Antananarivo (Madagascar), Sep 7 (UNI) A humanitarian assistance of 5000 metric tonnes of rice from India to help Madagascar was handed over in an official ceremony at the Iavoloha Palace in Madagascar on Wednesday.

 

Ambassador of India to Madagascar Abhay Kumar handed over 5000 metric tonnes of rice to President of Madagascar H.E. Andry Rajoelina.

 

?On receiving the consignment, the President said: 'It is with love that we welcome you today, Honourable Ambassador of India, for the official handing over of the Government of India's donation of 5,000 tonnes of rice to the people of Madagascar.'

 

'This marks the unity between us which will be shown to the Malagasy people especially those affected by the storm and floods that occurred in the country a few months ago. I would like to thank you personally for the aid and gifts offered by the government of the Republic of India because there is also a saying that true friends know each other in difficult times and that the Republic of India is a true friend,' he added.

 

'In the same way, rice and water are always together in the rice field or in the pot, and India and Madagascar always stand together side by side, especially in difficult times like this. And here I would like to express my thanks to you because there are still many Malagasy children who still need to walk for hours to get to school, and that is why we thank you for giving many bicycles to deserving students across Madagascar. It will change their lives and make them want to go to school,' President Rajoelina continued.

 

In a tweet, President Andry Rajoelina said: 'Today is an important day for relations between India and Madagascar.

 

I thank the Indian government for this donation of 5000T of rice, which reflects the brotherhood between the Indian people and the Malagasy people.'

 

Speaking on this occasion, Ambassador of India to Madagascar said: 'India and Madagascar, two Indian Ocean neighbours, share ancient cultural connections which is evident in presence of over 300 Sanskrit words in Malagasy language. India has always stood with Madagascar and will continue to do so. Today is a historic day in bilateral relations between the two countries as this is for the first time that India has donated such a large amount of rice to Madagascar following the donation of 15000 bicycles last month on 75th anniversary of India’s Independence.'

 

He added -'I would to thank the Government and people of Madagascar for the warmth and support I have received during the past three and half years of my stay in this beautiful Indian Ocean island as I conclude my tenure here.'

 

External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar said in a tweet on this occasion: 'India has always stood with Madagascar, our Indian Ocean neighbour.

 

Will continue to work for our SAGAR vision for a secure and prosperous Indo-Pacific.

 

#NeighbourhoodFirst'

 

In April 2022, Hon'ble Foreign Minister of Madagascar H.E. Richard Randriamandrato visited India for the first time to participate in the 7th edition of Raisina Dialogue in New Delhi from 25-27 April 2022.

 

During the visit, Hon’ble Minister interacted with Prime Minister. India has always been among the first responders when it comes to assist the people of Madagascar in such humanitarian crisis. In March 2021, a humanitarian aid of 1000 metric tonnes of rice and 100,000 tablets of HCQ was brought by INS Jalashwa to help Madagascar in dealing with the drought situation in South Madagascar. India has always been a reliable partner of Madagascar in time of need. In March 2020, INS Shardul had visited the Port of Antsiranana with relief material comprising 600 tonnes of rice on behalf of India to deliver quick relief to the flood victims of Madagascar.

 

It was the biggest relief load ever carried by any Indian warship, loaded, transported and unloaded in record time, for quick relief assistance. In April 2022, India donated 50 computers to the largest high school in Madagascar—Lycee Moderne, Ampefiloha, according to a statement.

 

The supplies of food assistance and support for capacity building to Madagascar is in line with the collaborative vision of SAGAR and India’s time-tested role as a net security provider in the Indian Ocean Region.

The Gulf region has always been significant to India, but it became strategically more important due to its geo-strategic location, adequate availability of energy resources, a home for a considerable number of Indians and also a big source of remittance for India along with the emerging prospects in the field of social sector such as education and health. Not only this, centuries old interactions between the two and its pivotal role in the Muslim world makes this region also politically and diplomatically important to India.

 

It is now evident that since the past four decades, energy and human resources have been the two principal drivers of India’s economic relations with the Gulf countries. India has been heavily dependent on energy supplied from the region, while Indian expatriates have constituted a substantial number in the composition of the regional labor market.

 

This is true that this relationship has been mutually advantageous to both. Hence it is the need of the time that this mutually beneficial relationship is required to be made more diversified and productive than it was in the past. We must work hard to make India a significant player in international trade. For this, the region has the potential to play a defining role in India’s overarching strategic objectives of expanding its power beyond its immediate neighbourhood. 

 

It is further observed that the import of energy and export of human resources in fact play a crucial role in the socio-economic development of a country like India. The Gulf region must be considered as an integral part of India’s extended neighbourhood.

 

This is primarily owing to its strategic location and proximity with tri-continental-Asia, Europe and Africa that makes it crucial in international politics. This is noted that India has developed its relation with Israel that is considered to be a pragmatic strategic shift in India’s foreign policy as the security cooperation with Israel is a strategic move for India.

 

However, since the last quarter of the twentieth century, the Gulf countries have been playing a vital role in India’s economic growth as it supplies nearly two-thirds of India’s total oil import. This is also evident that the bilateral trade is also flourishing in recent years particularly with UAE and other Arab states of the Persian Gulf.

 

India is in fact largely dependent upon the Gulf oil and gas which has maintained strong and cordial relations with most of the major supplier nations such as Iran, UAE, and Qatar.

 

It is thus seen that the Indian government had little choice but to depend on the Gulf countries as India had an annual trade of $90 billion in 2020-21 that rose to $154 billion in 2021-22. At a time when the Indian economy seems to be going through a stellar rise, it is useful for India to develop a policy of engagement with the countries of West Asia, more particularly the Gulf countries.

 

In the ongoing economic relations between India and the Gulf countries, it is understood that threats and challenges to India’s energy security which  is solely dependent on the supply of petroleum, natural gas, coal, nuclear reactors, bio gas, hydro electricity, wind power, solar energy, wood gas and other alternative means that comes from external sources.

 

Energy is the very fundamental need of citizens across the globe today to fulfill personal and professional needs. Despite being a global economic power, India still continues to face policy challenges and security dilemmas as being highly dependent on energy coming from outside the country. This is further seen that the need of energy is increasingly important for the sustenance of the Indian economy.

 

We can argue that India’s ties with the Gulf must be strengthened in order to promote our national interest due to its strategic significance and a great source of energy and remittances. Today, it is also noted that the Gulf countries are hosting more than nine million Indians in their countries.

 

These countries are namely, Bahrain, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Oman. Indian human resources in the region have benefited India and the Gulf countries in terms of the remittances and diversification of Gulf economies.

 

However, in the contemporary scenario, it is evident that with the coming of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to power, India’s foreign policy has achieved pragmatism and incremental shift concerning the external engagement with the world. The orientation of India’s Look West policy was ushered in the direction to establish a multi-dimensional relationship with the Gulf countries, particularly the Arab Gulf, Iran, and Israel.

 

The first visit by the Indian Prime Minister to Israel in 2017 was a significant step in this direction and later to the Gulf countries. In this context, let us look at the reorientation in India’s foreign policy from the view point of multi-alignment with particular reference to the Gulf. Indian Diaspora which is considered as soft power assets for India is getting prominence as the strategic assets in India’s foreign policy.

 

It is further observed that India has developed a special relation with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) which is the third-richest country in the world with a GDP per capita of $57,744.  As per DGCI&S Report, India-U.A.E bilateral trade saw a growth of 68.3 percent in 2021-22 with a total trade volume of US$ 72.87 billion.

 

The mainstay of its economy is the production of goods and provision of services related to petroleum, petrochemicals, aluminum and cement. The much hyped ‘Oil Economy’ contributes to only 30 percent of its GDP. Its fast growing and business-friendly free zones are counted as the country’s strategic assets. However, Covid -19 pandemic hit the Gulf state hard last year, both via the shock of low oil prices and the huge toll it took on vital non-oil economic sectors.

 

According to central bank estimates, real non-hydrocarbon GDP declined by 5.7 percent last year whereas oil GDP is likely to remain constant because of agreed production cuts as destined by OPEC and its allies. Real GDP growth in the non-oil sector is expected to be due to increased government spending, increased lending and employment, relative stabilization of the real estate market and the 2021 Dubai Expo.

 

The central bank is also expecting that the full economic recovery is expected to be in 2022, with growth rising to a 3.6 percent rate. Being one of my most favorite tourism destinations, events such as the Dubai Expo world fair scheduled to be held during October–March 2022 and the soccer World Cup- 2022 in Qatar are also likely to provide economic boost and restoration of the economy in upcoming days.

 

UAE’s competitiveness when it comes to economic growth and development make it a viable strategic partner. It is ranked 9th for the second consecutive year as per IMD World Competitiveness Ranking 2021. Apart from petroleum, tourism is a major contributor to the country’s economic growth.

 

The sector’s contribution to the GDP grew from 3 percent in the mid-1990s to more than 16.5 percent by the end of 2010. In 2019, the travel and tourism sector contributed 10.9 percent to United Arab Emirates GDP (percent of GDP) which has increased from 4.2 percent in 2000 to 10.9 percent in 2019, with an average annual rate of 5.80 percent. This sector is supported by large public investments in tourist projects that include aviation, transport, hotels and infrastructural development.

 

Significantly, the Indian population working in the UAE constitutes about 30 percent of the country’s total population. It is estimated that around 15 percent of the Diaspora is in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and remaining in 6 other Emirates including Dubai (ANI: Oct, 2021).

 

Indians in the UAE are partnering in economic development as investors, skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled workforce. India remains a critical partner of UAE and the trade between both countries is valued, conservatively, at over $75 billion. India is amongst the top five trade partner countries of the UAE. Nonetheless, the role of the Indian Diaspora as a soft power has been a subject of study by strategic analysts.

 

Indians as contributors to the economic development of the UAE can no longer be overlooked. Both the countries are benefiting from each other. The large Indian community of 3.5 million contributes significantly by sending the huge amount of remittances of over US$ 17.56 billion in 2018 to India whereas according to the Reserve Bank of India report India received around US$16 billion in 2020-21 which was 18 percent of total remittances  received to India from abroad. This downward shift in remittances is due to the pandemic effect which certainly will wither with time and it is likely to be on the path of recovery soon. 

 

The money has helped foster education, infrastructural development, investment in skill education and healthcare in both the countries. It has been a critical contributor to raising the human development indices. In the long run the economic foundation of socio-political strategic interests will contribute to the stability and strength of a rapidly diversifying and deepening bilateral relationship between these two countries.

Cakes might not be part of the food culture of many Maharashtra farmers, but they have innovated a bite of deliciousness. Even as the ‘Fruit cake’ movement takes root in Maharashtra, farmers in Purandar taluka of Pune district have innovated a ‘guava cake’.   

 

Joining hands with Pune’s famous Kayani Bakery, the farmers of Purandar have introduced the ‘Purandar Peru (guava) cake’ with the unique taste of the local variety of red guava.       

 

'Red guava spread is made from the Ratnadeep guava, which is only found in this region and is traditionally grown by our farmers here. Rustom Kayani mentored us in the preparation of spreads since the time this was discussed as a concept eight months ago,' says Rohan Ursal, Chairman of the Purandar Highlands Farmers Producers Company (PHFPC).

 

Kayani Bakery, which is famous for its Shrewsbury biscuits, received an enthusiastic response to the Purandar Peru Cake launched in the Pune market. Guava growers are creating a new customer base. Cakes with real mango flavour are already popular in the market. Farmers have tried their hand at guava ice cream and now there is a guava cake.  

 

The guava cake is another milestone for the PHFPC, which is working to ensure that the local fruit enters national and international markets, besides the processing of fruits helps farmers.  

 

In April this year, fresh figs from Purandar were exported to Germany and commercial consignments will start from January 2023. Even though the FPC was registered in 2021, a group of farmers started working on fig and custard apples about five years ago. PHFPC is a start-up recognised by the Union Government. 

 

Fruit cake movement

 

Last year, fruit farmers in the State innovated a new kind of birthday cake made up of layers of fresh watermelon, papaya and musk melon. These healthy cakes are decorated with some cream and lots of strawberries, grapes and mango slices. The farmers are busy trying to convince friends and family members that the 'fruit cake' is a healthy option to celebrate happy moments in life.

 

'Farmers will have to create a market for their own products. Innovation in the cultivation and selling of products is the key. Processing of farmers’ produce is vital to ensure that they get the appropriate price for their hard work. This is important when it comes to perishable commodities like fruits,' said S S Pawar a farmer and member of an FPC in Sangli.

As many as 16 states, including Odisha, Tamil Nadu and Bihar have integrated with National Single Window System (NSWS) so far with an aim to promote ease of doing business, a senior official said on Tuesday.

 

The government in September last year soft-launched NSWS for businesses. It was aimed at providing support to investors, including pre-investment advisory, information related to land banks, and facilitation of clearances at the Centre and state levels.

 

The NSWS portal is envisioned as a one-stop shop for investors for taking all the regulatory approvals and services related to investments.

 

It allows online filing and tracking of all applications and clearances, thereby helping investors to obtain clearances from different stakeholders without visiting different government offices.

 

'Currently, 24 of the 32 ministries and departments have onboarded the system and others are in the process. 181 out of total 368 services identified as relevant, have been onboarded. At the same time, 16 states/ UTs out of 36 have also onboarded the system,' Additional Secretary in Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) Sumita Dawra told reporters here.

 

States and UT which are yet to integrate with the portal include Haryana, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Rajasthan, Delhi, Chandigarh, among others.

 

Dawra said the scope of the system has also been expanded to include special schemes such as vehicle scrapping, Indian Footwear and Leather Development Programme, ethanol- blending programme, and sugar mill exporters registration by bundling both central and state government approvals.

 

A common registration form has been in-built into the system which enables the investor to apply in a user-friendly format for investor-related clearances.

 

'There is hence no need to fill in multiple forms for various clearances relevant to the investor's proposal,' she added.

 

The form is integrated with the payment gateway (PayGov) and is also integrated with 'Bharat Kosh', thereby integrating all ministries/ departments with public financial management system of accounting of the government, along with reconciliation of accounts.

West Indian Sugar Mills Association (Wisma), a body of sugar millers in Maharashtra, has urged the central government to announce export policy for the next sugar year starting October 1, saying this will help millers sign forward contracts for raw sugar exports.

 

In a letter to food and public distribution minister Piyush Goyal, Wisma said announcing the 2022-23 sugar export policy in September will allow sugar mills to enter forward contracts and avoid a glut in the domestic market as the industry is expecting record production in the new season.

 

International market is currently favourable for Indian raw and white sugar, it added.

 

India had capped sugar exports in the current year as brisk pace of exports resulted in historically highest sugar exports, triggering fears of a price increase like it happened in the case of wheat amid overall high inflation.

The Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and Textiles, Shri Piyush Goyal has said that India today provides the best investment opportunity to the investors across the world and called upon investors in the US to avail the opportunities that India offers stressing that the next 25 years, the golden period of Amrit Kaal is the appropriate time to invest in India. He said this while addressing the US India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF) in San Francisco.

 

Speaking on India-US relations, Shri Goyal said partnership between India-US partnership is a ‘Partnership of Trust’, which rests on 3Ts of Trade, Technology and Talent.  He noted that India-US relations are based on strong government to government engagement, people to people ties, large Indian diaspora, business to business relations, increasing bilateral trade, deep engagement in geopolitically relevant vibrant  Quad, Ministerial Dialogue, IPEF and robust trade policy forum. Reaffirming India’s commitment to working closely in areas of mutual interest, Shri Goyal said focus is on further expanding the India-US relationship.

 

Recognizing that India and the US are natural partners in terms of competitive advantages and opportunities they offer to each other, Shri Goyal spoke about the talent that India has provided to the US and  investment that the US has provided to India.  He asked US investors to share newer ideas, suggestions on taking the India-US relations to the next level. Noting that both countries share tremendous interest in the world which is peaceful, open to business, and believes in democracy, transparency, Shri Goyal asserted that the two countries can work collectively to promote global security, stability and resilient supply chains and a growing economy.

 

Stating that India’s credibility has strengthened across the world in last few years, Shri Goyal

 

mentioned that we have taken transformative reforms and structurally prepared the economy for higher degree of honest business, recognizing and respecting integrity in business processes, reducing compliance burden, decriminalisation of laws, respecting and trusting and honesty of business persons.

 

Highlighting that India is a much more open economy now, Shri Goyal pointed out that India is opening up discussions with countries on subjects that were never taken up before such as gender, environment, small and medium enterprises, labour and anti-corruption laws. We are committed to providing growth opportunities both for domestic and foreign investors, he added.

 

In his speech, Shri Goyal highlighted the fact that lots of innovation is taking place in different fields and new areas are opening up in India such as Artificial Intelligence, Big Data, E Commerce, Edutech, Fintech, Agritech and Healthtech. He sought suggestions and ideas to explore the engagement further in areas around textiles, geotextiles, technology for testing labs. 

EU agri-food trade reached a total value of €34.9 billion in May 2022, an increase of 11% month-to-month and an increase of 32% compared to May last year. This has largely been driven by the continuing increase in prices of commodities. Exports were valued at €19.4 billion. This reflects growth of 8% month-to-month and 21% compared to May 2021, with higher volumes of wheat and maize but lower volumes of other grain exports.

 

Imports reached a value of €15.6 billion, an increase of 15% compared to April and 48% higher than May of last year. This was mainly caused by sharp increases in import volumes of maize, and higher prices of coffee and nuts. These findings were published today in the European Commission’s monthly agri-food trade report, which features a special examination of the EU agri-food trade balance from the year 2000 until now.

 

Developments in May

Exports to the Middle East and North Africa remained stable month-to-month but were still 44% higher compared to May 2021. Exports of cereals and cereal preparations grew by 75% year-on-year to reach €919 million, with export quantities and values both increasing. Wheat exports in particular saw sharp growth, increasing by 35% compared to May 2021. Notably, wheat exports increased by 625% to Morocco and by 208% to Tunisia.

 

Exports to Ukraine have recovered to pre-invasion levels, growing 27% monthly to reach €233 million. Exports of vegetables and pigmeat to Ukraine exceeded figures for May 2021 in terms of both value and volume. Export volumes for these increased by 102% and 148% respectively.

 

Imports have reached record levels, growing by 15% from April to hit €15.6 billion. This follows a substantial increase of 17% in March. Imports from Brazil rose by 41% month-to-month and 84% compared to May 2021 due to increases in prices and quantities. The largest increases were seen in oilseeds and cereals, which grew monthly by €459 million and €72 million respectively.

 

Imports from Ukraine grew by 36% to reach €665 million, with the largest rise seen in imports of oilseeds (+83%) and cereals (+67%). This growth was mostly quantity driven. Imports of poultry and eggs also increased significantly in May at a lower price, with volumes rising by 106% and the unit import price declining by 4%.

 

Developments January-May

The primary export destinations for EU agri-food products are the United Kingdom, United States and China. Exports to the UK were 21% higher in the first five months of this year, compared to 2021. This was largely driven by cereal preparations (+€334 million or 22%), wine (+€182 million or 17%) and poultry meat (+€176 million or 48%).

 

Exports to China remain low, at €5.7 billion for the January-May period. This is a decrease of 29% compared to last year. Exports to sub-Saharan Africa have increased by 15% to reach a value of €4.6 billion. While this is mainly the result of increased commodity prices, it also due to growth in export quantities of products such as sunflower oil (+972%), white sugar (+65%) and maize (+56%).

 

Regarding imports, those from Brazil, the UK and China increased the most compared to last year, growing by 51%, 40% and 69% respectively. Imports from China reached €3.7 billion, mainly due to fatty acids and waxes, and pet food. Imports from Australia increased by 124% to reach €1.9 billion, with the main imports being rapeseed (€1.4 billion), wool and silk (€97 million), and wine (€90 million).

 

Specific product categories

For the January-May period, the largest increase in exports was seen in cereals, which grew by €1.5 billion or 33% compared to last year. There was also strong growth seen in exports of cereal preparations and milling products (+€1.3 billion or 18%) and dairy products (+€1.1 billion or 16%). Butter exports increased in both value and volume, while exports of milk powders (whey, skimmed milk powder and whole milk powder) grew in value but not volume.

 

Looking at imports, the value of coffee imports grew by €2 billion in the January-May period. Maize imports also increased substantially, growing by €1.1 billion. While maize imports also increased in quantity by 44%, coffee imports were primarily driven by a price increase, with volumes only growing by 7%. Imports of fruit and nuts also grew strongly to reach €9.3 billion, an increase of 8%. Increased volumes of nuts mainly came from the US, Turkey and Vietnam.

 

More insights as well as detailed tables are available below in the latest edition of the monthly EU agri-food trade report.

Union Minister for Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and Textiles, Shri Piyush Goyal today said that ‘India’ meant ‘opportunities’ and added that this is not just India’s decade, it is India’s century. He was interacting with the faculty and students of the Stanford Graduate School of Business in Sanfrancisco today.

 

Shri Goyal observed that the last few years have been well spent by India in creating the foundation in which the country can rapidly transform, grow its economy, improve its systems, engage with technology and learn from the best in the world. The Minister also stressed that India has been striving to ensure that every citizen of the country, every child born in the nation has a right to a good quality life and a bright future.

 

Referring to India’s exports which have already crossed USD 675 billion in the last fiscal, he said that the nation was now aspiring to take international trade to USD 2 Trillion by 2030 and added that by the time India would celebrate the 100th anniversary of its independence it would be a USD 30 trillion economy. That is the kind of opportunity that India presents to the world. This is not just India’s decade, it is India’s century, he added.

 

Expressing his faith in the youth of India who are rapidly turning into entrepreneurs and startup champions, Shri Goyal said that India’s new education policy was giving a fillip to liberal education and looking at deeper collaborations with the best schools in the world.

 

The Minister said that India’s Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi articulated his vision and his plans for India’s future based on some sound management principles. He cited the example of LED lighting revolution and explained that in 2014, the Prime Minister placed great focus on energy conservation to ensure sustainability, to reduce the burden of our investments into the power sector and to reduce energy bills of the common man and launched an LED lighting program in 2015.

 

Shri Goyal opined that the Prime Minister’s decision to withdraw the subsidy for purchase of the very expensive LED lamps was the defining moment in India’s bid to promote LED lighting. The government then engaged extensively with all the stakeholders, from importers to distributors to suppliers, successfully driving down the cost of an LED bulb by 85% in the very first year of the program, partly by bringing in economies of scale and partly by effectively solving some of the issues faced by suppliers, he said.

 

He added that India had successfully used several management principles such as root cause analysis, innovative financing models, economies of scale etc to ensure the success of the LED lighting program. It may be noted that India has been able to save around 80 million tonnes of CO2 emissions because of that program. Shri Goyal also added that India, which was once a net importer of LED lamps now has several manufacturers of high-quality LED lamps which is exported all over the world.

 

Highlighting the massive transformation brought about by a single program, Shri Goyal said that India was now planning hundreds of such transformative programs. Speaking of India’s Fintech success, the Minister said that nearly 40 percent of all digital transactions were happening out of India today, with even small vendors accepting digital payments.

 

Speaking of the incredible opportunities offered by India to the world, Shri Goyal invited the students of Stanford to engage with India and work with a billion plus people with great aspirations.

 

Licences of as many as 15 food business operators has been suspended by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) for not complying with its regulations related to display of nutritional value in their menus.

 

The food regulator came out with labelling and display regulations in 2020 for food service establishments. It became effective from July 1 this year.

 

As per the regulations, food operators with central licence or outlets at 10 or more locations are mandated to mention the calorific value (in kcal per serving and serving size) against the food items on the menu cards. They are also required to provide information related to nutrition, allergen and ingredients, among others.

 

As per a PTI report, licences of 16 food business operators (FBOs) has been suspended by the FSSAI fornot comply with the regulations. Around 70 FBOs have sought time for compliance.

 

'We nudged them towards self compliance...And as a result most have complied or have sought some more time. Further those who have shown no sign of improvement or responsibility have been dealt sternly by suspending their license,' a FSSAI official said.

 

E-commerce FBOs are also required to get the nutritional information from respective food operators and provide on their website wherever applicable.

 

Menu labelling will apply to food service establishments having central licence; outlets at ten or more locations; e-commerce FBOs selling food products of those mandated for declaration under menu labelling for such foods. Event caterers and food service premises that operate for less than sixty days in a calendar year (consecutively or non-consecutively) are exempted from the scope of these regulations.

 

In June this year, FSSAI had asked online food platforms like Swiggy and Zomato to ensure compliance by food service establishments from July 1.

 

In a letter to all e-commerce Food Business Operators (FBOs), FSSAI had asked them to make provisions in their platforms, including mobile apps, for display of calorific value and information related to nutrition and allergen. This would enable FBOs to feed the data on online platforms.

The Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and Textiles, Shri Piyush Goyal today expressed confidence that the ‘Partnership of Trust’ between India-US, resting on three pillars of Trade, Tech and Talent is going ahead from strength to strength.  He said this while interacting with the Media in San Francisco.

 

Briefing the Media, the Minister informed that he interacted with eminent business professionals, CEOs, senior captains of industry, start up ecosystems, venture capitalists etc. During the Meeting they shared their experiences of working with India and gave suggestions and new ideas on furthering India US engagements, in terms of increasing flow of investment into India and creation of Jobs in India, Minister added. Shri Goyal expressed happiness noting the phenomenal enthusiasm among them to work with India. 

 

The Minister began his day with paying tributes to Mahatma Gandhi at San Francisco. He thereafter visited Gadar Memorial Hall. Later in the day, He also launched the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) in 6 regions in the United States. 

 

Shri Piyush Goyal interacted with the leadership of GITPRO (Global Indian Technology Professionals Associations)  and FIIDS (Foundation for India and Indian Diaspora Studies) in San Francisco. Shri Goyal called upon the tech- community to endorse the ‘India Story’ and make India a preferred investment destination.  Urging them to be a part of the Growth Story of India, Shri Goyal invited them to invest and set up operations in India.

 

Shri Piyush Goyal also interacted with the US India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF) in San Francisco.

 

The Union Minister is on a foreign visit to San Francisco and Los Angeles in the United States of America from 5th to 10th September 2022 to attend the India-US Strategic Partnership Forum conference and Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) Ministerial meeting.