The Centre has organized a virtual networking meeting between exporters of India and importers of Qatar to boost agri and food GI products exports in Qatar, the ministry of commerce and industry said on Monday.

 

This comes after India banned exports of broken rice and imposed 20% duty on certain varieties of rice excluding parboiled rice and basmati rice. Exporters said that the rice exports will decline sharply after the move.

 

Rice is the largest exported agricultural product from India and contributed to more than 19% of the total agriculture export during the year 2021-22, as per India Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF).

 

'More than 80 participants including exports, importers, representatives from Indian Business and Professionals Council (IBPC), officials of the Indian Embassy and Agriculture and Processed Food Export Development Authority (APEDA) participated,' the ministry said.

 

M. Angamuthu, chairman of APEDA in his address emphasized on the government’s focus on promoting GI, organic and natural products. The attributes of Geographical Indication (GI) add value to the products exported.

 

The exporters were informed about the potential GI products for exports such as basmati rice, mango, pomegranates, products of northeast region and several processed products.

 

There are more than 400 registered Geographical Indications in India of which around 150 are agricultural and food products GI, the ministry said adding that over 100 registered GI products fall under the category of APEDA scheduled products.

The East African pigeon pea (tur/arhar) producing block of countries, including Tanzania and Mozambique, have emerged as the largest supplier of the pulses variety to the India n market in recent years, displacing the traditional supplier Myanmar.

 

This is even as India remains a net importer of pulses to meet its growing domestic demand.

 

Over the past five years, imports of tur have risen sharply from countries like Tanzania, Mozambique and Malawi. This jump has been facilitated by the agreements that the Indian government has signed with Mozambique and Malawi in the recent years for annual import of two lakh tonnes and 50,000 tonnes, respectively.

 

'As far as the imported tur is concerned, East Africa has emerged as the largest supplier of tur to India . It has been helpful we are getting tur from Africa. Normally, the harvest in Africa starts in August and most of the time cargoes are shipped by end of August or early September. The arrivals time is right at the time of festival. Our harvest is during December-January and by that time, most of the goods are sold out. If there is a shortfall in the domestic production, it starts reflecting in the market during September-October, the last 2-3 months before the new crop comes in,' said Bimal Kothari, Chairman, India Pulses and Grains Association.

 

Rising consumption

Though India’s tur production has increased from 25.6 lakh tonnes (lt) in 2015-16 to 43.4 lt in 2021-22, as per the fourth advance estimates, the consumption is seen on the higher side. 'Definitely we need more pulses. The kharif production has not kept the pace with the demand due to weather vagaries and other factors, while consumption is on the rise,' Kothari said.

 

In the entire East African block, which includes Mozambique, Malawi, Tanzania, Sudan and Kenya, total production of tur annually varies between 6 and 7 lt.

 

Pulses Trade expert Lalit Bangar , at a recent webinar, said earlier the tur imports into India were largely from Myanmar, but gradually Africa has increased their share.

 

'Of late, Mozambiqe has emerged the largest exporter to India. Production and exports were increasing in Mozambique. Though there were some quality issues relating to moisture and other parameters, but with experience and continuous trade they have improved the quality of tur.

 

'Farmers are also encouraged to grow more in these countries, which has proved helpful for addressing the demand-supply gap in tur ,' Bangar said. Outside of India, tur is grown only in East Africa and Myanmar. The Africans produce 6-7 lt, while Myanmar produces 1.5-2.5 lt.

 

The East African block has really helped us in meeting our requirement. Many years ago Myanmar was producing about 4-4.5 lt of tur, but due to the Indian import policy, which restricted the imports on and off, the Myanmar farmers switched over to other crops, resulting in a dip in output.

 

Moreover, the tur harvest cycle in Myanmar closely follows the Indian harvest cycle.

 

Myanmar vs Africa

Rahul Chauhan , Director, IGrain India, said production of pulses has grown in Africa after the Indian Government has signed agreement with these countries.

 

The prices in African countries are lower by 10 per cent compared with that of Myanmar mainly due to the quality issues.

 

Annual import of tur stood at 8.6 lt in 2021-22, almost double than than the previous year’s 4.42 lt . Tur acreage in Myanmar this year is likely to be lower this year as farmers are seen preferring maize due to higher prices, Chauhan said.

After imposing 20 per cent export duty on non-basmati rice, the government has banned the export of broken rice with an aim to increase domestic availability, according to a government notification

 

'Export Policy of broken rice ...is amended from ‘Free’ to ‘Prohibited’,' the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) said in a notification dated September 8, 2022.

 

The notification comes into effect from September 9, 2022.

 

Provisions under the Foreign Trade Policy 2015-2020 regarding the transitional arrangement shall not be applicable to this notification, it added.

 

The government on Thursday imposed a 20 per cent export duty on non-basmati rice except for parboiled rice to boost domestic supplies amid a fall in area under the paddy crop in the current Kharif season.

 

According to a notification by the revenue department, an export duty of 20 per cent has been imposed on 'rice in husk (paddy or rough)' and 'husked (brown) rice'.

India and Myanmar share good relations and a lot has to be done in the field of trade and investment, said the Ambassador of Myanmar to India, Moe Kyaw Aung on Monday.

 

Speaking at a roundtable session on Bilateral Trade Opportunities between India and Neighbouring countries, Moe Kyaw Aung said, 'India and Myanmar enjoy good relations. We’ve strong cultural ties and share a long land border. A lot has to be done pertaining to trade and investment.'

 

'We are happy to be a part of ASEAN as it’s a bridge between India and Southeast Asia,' the Myanmar envoy added.

 

The Roundtable session on Bilateral Trade Opportunities between India and Neighbouring countries was held on Monday in New Delhi, with a special focus on North East Region. The event was hosted by the Confederation of Indian Industry, North East Council.

 

Notably, the friendship between India and Myanmar is age-old and has stood the test of time. Both countries have many things in common as they share strong historical, cultural, religious and trade ties.

 

People from both countries developed and managed to sustain trust and cordial relations so far. It can be gauged from the fact that not a single case of conflict has been reported yet though both countries share over the 1,600-km land border and maritime border in the Bay of Bengal.

 

India calls Myanmar an important pillar in its important ‘Neighbourhood First’ Policy and promised to extend all kinds of support to help overcome economic and health challenges.

 

India has been building roads and bridges, schools, and healthcare centres in Myanmar under the India-Myanmar Border Area Development Programme. The annual grant of USD 5 million has elevated the lives of people living in around 82 villages in Myanmar.

 

'India is building USD 484 million Kaladan Multimodal Transit Transport Project that will connect India’s Kolkata port with Myanmar’s Sittwe port, promoting regional connectivity and development as these projects would create employment opportunities in Myanmar, especially in the conflict-ridden Chin and Rakhine provinces.

 

Moreover, India has decided to provide debt service relief under the G-20 Debt Service Suspension Initiative to help Myanmar lower the negative impacts of Covid-19. Myanmar accounted for 50 per cent of arms exported from India.

 

In 2021, Myanmar also received a remote-controlled, air-defence station from India, which would improve its capability to counter the enemy’s airborne penetration. In order to boost its naval power, Myanmar was gifted a submarine by India in 2020.

 

India is a big place of pilgrimage for the people of Myanmar. India and Myanmar were a part of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) – a forum of countries that decide not to align with any power block post-World War II. India’s Look East Policy has had a special place for Myanmar for its crucial geostrategic location.

 

India has been building a variety of projects ranging from building railway lines, and hydroelectric plants to establishing education institutes to oil exploration to developing multimodal corridors. Now both countries are pushing for greater cooperation in the field of trade and security as they tend to get benefitted.

With a bolstering trade between India and Vietnam, the two countries should aim to raise trade targets, expressed Vietnam's Deputy Chief of Mission in India Do Thanh Hai in a round table session on Bilateral Trade Opportunities between India and Neighbouring countries on Monday.

 

He also focused on the need to grow trade in sectors like electronics, automobiles, computers, pharmaceuticals, and agricultural products.

 

'Trade between India and Vietnam is growing stronger. We should have a higher target. We're optimistic about growth in sectors like electronics, automobiles, computers, pharmaceuticals, and agricultural products,' said Do Thanh Hai.

 

He also added that the two countries also have direct maritime links that contribute to better trade ties.

 

Ambassador of Myanmar to India, Moe Kyaw Aung highlighted the tremendous work that has been done to enhance India and Myanmar trade relations in the session. He also expressed happiness for Myanmar being a part of ASEAN.

 

'India and Myanmar enjoy good relations. We've strong cultural ties and share a long land border. A lot has to be done about trade and investment.', said Moe Kyaw Aung.

 

Common prospects shared by India and Vietnam as emerging economies

Being the emerging economies of Asia, India and Vietnam have a lot in common in terms of economic interests and trade. Together, they carry the potential in creating alternative supply chains in Asia after the global disillusionment with the China-centric supply chain during the Covid pandemic.

 

Bilateral trade between India and Vietnam stood at USD 11.12 billion in 2020-21. Vietnam holds 15 positions in the list of largest trade partners of India. On the other hand, India stands in 10th position in terms of Vietnam's trade partners.

 

Another important pillar in the strategic partnership between India and Vietnam is their Comprehensive Strategic Partnership since 2016 and defense cooperation. Both countries continuously engage with each other in terms of Defense Policy Dialogue, military-to-military exchange, high-level visits, capacity building, and training programmes.

 

India and Vietnam have also cooperated in UN Peacekeeping, ship visits and bilateral exercise. There are constant efforts from both countries for expanding bilateral engagements.

 

Cultural cooperation between India and Vietnam

The two countries also organise student exchange programmes and other programmes to enhance cultural cooperation between the two countries. India and Vietnam also signed a cultural agreement in 1976. In 2016, Swami Vivekananda Indian Cultural Centre in Hanoi. Before that, the Institute of Indian and South-West Asian Studies under the aegis of the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences was inaugurated in Hanoi in 2012. There has been extensive tourism between India and Vietnam. Before COVID hit the world, around 1,69,000 Indians visited Vietnam and 31,000 Vietnamese visited India.

The state visit of the Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina, to India (September 5-8) has amply showcased the high stakes of both polities in their bilateral ties, imbued with regional significance. Delhi and Dhaka are fully conscious that they must get this vital equation right, constantly strengthening and deepening their cooperation and countering the challenges they face. Only then can this relationship be convincingly projected as a major success for their foreign policies. Even before reaching New Delhi, Ms. Hasina underlined the importance of the special 'bonding' between the two nations, where one helped in the liberation of the other, and where both have worked together closely, especially since Ms. Hasina came to power again in 2009.

 

Dhaka’s expectations

In one of her most candid interviews given just prior to her visit, Ms. Hasina vividly recalled how India had helped her all the way when she faced the greatest personal tragedy of her life: the assassination of her father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, and a number of other members of her family. It was a national catastrophe. The shelter, security and support extended by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and subsequent governments shaped Ms. Hasina’s worldview and her perception of India. As Prime Minister, she reciprocated the gestures adequately by taking firm action against anti-Indian insurgent groups soon after assuming power. Since then, the two governments have successfully resolved several old problems such as the exchange of conclaves and the conclusion of long-pending land and maritime boundary agreements. But other challenges remain.

 

Four specific issues seem to trouble the Bangladeshi side. First, the continued presence of 1.1 million Rohingyas who fled from Myanmar in 2017 has created enormous pressure on the economy and social harmony. Ms. Hasina has said India is a big country that should 'accommodate' them. Further, she wants stronger support from India to facilitate their early return to Myanmar. Second, the absence of agreement on sharing of the Teesta’s waters, pending since 2011 due to West Bengal’s refusal to relent, and the broader issue of joint management of 54 common rivers, have been constant grievances. Third, India’s sensitivity to growing cooperation between Dhaka and Beijing rankles the authorities in Bangladesh. Ms. Hasina has stressed the point that if there were differences between India and China, she did not wish to 'put her nose to it'.

 

Four, she has conceded that despite her government’s secular policy, 'incidents' against the Hindu minority have occurred, but her government has acted against miscreants. At the same time, she has expressed concern about the safety of minorities in India, pointing out that 'it is not only (in) Bangladesh, even in India also sometimes minorities suffered'.

 

The context above helps to evaluate the outcome of Ms. Hasina’s latest India visit. She last visited India in 2019. She played host to the Prime Minister and the President of India, when they visited Bangladesh in March and December 2021, respectively. The visits marked triple epochal celebrations: the birth anniversary of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the Father of Nation; the golden jubilee of Independence; and 50 years of the establishment of diplomatic relations between India and Bangladesh. These visits were utilised to reach new agreements and add further content and momentum to the relationship. India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar tweeted, 'The warmth and frequency of our leadership level contacts is a testimony to our close neighbo[u]rly partnership.' This process has continued unhindered. The latest visit resulted in seven agreements designed to increase cooperation in the diverse domains of water sharing, railways, science and technology, space, media and capacity building.

 

Specific outcomes

Indian officials identified several specific outcomes of Ms. Hasina’s discussions with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. First, there was the agreement 'to continue close security cooperation' over counter-terrorism, border crimes, and border management. Second, the two sides recommitted themselves to enhancing their development partnership which is already quite extensive and multi-faceted. Third, they agreed 'to build resilient supply chains' between the two countries and 'across the region'. A significant decision was to launch the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) in 2022 and to conclude negotiations by the time Bangladesh graduates from least developed country status in 2026. Finally, the leaders favoured expanding connectivity through more rail, road, inland waterways, and coastal shipping linkages. They agreed to build on the impressive successes achieved in the past decade in this sphere.

 

Economic relations have been developing excellently. Bilateral trade has touched a high watermark of $18 billion. Logistics for power trade between Bangladesh and its neighbours — India, Nepal and Bhutan — have been put in place. India will assist Bangladesh by sharing its rich experience of innovation through startups.

 

About the issues flagged by Ms. Hasina, has there been progress? On the displaced people from the Rakhine state (the word ‘Rohingya’ was not used in deference to Myanmar’s sensitivity), India expressed appreciation for Bangladesh’s 'generosity' in sheltering them, made an assurance of more material assistance, and reiterated its previous position to support their 'safe, sustainable and expeditious return'. India is unable to do more. As expected, there was no resolution of the Teesta question, but in a significant forward movement, the two governments agreed on the sharing of the waters of the Kushiyara, the common border river. They also agreed to exchange data on other rivers, set up their priorities and begin formulating the framework for 'the interim water sharing arrangements'.

 

The thrust of the discussion on China-related issues, if it took place at all, is not known. When pressed by the media, India’s Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra observed that the strategic priorities, interests, and concerns have all been 'factored in our cooperative matrix of engagement', stressing that this bilateral relationship stands 'on its own merits'. The question of the safety of minorities did not find a place in the joint statement, but Dhaka routinely reiterates its commitment to protecting the Hindus in Bangladesh.

 

Sobering ground realities

In India, there are continuing worries about the cumulative and adverse impact of COVID-19 and the Ukraine war on Bangladesh’s economy. The country faces escalating protests on the streets that have been triggered by a sharp rise in fuel prices, an erosion of foreign currency reserves, and a deepening financial crisis. Besides, the rising influence of fundamentalist forces, extremism, and radicalisation poses a serious danger to political stability. Thus, the contours of combined challenges before the Sheikh Hasina government as it faces parliamentary elections in 2023 become clear.

 

It is for Bangladesh citizens to elect their next government, but they should know that the contribution of Sheikh Hasina and the Awami League government to building a strong relationship with their largest neighbour is enormous and widely appreciated in India. Their leaders have jointly crafted and nurtured 'a role model for bilateral and regional cooperation'. It deserves to be protected and strengthened, whatever the future may hold.

 

Rajiv Bhatia is Distinguished Fellow, Gateway House. A former Ambassador, he writes regularly on developments in South Asia

The FSSAI has made stringent guidelines for Food Safety Training and Certification (FoSTaC) programme and made provisions for enrolment, attendance, and assessment with geotagged videos for presence of candidates.

 

These guidelines shall come into effect from February next year through the new portal of FoSTaC.

 

The Food Authority has also asked the training partners, trainers, assessors, trainees under the FoSTaC programme to download their certificate and data from the portal for records and future references, as the existing FoSTaC portal will be active only till February 28, 2023.

 

The notice says that ‘Stakeholders will not be able to access or retrieve the data from the old portal beyond 28th Feb, 2023 and it is directed that all the new calendars should be created in the new FoSTaC portal only.’

 

The FSSAI has issued a notice in this regard explaining the changes that will be incorporated with the new portal for FoSTaC programme and asked the users to download their data before Feb 28, 2023.

 

The guidelines say that trainees need to enroll in the training batch code before the start of training session through the new portal and no request will be entertained for enrolment after start of training. The new portal will have provision for attendance marking and if the marking was not done on the same day, the entire training calendar will be blocked and cancelled automatically.

 

For assessment, the portal will have provision for result uploading within 7 days. The guidelines say that assessments have to be marked within 7 days, otherwise the calendar will be cancelled automatically.  The new portal will also have provision for geotagged videos showing the presence of all the candidates. The assessors were asked to upload videos through assessor login, otherwise assessment will not be allowed to submit.

 

Further, the guidelines say that for online training programmes, the training partners need to select a place for online training in the same state and can’t opt for another state.

India's merchandise exports are expected to grow by 11.4 per cent to hit USD 114.4 billion during the July-September quarter of the current financial year, Export-Import Bank of India (Exim Bank) said in its quarterly data.

 

However, Exim bank said that the rise in exports during the second quarter of FY23 could be shadowed by softening global commodity prices. Slowdown in major trade partners, inflationary pressures and tight monetary policies around the world could also offset the exports gain, as per the Exim Bank data.

 

India's merchandise exports fell marginally to $33 billion in August 2022 as compared to $33.38 billion recorded in the same month last year.

 

Exim Bank has an in-house model to generate an Export Leading Index (ELI) for the country to track and forecast the movement in India's exports on a quarterly basis. The policy banker for the government releases the forecast during the first weeks of June, September, December and March for the corresponding quarters.

 

ELI gauges the outlook for country's exports. It is essentially developed as a leading indicator to forecast growth in total merchandise and other non-oil exports on a quarterly basis based on several external and domestic factors that could impact exports of the country.

 

Exim Bank said the forecast results have been reviewed by a standing technical committee of domain experts comprising professor Saikat Sinha Roy of Jadavpur University; Sarat Dhal, Director, Department of Economic and Policy Research, RBI; professor N R Bhanumurthy, Vice Chancellor, BASE University; and Professor C Veeramani of Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research (IGIDR).

Union minister Nitin Gadkari on Saturday advised farmers to form their own companies for marketing and exporting agricultural produce, and not be dependent on the government.

 

The government can step in where they can not solve a problem, the Union minister said. He was speaking at an outreach program organised by the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority, a government body, in association with his Agrovision Foundation.

 

Fifty to hundred farmers should come together to form a farmers' produce company to market their production in the open market, the BJP leader said. Such collectives can also build their own cold storages, he said.

 

'I (as a farmer) found a market for my produce on my own, you too should find a market for your produce on your own. I want to tell you one thing, don't depend on the government,' the Union Road Transport and Highways Minister added. 'You are the architect of your own socio-economic life,' PTI quoted him as saying.

 

Gadkari also cited the example of Nashik-based farmer Vilas Shinde who achieved a turnover of hundreds of crores of rupees without any government subsidy or aid. The government can step in where farmers can not solve a problem on their own, the Union minister added.

Union Minister for Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and Textiles, Shri Piyush Goyal today reaffirmed the desire of both India and USA to continue to work towards strengthening economic relations & strategic partnership. He was addressing the event hosted by US-India Strategic Partnership Forum in Los Angeles.

 

Shri Goyal reaffirmed that both the Government of India and the Government of USA desire to strengthen economic relations & strategic partnership, adding that the strong bond with the people of the United States will transcend into business and government very rapidly.

 

Touching upon the growth story that is unfolding in India, Shri Goyal mentioned that two FTAs have already been finalised this year, and hoped for the conclusion of  at least two more FTAs by the end of this year.

 

Reiterating that India is expanding its international engagements with countries across the globe, Shri Goyal noted that having lived, worked and benefited from countries like the US, our Indian diaspora understands the importance of international engagements.

 

The minister emphasised that working with 30 million Indian diaspora all over the world and working with friendly countries like the US and Europe can significantly change the course of history. Further reiterating that India is on course to becoming a USD 30 trillion economy in next 25-30 years, he asked the Indian diaspora to grab the opportunity that the growth story of India offers.  

 

The Minister said, the inauguration of ‘Kartavya Path’ aptly reflects the growing aspirations of young India and showcases to the world an India of tomorrow, an India that is going to follow both, the path of duty and aspire for big things in life.

 

The Minister said that Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi articulated his vision for a developed and prosperous India in the next 25 years when we celebrate 100 years of Independence. He further added that the foundation and structure for this has been laid.  

 

Urging everyone to be a part of Amrit Kaal, that is India's journey towards a prosperous nation, Shri Goyal expressed confidence that together with their efforts and the efforts of 130 crore Indians, will showcase to the world a new India aspiring for bigger goals while following the path of duty.