The Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI) is driving transformative growth in the food processing sector by offering substantial grants and incentives through its central schemes. These initiatives, including the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana (PMKSY), the Production Linked Incentive Scheme for Food Processing Industry (PLISFPI), and the Pradhan Mantri Formalization of Micro Food Processing Enterprises (PMFME) Scheme, aim to support businesses, promote entrepreneurship, and strengthen infrastructure in the sector.

The contribution of the agriculture sector to the country's GDP has been 18 percent. Especially during the time of Covid, the whole world has come to know that India's agriculture sector is stronger than other countries. The central government is always striving to strengthen this sector further. Expressing the Modi Government's commitment towards this sector, Union Agriculture & Farmers Welfare and Rural Development Minister, Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan said that his Government is leaving no stone unturned towards making India the food basket of the world. Addressing the Platinum Jubilee Conference of Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics (AERC) in Pune today, Shri Chouhan said that the work of researchers should not be confined to the lab only but it should be extended to the farmers as well. His government is working on many aspects in this direction. 

The Swiss decision to suspend the most favoured nation clause in the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement will not delay the ratification and implementation of the already signed trade agreement between India and the EFTA bloc, Switzerland has said. The Swiss government has suspended the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status, which could potentially impact Swiss investments in India and lead to higher taxes on Indian companies operating in the European nation.

The Government of India and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) today signed a $350 million policy-based loan under the second subprogram of Strengthening Multimodal and Integrated Logistics Ecosystem (SMILE) program.

The specifications in corn seeds are set for a change as government is planning to incorporate 'ethanol content' when approval is sought to motivate farmers to opt for best varieties which can fetch better prices. Simultaneously, research is on to develop varieties having at least 40 per cent or above ethanol content from current 38 per cent.

The bilateral trade between India and Indonesia reached USD 29.4 billion in FY2023-24, with Indonesia ranking as India’s eighth largest trading partner. India is Indonesia’s second-largest buyer of coal and crude palm oil, highlighting the strategic importance of this partnership, according to a report by Rubix Data Sciences.

Demands of certain developed countries from India to negotiate 'investment protection' elements under an FTA is inappropriate as negotiating the matter as part of a separate chapter under the trade pact could have larger and detrimental implications, source said. Legally speaking, they said, the investment protection element provides a wide range of obligations and commitments bestowed upon foreign investors, which are expansive in nature.

India has flagged barriers being faced by domestic industry in the European Union (EU) markets and urged to address the issue, an official statement said on Friday. The issue besides the progress of proposed free trade agreement between the two was discussed during the meeting of Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and European Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security Maros Sefcovic last night virtually.