Ministry of Culture and Google kick starts ‘India ki Udaan’

Ministry of Culture and Google kick started the initiative, India ki Udaan’ to celebrate the unwavering, undying, spirit of India and its achievements in past 75 years. This celebration started today in New Delhi, with a special ceremony. This event is a continuation of decade -long partnership between Ministry of Culture and Google. This joint venture was organised under the aegis of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav.

Mr Amit Sood, Director – Google Arts & Culture, unveiled a very special exhibit which team Google has created to honour the achievers and game changing moments of the last 75 years. The showcase displayed India’s biggest achievements using ground-breaking augmented reality technology, including Indian handicrafts and also the stories of India’s women achievers.

On the occasion G Kishan Reddy said, “India today is in the middle Digital, Data and Disintermediation revolution. Digital Revolution coupled with Ease of Doing Business has allowed common Indian citizens to avail of services in a faceless, presence less and cashless manner. India has made available data at one of the lowest rates to users due to a proactive Government policy ushering in competition in the Telecom sector and the disintermediation revolution has removed middle-men making India’s small businesses competitive and export ready”.

The minister further said tm“Today, I am privileged to be a part of this initiative ‘India ki Udaan’ which is a celebration of the unwavering and undying spirit of India. India and Google have a lot to benefit from each other in this partnership. It is often believed that a company that builds for India, builds for the world and the best example of this is the Google payment platform built in India using the Government of India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI)”.

“I would like to appreciate the efforts of Google in working with the Ministry of Culture to come together and celebrate Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav. I am glad that Google will be supporting the Ministry of Culture in amplifying the various initiatives of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav. I would also request the Google team to be a part of the Har Ghar Tiranga event and encourage its employees to hoist the flag in their homes. I would urge the Google leadership to be involved in other initiatives of the Ministry of Culture and Ministry of Tourism and be a partner in the Government’s transformation journey” he added.

The event also witnessed an exciting performance by Divyansh and Manuraj, winners of India’s Got Talent 2022, and a special performance by Clinton Cerejo and team, who brought to life the diverse sounds of India with performers from different parts of the country showcasing the culture and sounds of their regions and bringing it together to create a unified “Sound of India”.

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Common registration Facility of ration cards launched on pilot basis in 11 States/UTs

The Secretary, Department of Food and Public Distribution, Shri Sudhanshu Pandey today launched a ‘Common Registration Facility’ on pilot basis for 11 States/UTs i.e. Assam, Goa, Lakshadweep, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Punjab, Tripura and Uttrakhand.

This Web based facility will enable these 11 States/UTs to collect data of persons desirous of registering for inclusion under NFSA, including migrants residing in other states. This facility will help States/UTs in expeditiously identifying and verifying the eligible beneficiaries for coverage under NFSA as per their established inclusion and exclusion criteria, subject to the ceiling limit of NFSA of the State/UT and thus achieving the rightful targeting of benefits.

While addressing media persons here, Shri Pandey said, “This portal is only an enabler for States/UTs to complete their inclusion exercise under NFSA.” He emphasisied that the portal will help in streamlining data management while providing a platform to the States/UTs to help inclusion of beneficiaries.

The National Food Security Act, 2013 (NFSA) provides food security coverage for a maximum of 81.35 Crore persons in the country.

State/UT-wise total number of persons being covered under NFSA (including AAY families) has been clearly defined under the Targeted Public Distribution System (Control) Order, 2015 of this Department issued under the National Food Security Act, 2013 (NFSA). The present NFSA coverage at the national level is about 79.74 Crore against the total ceiling limit of 81.35 Crore.

All States/UTs are being continuously advised to identify maximum eligible and left-out persons (presently not covered under NFSA) through special camps, identification drives, etc. and bring them under NFSA coverage (AAY/PHH) as per their eligibility and up to the respective ceiling limits and also to regularly weed out the ineligible beneficiaries from the coverage.

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“Grand Onion Challenge” thrown open to young professionals

The Department of Consumer Affairs conducted a Video Conference regarding “Grand Onion Challenge” today with Heads of Educational Institutions, Vice Chancellors, Professors, Deans of eminent institutions, Senior Academicians, executives of the startups, scientists from BARC, officers of the Department of Atomic Energy, Ministry of Education, DPIIT and professionals working in the field of Agriculture, Horticulture and Food Processing.

This challenge seeks ideas from young professionals, professors, scientists in product designs and prototypes for improving pre-harvesting techniques, primary processing, storage, and transportation of post harvested onions in the country. The challenge also seeks ideas for modernization of technology in dehydration, valorization of onions and onion food processing domain.

The Grand Onion Challenge instituted by Department of Consumer Affairs has been thrown open from 20.7.2022-15.10.2022 seeking ideas in all the above domains from the best brains in the country. More information on the challenge is available on the Department website doca.gov.in/goi

The grand onion challenge registration webpage has received 122 registrations so far and some of the participants have submitted their ideas. The Department will select 40 good ideas in the four verticals wherein improvements and technology innovations are sought and therefore, departments and organizations concerned in the country are urged to submit ideas so that cost effective solutions in saving losses in pre-harvesting, primary processing, storage and transportation of onions can be developed and Atma Nirbhar Bharat programme is supported in the process.

During the VC, Shri Shri Yogesh Patil, IAS, Assistant Secretary, Department of Consumer Affairs made a brief presentation on current challenges faced by the country in storage, processing and transportation of onions. It is expected that post the challenge, the losses in onion storage can be reduced by 5-10% due to innovative ideas.

Dr. Abhay Jere, Chief Innovation Officer, Innovation Cell, Ministry of Education explained in detail the three stages of participation in the challenge and urged everyone to participate in the said challenge.

Dr. S. Gautam, Scientist, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Department of Atomic Energy explained the effect of irradiation in increasing the shelf life of stored onions based on studies undertaken, which brought to light the benefits of technology in reducing losses drastically.

Scientists and professors from various organizations/universities presented many unique ideas to reduce the losses occurring during storage and transportation of onions.

More than 282 participants from different institutions, universities, research organizations and private sector startups participated in the virtual meeting from across the country.

The Secretary, DoCA, Shri Rohit Kumar Singh urged everyone to participate in the challenge so that low cost and easily replicable technology solutions to reduce post harvested onion losses could be developed for farmers and sustainably used in the country.

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Reduction in EMF Emissions

Electromagnetic Field (EMF) emissions from Mobile towers are non-ionizing Radio frequencies having very minuscule power and are incapable of causing any adverse environmental impact. The International EMF Project of World Health Organisation (WHO) has published an information sheet in 2005 on effect of EMF emissions on animals, insects, vegetation and aquatic life and has concluded that the exposure limits in the Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) guidelines for protection of human health are also protective of the environment.

The present norms for Electromagnetic Field (EMF) emissions from mobile towers in India are already ten times more stringent (even lower) than the safe limits prescribed by ICNIRP and recommended by WHO. These limits prescribed in India are:

Frequency Range	E-Field Strength (Volt/Meter)	H-Field Strength (Amp/Meter)	Power Density (Watt/Sq.Meter)
400MHz to 2000MHz	0.434f ½	0.0011f ½	f/2000
2GHz to 300GHz	19.29	0.05	1

(f is frequency in MHz)

Government has put in place a well-structured process and mechanism for monitoring any violation, so that Telecom Service Providers adhere to the prescribed norms including submission of self-certificate before commercial start of Base Transceiver Station (BTS) site. The field units of Department of Telecommunications regularly carry out the EMF audit upto 10% BTS Sites annually on random basis. DoT also imposes financial penalty on Telecom Service Providers (TSPs) whose BTSs are found exceeding the prescribed EMF emission limits.

In addition to above, if emission levels of such non-compliant BTSs are not brought within prescribed limits within 30 days, the same is liable to be shut down as per prescribed procedure.

TSPs have to adhere to these conditions prescribed by Government. As such, fund allotment from Government is not necessary.

Public Advisory on frauds related to installation of Mobile Tower

Department of Telecommunications, Ministry of Communications, Government of India has issued a Public Advisory on frauds related to installation of Mobile Tower.

It has come to the notice of Department of Telecommunications (DoT) that some unscrupulous companies/ agencies/ individuals cheat general public and collect money by promising them hefty monthly rental etc. in the name of installation of Mobile Towers.

In this regard the public at large is hereby informed that:-

DoT/ TRAI is not directly or indirectly involved in leasing/renting the premises for installation of mobile towers.
DoT/ TRAI or its officers do not issue any “No Objection Certificate” for the installation of mobile towers.
The updated list of Telecom Service Providers (TSPs) and Infrastructure Providers (IP-1), authorized to install mobile towers, is available on DoT website i.e. https://dot.gov.in and https://dot.gov.in/infrastructure-provider.
Public is hereby cautioned to be extra careful and verify the credentials of the company, in case any company/agency/individual asks for money for installation of mobile tower. The association of TSPs and IP-1s have confirmed that their members do not ask any money for installation of Mobile Towers.
If any person comes across any such fraudulent activity, then he/ she may report the incident to local police authorities.
In addition, the local field units of DoT may also be contacted whose contact details are available on DoT website at https://dot.gov.in/relatedlinks/director-general-telecom .

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Rs. 375.25 crore approved to 102 incubators under Startup India Seed Fund Scheme (SISFS)

As on 30th July 2022, of the corpus of Rs. 945 crore, Rs. 375.25 crore have been approved to 102 incubators under the Startup India Seed Fund Scheme (SISFS). Also, 378 DPIIT recognised startups have been approved a total sum of Rs. 81.45 crore by the approved incubators under the Scheme.

Specifically, from the North Eastern States (Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura), as on 30th July 2022, two incubators (one each from Sikkim and Assam) have been approved a total sum of Rs. 5 crore under the Scheme. Also, 9 DPIIT recognised startups from North Eastern States have been approved a total sum of Rs. 1.15 crore by the approved incubators under the Scheme.

The Startup India Seed Fund Scheme (SISFS) is being implemented by the Government with effect from 1st April 2021. It provides financial assistance to eligible Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) recognised startups for proof of concept, prototype development, product trials, market entry and commercialization. This enables the startups to graduate to a level where they will be able to raise investments from angel investors or venture capitalists, or seek loans from commercial banks or financial institutions. SISFS is disbursed to eligible startups through eligible incubators across India.

Centre for Trade and Investment Law (CTIL)

The Centre for Trade and Investment Law (CTIL), Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT), New Delhi celebrated its 5th Anniversary and released the Fifth Anniversary issue of CTIL Magazine on August 2, 2022 at the Constitutional Club of India, Rafi Marg, New Delhi.

The event marked five years of inception of CTIL providing sound and rigorous analysis of legal issues pertaining to international trade and investment law. CTIL was established by Department of Commerce, Government of India with the objective of developing international trade and investment law capacity in India and as a repository of information on trade and investment law. CTIL has over the years emerged as a leader in engaging in and influencing the evolving discourse on global economic law issues. CTIL has also organised numerous conferences, stakeholder consultations, seminars and training programmes.

The Guest of Honour for the event was Shri. B. V. R. Subrahmanyam, Commerce Secretary, Government of India, who delivered the Keynote Address on “India’s perspective on WTO and MC 12”. The address highlighted India’s key contributions and successes on acting as a ‘deal-maker’ while preserving its interests in public stockholding and prevention of IUU fishing during the recent 12th Ministerial Conference of the WTO in Geneva. He emphasized on the important role India is expected to and should play in multilateral discussions by positively engaging in issues like gender, labour and environment.

Ambassador Ujal Singh Bhatia, former Ambassador of India to the WTO and the former Chairman of the WTO Appellate Body delivered the Anniversary Distinguished Lecture on “Appellate Advocacy in International Trade Law: Views from the Bench”. The lecture provided insights into Ambassador Bhatia’s experience as a member and Chairman of the WTO Appellate Body. He emphasized on the uniqueness of the appellate procedure of the WTO’s dispute settlement body (DSB) by highlighting the high number of compliances of WTO DSB reports. He also underlined the relationship between public international law and international trade law, which was particularly strengthened with the emergence of globalization and adoption of the WTO DSB mechanism.

A Special Address on “The Role of Academic Think Tanks in Trade Policy Making” was delivered by Shri Amit Yadav, Additional Secretary, Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India. The address accentuated the importance of academic engagement in trade policy formulation, particularly the assistance provided by CTIL and other CRIT Centres established by the Department of Commerce. He emphasized on the importance of creating an institutional memory through the Centres in order to enable the government to take informed decisions.

Professor James J. Nedumpara, Head and Professor, Centre for Trade and Investment Law delivered the Welcome Address and discussed the role played by CTIL in the past five years, including contributions in recent FTA negotiations. He thanked the leadership and encouragement by the Department of Commerce and IIFT to assist the Centre in achieving its goals in the past five years. This was followed by Vice Chancellor’s address delivered by Professor Manoj Pant, Vice Chancellor, IIFT. He applauded CTIL’s work as a ‘unique experiment’ to link academia and trade policy in the country.

Industry associations, stresses on a ‘Whole of Govt’ approach to boost exports

Union Minister for Commerce & Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution and Textile Shri Piyush Goyal reviewed the Export scenario in his interaction with Export Promotion Councils (EPCs) and representatives of Industry associations at New Delhi today.

Shri Goyal emphasized on a ‘Whole of Govt’ approach to boost exports. The Minister said this would require exporters, EPCs, Govt Agencies & Indian Missions abroad to work together.

Recognizing the crucial role played by EPCs and Industry, Shri Goyal remarked that EPCs & Industry Associations are key to realise “Local goes Global: India makes for the World”.

Speaking to EPCs and Industry representatives, Minister stated that the ball is in our court and we have to be ready to take on global competition. He said that Government is doing its best through various measures to support Indian exporters to compete globally. Enumerating initiatives taken, he highlighted that with Gati Shakti, government is improving connectivity and logistics. Government is also negotiating to sign more FTAs with important trade partners. This will have a direct impact in providing a level playing field in international markets, he added. He emphasized that everybody will have to work hard to achieve true potential of India in terms of global trade.

Expressing confidence that we are on track to meet expectations of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, Shri Goyal said that the country touched highest ever merchandise exports of $ 422 billion and all-time total exports of $ 667 billion – an increase of 34.5% over FY 21. By July’22, exports have reached $156 bn (19% higher) – Engineering goods exports $38 bn (8% higher); Readymade garment (22% higher). Agri exports grew by almost 20% till July’22, driven by rice, marine products & sugar.

Stating that the Government has been increasing its international engagement, the Minister underlined the importance of Free Trade Agreements (FTAs). In this context, he urged the industry representatives to study FTAs and identify the areas which have competitive advantage. He hoped for an agreement on a multidimensional partnership with UK this year. Minister also appealed to representatives from the industry to take advantage of PM Gati Shakti, PLI, NSWS, EoDB reforms to improve export competitiveness wrt to other manufacturing powerhouses.

Har Ghar Tiranga campaign–

Commerce and Industry Minister urged all the stakeholders in the export ecosystem to take the message of Har Ghar Tiranga to every nook and corner of the country. He urged industry to unite and work together to keep our flag flying high and make this campaign a grand success. Textile Secretary Shri U P Singh informed that the Ministry is working with a select group of private companies to supply 6 crore flags to state governments and Department of Post by 12th August. He said 5.12 crore flags have already been produced.

One District One Product (ODOP)

During the interaction today, Minister launched the ODOP catalogue of over 300 products. He appealed to the people to use ODOP portal and buy products from there. This will directly help Indian artisans and families and also help revive dying arts of India. He mentioned that PM has repeatedly asked the nations to use these ODOP products as festival gifts and cooperate gifts, and PM himself uses these products for gifting purposes.

Master Database of all Associations/EPCs– Shri Goyal asked all stakeholders to prepare a database of the industry associations/EPCs over the country along with their members, employees & other basic details.

Presentation was made on National Single window system. This scheme is being run by Ministry of Commerce and Industry to facilitate ease of doing business. Since its inception last year, 10k approvals have already been given under it.

In his initial presentation Commerce Secretary Shri B V R Subramanyam said that all stakeholders in the export ecosystem worked really hard last year and achieved the target 9 days ahead of scheduled end of the year. He said that everyone will have to contribute to keep the momentum going.

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digital version of ODOP gift catalogue

Union Minister of Commerce and Industry; Consumer Affairs; Food and Public Distribution and Textiles, Shri. Piyush Goyal unveiled the digital version of the ODOP gift catalogue. The digital launch took place during the meeting with Export Promotion Councils and Industry Associations at Vanijya Bhawan on 5th August 2022.

The ODOP gift catalogue includes a wide range of products like Fragrances and Oils, Indian Spirits, Home Décor products, Fabrics, and Silks and Shawls. HCIM highlighted the ways in which the ODOP gift catalogue is a step towards realizing the potential of all districts in India and will give global recognition to the country’s diverse indigenous products. Further, he urged all the line ministries, Industry Association, and Export Promotion Councils to utilize products from the catalogue for encouragement to designs and branding. He also recommended a conscious effort to be taken to include these treasures of India for corporate gifting. This will provide a tremendous boost to the local economy and will help promote the livelihood and sustenance of many farmers and artisans.

Minister highlighted that utilizing products from the catalogue will promote a brand image for local products in the international market, consequently boosting the Prime Minister’s vision of “Make in India” and “Make for World”. He also requested all the associations to share their feedback on each of these products to ensure continuous improvement so that the products can compete at a global level.

Video on ODOP Gift Catalogue

ODOP Background:

The ODOP Initiative is aimed at achieving the vision of the Hon’ble Prime Minister to foster balanced regional development across all districts of the country.
The idea is to select, brand, and promote One Product from each District (One District – One Product) of the country for enabling holistic socio-economic growth across all regions.
The range of chosen products under ODOP, from all 761 districts of the country, spans multiple sectors, Ministries and Departments.

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Medical Device Parks

The Department implements the scheme “Promotion of Medical Devices Parks”, with a total financial outlay of Rs. 400 crore and the maximum assistance under the scheme for one Medical Device Park would be limited to Rs. 100 crore. The tenure of the scheme is from FY 2020-2021 to FY 2024-2025 and the selected Medical Device Park project will be implemented by a State Implementing Agency (SIA). Under the scheme, Department of Pharmaceuticals has received proposals from 16 States/Union Territories. The proposals were evaluated as per the criteria given in the scheme guidelines and final approval for financial assistance of Rs. 100 crore each has been given to the States of Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh. There is no proposal to establish more medical device parks in the Country, under the scheme.

Further, the Department has provided grant-in-aid to the project of the Superconducting Magnet Testing, Validation and Integration Centre at AMTZ, Andhra Pradesh under the scheme “Assistance to Medical Device Industry for Development of Common Facility Centres”.

The Government of India has taken several measures to encourage domestic manufacturing of Pharmaceutical drugs including bulk drugs and medical devices to reduce import dependence. The Programmatic interventions to support Pharma and Medical Devices Industries are as follows;

The Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme for promotion of domestic manufacturing of critical Key Starting Materials (KSMs)/ Drug Intermediates (DIs) and Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) in India, with a financial outlay of Rs. 6,940 crores and the tenure from FY 2020-2021 to FY 2029-30, provides for financial incentive for 41 identified products. A total of 51 applicants have been selected under the scheme.
The Production Linked Incentive Scheme for Pharmaceuticals, with a financial outlay Rs. 15,000 crores and the tenure from FY 2020- 2021 to FY 2028-29, provides for financial incentive to 55 selected applicants for manufacturing of identified products under three categories for a period of six years, including five (5) industry applicants selected for In-vitro diagnostic medical devices.
The Scheme for Promotion of Bulk Drug Parks, with a financial outlay of Rs. 3,000 crores and the tenure from FY 2020-2021 to FY 2024-25, provides for financial assistance to three States for establishing Bulk Drug Parks. The proposals received are under evaluation.
The Department has launched the scheme of Strengthening of Pharmaceutical Industry (SPI), with a financial outlay of Rs. 500 crores and the tenure from FY 2021-2022 to FY 2025-26 and this scheme has three components, to provide infrastructure support for pharma MSMEs in clusters and to address the issues of technology upgradation of individual pharma MSMEs.
Under the scheme “Promotion of Medical Devices Parks”, final approval for financial assistance of Rs. 100 crore each, has been given to the States of Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh for establishment of common facilities in their Medical Device Parks.
Further, under the sub-scheme “Assistance to Medical Device Industry for Common Facility Centre”, grant-in-aid of ₹ 25 crore was provided to Andhra Pradesh Medtech Zone Ltd. (AMTZ), Andhra Pradesh for establishment of Common Facility for Super conducting magnetic coil testing and research facility.
The Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme for Promoting Domestic Manufacturing of Medical Devices, with a financial outlay of Rs.3,420 Cr and with the tenure from FY 2020-21 to FY 2027-28, provides for financial incentives to selected companies at the rate of 5% of incremental sales of medical devices manufactured in India and covered under the four Target segments of the scheme, for a period of five (5) years. A total of 21 Applicants have been selected under the scheme.

The non-schematic interventions are as follows:

In order to attract investments in this sector, the Government has allowed 100% foreign direct investments (FDI) in medical devices sector. Similarly, the Government has allowed 100% FDI in pharma sector for greenfield projects under automatic route. For the brownfield projects, upto 74%, FDI investments are allowed under automatic route and beyond 74% to 100%, FDI investments are allowed under government approval route.
To redress the specific challenges of the MedTech Industry, in view of the diversity and multi-disciplinary nature of the sector, the institutional mechanism of Standing Forum of Medical Devices Associations, has been set up to deliberate on various issues with all the stakeholders including regulators.

Uniform Code of Pharmaceutical Marketing Practices

The Government has put in place a Uniform Code for Pharmaceutical Marketing Practices (UCPMP) for Pharmaceutical companies, which is in operation since 01.01.2015, to prevent unethical practices by the pharmaceutical companies. This code governs the conduct of pharmaceutical companies in their marketing practices, duly covering the various aspects such as medical representatives, textual and audio-visual promotional materials, samples, gifts, etc. Further, the code establishes relationship with healthcare professionals, wherein the provisions related to travel facilities, hospitality and cash or monetary grants to physicians or their families have been elaborated.

The code also details the mode of operation of the code, responsibilities of the Pharmaceutical Associations in constituting the Ethics Committee for Pharmaceutical Marketing Practices (ECPMP) for handling the complaints and Apex Ethics Committee for Pharmaceutical Marketing Practices (AECPMP) for review, procedure of lodging a complaint, procedure of handling of complaints by the Pharmaceutical Associations and various penalty provisions.

The code has been adopted by the all the major associations of pharmaceutical companies and the Department on various instances has reviewed implementation of the code by the Pharmaceuticals associations.

The complaints of violation of the voluntary UCPMP by pharma companies which are perceived by the Department are forwarded to the concerned associations for taking necessary action.

The Indian Medical Council (Professional Conduct, Etiquette and Ethics) Regulations, 2002 formed under Indian Medical Council Act, 1956 (102 of 1956), provides for conduct for doctors and professional association of doctors in their relationship with pharmaceutical and allied health sector industry. Under this, any complaint of professional misconduct of a medical practitioner or professional is to be addressed by the respective State Medical Councils.

Besides UCPMP, there exists sufficient and enforceable legal regime to counter, control and dis-incentivize the unethical marketing practices such as “Indian Medical Council Professional Conduct, Etiquette and Ethics) Regulations, 2002” under the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956, provisions available under the Income Tax Act, Drugs and Cosmetics Act, Prevention of Corruption Act, etc.

The Department has not received any representations in the recent past from civil societies and patents group to make the UCPMP code mandatory. Further, in the writ petition (Civil) No. (s).323/2021 filled by federation of the Medical and Sales Representatives Associations of India & others against Union of India and others, the matter is under consideration of Hon’ble Supreme Court of India.

Financial assistance to develop Regional Agricultural Produces

The Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI) has been incentivizing setting of food processing industries through Central sector umbrella scheme ‘Pradhan Mantri Kisan SAMPADA Yojana (PMKSY), Production Linked Incentive Scheme for Food Processing Industry (PLISFPI) and centrally sponsored scheme ‘PM Formalization of Micro Food Processing Enterprises (PMFME) scheme across all the country. Under scheme of creation of infrastructure for agro processing clusters, a component scheme of PMKSY, the scheme is aimed at development of modern infrastructure and common facilities to encourage entrepreneurs to set up food processing units based on cluster approach and also to create modern infrastructure for food processing closer to production areas and to provide integrated and complete preservation infrastructure facilitates from the farm gate to the consumer.

For One District One Product (ODOP), the Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI) under Centrally Sponsored Pradhan Mantri Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprises Scheme (PM FME Scheme), in partnership with the States, provides financial, technical and business support for upgradation of existing micro food processing enterprises. The scheme adopts ODOP approach to reap the benefit of scale in terms of procurement of inputs, availing common services and marketing of products. The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare has advised states for convergence of resources towards ODOP from ongoing centrally sponsored schemes such as Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH), National Food Security Mission (NFSM), Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY), Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY) etc. Similar approach has been suggested to Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying for convergence of their schemes towards ODOP.

In addition, Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare under Horticulture Cluster Development Programme (HCDP) had identified 55 clusters of selected high value horticulture crops and 12 clusters have already been launched in first phase.

Crop Insurance Schemes

National Crop Insurance Portal (NCIP) is the only source of enrolment for Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY), on which farmer applications from various designated sources including banks/financial institutions are entered. Specific cut-off dates have been prescribed for enrolment of farmers, debit of premium, remittance of farmers’ premium to concerned insurance company and uploading of data of farmers on NCIP. However, it was noticed that sometimes some banks/financial institutions in some States/Union Territories did not enter the data on NCIP, due to which some farmers could not be enrolled in time. In order to ameliorate against such instances, additional 15 days above the cut-off date for submission of proposal/application by farmers for enrolment have been provided to Banks/Financial Institutions for entry of individual farmer-wise data on the NCIP for enrolment and premium subsidy calculation purposes. However, as banks have to ensure that eligible loanee farmers are not deprived of any benefit under the Scheme due to errors/omissions/commissions of the concerned branch/ PACS, and in case of such errors, the concerned agencies shall have to make good of all such losses.

MSP benefits and its concerns

The NITI Aayog (erstwhile Planning Commission) has conducted a study entitled “Efficacy of Minimum Support Prices on farmers”, in 2016. The study has found, among other things, that MSP declared by the Government has encouraged 78% of the farmers covered under the study for adopting improved methods of farming such as high yielding varieties of seeds, organic manure, chemical fertilizer, pesticides and improved methods of harvesting etc.

Government extends price support for paddy and wheat through the Food Corporation of India (FCI) and State Agencies. Under this policy, whatever food grains are offered by farmers within the stipulated period & conforming to the specifications prescribed by Government are purchased at MSP by the State Government agencies including FCI for Central Pool.

Additionally, Oilseeds, pulses and copra of Fair Average Quality (FAQ) are procured from registered farmers under Price Support Scheme of the Umbrella Scheme of Pradhan Mantri Annadata Aay SanraksHan Abhiyan (PM-AASHA), as per its prescribed guidelines.

The Union Budget for 2018-19 had announced the pre-determined principle to keep MSP at levels of one-and-half times of the cost of production. Accordingly, Government has increased the MSPs for all mandated Kharif (including wheat), Rabi and other commercial crops with a return of at least 50 per cent over all India weighted average cost of production from the agricultural year 2018-19.

Smart Farming

Government is promoting adoption of smart farming methods through the use of technology and innovation in the agriculture sector in the country. Government is implementing a Digital Agriculture Mission (DAM) which includes India Digital Ecosystem of Agriculture (IDEA), Farmers Database, Unified Farmers Service Interface (UFSI), Funding to the States on the new Technology (NeGPA), Revamping Mahalanobis National Crop Forecast Centre (MNCFC), Soil Health, Fertility and profile mapping. Under the NeGPA programme funding is given to State Governments for Digital Agriculture projects using emerging technologies like Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (AI/ML), Internet of Things (IOT), Block chain etc. Adoption of drone technologies is being done. To promote smart farming, the Government promotes Startups in the Agriculture sector and nurtures agri-entrepreneurs. The Per Drop More Crop component of the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sichai Yojana (PMKSY-PDMC) aims to increase water use efficiency at the farm level through micro irrigation technologies, i.e., drip and sprinkler irrigation systems. The GoI started eNAM (National Agriculture Market), an electronic trading portal which creates networks between the existing Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) mandis for the farmers.

The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) promotes innovation, extension and education in agriculture. A total of 1575 field crop varieties were released for different agricultural crops during 2014-21. During 2014-21, 91.43 crore agro-advisories were provided to farmers through mobiles. ICAR developed 187 mobiles apps on different farm and farmer related services during 2014-21. These ICAR apps are now integrated on one common platform called KISAAN. The Farmer FIRST (Farm, Innovations, Resources, Science and Technology) initiative was launched during this period by ICAR with enhanced farmers-scientists interface to move beyond production and productivity.

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