On Friday, Niti Aayog CEO Parameswaran Iyer said that increasing production and exports of processed commodities is crucial for the Indian economy and creating jobs. Speaking at a CII seminar, Iyer said that the food processing industry is critical to the well-being of the economy and the people and that the MSME sector should be encouraged to enter this field.
He emphasized that food processing can increase farmers’ revenue and contribute to meeting dietary requirements.
Iyer argued that increasing production at the agricultural level, or basic processing, is essential.
He said the government had taken several measures to ensure food security because of the increased importance of this issue in the current international setting.
The CEO of Niti Aayog noted that agricultural production has increased over the past few years.
Iyer said that the government had taken several actions related to food processing, such as the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) program.
He said, “This is a very, very important government program that is actually aiming to incentivize investment, but production is vital to strategic industries like food processing.”
The CEO of Niti Aayog announced that the millennium year would begin in less than a month.
To that end, he advocated for a greater emphasis on millet, a food that is both healthy and provides several additional benefits.
It has been pointed out by Iyer that agricultural planting patterns and the methods used to produce food have undergone significant shifts.
When asked about the economy and employment, he said, “But food processing is an important area.”
Iyer argued that the food processing industry should include the MSME sector because it creates the most jobs.
He argued that India should increase its “already-occurring” export of food processing goods.
As Iyer pointed out, food arrives from all over the world via extensive and convoluted supply networks.
It’s a whole, intricate ecosystem all on its own, he said, mentioning everything from animal husbandry to agriculture to fisheries to storage to transportation to distribution to retail.
Thus, Iyer claimed, it requires concrete and targeted actions to flourish.
Iyer said that he thinks there should be an effort to decrease food waste through industrial processing, which he found to be a concern.
“On the one hand, we produce food, and on the other side, there is a lot of wastage, and there are millions of people internationally, who are chronically undernourished,” he said.
Iyer noted that food systems exacerbate the destruction of natural environments.
“So, there are some major difficulties, which, of course, you will be addressing,” he said to the food manufacturing firms.
The CEO of NITI Aayog asked for industry input to eliminate roadblocks and release the sector’s full potential.
In his speech, Iyer emphasized the importance of bolstering primary processing at the farm level and discussed the importance of backward linkage from the food processing industry.
“Again, that’s a significant obstacle because it affects many industries, government agencies, and biomes. How can process steps like sorting, grading, packaging, and drying be more efficient? “Inquired him.
He also noted the importance of this in ascending the value chain.
Iyer argued that enabling distributed primary processing was critical to creating the infrastructure to process large-scale high-value data.
Increases in farmer income are a top government priority, and he pointed out that expanding the food processing ecosystem will help with that goal.
“As a result, on the one hand, it will facilitate increased revenue maximization.” However, it will undoubtedly aid in our efforts to improve our diets.
Iyer remarked, “Nutrition is critical from a health point of view, particularly for children below five, and we have a long way to go.”
There has been a lot of progress, but he stressed the importance of ensuring people access healthy food.
Iyer emphasized the importance of providing farmers with financial incentives to adopt more sustainable agricultural practices.
Food safety was mentioned, and he suggested that India is lagging behind other countries in this regard.
He said that scaling up sustainable food processing systems can benefit significantly from the use of technology, especially digital technology.
In addition, Iyer detailed the various plans for boosting millet’s profile over the coming 12 months.

The federal subsidies that make up one-tenth of the overall government expenditure have ballooned due to increased international gas prices and a free food scheme; therefore, the country has budgeted for a higher outlay.

On Friday, people who are familiar with the matter stated that the Center’s subsidies on fertilizers and food are set to hit a record level of nearly 5.6 lakh crore in the fiscal year ending March 2023, which would be an overshoot of the earlier estimate by a third. However, it is likely that an expected uptick in government revenues will ensure that the situation remains well within the fiscal comfort zone.

Federal subsidies, which comprise a tenth of the overall government expenditure, have ballooned due to increased international gas prices and a free food scheme. The country has budgeted for a more considerable outlay. For the third year, the government is forecast to incur subsidizing costs above its goal.

This is projected to be compensated by higher-than-anticipated tax receipts. In November, former revenue secretary Tarun Bajaj said that tax collections in 2022–23 might be almost 4 lakh crore higher than the budget estimate.

Costs associated with fertilizer subsidies are predicted to exceed 2.5 lakh crore, which is far more than the 1.05 lakh crore allotted in the budget. The Indian government imports various crop nutrients and sells them at a reduced price to its many millions of farmers.

The rising cost of liquefied natural gas, used in producing fertilizers like urea, significantly contributes to this year’s record subsidy. The price paid by farmers for a 45-kilogram bag of urea is $242, while the production cost is $2,650. As a subsidy, the government covers the difference for fertilizer companies.

In response to rising international costs, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved an additional 51,875 crore subsidy for phosphatic and potassic (P&K) fertilizers on November 2.

With this change, the Center’s nutrient-based subsidy (NBS) scheme, which regulates the cost of agricultural nutrients, will be more affordable. About half of India’s annual food output comes from winter-sown crops, such as wheat, lentils, legumes, millets, vegetables, and oilseeds like mustard, grown by India’s farmers.

As part of its NBS policy, the government provides a yearly, per-kilogram subsidy for nitrate (N), phosphate (P), potassium (K), and sulfate (S)-based crop nutrients (S).
The government’s expected full-year (2022-23) fertilizer subsidy outlay of 2.5 lakh crore includes the latest installment for the winter-sown season (October-March). Additionally, the subsidy for P&K fertilizers is significantly greater than the Rs 28,655 crore allocated in the previous season, mainly due to increased international costs.

The Fertilizer Association of India reports that in 2021–22, yearly consumption of fertilizers in India increased to 32.54 million metric tons from 29.37 million metric tons in the previous fiscal year, a growth of 10.8 percent.

Due mainly to the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana, a free foodgrain scheme introduced after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the government’s food subsidy cost is expected to exceed Rs 3 lakh crore.

According to a Cabinet note, the ‘s entire cost from its inception in 2014 through December 2022 is estimated to be 3.9be Rs.lakh billion. According to a government official, the total for October through December 2022 is Rs 4,762 crore.

The restaurant proprietor, Mohit, explained to ANI, “We were not prepared for such a large turnout yesterday, but the event was successful.” We were only anticipating 300 to 400 consumers, but within three days, our post went viral and became recognized worldwide. It is a rather unconventional method of advertising. As a result, we carried out the promotion using the offer of 5 paisa. We gave away free thalis to the first fifty clients who purchased five paise coins, and if they had more than one thousand consumers, we gave them a fifty percent discount on their thalis. It was a tremendous amount of success. You can eat as much as you like from this unlimited thali, which features 35 different dishes representing Gujarati, Rajasthani, and North Indian cuisines.”

Only one day was available to take advantage of the promotion.

According to Deepti, who is a co-owner of the restaurant Rajbhog, “The primary justification for the offer was that the thali that we serve over here is of Rajasthani, Gujarati, and North Indian origin, but since Vijaywada is home to a sizeable population of South Indians, we conceived of the idea to extend our customer base to include those from South India.” Therefore, yesterday we offered a discount of 5 paisa. We served the first fifty people at no cost, and after that, we supplied them at a discount of fifty percent of the normal price. Although the normal price of thali is 420, we could accommodate more than 1,000 people yesterday by offering it at a rate of 210. The primary idea behind this offer was that yesterday we had a convention in a room on the ground floor that goes by the moniker “Mandap.” As a result, we intended to stock Mandap with the aforementioned culinary offerings to demonstrate to patrons that our establishment provides this particular fare category.”

There is no one more deserving of celebration than the bride and groom, but the wedding is also a significant event for their loved ones. At Indian weddings, guests and hosts mingle over delicious cuisine and celebratory toasts. It is traditional for the reception to have a spectacular buffet or meal. The wedding feast can include any delectable delicacies depending on where you live in the country. A recent Bihar University student decided to crash a local wedding, pretending to be a guest to eat for free. The following events will have you in fits of laughter.

The student posted a video of himself, identified as Alok Yadav, on Instagram Reels. Over 1.5 million people have seen it, and 167,700 have liked it in just 48 hours, making it a viral sensation. The growth rate is exponential. The video showed Yadav seated on the stage with the groom at the wedding. He says he crashed the groom’s wedding for free food. “We’re checking out, so we’ll stay at the hostel.” Humain aa gaye yaha pe khane. because I lived in a hostel and was hungry. “No products were manufactured at that location,” he explains. He then asks the groom if he has any objections, to which the latter responds that he does not.

The student from Bihar then offers his best wishes to the groom on his upcoming nuptials and future travels. “That’s why we’re here—to let you know that we’re so happy to hear from you. Please allow me to break the news to you all at once: I was going to gatecrash the wedding for some food, but I realized I should probably tell you first.

“Best wishes on your wedding day!” exclaimed the forthright student. Funny enough, the groom responds by saying, “Apne hostel ke liye bhi khana lete jana” (take some food for your hostel, too).

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CljG4SzjlK6/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

This student’s hilarious and relatable video has gone viral. In the opinion of some, this is a common problem among hostel-dwelling students. One commenter said, “Students aisa hi karte hain, begani shadi me abdulla diwana,” while another asked, “Confidence dekh rahe ho?” (Are you seeing his confidence?) Dulha sochta hoga ek baar video puri hone do fir batata hu was repeated by a few others.