Kohima, July 11 (IANS) Nagaland has been adjudged as the best state in horticulture, officials said here on Thursday.

A Nagaland government official said that the prestigious Agriculture Leadership Awards 2024 adjudged the state as best in horticulture for its outstanding work in introducing innovative programmes and policies for horticulture development, which have positively touched the lives of many farmers and rural people.

Nagaland’s Minister for Women Resource Development and Horticulture, Salhoutuonuo Kruse received the award at the 15th Agriculture Leadership Conclave held in New Delhi on Wednesday night.

Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, and Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Shivraj Singh Chouhan were present on the occasion.

The annual awards were instituted in 2008 for recognising excellence and leadership roles played by individuals and organisations towards the development of agriculture and bringing about rural prosperity.

Nagaland has achieved GI (Geographical Indication) registration of three horticultural crops — Naga Mircha, Naga Tree Tomato and Naga Sweet Cucumber.

According to the officials, the Department of Horticulture has also mobilised the formation of 13 Farmer Producer Companies (FPCs) and so far an area of 6800 hectares was brought under organic certification.

–IANS

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New Delhi, July 11 (IANS) Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri said on Thursday that while 12.5 crore jobs have been created in the Indian economy during the last 10 years only 2.9 crore jobs were created in the 10 years before 2014.

He told IANS that the figures had been compiled in an SBI report prepared by the bank’s Group Chief Economic Advisor Soumya Kanti Ghosh.

The number of jobs created in the financial years 2014-23 is a more than 4-fold increase from the 2.9 crore jobs created during 2004-14, according to the SBI report.

“Even if we exclude Agriculture, the total number of jobs created in Manufacturing and Services is at 8.9 crores during FY14-FY23 and 6.6 crores during FY04-FY14,” the report states.

The total employment reported by Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) registered with the MSME Ministry has crossed the 20 crore mark, data from the Udyam registration portal shows.

As of July 4, 4.68 crore Udyam-registered MSMEs reported 20.19 crore jobs, including 2.32 crore jobs by GST-exempted informal micro-enterprises, up by 66 per cent from 12.1 crore jobs in July last year, showed ERD’s analysis.

–IANS

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Panji, July 11 (IANS) Goa Chief Minister, Pramod Sawant on Thursday stated that two lakh jobs would be created in the hospitality sector in the next five years and urged youths to take the opportunity.

He was speaking during the ‘World Youth Skill Day’ programme in north Goa.

CM Sawant said that Goa being a tourist state human resource is required in repute hotels.

“According to experts from this industry, a maximum five per cent of youth of Goa join the hospitality sector. But the requirement is for much more than that. These are white collar jobs,” Sawant said, urging youths to join Industrial Training Institute (ITI) classes where hospitality and housekeeping training are offered.

“Those who join these classes will get 100 per cent job placement. In the next five years around two lakh jobs will be created in the hospitality sector. We need to grab these jobs. If we don’t, then outsiders will grab them. Then we should not blame them,” CM Sawant said.

CM Sawant said that after joining this sector people can upgrade and get promotions.

–IANS

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New Delhi, July 11 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday held a meeting with senior NITI Aayog officials and leading economists as part of the wider consultations in the run-up to the Union Budget 2024-25.

The Modi 3.0 government will present its first full budget on July 23.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman along with Planning Minister Rao Inderjit Singh, Chief Economic Advisor V Anantha Nageswaran, Economist Surjit Bhalla, Agricultural Economist Ashok Gulati and veteran banker K V Kamath were also present at the meeting.

This will be the first major economic document of the Modi 3.0 government, which is expected to outline a road map for making India a developed nation by 2047.

FM Sitharaman has already held widespread discussions including captains of Indian industry, state finance ministers and economists to elicit their views for the forthcoming Budget.

After having presented an interim budget ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, the Finance Minister will now present the full budget for 2024-25 that ensures the economy continues on the high growth trajectory and creates more jobs during the third term of the Modi government.

Sitharaman is expected to increase the exemption limit for income tax to give some relief to the middle class. This would place more disposable income in the hands of consumers and lead to an increase in demand to fuel economic growth.

Given the low fiscal deficit, the hefty Rs 2.11 lakh crore dividend from the RBI and the buoyancy in taxes, the Finance Minister has a lot of headroom for pushing ahead with policies aimed at accelerating growth and implementing social welfare schemes aimed at uplifting the poor.

Prime Minister Modi has already declared that “the next 5 years will be a decisive fight against poverty.”

FM Sitharaman will be presenting the budget at a time when the Indian economy has clocked a robust 8.2 per cent growth in 2023-24, which is the fastest among the world’s major economies, and inflation is coming down to below 5 per cent. The RBI has stated that the economy is headed to an over 8 per cent growth trajectory.

The fiscal deficit has also been reduced from more than 9 per cent of GDP in 2020-21 to the targeted level of 5.1 per cent for 2024-25. This has strengthened the macroeconomic fundamentals of the economy. S&P Global Rating raised India’s sovereign rating outlook to ‘positive’ from ‘stable’, citing the country’s improving finances and strong economic growth.

–IANS

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Chandigarh, July 11 (IANS) After the maiden export of Punjab’s litchi to Britain, UK Deputy High Commissioner Caroline Rowett on Thursday called upon Punjab Horticulture Minister Chetan Singh Jouramajra to discuss strategies for future litchi consignments and sharing agro-allied technologies.

During the meeting here, which was focused on expanding the state’s agricultural export potential and fostering international collaborations, Jouramajra highlighted Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s vision of positioning the state’s products on the global map, citing the litchi shipment as a prime example of the government’s initiative to explore new markets.

Potential collaborations in solar energy, artificial intelligence and drone mapping, advancements in precision agriculture, opportunities in agribusiness ventures, exploration of carbon and water credits and development of a unified brand for state’s exports were also discussed, an official statement by the government said.

Rowett, who is based in Chandigarh, expressed interest in the litchi export program and assured the development of a roadmap for future collaborations between Punjab and Britain.

The minister informed the delegation that the next big shipment of litchi from the state would be exported to England soon.

Notably, last month’s litchi export initiative, launched by the government in collaboration with the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), marked a significant milestone for the state’s agricultural sector.

The exported litchis, sourced from the sub-mountainous districts of Pathankot, Gurdaspur and Hoshiarpur, are renowned for their deep red colour and superior sweetness due to the region’s favourable climate.

Punjab’s litchi cultivation spans 3,250 hectares, yielding approximately 13,000 metric tons annually, positioning the state as a potential major player in the global litchi market.

–IANS

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