Pampore (J&K) district administration held a training and awareness programme on Sunday with the goal of increasing saffron cultivation in the valley. The event was hosted by the SKUAST Pampore Advanced Research Station for Saffron and Seed Spices and sponsored by the National Bank of Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD).

 

For decades, the famous spice has been extracted from the region. 'Kashmir saffron is well-known throughout the world for its high quality and consistent high demand on the national and international markets.' As a result, the government is working hard to improve the quality and quantity of the world's most valuable species,' said Professor Dil Mohamad Makhdoomi (SKUAST).

 

The organisers also gave away free saffron seed bulbs and special trays to growers. 'This is the government's first initiative in the form of organising this wonderful training and awareness programme aimed at producing saffron indoors as well,' said Irshad Ahmad Dar (Grower).

 

The training's goal was to help growers apply the special methods they learned during the programme and achieve good results in the future. A large number of progressive saffron growers attended this special training and awareness programme, and they praised the organisers for the training in indoor saffron cultivation.

 

Pampore, known for its saffron production, is a popular tourist destination, especially during the bloom season, when the fields are adorned with the maroon, yellow, and purple hues of the saffron flowers.

 

These flowers have a pleasant fragrance and attract a number of tourists who enjoy the scenery and enjoy taking photographs here.

 

Saffron is also known as Red Gold. It is an important commodity with a significant impact on the agricultural economy of Jammu and Kashmir. Stigma is the commercial name for saffron. Saffron is used in a variety of industries, including food, pharmaceutical, cosmetic, and perfumery, as well as textile dyes.

The Centre is planning to put a cap on total charges fixed by States over an above the minimum support price (MSP), which may bring down its expenditure on procurement incidentals by Rs.4,000 crore, after coming up with a fixed charge as arhtiya commission from earlier flexible rates (in per cent),

 

The Centre is estimated to have spent about Rs.14,000 crore on procuring 102.61 million tonnes (mt) of rice and wheat during 2021-22 only to pay arhtiya commission, market fees and other levies, fixed by the States. Local levies paid by the Centre made up 4.33 per cent of the economic cost of rice, estimated at Rs.35.97/kg in 2021-22. Similarly, they comprised 4.41 per cent share in wheat cost of Rs.24.99/kg.

 

Involving private sector

Addressing the annual general meeting of the Delhi-based Roller Flour Millers Federation of India, Food Secretary Sudhanshu Pandey on Monday said the Centre had passed on two clear messages to the States regarding the procurement of foodgrains. One, it would provide up to 2 per cent incidental expenses (all inclusive) on the procurement undertaken by them. Secondly, private sector would be roped in to buy foodgrains for the Central Pool.

 

'It is at a concept stage and its implementation will depend to a large extent on the production of crops. Due to shrivelled wheat in 2022, the procurement fell drastically to 19 mt from 43.34 mt year-ago. At this juncture, it will not be affordable to take a chance with paddy procurement as States have also greater responsibility to ensure the target of purchase is achieved,' an expert said.

 

Punjab, for instance, imposed taxes to the tune of 6 per cent taxes — 3 per cent each as market fee and rural development cess in addition to Rs.46/quintal as arhtiya commission (charges of commission agents). It is the highest by any State. But it contributed to over 50 per cent of wheat procurement this year when all other States failed to buy a reasonable quantity. Its share in wheat procurement was 30.5 per cent in 2021.

Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and Textiles, Shri Piyush Goyal today said that even the poorest citizen of the country deserves the best quality products and the culture of no compromise with quality has to be adopted in the country. Shri Goyal said this while addressing the Special Plenary Session at FICCI LEADS 2022 program in New Delhi today.  

Shri Piyush Goyal urged the Industry to focus on 5 Key areas in the Manufacturing sector - Standards or Quality, Durability, Design, Price & Sustainability and align them to the international standards. He said we must adopt new technologies like IoT, AI and Machine Learning.  We must look at upskilling and retraining our workforce to be able to meet the needs of Industry 4.0, he added.

 

Speaking on the importance of world trade, Shri Goyal said that we must acknowledge that we need to engage with the world to develop. We need to globalize trade and get the best from the world while simultaneously giving the best to the World.  He said that we must focus on Green Energy, reducing emissions, generating consciousness about cleanliness and other SDG Goals contributing towards a better future for our children and Utilise PLIs to strengthen MSME ecosystem.  

 

Referring to the theme of the event, ‘Excellence in Manufacturing’ Shri Goyal observed that Excellence in manufacturing is not new to India. He said that although  there is no sector in which India does not have high quality manufacturing, we as a society still live in two worlds - one which is highly quality conscious and another which is still not sensitized to the value of high quality. Shri Goyal said we need to change this mindset of two quality standards for domestic and international markets and must not compromise with quality. Shri Goyal said that FICCI can play an important role in taking the message of quality to the MSME sector through their partnership with other associations across the country.

 

Stressing on the need to expand our engagement with international markets, Shri Goyal noted that the world wants to engage with India. He cited the example of Saudi Arabia which he said is looking for India’s partnership in nearly 30 sectors including  Pharma, Mining, Infrastructure Fintech, EdTech, HealthTech & education. Medical devices, E-gaming and e-Commerce are areas in which they want Indian expertise. He urged the Industry to grab these opportunities.

 

Shri Goyal said that if we collectively focus our energies on the 5 Pran that Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave us, we can be a developed nation in the next 25 years and bring prosperity  to every single home through the length and breadth of the country.

 

The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) has sought details of the rice stranded at ports for which Indian exporters had entered into agreements with global buyers before the government imposed a 20% export duty on September 9.

 

Nearly 1 million tonnes of rice is stuck at the ports and container freight stations following the government's decision, which came as a sudden blow to the rice trade. Exporters are concerned over the stranded consignments and have urged DGFT to allow the shipments to move to their destinations.

 

India banned exports of broken rice and imposed a 20% duty on exports of various other types on September 8 and the regulations became effective from September 9, giving the trade no chance to take some action.

 

'We have met the officials of DGFT as well finance ministry to sort out the issue. DGFT has sought details of exports and whether these exports are backed by letters of credit (LCs) or not. We have submitted details, but we are yet to hear from them,' said Vinod Kaul, executive director of All India Rice Exporters Association (AIREA).

 

The new duty is expected to discourage foreign buyers from making purchases from India and they are likely to turn to other rice-producing countries like Thailand and Vietnam, which have been struggling to increase shipments and prices, exporters said.

 

'While LCs for their shipment were opened before the new export duty notification, exporters are worried that the authorities might demand export duty on the same. In that case, exporters may incur big losses as their international buyers would not want to foot the bill. We have also asked DGFT to allow shipments of the rice for which we had entered into contract before the export duty and the ban came in,' said B.V. Krishna Rao, president of The Rice Exporters Association (TREA).

 

In the past, New Delhi has provided exemptions for contracts backed by LCs or payment guarantees in similar circumstances, issued until the day the government made a policy change, the rice exporters said. New Delhi allowed exports against already-issued LCs when it banned wheat exports earlier this year.

 

India ships around 2 mt of rice every month from across all the ports in the country.

 

'The government's move will impact exports of non-basmati rice from the country and it is likely to drop to 10-11 mt from 17.26 mt in FY22, Rao said.

 

Suraj Agarwal, CEO and cofounder of rice marketing and exporting company Rice Villa Foods, said the export duty has been levied so that the government can ensure sufficient rice stock for the Public Distribution System (PDS).

 

Lesser rains in major rice-producing states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal have impacted paddy acreage this kharif season, increasing the price of the staple across the country.

 

According to government estimates, the country's rice production could fall by 10 mt this year. In FY22, India had produced 111.7 mt of rice during kharif season.

 

Export duty has also been levied on broken rice since it is used in ethanol production.

Training Division, FSSAI, has issued a calendar scheduling the Training of Trainers (ToT) programme for various courses under the FoSTaC scheme and asked interested candidates to apply through the registration link provided in the notice issued by the food authority.

 

The notice says that only the applications submitted through the link provided in the calendar will be considered.

 

The courses include basic & advanced catering, basic & advanced manufacturing for the four regions including northern region, southern region, eastern region and western region. The courses were available in local languages as well at some places.

 

The notice meanwhile says that only 20 participants were allowed for each ToT course and the link may be closed before the last date ranging from September 25 to October 4, 2022, if enough eligible applications were received.

 

Meanwhile, the food authority decided to withdraw the online mode of training for FoSTaC (Food Safety Training and Certification) courses, as the pandemic situation was subsiding.

 

The notice issued by the FSSAI says, 'The online mode of training of FoSTaC courses is revoked with immediate effect.'

 

The courses include advanced manufacturing general, milk, milk products, animal meat and meat products, poultry, poultry products, fish and fish products, packaged water, bakery level 2, edible oils and fats, health supplements, alcoholic beverages, organic food products, and advanced retail and distribution programmes.

 

According to the FSSAI, no new online training will be allowed in the FoSTaC portal for the courses for which the online mode was withdrawn. However, there are certain courses offered both online and offline until further orders.

 

These online courses include basic catering –integrated child development services, mid day meal, and basic manufacturing, retail distribution, storage and transport along with street food vending.

India and Saudi Arabia have held discussions on the feasibility of institutionalising Rupee-Riyal trade, and introduction of UPI and Rupay cards in the kingdom, the commerce ministry said on Monday. These issues, among others, were discussed during the visit of Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal to Riyadh during September 18-19.

 

He attended the ministerial meeting of the India-Saudi Arabia Strategic Partnership Council.

 

Goyal and Saudi Minister for Energy Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman Al-Saud co-chaired the ministerial meeting of the Committee on Economy and Investments of the council.

 

'Diversification and expansion of trade and commerce, removal of trade barriers... automatic registration and marketing authorization of Indian pharma products in Saudi Arabia, feasibility of institutionalizing Rupee-Riyal trade, introduction of UPI and Rupay cards in Saudi Arabia; were amongst the key points of discussion,' it said.

 

Goyal also discussed various issues with Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman Al Saud.

 

'Discussed how energy security with climate change sensitivity can deliver economic growth and prosperity,' the Indian minister has tweeted.

 

The ministerial meeting also endorsed the 41 areas of cooperation identified by the technical teams under the four broad domains of agriculture and food security; energy; technology and IT; and industry and infrastructure.

 

It also agreed to undertake implementation of priority projects in a time bound manner and re-affirmed continued cooperation in joint projects including the West coast refinery, LNG infrastructure investment and development of strategic petroleum storage facilities in India.

 

During a CEO Roundtable with businessmen in Saudi Arabia, talks focused on increasing exports from India, and facilitating inward investments into India, it added.

 

In a separate meeting, the minister held discussions on a wide range of topics such as institutional tie-up of the EXIM banks of the two countries, joint projects in third countries, mutual recognition of standards, and collaboration in infrastructure development.

 

An uptick in the organic food market is one sector that has benefited from Covid-19. Before the pandemic, organic food sales had been rising consistently. However, the last few of years have seen a dramatic increase in the sector’s pace of development.

 

With more people becoming aware of the benefits of buying locally produced goods, the local market has expanded significantly, and the pandemic has provided a welcome boost to India’s growing preference for organic foods and goods. Even after the virus has been eradicated, the trend toward organic food will continue to spread across socioeconomic classes for at least another decade. Organic food sales have skyrocketed since March 2020, reflecting a shift in consumer values.

 

Increased consumer education has led to a booming domestic market, and Indian organic produce has increasingly found a home on store shelves abroad; nevertheless, the industry has met a snag in the form of contamination concerns in more recent times.

 

About 15 years ago, there was barely any domestic market for organic products, according to research conducted by the International Competence Centre for Organic Agriculture (ICCOA) in Bengaluru. ICCOA promotes organic agriculture and agri-business by providing a platform to all stakeholders in the sector. Even at Rs 75 crore, exports were in their infancy. The regional market might double in size within a decade, reaching Rs. 1,400 crore. The local market is expected to develop at a higher rate (between 30-35 percent) than exports, which are now valued at Rs 2,500 crore. Export growth is 25 percent lower than in the prior year.

 

The Madhya Pradesh-based organic food aggregator, Organic MP is not just an agri start-up, but on the mission to provide the solution to all hassles a farmer or annanddata faced due to lack of techniques and training to modern pattern of organic farming.

 

Swapnil Shrivastava of Organic MP said, 'There has been a definite increase in the sale of organic and health food products as individuals want to lead a healthy lifestyle and ensure protection against coronavirus'. 'We are working closely with the farmers community to help them provide with the solutions and techniques to turn their farms into organic farms.'

 

Upon graduating from EDII-Gandhinagar in 2018, Swapnil Shrivastava founded Organic MP. In addition to teaching farmers how to use new tools and methods, he also instructed them on how to access new markets, create new projects, and so on.

 

Organic MP has established a network between farmers and viable economic strategies. Indian economic prosperity can be attributed in large part to contract farming and the company’s talented team of agronomists, engineers, and Agritech specialists. The logistics network extended to the region where farmers receive the refrigerated trucks they need to ship their produce to the cities and other states in India.

 

Apart from helping farmers, the Organic MP team sighted that the world was starving due to hunger during the disastrous wave of pandemic whether it is poor children or a person who lost their daily wages. Their heart ached and with immediate effect, they assured them no person should go sleep hungry. Even they tried their level best to bring smiles to the faces of innocent kids in tribal or rural areas. The appreciable food distribution series is reinforced on a constant basis to the people who got stuck in their homes or are in severe need of rations.

 

The injured stray animals are overlooked, when in pain, the team conducted a quick drive to tie radium tapes and make them secure further from injuries. Organic MP took a moment to appreciate and support the active initiatives whenever required of the day to the warriors of the Pandemic, especially the police forces.

 

This story has been provided by PNN. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content in this article.

Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and Textiles, Shri Piyush Goyal visited Saudi Arabia from 18th to 19th September 2022 to attend the Ministerial meeting of the India-Saudi Arabia Strategic Partnership Council. Along with Shri Goyal, Saudi Minister for Energy, His Royal Highness Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman Al-Saud co-chaired the Ministerial meeting of the Committee on Economy and Investments of the India-Saudi Arabia Strategic Partnership Council.

 

The Strategic Partnership Council was instituted in October, 2019 during the visit of the Prime Minister of India to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and has two main pillars i.e. Political, Security, Social and Cultural Committee and the Committee on Economy and Investments.

 

The notable outcomes of the Ministerial Meeting are:

 

Streamlining efforts to realize the announcement made by His Royal Highness Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman, during his visit to India in February 2019, of investments worth USD 100 Billion in India.

Endorsement of the 41 areas of cooperation identified by the technical teams under the 4 broad domains of Agriculture & Food Security; Energy; Technology & IT; and Industry & Infrastructure.

Agreement to undertake implementation of the priority projects in a time bound manner. Priority areas of cooperation include: 

-Collaboration in digital fintech sector through operationalization of UPI and Rupay Card in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

 

-Re-affirmation of continued cooperation in joint projects including the West coast refinery, LNG infrastructure investment and development of strategic petroleum storage facilities in India

 

During the visit, Hon’ble Minister met H.E. Dr. Majid bin Abdullah Al-Kassabi, Minister of Commerce of Saudi Arabia, and held wide ranging discussions on the entire gamut of bilateral trade, commerce and investments linkages.

 

Diversification and expansion of trade and commerce, removal of trade barriers, including the outstanding issues related to sanitary and phytosanitary measures and trade remedies, automatic registration and marketing authorization of Indian pharma products in Saudi Arabia, feasibility of institutionalizing Rupee-Riyal trade, introduction of UPI and Rupay cards in Saudi Arabia; were amongst the key points of discussion.

 

'Had a fruitful meeting with H.E. Dr. Majid bin Abdullah Al-Kassabi, Minister of Commerce, KSA.  Discussed ways to attract greater investment & further diversify bilateral trade to boost economic ties between India & Saudi Arabia', the Minister tweeted after the meeting.

 

Hon’ble Minister also met H.E. Mr. Khalid Al-Salem, President of Royal Commission of Jubail and Yanbu, H.E. Eng. Saad Al-Khalb, CEO of Saudi EXIM Bank, and other senior officials of the Ministry of Industry, Saudi Arabia.

 

Discussions were held on a wide range of topics such as institutional tie-up of the EXIM banks of the two countries, joint projects in third countries, mutual recognition of standards, establishment of startup and innovation bridge, strengthening collaboration in infrastructure development, particularly in the domains of construction, railways, industrial and manufacturing collaboration in Pharmaceuticals, Automobiles, Petrochemicals, Specialty chemicals, Technical textiles, mining and increasing project exports from India.

 

'Had a productive meeting with H.E. Mr. Khalid Al-Salem , Chairman of the Royal Commission for Jubail & Yanbu, Saudi Arabia. Identified a range of mutually beneficial opportunities to further strengthen economic cooperation between the two countries', Shri Goyal tweeted on his meeting with H.E. Mr. Khalid Al-Salem.

 

 During the visit, Hon’ble Minister also participated in a CEO Roundtable with prominent businessmen in Saudi Arabia. Discussions focused on encouraging increasing exports from India, facilitating inward investments into India, innovative ways and means of deepening and broad basing bilateral economic linkages.

 

'Had an enriching interaction with CEOs of companies from different sectors in Saudi Arabia. Delighted to see their enthusiasm towards further strengthening trade & investment linkages between the two countries', he tweeted about the interaction.

 

Shri Goyal also interacted with HRH Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman Al Saud, Minister of Energy, Saudi Arabia.

 

'Discussed how energy security with climate change sensitivity can deliver economic growth & prosperity. Deliberated on stronger partnership in renewable energy between our two countries', he tweeted about the meeting.

 

Shri Goyal also inaugurated "The India Week" in Riyadh as part of the ongoing efforts of Embassy of India in Riyadh to celebrate Indian products especially Food products like Millets, Textiles etc.

 

'Brand India shining bright in Saudi Arabia!' the Minister tweeted.

 

On his visit, the Minister was accompanied by a delegation comprising officials of the ranks of Additional Secretaries and Joint Secretaries from the Ministries of Agriculture, Commerce, Electronics and IT and from NITI Aayog.

Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Shri Narendra Singh Tomar has said that plant genetic resources are the source of solution to the breeding challenges. Plant genetic resources are also vulnerable due to habitat destruction and climate change. Their protection is a 'shared responsibility of humanity'. We must use all modern technologies as well as traditional knowledge to preserve and use them in a sustainable manner.

 

Shri Tomar said this while inaugurating the Ninth Session of the Governing Body of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA) in New Delhi today. The ITPGRFA is a legally binding comprehensive agreement signed during the 31st session of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in Rome in November, 2001, which took effect on 29 June 2004, and currently has 149 Contracting Parties including India. This treaty, in consonance with the Convention on Biological Diversity, seeks to achieve food security through the conservation, exchange and sustainable use of the world's Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (PGRFA), equitable sharing of profits from its use, as well as playing an important role in the recognition of rights of farmers. PGRFA provides scale-free solutions to achieve food and nutritional security as well as climate resilient agriculture. Countries are mutually interdependent for the PGRFA, leading to the need for a global system to facilitate access and profit sharing. GB9 is being organized under the theme 'Celebrating the Guardians of Crop Diversity: Towards an Inclusive Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework'. The theme aims to highlight the contribution of the world's small farmers to the effective management of PGRFA and provide an opportunity to consider how the treaty and its community can contribute to the new global biodiversity architecture.

 

In the inaugural session, Shri Tomar said that the aim of the Plant Treaty is to recognize the contribution of farmers and local communities to the diversity of crops. Over the centuries, tribal and traditional farming communities have continuously shaped and adapted the dimensions of the rich genetic material they have. This has given rise to vast and diverse cultural (life and commerce around plant diversity), culinary (incredible variety, tastes and nutrition as per purpose and season) and curative (food as medicine) practices. Shri Tomar said that the COVID pandemic has taught us some lessons. Availability and access to food is paramount to peace and stability. India remains committed to ensuring food and nutritional security for its citizens. Shri Tomar said that we need to ensure bountiful crop production year after year. The answer is crop diversity and diversification.

 

Shri Tomar said that no negotiation is possible at the cost of food security. All international forums must not forget that food is an essential fundamental right. Developing countries will be motivated by the need to ensure that the rights of farmers producing food are never compromised. This community is also responsible for the existence of plant genetic resources that we have today. We have many places and people around the world who have conserved invaluable genetic resources and valuable traditional knowledge. Emphasizing on the timely conservation and use of wild species of crops as well as potentially underutilized crops, he said that our struggle for climate resilient agriculture and nutritional security depends heavily on your decisions and actions. Shri Tomar said that genetic information obtained using advanced genomic and bio-informatic tools has the potential to become the subject of IPR. On the other hand, traditional knowledge that has been preserved and enriched from generation to generation becomes common knowledge. Multilateral fora such as the ITPGRFA are responsible for balancing commercial interests and heritage values ??to ensure the continuity of PGR conservation on earth.

 

Shri Tomar said that India has been a firm advocate of sharing the wealth of plant genetic resources. A look at the IARC genebank and other national gene banks shows that about 10% of the germplasm is of Indian origin. Our vision is very clear that the genetic resources of plants should be made available for research and sustainable use. Shri Tomar said that we cannot ignore the contribution of farmers, indigenous communities, tribal population and especially the women of the community in the conservation and selection of plant genetic resources over time. Therefore, we have a duty to keep their interests in mind while considering amendments and improvements to the Treaty. India stands firm in its faith and actions in the commitments of the multilateral agreement. He said that Article 9 of the ITPGFRA deals with the rights of farmers, which India is fully compliant with and relevant provisions are contained in the PPV&FR Act, 2001. 166 farmers/agriculture communities have been honoured with Plant Genome Saviour Awards. He said that India proposes to the Governing Body of ITPGRFA to consider putting into action a module of Awareness, Outreach and Capacity Building Programme related to Farmers’ Rights, for which India will support its implementation.

 

 Shri Tomar said that global agricultural research is focusing on a few key crops for obvious reasons. Focusing on minor millets, minor pulses, minor fruits and leafy vegetables, he said that the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has a network of institutions working on these crops. We have encouraged our farmer-conservers to join us for the GB-9. Shri Tomar said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, agriculture is progressing in the country, farmers are prospering and the economy is also being strengthened. Many such infrastructures have been built in the country which inspires the country and can also show the way forward to the world.

 

Shri Tomar also expressed his immense pleasure that the Treaty Board and the Contracting Parties had honoured his call for India to host the meeting, made during GB8 meeting which was held at Rome in 2019, in which he had participated.

 

Shri Manoj Ahuja, Secretary, Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, GoI, while welcoming all the dignitaries, briefly elaborated about the strength of Indian agriculture and the significant progress made in the recent past due to progressive policies of the government. He urged that deliberations during the GB9 must lead to a balance in between genetic resources governance with use, investment with innovation and access with Benefit Sharing to achieve future-ready solutions for agriculture and food security.

 

Ms Yasmina El-Bahloul, Chairperson of GB9 Bureau, welcomed all the delegates on behalf of the Treaty Bureau and thanked the Indian government for the warm hospitality and extraordinary arrangement for hosting the GB9.

 

Dr Dongou Qu, Director General, FAO, joined the session virtually. While thanking GoI for hosting the GB9 of the ITPGRFA, he said the Plant Treaty was universal and PGRFA needs sharing and caring for food security. These resources are important for agricultural resilience, especially in changing climate.

 

Mr Shombi Sharp, UN Resident Coordinator, India, welcomed delegates on behalf of the United Nations and expressed happiness that UN was associated with the very important Treaty. He called for global solutions for global problems, especially since PGRFA plays a significant role in safeguarding agricultural production crops and thereby the farming community.

 

Dr Himanshu Pathak, Secretary, Department of Agricultural Research and Education and Director General, Indian Council of Agricultural Research emphasized on the role of Research & Development institutions as well as well-trained human resource for effective management of PGRFA. He informed delegates about the excellent capacity of ICAR along with State Agricultural Universities for germplasm management and use. He offered interested nations to enhance the utilization of gene-pool through capacity building programmes by India in genebanking and in trait-specific evaluation.

 

After the inaugural ceremony, Shri Tomar visited the farmers' exhibitions and interacted with them. More than 400 delegates from nearly 150 member-countries have assembled during the six-day long GB9 to deliberate upon the ITPGRFA which oversees how the member nations exchange and sustainably use the world's Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, while ensuring fair and equitable benefit sharing arising from its use. The PGRFA are the basic building blocks upon which agricultural development, therefore, food security depends, especially on the climate change and other related challenges.

 

The major issues to be deliberated during the meeting comprise  (i) Amendment of the Treaty to expand the list of crops in the multilateral system; (ii)  Capacity-development strategy for the Treaty; (iii) Funding strategy, resource mobilization and the budget; (iv) Conservation and sustainable use of PGRFA and agriculture; (v) Compliance; (vi) Cooperation with other organizations and bodies; and (vii) Multi-year Programme of Work, including genome sequence information to pursue a more robust Treaty implementation. As host of GB9, India is expected to play a crucial role in minimizing the dissonance between technology-rich developed and gene-rich developing countries to achieve functional resolutions on critical agenda items. The GB9 also provides an excellent opportunity to convey the steadfast commitment of India to conservation and sustainable utilization of plant genetic diversity as well as farmers’ rights. On the eve of GB9, India called for a global harmony to use every available germplasm resource and every advanced technology to fight global hunger and ensure food and environmental security.

Bangladesh's $416-billion economy is battling rising prices of energy and food as the Russia-Ukraine conflict widens its current account deficit, and dwindling foreign exchange forces it to turn to global lenders such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF). 

 

'The country is facing a shortage of foreign currency due to higher import bills and weaknesses of Bangladeshi taka against dollar in recent times,' the SBI said in an Aug. 24 letter sent to its branches and seen by Reuters.

 

The letter and its contents have not previously been reported.

 

The SBI did not immediately respond to an e-mail seeking comment.

 

The decision not to increase exposure to the dollar and other foreign currencies in relation to Bangladesh stemmed from the current economic situation and the neighbouring nation's shortage of foreign currency, the bank said in its circular.

 

'However exposure in Indian rupee (INR) and taka will continue,' it added.

 

Bangladesh's foreign exchange reserves declined to $37 billion by Friday from $48 billion a year earlier, according to data from the central bank, which provides import cover of just five months.

 

Finance ministry officials have said Bangladesh is seeking a $4.5 billion loan from the IMF, in excess of its maximum entitlement of $1 billion under the IMF Resilience and Sustainability Trust. 

 

A source familiar with the matter said SBI did not want to increase its exposure to Bangladesh.

 

'We have an approximate exposure of $500 million to Bangladesh and have taken the decision not to grow it further aggressively, and maybe, even reduce it as needed, with the news surrounding the economy,' added the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

 

Bangladesh is just one of India's neighbours in financial distress.

 

The island nation of Sri Lanka is grappling with a financial crisis as its central bank reserves stand at just $1.7 billion at a time of galloping inflation and severe shortages of food and fuel that sparked protests and a change of government. 

 

And Pakistan's central bank reserves of $8.6 billion are sufficient for just about a month of imports. 

 

TRADE IN LOCAL CURRENCY

 

Bangladesh wants to cut dependency on the dollar, commerce minister Tipu Munshi said last week, and it does not see a problem in dealing in local currencies.

 

Speaking at an event in Dhaka, he was responding to a query on the growing focus on local currency trade, and added that the finance ministry was looking at ways to do this.

 

However, the Bangladesh central bank's executive director, Serajul Islam, told Reuters, 'No such decision has been taken yet,' in reference to trade in local currencies with India.

 

Last week, the Bangladesh central bank freed up banks to do transactions in Chinese yuan, so as to enable trade with China.

 

Last month, rating agency Standard & Poors affirmed its stable outlook rating for Bangladesh, saying it expected its external position to stabilise within a year.

 

However, the agency said it might lower the ratings on Bangladesh if net external debt or financing metrics worsen further as higher commodity prices and strong imports could add to weakening in the taka and drain foreign exchange reserves.

 

'Despite its moderate net debt position, the Bangladesh government's interest burden is considerable,' the agency added.

 

'Its foreign currency-denominated debt, though predominantly borrowed from multilateral and bilateral sources, is subject to exchange rate risk.'

 

An Indian textile exporter, who asked not to be identified, said banks and importers in Bangladesh were not willing to trade in rupees, however, and preferred the taka currency instead.

 

Also, India has not yet clarified if exports denominated in rupees will receive the same benefits as those in dollars, he said.

 

'SBI's circular is very alarming, as they have said not to take exposure on Bangladesh exports,' the exporter added.

 

'Bangladesh is a major trading partner and if a premier bank like SBI does not take exposure, how will the trade grow? It is going to go down.'

 

India's exports to Bangladesh rose 17.5% to $4.94 billion in the period from April to July, or the first four months of the fiscal year to March 31, 2023, while imports were up about 11% at $580.7 million, government data showed.