India's export of agri & processed food products increase by 21.8 pc

Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar has said that the Centre is fully committed to support the States to increase production and productivity and to face the challenges posed by climate change and rainfed agriculture. Inaugurating the National Conference on Agriculture for Rabi campaign 2021-22 through Video Conferencing on Tuesday, Tomar said, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has always aimed to protect and support farmers and several steps have been taken to make farmers Self reliant Aatmanirbhar. He urged the States to use water, electricity and fertilizers judiciously and to use Nano-urea which is less costly and beneficial for land fertility.The Minister said that Krishi Vigyan Kendras KVKs should reach out to the small farmers so that they can benefit from various schemes of the government. He also said that the PM Fasal Bima Yojana has provided protective cover for the farmers.

-Ministry of Education on Tueasday formed the National Steering Committee for the development of National Curriculum Frameworks. The committee will be chaired by former Chairman of ISRO Dr K Kasturirangan. Chancellor of National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration Mahesh Chandra Pant, Chairman of National Book Trust Govind Prasad Sharma, Vice-Chancellor of the Jamia Millia Islamia University Najma Akhtar, First Vice-Chancellor of Central Tribal University of Andhra Pradesh T V Kattimani, guest professor at IIT Gandhinagar and Indian author of French origin Michel Danino and American mathematician of Indian origin Manjul Bhargava are part of the 12 member committee. As per the perspectives of the NEP 2020, the Committee will develop four National Curriculum Frameworks - the National Curriculum Framework for School Education, National Curriculum for Early Childhood Care and Education, National Curriculum Framework for Teacher Education and National Curriculum Framework for Adult Education.

-Karnataka Home Minister Araga Jnanendra has expressed deep concern over clandestine use of satellite phones in coastal Karnataka.The issue was raised during the zero hour in the legislative Assemblyon Tuesday. Responding to the issue raised by Congress party member U T Khadar, the minister said that clear instructions are issued to the police to nab the culprits using the satellite phones in a clandestine manner. He informed the House that recently 220 instances of satellite phones being used to communicate with foreign countries have come to the knowledge of the authorities in the coastal areas. Responding to the issue of religious conversions in the state during the zero hour today, the minister informed the legislative Assembly that a Bill against religious conversions will be introduced in the House at an earliest to prevent conversions done using force or allurments. He warned religious groups and institutions involved in such activities and said that the police department is issued strict instructions to deal with them.

-A two-day Vanijya Utsav is being held across the country as a part of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav celebrations to mark the 75th year of  India's Independence. A slew of programmes and events are being organized highlighting Aatmanirbhar Bharat, showcasing India as a rising economic force and green and Swachh Special Economic Zones. Handholding sessions are being organised focusing on ‘From Farm to Foreign Lands’ and exporter conclaves, ‘Vanijya Utsav’, covering all 739 districts of the country.The event is being organized in collaboration with the Ministry of Commerce, the Director General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) in the partnership of Exports Promotion Councils.

-In a major boost to export prospects of agricultural produce, India has achieved a significant increase of 21.8 percent in export of agricultural and processed food products in the 2021-22 April to August in comparison to the corresponding period of 2020-21.The Quick Estimates has been released by the Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics.The overall export of APEDA products increased from 6 thousand 4 hundred 85 million dollars in April-August 2020 to 7 thousand 9 hundred two million dollars in April-August 2021.This rise in exports has been achieved notwithstanding Covid-19 restrictions. Commerce Ministry said, the significant spike in agri-exports is seen as a testimony of the government’s commitment to increase farmers’ income through giving thrust on boosting exports of agricultural and processed food products of the country. The huge jump in exports of agricultural and processed food products during the first five months of current fiscal is in continuation of growth in exports witnessed in the financial year 2020-21. According to WTO’s trade map, with the total agri-exports of 37 billion dollars in 2019, India is ranked at 9th position in the world ranking.