The Agriculture and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) in India recently launched a virtual buyer-seller meet aimed at the United Arab Emirates (UAE) market. This initiative is part of APEDA’s wider endeavour to promote the export of millets, with more promotional activities planned to occur in South Africa, Japan, South Korea, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Australia, Germany, the UK, and the US. India mainly exports millet varieties like Bajra, Ragi, Canary, Jawar, and Buckwheat to countries like the UAE, Nepal, Saudi, Libya, Oman, Egypt, Tunisia, Yemen, UK, and USA.
Deep Ocean Mission Receives Significant Funding
India’s Union Budget for the 2023-24 fiscal year has allocated Rs 600 crore to the Deep Ocean Mission. The key objective of this mission is to explore marine biodiversity to facilitate the sustainable use of resources. A notable project under this mission is the development of a manned submersible designed to carry three people to a depth of 6,000 metres in the central Indian Ocean for mineral exploration. This comes after India was awarded a 15-year contract in 2016 for exploring an area of 75,000 km2 for mining polymetallic nodules in the Central Indian Ocean Basin.
MISHTI Initiative Launched for Mangrove Plantations
The 2023-24 Union Budget announced the Mangrove Initiative for Shoreline Habitats & Tangible Incomes (MISHTI). It is a new initiative aimed at promoting mangrove plantations along the coastline and on salt pan lands. Prior to this, India had joined the Mangrove Alliance for Climate, which was launched at the UNFCCC COP27. Despite covering only about 0.1% of the Earth’s surface, mangroves store up to ten times more carbon per hectare than terrestrial forests and serve as natural storm surge barriers. According to the India State of Forest Report 2021, India’s total mangrove coverage is 4,992 km2 or 0.15% of the total geographical area. Unfortunately, India lost 40% of its mangrove cover during the last century, with Kerala losing 95% of its mangroves in the last three decades.
Exercise Trishakti Prahar: A Joint Military Training Exercise
The Indian military recently concluded a joint training exercise called Exercise Trishakti Prahar in North Bengal, near the strategic ‘Siliguri’ corridor. The exercise aimed to test the battle readiness of security forces using the latest weapons and equipment in a networked, integrated environment that involved Army, IAF, and CAPFs personnel. The exercise concluded at the Teesta Field Firing Ranges with an Integrated Fire Power Exercise designed to synergise the firepower assets of the Indian Armed Forces and CAPFs for integrated battles. The Siliguri corridor or Chicken’s neck, located in West Bengal, is a stretch of land that borders Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal, measuring approximately 170×60 km; at its narrowest point, it is about 20-22 km wide.
