Archive News

Back

From Date

To Date

Keyword

29 Jul, 2022 News Image

Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare launches the 11th Agriculture Census in the country

The Eleventh Agricultural Census (2021-22) was launched in the country today by the Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Shri Narendra Singh Tomar. Speaking on the occasion, Shri Tomar said that this computation will bring huge benefits in a vast and agricultural country like India. Shri Tomar said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi emphasis is being given on increasing farmers income. Besides there is a need to change their standard of living, organize small farmers in order to empower them, attract them towards remunerative crops and ensure the quality of the produce at par with global standards.

During the programme, Shri Tomar conveyed his greetings for the Agriculture Census and said that the Agriculture sector is reaping the fruits of concrete steps taken by Prime Minister Modi, the country is rapidly moving towards digital agriculture. This is the time to make full use of technology in this computation. He said that Agriculture Census should be thought of in a broader perspective. Agricultural computations can also contribute to the mapping of crops, so that the country gets its benefits. Shri Tomar asked the Central Departments, State Governments and concerned institutions to carry out this census with full dedication.

On the occasion, Shri Tomar released the Handbook on Operational Guidelines for Census for the use of States/UTs, and launched the Data Collection Portal/App. Union Ministers of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Sushri Shobha Karandlaje and Shri Kailash Choudhary, Agriculture Secretary Mr. Manoj Ahuja, Additional Secretary and Financial Advisor Shri Sanjeev Kumar and Senior Officers of the States/UTs were present in the programme.

Agriculture Census is conducted every 5 years, which is being undertaken now after delay due to corona pandemic. The field work of agricultural census will start in August 2022. Agricultural Census is the main source of information on a variety of agricultural parameters at a relatively minute level, such as the number and area of ??operational holdings, their size, class-wise distribution, land use, tenancy and cropping pattern, etc. This is the first time that data collection for agricultural census will be conducted on smart phones and tablets, so that data is available in time. Most of the States have digitized their land records and surveys, which will further accelerate the collection of agricultural census data. The use of digitized land records and the use of mobile apps for data collection will enable the creation of a database of operational holdings in the country.

During the technical session, the salient features of the Agriculture Census Implementation Procedure and web portal and mobile app were demonstrated. The new initiatives highlighted in the presentation include use of digital land records like land title records and survey reports, collection of data through app/software using smartphone/tablet, complete enumeration of all villages in states with non-land records during Phase-I as done in states having land records, and real time monitoring of progress and processing.

Source: pib.gov.in

29 Jul, 2022 News Image

Strategy of pushing allied-agri sectors bearing fruits now: PM

The Centre's efforts on encouraging agriculture-allied sectors such as animal husbandry and horticulture for increasing farmers' income, is finally bearing the fruits now and as a result, in the past eight years, incomes of small and land-less farmers have shown remarkable increase, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday.

After inaugurating the new dairy projects of Sabar Dairy in North Gujarat, Modi stated that, because of the Centre's efforts, the farmers' incomes are showing significant increase across the country including Gujarat.

Doubling farmers’ income

'Horticulture, animal husbandry, fisheries are contributing to the rise in the farmer's income. The most important thing is that the land-less farmers have reported the maximum increase in their incomes. This means that apart from the farm produces, the strategy to work on alternative ways to increase farmers' income is now bearing fruits,' the Prime Minister said.

Notably, in 2016, Modi had set a goal to double farmers' income by 2022.

He also stated that improving the Khadi and village industries is another way to generate wealth in the villages. 'For the first time ever, the annual turnover of khadi gramodyog (village industries) has crossed Rs 1 lakh crore. This is why in past eight years, this sector has generated over 1.5 crore new employment opportunities at the village level,' Modi said, addressing the milk producers of Sabarkantha and Aravalli districts in North Gujarat.

New & improved units

On Thursday, the Prime Minister inaugurated two dairy projects and laid foundation stone for another project of the Sabarkantha District Cooperative Milk Producers’ Union (Sabar Dairy) at Himmatnagar. Sabar Dairy is one of the 18 dairy union members of the Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), which makes and markets Amul’s milk products.

Sabar Dairy's milk powder plant with a capacity of 120 tonnes per day (TPD) has been set up at a cost of Rs300 crore. They have commissioned an expanded ultra-high treated (UHT) milk packaging plant at the cost of Rs125 crore with a capacity of 3 lakh litres per day(LLPD).

The dairy is also setting up a Cheese & Whey drying plant for around Rs600 crores. The plant will manufacture cheddar, mozzarella and processed cheese with a capacity of 20, 10 and 16 TPD respectively The whey generated during the manufacturing of cheese shall also be dried at a Whey drying pslant with a capacity of 40 TPD. The Prime Minister laid foundation stone for the project.

Shamalbhai Patel, Chairman, Sabar Dairy said, 'In past twenty years, our milk processing capacity has increased from 3 LLPD to 30 LLPD. We used to pay Rs 165 per kg of fat to the milk producer in 2002, but today, we are paying Rs860 per kg of fat. The dairy has touched its highest ever turnover of Rs6,800 crore for the fiscal 2022.' What started as a union of 19 milk cooperative societies in 1964, has today become a strong union of 1800 societies with around 1.23 lakh women members.

Source: thehindubusinessline.com

29 Jul, 2022 News Image

Promotion of Ethnic Foods of North Eastern States

Geographical indication (GI) registration of 13 agri-horti produces and umbrella brands ‘ONE’ (Organic North East) and ‘NE Fresh’ have been launched by North Eastern Regional Agricultural Marketing Corporation Ltd. (NERAMAC) for promotion of Agri-Horti products of NER.

NERAMAC and the North Eastern Council (NEC) have organised and participated in various events to market and showcase ethnic foods of North Eastern Region (NER) at national and international level.

This information was given by Minister of Development of North Eastern Region Shri G. Kishan Reddy in a written reply in Rajya Sabha today.

Source: pib.gov.in

29 Jul, 2022 News Image

Indian, Malaysian bodies ink pact to promote palm oil

To improve acceptance of Malaysian palm oil among Indian consumers

The Indian Vegetable Oil Producers’ Association (IVPA) and the Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to further cooperation between the two organisations to promote the use of palm oil.

The MoU is expected to expand cooperation in areas of mutual interest, to promote the development and use of Malaysian palm oil and MSPO-certified palm oil.

According to a statement, it would advance the interests of producers, processors, users and consumers through product and market development support, and joint activities.

MPOC has collaborated with IVPA for the greater acceptance of Malaysian palm oil among Indian consumers, food manufacturers and other end-users.

The MoU also seeks to create greater awareness of Malaysian palm oil, benchmarked through the Malaysian Sustainability Palm Oil (MSPO) certification standards, whose objectives include demonstration of sustainability practices in the Malaysian palm oil industry.

The MoU aims to help educate Indian consumers on the nutritional and health benefits of palm oil and improve overall understanding of palm oil and its applications, while elucidating its strengths and benefits.

Enhancing trade opportunities

It also plans to enhance trade opportunities in the marketplace, by identifying, sharing and highlighting the latest opportunities through MSPO for Malaysian palm oil in India.

The agreement will seek to to familiarise the Indian palm oil processing sector with the latest business and technical developments in the Malaysian palm oil industry and its research bodies.

The MoU will encourage exchange of data on palm and edible oils and fats related business, besides technical, policy and administrative information.

MPOC will promote ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ by assisting the Indian palm oil industry in sourcing technical knowhow, the statement said.

The areas of cooperation include the creation of an expert panel to assist development of India’s palm oil industry through the provision of information and expertise on latest technology applications and both upstream and downstream adoption.

IVPA and MPOC agreed to invite delegations for exchange of information and to create platforms for supplier and buyers’ meetings for trade promotion and development.

Wan Aishah Wan Hamid, CEO of MPOC, and Sudhakar Desai, President of IVPA, signed the MoU in Kuala Lumpur on July 28. The Malaysian Minister of Plantation Industries and Commodities, Zuraida binti Kamaruddin, was present on the occasion.

Source: thehindubusinessline.com

29 Jul, 2022 News Image

Govt approves 10-12 lakh tonnes of additional sugar for export

The approval also includes some sugar for neighbouring countries on diplomatic grounds.

A committee of ministers headed by Home Minister Amit Shah has reportedly cleared an additional 10-12 lakh tonnes (lt) of sugar for exports. This is over and above the 100 lt cap fixed in May when the Centre decided to restrict shipments from June 1.

While the sugar industry had sought 10 lt of additional export quota, the government is said to have agreed to about 1 lt more since some export-oriented high-value refined sugar also got struck after the ban, sources said.

This time, there will be a quota for each mill which have declared to the government their stock position of raw sugar, either at the mill or at the port, estimated at 7-8 lt, sources said. Besides, the refined and white sugar already despatched from mills for export would be given permits, the sources said. The approval of additional quantity also includes some sugar for neighbouring countries on diplomatic grounds, the sources said.

Availability next season

As reported by BusinessLine earlier, the committee of secretaries, headed by the Cabinet Secretary, on July 19 had 'in principle' agreed to allow about 12 lt of additional sugar export quota to the mills, after considering its possible impact on the domestic market. In a letter to the Food Secretary, Aditya Jhunjhunwala, the President of the Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA), conveyed the industry’s demand for releasing additional 10 lt quota for mills, citing better sugarcane availability in the next season (October-September).

Jhunjhunwala had said sugar mills had applied for 17 lt of export quota based on the contracts they had already signed, but the government had granted only 8 lt. Industry sources said while mills have around 4 lt of raw sugar lying at factories, a similar quantity has got stuck at ports due to export restrictions.

The country is believed to have already exported 100 lt of sugar since October 1. Exports of sugar (raw, refined, and white sugar) were placed under a restricted category between June 1 and October 31. In the first week of June, the Food Ministry allocated 10 lt of quota on a pro-rata basis among those exporters who had applied for the permits. But the mills were allocated 8 lt to sell to these exporters after factoring in the quantity in transit.

Source: thehindubusinessline.com

29 Jul, 2022 News Image

Surplus govt land identified for building wheat silos on PPP model at 33 locations in 4 states: Food Min

The Food Ministry on Thursday said surplus government land has been identified for building wheat silos in public-private partnership mode at 33 locations in Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat. Construction of modern storage facilities like wheat silos is to be built on public-private partnership mode under a new 'hub and spoke' model. The ministry aims to create a 111.12 lakh tonne capacity of silos at 249 locations across the country.

The proposed silos will operate under DBFOT (Design, Build, Fund, Own and Transfer) at FCI's land and DBFOO (Design, Build, Fund, Own and Operate) on the land of concessionaire/other agency modes, through implementing agency Food Corporation of India (FCI).

In the first phase, tenders were issued during April-June this year for the construction of silos of 10.12 lakh tonne capacity at 11 locations on DBFOT mode, and also for 66 locations with a capacity of 24.75 lakh tonne on DBFOO mode.

According to the ministry, as land acquisition becomes the most crucial part of the DBFOO project and in order to facilitate the availability of land to the concessionaires, this ministry took up the issue of identification of suitable surplus land, if any, with the concerned state governments.

With the ministry's sustained efforts, some land parcels have been identified by the state governments for lease/transfer of the same to respective concessionaires under applicable rules, it said.

To date, Punjab has confirmed the availability of government/panchayat land at 26 locations. The state government has also assured to identify land at other locations as well if the Land Bank Data doesn't suffice the requirement of concessionaires.

Madhya Pradesh has identified four locations -- Ujjain, Dhar, Guna and Damoh. Two locations -- Auraiya and Badaun -- have been identified in Uttar Pradesh, while Gujarat has identified one location for the construction of a silo at Banaskantha, it added.

According to the ministry, the identification of surplus government land will be beneficial to prospective bidders for 'Hub & Spoke projects' since the possibility of taking identified land parcels on a lease can be explored. This will prevent delay and difficulties in acquiring private land through purchase, etc.

Hub and Spoke Model is a transportation system, which consolidates the transportation assets from standalone locations referred to as 'Spoke' to a central location named 'Hub' for long-distance transportation. Hubs have a dedicated railway siding and container depot facility, while the transportation from Spoke to Hub is undertaken through road and from Hub to Hub via rail.

Source: economictimes.indiatimes.com

29 Jul, 2022 News Image

Uzbekistan and India agree to increase cooperation in the field of Agriculture

A fruitful discussion took place between the Deputy Prime Minister of Uzbekistan, Mr. Jamshid Khodjayev, and the Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Shri Narendra Singh Tomar, in New Delhi today. During the meeting it was agreed to take forward the ongoing cooperation in the Agricultural sector between the two countries.

Greeting Mr. Khodjayev on being appointed as the Deputy Prime Minister of Uzbekistan, Shri Tomar said that Mr. Khodjayev’s previous experience of being the country’s Agriculture Minister would be of great help in his new role. Shri Tomar said that the two countries have very good diplomatic and trade relations. While India's diplomatic ties with Uzbekistan complete 30 years, for India it is the occasion of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav. Shri Tomar expressed happiness that special attention has been paid to mutual cooperation in the Agriculture sector. He informed that India has decided to provide market access for Grapes, Plums and Sweet Cherries from Uzbekistan, notification for which will be published soon, while India has received approval from the Uzbek side for export of Mangoes, Banana and Soyabean Oilcakes, for which Shri Tomar thanked Mr. Khodjayev. Shri Tomar urged the Uzbek side to expedite the permission for import of Pomegranate, Potato, Papaya and Wheat.

Shri Tomar said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, the Agriculture sector is developing rapidly and work is being done with great enthusiasm on various aspects in the interest of farmers. Due to the farmer-friendly policies of the government, scientists and farmers, agricultural production has increased significantly in the country, besides agricultural education and research in India is also in a very mature state. He said that Prime Minister Shri Modi wants the whole world to get the benefits of the development of agriculture in India.

Earlier, Mr. Khodjayev, congratulating India on the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, said that India's experience in agriculture is very good, which Uzbekistan would like to know about including support to farmers. 'Like India, we want to change the course of agriculture in Uzbekistan, for which we want to learn from India,' he said. In this regard, he requested the Indian Agricultural Research Institutes to pass on the benefits of research and development to Uzbekistan. Appreciating the growing trend of digitization in Indian agriculture, Mr. Khodjayev called for similar digitization in Uzbekistan, along with Indian companies. He also praised India's Public Distribution System, Minimum Support Price (MSP) system, etc. and spoke about learning from India’s experience.

Source: pib.gov.in

29 Jul, 2022 News Image

India to focus on production, consumption, export and branding of millets during International Year of Millets 2023 (IYoM)

28 July 2022, New Delhi: Government plans to hold several programmes in the country and abroad for popularizing Millets and other nutri-cereals. All Ministries/Departments of the Government of India, along with the State Governments, will promote the nutri-cereals in coordination with the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare (DA&FW) and Department of Agricultural Research and Education (DARE).

The Government of India had proposed to the United Nations for declaring 2023 as International Year of Millets (IYoM). The proposal of India was supported by 72 countries and United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) declared 2023 as International Year of Millets (IYOM) in March, 2021.

Addressing the meeting, Mr. Tomar said the Government of India has planned activities for grand celebrations of IYoM-2023. The action plan of IYOM-2023 focuses on strategies to enhance production, consumption, export, branding etc. The Government has also launched PLI scheme for promotion of Millets, he said.

The Government has also approved a Central Sector Scheme, namely 'Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme for Food Processing Industry' with an outlay of INR 10,900 crores to be implemented for a period of seven years from 2021-2022 to 2026-27.

The primary objectives of this scheme include support to creation of global food manufacturing champions and support Indian brands of food products in the international markets. Specific food product segments having high growth potential have been identified for providing support under the scheme. These include ready to cook/ready to eat (RTC/ RTE) foods including millet-based products.

Mr. Tomar said a Committee of Secretaries under the Chairmanship of Cabinet Secretary and a Core Committee chaired by Secretary, DA&FW and Secretary, DARE has been constituted to oversee the programmes and policies on popularizing Nutri-Cereals (Millets).

Millets are a rich source of Protein, Fibre, Minerals, Iron, Calcium and have a low glycemic index. India is a major producer of Millets, accounting for 80% of Asia’s production and 20% of global production. India’s average yield of Millets (1239 kg/hectare) is also higher than Global average yield of 1229 kg/haq. Major Millets crops grown in India and their percentage share of production are Pearl Millet (Bajra) 61% share, Jowar (Sorghum) 27%, and Finger Millet (Mandua/Ragi) 10%.

Source: en.krishakjagat.org

29 Jul, 2022 News Image

Multi Modal Logistics Parks Under Bharatmala Pariyojana

The present status of 35 Multi Modal Logistics Parks (MMLPs) under Bharatmala Pariyojana is attached as Annexure-I.

The CCEA, while approving the Bharatmala Pariyojana Scheme, approved Investment Plan for Phase-I with Road length of 34800 km. MoRTH is preparing a Note for approval towards balance National Highways/Expressways which were included in Bharatmala Pariyojana, but not covered under Phase-I.

Annexure-I

STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (a) OF THE LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2034 FOR 28.07.2022 ASKED BY SHRI RAMESH BIDHURI REGARDING MULTI – MODAL LOGISTICS PARKS UNDER BHARATMALA PARIYOJANA.

S. No.	Location	State	Status
1	Delhi-NCR (Delhi, Gurgaon, Ghaziabad, Faridabad, Noida)	Delhi NCR	Pre-feasibility is in progress
2	Mumbai	Maharashtra	Feasibility is in progress
3	North Gujarat (Ahmedabad and Vadodara)	Gujarat	Pre-feasibility is in progress
4	Hyderabad	Telangana	DPR is in progress
5	South Gujarat (Surat and Bharuch)	Gujarat	DPR is in progress
6	South Punjab (Ludhiana, Sangrur, Patiala	Punjab	DPR is in progress
7	North Punjab (Amritsar, Jalandhar, Gurudaspur)	Punjab	Pre-feasibility is in progress
8	Jaipur	Rajasthan	Pre-feasibility is in progress
9	Bangalore	Karnataka	Bids invited for development
10	Pune	Maharashtra	DPR is in progress
11	Anantapur	Andhra Pradesh	DPR is in progress
12	pib.gov.in
29 Jul, 2022 Shri Piyush Goyal terms India-Uzbekistan relations key to India s vision of integrated extended neighbourhood Union Minister for Commerce & Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution and Textile Shri Piyush Goyal has termed India-Uzbekistan relations as key to India’s vision of integrated extended neighbourhood. He also highlighted that this year is special to India-Uzbekistan relations, as both nations are celebrating 30th year of diplomatic relations. He said this while addressing the 13th session of India-Uzbekistan Inter governmental Commission (IGC) in New Delhi today. In his remarks, the Minister said we are keen to have a vibrant people to people relations. Trade relations are a natural outcome of strengthening of bilateral relations. We need to take the relation forward in newer areas like technology, digital payment solutions and investment in start-ups. The Minister emphasized upon the need to identify new drivers for ambitious growth in bilateral trade between India and Uzbekistan. He stressed upon the need for an integrated approach for regional connectivity and cooperation. He underlined seven emerging areas of cooperation between both the nations namely Digital Payments, Space Cooperation, Agri and Dairy, Pharma, Gems and Jewellery, MSME and Inter-regional cooperation. Shri Goyal mentioned that despite Covid-19, interactions & trade have increased in the last few years. Trade has increased from $247 mn in 2019-20 to $342 mn in 2021-22, a growth of 38.5% . He further said we need to explore initiatives to improve Connectivity in facilitating trade b/w our countries. The Uzbekistan delegation was led by Mr. Jamshid Khodjaev, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Investments and Foreign Trade of the Republic of Uzbekistan. In his address, Mr Khodjaev said that he is looking forward to the visit of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi to Uzbekistan in September. He said the visit of PM Modi will be utilized fully for giving a significant boost to the bilateral relations in several areas of mutual interest. IGC meeting is an important platform to deliberate on ideas, discuss issues & strengthen bilateral relations esp. in the field of trade & investment. The 2nd India-Uzbekistan JWG on Economic Cooperation was held on 22nd June’22 wherein a wide range of issues were discussed. Source: pib.gov.in
Back to First Prev … 599 600 601 602 603 604 605 606 607 608 … Next Go to Last