Winning Bizness Economic Desk

Member of the Economic Advisory Council to the country’s prime minister, Mr Sanjeev Sanyal, has been appointed as the Chancellor of Pune’s Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics (GIPE).

This appointment to one of the country’s prestigious institutions comes after the resignation of former Chancellor Mr Bibek Debroy.

Making the announcement of his appointment on X, Mr Sanyal assured that his duties as a member of the Economic Advisory Council to India’s prime minister would not be affected due to this appointment.

He was earlier the Principal Economic Advisor to the finance minister for five-years till February 2022.

He has also represented India on many international fora such as OECD (the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) and G7 and served as co-chair of G20’s Framework Working Group.

A point to note here is that Mr Sanyal was one of the architects of the G20’s Global Action Plan that kept the world economy functioning during the Corona virus-induced pandemic years.

CIBA’s Next-Gen Shrimp Farming Technique

The ICAR-Central Institute of Brackishwater Aquaculture (CIBA) has unveiled its next-gen super-intensive precision shrimp farming technology that is aimed at revolutionising the country’s shrimp farming industry.

This new and innovative technique aims to address long-standing issues within the segment such as disease outbreaks, increasing production costs, stagnant farm gate prices and the increasing impact of climate change.

An important point to note here is that shrimp farming presently contributes to 70 per cent of the country’s sea-food export earnings, valued at Rs 46,000-crore. The annual production is around ten-lakh metric tonnes (MT).

However, it must also be pointed out that the industry is struggling with profitability, prompting the need for new approaches.

The next-gen shrimp farming system developed is designed to produce more shrimp in less space, offering farmers a more efficient and sustainable model.

The system, which utilises High-Density Polyethylene circular tanks, is equipped with advanced energy-efficient technologies and an integrated wastewater management system.

This allows farmers to reduce production costs and energy usage and enables them to harvest 100-to-120 tonnes per hectare per year in three crop cycles.

The HoD of Nutrition, Genetics and Bio-technology division of CIBA, Mr K Ambashankar, has been quoted in a leading newspaper as saying that “in conventional pond farming, we get an average of 7-10 tonnes per hectare.”

“But in our system, we can easily harvest 40-45-tonnes per hectare. Another aspect is we use no anti-biotics and there is no need for pond treatment, which drastically cuts the input cost.”

What needs highlighting here is that the shrimp got an A4 rating which makes it more export-friendly since there is no question of any residues. Here, it must also be added that the shrimp texture, taste and colour are also of premium quality.

This new farming technique was demonstrated with the financial backing of the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana. And one of the outstanding features of this system is its ability to allow farmers to plan their crop cycles based on market demands.

The goal now is to produce two-million tonnes of shrimp by 2025 with an export value of Rs 1-lakh-crore.

Kharif Sowing Reaches 110.85-mn Hectares

The acreage under kharif crops in the country has moved northward by 1.87 per cent on a Year-on-Year (YoY) basis to 110.85-million (mn) hectares as of September 27.

This has been aided by healthy monsoon rains and the acreage number surpasses the five-year average.

Here, it must be pointed out that last year’s average was 108.82-million hectares.

The current sowing of kharif crops including paddy, pulses, oilseeds, sugarcane and cotton, surpassed the five-year average of 109.6-milion hectares by 1.14 per cent, the agriculture ministry said in a statement.

The average year in kharif sowing is based on the usual area from 2018-19 to 2022-23.

Paddy sowing stood at 41.45-million hectares, a 3.24 per cent increase from the acreage area of 40.15-million hectares and a 2.47 per cent increase from the 40.45-million hectares a year ago.

Coarse cereals, or shree anna, also registered a 6.85 per cent increase to 19.34-million hectares over the normal 18.10-million hectares. The point to note here is that it was four per cent higher than the 18.60-million hectares sown during the same period in 2023.

Pulses, another key kharif crop, recorded a 7.47 per cent increase in sowing, expanding to 12.81-million hectares from the 11.92-million hectares of the last year, with tur (arhar) dal alone accounting for 4.65-million hectares.

Oilseeds too clocked a northward movement in sowing area to 19.61-million hectares from 19.09-million hectares in 2023 while sugarcane remained stable at 5.76-million hectares.

However, some crops registered declines, with jute and mesta slipping to 5,74,000-hectares from 6,67,000-hectares and cotton dropping to 11.29-million hectares from 12.37-million hectares last year.

Bumper sowing has strengthened confidence among policy-makers as kharif production constitutes about 60 per cent of India’s total foodgrains output.

Following Domestic Demand Increase, India Ups Oil Imports from Saudi Arabia, Iraq

India has upped its crude oil imports from its traditional oil suppliers—Iraq and Saudi Arabia—as the country’s domestic oil demand increased in September.

India’s imports from the two Arabian nations climbed up by 16 per cent and 37 per cent, respectively, in the month, according to a leading new outlet which quoted data from energy cargo tracker Vortexa.

The country imported 8,94,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude from Iraq last month (September) as compared to 7,71,000 bpd in the previous month of August. Saudi Arabia, on the other hand, supplied 6,88,000 bpd as against 5,01,000 bpd of crude oil in August.

Russia, however, remained the top supplier of crude oil to India in the month supplying 1.79-million bpd accounting for 38 per cent of the total oil imports.

This compares with1.61-million barrels per day supplied per day to the country by Russia in August.

The total crude oil imports by India increased by 12.7 per cent in September on a Month-on-Month (MoM) basis to 4.7-million barrels of crude oil per day.

A point to note here is that with the festive season now approaching in the country, oil demand is expected to further move northward in the coming months, leading Indian refiners to scout for more crude.

India is dependent on imports of crude oil for over 85 per cent of its requirement.

India’s Carbonated Soft Drinks Segment Affected by High Tax, Says Report

The country’s carbonated soft drinks segment is unable to realise its potential in terms of scale expansion due to barriers such as high taxation under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime, a report stated.

This is despite the government’s initiatives such as Make in India and Aatmanirbhar Bharat, according to economic think-tank ICRIER’s report.

The cross-country comparative data on sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) taxes collated by the World Bank (WB) shows that India has one of the highest tax rates for carbonated soft drinks (CSDs) at a total tax rate of 40 per cent as of 2023.

Over 90 per cent of countries that tax SSBs have a lower tax rate than India, as per the report titled Carbonated Beverages Industry in India: Tax Policy to Promote Growth, Innovation and Investment.

Consumers, globally and in the country, are shifting towards low sugar and no added sugar varieties of beverages amid heightened health awareness.

“The CSD market is also changing from its traditional high sugar carbonated beverages to low-sugar and fruits-based and/or flavoured carbonated drinks to zero-sugar aerated water, catering to changes in consumers’ choice for healthier options and government policies like layered sugar-based taxes,” the report stated.

An important point the report highlighted is that despite government initiatives such as Make in India and Aatmanirbhar Bharat, “the CSD segment is unable to reach its potential in terms of scale expansion due to barriers such as the high tax brackets and compensation cess under the GST regime, implemented since 2017.”

Presently, carbonated or aerated beverages are placed in the highest GST slab of 28 per cent with a compensation cess of 12 per cent, irrespective of their sugar or fruit content.

“The high tax of 40 per cent, irrespective of sugar content, is making it difficult for innovative firms to come up with low sugar varieties and scale-up and existing firms to invest in product reformulation,” the ICRIER report stated.

The country’s CSDs market is relatively small and it generated revenue worth USD 18.25-billion in 2022 and grew at a CAGR of 19.8 per cent between 2017 and 2022.