore-based entities add up to the costs, making it expensive, Kothari said.

 

The pulses trade between both countries depends on the import policy of the Indian government. Currently, India has placed the import of pulses such as urad and tur under free category till March 31, 2023.

 

Joint research mooted

The value of the pulses being imported from Myanmar in the current financial year is likely to be around $600 million or roughly Rs.5,000 crore, Kothari said. This includes about $400-450 million worth of urad and over 150 million worth of tur, he said.

 

In a statement, Kothari said, ' India and Myanmar can undertake joint research to enhance the production, productivity, and nutritional quality of pulses. Keeping in mind our similarities and for the sake of mutual and shared prosperity, we at IPGA also recommend that Myanmar is a potential location for investment in the agriculture sector for Indian entrepreneurs for which the Government of Myanmar should incentivise investments in Myanmar from India. For this, we will urge Myanmar to conduct a series of roadshows in major Indian cities highlighting the opportunities in the agricultural sector. To take the idea forward, I recommend a joint group of IPGA and Agriculture Ministry of Myanmar may be set up which shall contribute pro-actively to further strengthen the relationship between the two countries.'

 

Tin Htut Oo said, 'Myanmar is investing further in the food and agriculture sector. We need to transform to adapt to the needs of the new generation. We have to create a conducive environment for the private sector to invest. On the government-to- government relation, we have to assure that there is a stable trade and agreements between the two countries so that the producers and the traders are assured of doing long term trading. We need to open up more investment opportunities for the development of the pulses industry. On the government side, we need to focus more on research and development. The MoU for the exchange of technology between the two agricultural ministries is a step in that direction. Government and private sector partnership is required to achieve the larger objective of food security. We are pleased to be aligned with the vision and mission of IPGA. We should work together towards enhancing the pulses sector as it has a very big potential in the future.'

The government on Wednesday allowed the import of 17,000 tonnes of green areca nut without minimum import price (MIP) condition from Bhutan every year. In 2017, the government imposed MIP at Rs 251 per kg with an aim to safeguard domestic farmers. In 2018, the imports of areca nut in any form were allowed if the price is over Rs 251 per kilogram.

 

However, imports are banned if the price is below the threshold. The minimum import price (MIP) is the rate below which no imports are allowed.

 

According to a notification of the directorate general of foreign trade (DGFT), imports from Bhutan are permitted through the land customs station of Jaigaon (INJIGB).

 

It is also subject to a valid registration certificate issued by the DGFT for imports.

 

'Import of 17,000 tonnes of fresh (green) areca nut without minimum import price condition shall be allowed from Bhutan every year through LCS Jaigaon (INJIGB), subject to valid registration certificate issued by the DGFT,' the notification said.

 

The directorate has also notified the procedure for the registration certificate.

 

In a public notice, it said that for the second half of 2022-23, a pro-rata quantity of 8,500 MT of fresh (green) areca nut may be imported without MIP from Bhutan.

 

For 2023-24, a total of 17,000 MTs may be imported, it said.

 

Before imports, an importer will have to seek a registration certificate (RC) from the DGFT.

 

Under an RC, the maximum quantity allowed is 500 MTs.

 

The importer can apply for additional quantities once the quantities already registered have been duly imported.

 

'RC shall be valid for a maximum period of 6 months or the end of the financial year, whichever is earlier,' it added.

 

Karnataka is the largest producer of areca nut, followed by Kerala and Assam.

 

Domestic producers had earlier alleged that imports were increasing from neighbouring countries taking advantage of low import duty provided under SAFTA (South Asia Free Trade Agreement).

 

SAFTA was implemented in 2006 between India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

The importance of managing a 'responsible relationship' with India and addressing the debt issue with China so that Pakistan can recover more quickly from the impact of the devastating floods were the key focus of the talks between US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his Pakistani counterpart Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.

 

During the meeting at the Foggy Bottom headquarters of the State Department on Monday, Blinken also said US and Pakistan will continue to work closely on counterterrorism issues.

 

In our discussion today, we talked about the importance of managing a responsible relationship with India, and I also urged our colleagues to engage China on some of the important issues of debt relief and restructure so that Pakistan can more quickly recover from the floods, Blinken said at an event here to Commemorate the 75th Anniversary of US-Pakistan relations.

 

Relations between India and Pakistan have been strained over the Kashmir issue and cross-border terrorism emanating from Pakistan.The ties between the two countries nosedived after India abrogated Article 370 of the Constitution, revoking the special status of Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcating the State into two Union Territories on August 5, 2019.

 

Following India's decision, Pakistan downgraded diplomatic ties with New Delhi and expelled the Indian envoy. Trade ties between Pakistan and India have largely been frozen since then.

 

Blinken said they also spoke about the importance of meeting their commitments as democracies, upholding core values like respect for freedom of religion, belief, freedom of expression.

 

On his part, Bilawal said the Pakistan-US relationship is not only resilient, but also stood the test of time.

 

We have proved throughout history that when we work together, we achieve great things. And I believe that when we don't work together, then we fumble, then we falter, then things go wrong, he said.

 

Underlining that the two countries will continue to work closely on counterterrorism issues, Blinken said the US and Pakistan have a shared stake in Afghanistan's future after two decades of war.

 

'We've had our differences; that's no secret. But we share a common objective: a more stable, a more peaceful, and free future for all of Afghanistan and for those across the broader region.

 

We'll continue to work together toward that end as well as support the basic human rights of the Afghan people, especially women and girls, he said.

 

Ahead of his meeting with Bilawal, Blinken told reporters that the US stands in solidarity with Pakistani people who have been suffering due to the devastating flood in recent weeks.

 

There is tremendous focus right now on the truly devastating floods that Pakistan has experienced, and we stand in strong solidarity with our friends in Pakistan...and not only stand in solidarity, but we are also doing everything we can to be of assistance in this moment just as Pakistan has been of assistance to us, including at the beginning of COVID, he said.

 

Later in a readout, State Department Spokesperson Ned Price said during the meeting between the two leaders, Blinken expressed sorrow over the devastation and loss of life throughout Pakistan caused by catastrophic flooding.

 

He reaffirmed the US commitment to the people of Pakistan, noting the nearly USD 56.5 million in flood relief and humanitarian assistance provided this year as well as the additional USD10 million of food security assistance announced today, Price said.

 

The two leaders also discussed partnering on food security and issues related to economic prosperity, regional stability, and Afghanistan, he said.

India and the Netherlands have formulated a mechanism for faster resolution of investment cases of Dutch companies operating here in the country, an official statement said on Wednesday.

 

The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) and the Embassy of the Netherlands have signed a joint statement to formalise the bilateral Fast Track Mechanism (FTM).

 

Invest India, the national investment promotion and facilitation agency, is the executing body of the FTM.

 

'The bilateral FTM between India and the Netherlands aims to serve as a platform for faster resolution of investment cases of Dutch companies operating in India,' the commerce and industry ministry said.

 

It will strengthen and assist bilateral efforts to increase mutual investment activities, as well as support and develop business cooperation between companies in both countries.

 

'Some Dutch companies have been operating for over 100 years in India, which illustrates this close bilateral relationship. We are keen to collaborate more with our Indian partners to further stimulate Dutch companies in India, particularly in key areas of economics, science and innovation,' Marten van den Berg, Ambassador of the Netherlands to India, said.

 

DPIIT Secretary Anurag Jain said both sides have worked to resolve several issues of Dutch companies even before the FTM process began.

 

Diplomatic relations between India and the Netherlands were formally established in 1947.

 

According to government data, the Netherlands is the fourth largest foreign direct investor in India.

 

Between April 2000 and June 2022, the cumulative flow of foreign direct investment from the Netherlands to India reached USD 42.3 billion.

 

In 2021-22, bilateral trade between the countries amounted to USD 17 billion.

 

India's exports to the Netherlands consist mainly of mineral fuels and mineral-based products, organic chemicals, electrical machinery and equipment, aluminium, iron and steel and pharmaceutical products.