India’s biggest congregation of policy makers & regulators, global investors, business leaders and key executives, the World Food India, a mega food event, is all set to unveil its third edition from September 19 to 22, 2024 at Bharat Mandapam, Pragati Maidan, New Delhi.
The visit of Chile's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Alberto van Klaveren, to India provided an opportunity to review the progress in bilateral cooperation and helped advance the ties between the two countries, the MEA said on Saturday.
As of 2023-24, India’s exports have expanded to 115 out of 238 countries worldwide. By May 2024, exports had grown by 9.1% year-on-year to $38.13 billion, driven by strong demand for engineering goods, petroleum, electronics, pharmaceuticals, and textiles. Major export destinations include the U.K., U.S., Netherlands, China, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Bangladesh, Germany, and Italy.
In a major policy shift, the Government has scrapped rice supply at Rs.20/kg to ethanol manufacturers and allowed them to buy at rates discovered in weekly auction. It has capped the quantity of rice from FCI for ethanol at 23 lakh tonnes (lt) by October 31. In a separate order, the government has also allowed sugar mills with distilleries to manufacture ethanol directly from sugarcane as well as B Heavy molasses, lifting the previous ban imposed last year.
The government is considering a proposal to raise import duties on crude and refined edible oils, with the domestic mandi prices of most oil seeds ruling below the minimum support prices for several months now.
The Union Cabinet, on Wednesday (August 28, 2024), expanded the scope of the Agricultural Infrastructure Fund (AIF). The scheme, worth Rs.1 lakh crore, would be redesigned to include financial support for Farmers’ Producers Organisations (FPOs) to enhance their financial security and creditworthiness. The Centre said the AIF would be more attractive now and strengthen the farm-related infrastructure facilities in the country.
India is preparing for joint trade council meetings with its top trading partners in Africa — Kenya and Tanzania — scheduled in September this year as the country eyes doubling trade with African nations to $200 billion by 2030.
