Page 19 - NIS English November 1-15

Festivals are the occasion to rekindle an awakening in our lives
especially on Diwali when every family brings home something

new. The more local we buy, the better it is. I urge all to buy
something produced by our weavers and khadi producers.

– Prime Minister Narendra Modi

ndia is gearing up for the festive
season, which, this year, is special for
Ia number of reasons coming as it is Agriculture
at a time when the world is adapting
to a new normal amid the COVIND-19
pandemic. India is among those few
nations in the world which have shown
resilience and emerged as a land of n Despite the COVID-19
supply chains, etc in the post COVID-19 43.4 % pandemic, exports of
solutions to overcome the multifarious
problems related to manufacturing,
agri-commodities grew by

in the first half of the
times. Despite disrupted logistics, India growth in exports 43.4% to Rs 53,626.6 Crore
continued to deliver. People are going current fiscal.
‘Vocal for Local’ and India is not only
catering its local needs but also taking n In September 2020, agri-exports rose by
care of the global demands. 81.7% to Rs 9,296 Crore from Rs 5,114
India’s goods exports have posted Crore in September 2019
a 5.27 per cent growth in September n Exports of groundnut grew by 35%,
2020 (year-on-year) with some crucial refined sugar 104%, wheat 206%, Basmati
sectors such as readymade garments, rice 13% and non-Basmati rice 105%
engineering goods, petroleum products, n Agriculture Export Policy was announced
pharmaceuticals and carpets on then
upswing. On the other hand, India’s in 2018 to boost exports in the sector
imports in September 2020 declined n A package of Rs 1 Lakh Crore was
19.6 per cent. During March-June, India’s announced for building agriculture
agricultural exports rose by 23 per cent infrastructure
despite the fact that the entire country n Agriculture Reform Bills were
was straitjacketed in the Lockdown. implemented to augment farmers'
It was during this time that the Prime income
Minister gave the call for “Vocal for
Local” and “Aatma Nirbhar Bharat” or
Self-Reliant India.

New India Samachar 17