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  • India’s agricultural exports record double-digit surge as farm sector bounces back

    India’s agricultural exports record double-digit surge as farm sector bounces backsocial media

    India’s exports of agricultural and processed food products have recorded a robust 13 per cent increase to $22.67 billion during April-February in the current financial year compared with the same period of the previous year, reflecting the strong performance of the farm sector.

    According to data compiled by the Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics, rice exports, including basmati and non-basmati varieties, jumped by 21 per cent during the 11-month period to over $11 billion from $9.32 billion in the same period last year.

    The government started easing restrictions on rice exports in September 2024 on prospects of bumper crops, around a year after they were imposed to check food inflation in the domestic market fuelled by local shortages in a poor monsoon year. These restrictions have been removed. This had led to a decline in exports during 2023-24.

    Rice exports increased by 13.21 per cent to $1.19 billion in February this year from $1.05 billion in February last year, the latest figures show.

    Meanwhile, India’s tea exports touched a 10-year high at 255 million kg in 2024 despite the uncertainties in the global market triggered by geopolitical tensions, data compiled by the Tea Board of India shows.

    India’s agricultural exports record double-digit surge as farm sector bounces backIANS

    The country’s exports shot up by a robust 10 per cent during the year from the corresponding figure of 231.69 million kgs recorded in 2023, according to the figures.

    The average price of Indian tea in the export market also went up by 10 per cent, bringing welcome relief to the tea industry which had been hit by inclement weather in 2023.

    There was a sharp increase in shipments to Iraq, accounting for 20 per cent of tea exports, and merchants are expecting to send 40-50 million kg to the West Asian country this fiscal, he said.

    Indian exporters, who entered several markets of West Asia when the Sri Lankan crop was low, managed to retain the shipment volumes there, he said.

    India exports tea to more than 25 countries with UAE, Iraq, Iran, Russia, the US and the UK as the major markets.

    India is among the top five tea exporters in the world accounting for about 10 per cent of total world exports. India’s Assam, Darjeeling, and Nilgiri tea are considered one of the finest in the world. Most of the tea exported out of India is black tea which makes up about 96 per cent of total exports. The other varieties include regular tea, green tea, herbal tea, masala tea and lemon tea.

    (With inputs from IANS)

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  • Garuda Aerospace and Bank of India Partner to Offer Agri Drone Loans to Farmers

    Garuda Aerospace and Bank of India Partner to Offer Agri Drone Loans to Farmers

    Garuda Aerospace,Bank of India, agri-drone loans

    Chennai, March 4 2025: Garuda Aerospace, India’s leading drone manufacturer, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Bank of India, one of the country’s premier public sector banks, to provide financial assistance for farmers purchasing agricultural drones. This partnership aims to enhance farming practices by offering easy access to advanced drone technology through low-interest, zero-collateral loans.

    Under this initiative, the Bank of India will offer customized financial solutions, making it easier for farmers, corporate entities, and partnership firms to secure loans for agri-drones. Additionally, Garuda Aerospace leverages the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund Drone Loan scheme to ensure streamlined access to financing and facilitate the adoption of cost-effective drone solutions. Building on its existing collaborations with major financial institutions such as SBI and Union Bank of India, this alliance with the Bank of India will further strengthen Garuda Aerospace’s commitment to leveraging drone technology in agriculture.

    Bank of India Agri-Drone Loans

    Speaking on this collaboration, Agnishwar Jayaprakash, Founder & CEO of Garuda Aerospace, said, “At Garuda Aerospace, our mission is to enhance agricultural productivity through smart drone technology. This partnership with Bank of India is a major step toward making indigenous drone solutions more accessible and affordable for farmers, supporting their transition to precision agriculture and contributing to an Aatmanirbhar and Viksit Bharat.”

    Shri Kiran Pathak, Assistant General Manager, Bank of India, emphasized the bank’s commitment to supporting the agricultural sector, said, “Financing drone technology aligns with our goal of driving digital transformation in farming. By supporting this initiative, we aim to help farmers to increase crop yields, and efficiently apply fertilizers, pesticides, and growth promoters.”

    Founded in 2015, Garuda Aerospace has rapidly emerged as a leader in drone technology, deploying over 2,500 drones across India. As the first company to successfully facilitate drone loans and subsidies, it has played a pivotal role in accelerating agricultural modernization.  

    About Garuda Aerospace

    Garuda Aerospace is India’s leading Drone tech start-up focused on disrupting two major multi-billion-dollar sectors, Precision Agri Tech and Industry 4.0 upgradation. Garuda Aerospace is asset-light, recession-proof, and agnostic and focuses on eliminating labourers in the agricultural field with drones focusing on designing, building, and customisation of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). Founded in 2015 with a team of 5, Garuda has scaled to a 200+ member team, having the largest drone fleet in India with over 400 drones and 500 pilots operating in 84 cities. Garuda Aerospace manufactures 30 types of drones and offers 50 types of services. Having served over 750 clients, including TATA, Godrej, Adani, Reliance, Swiggy, Flipkart, Delhivery, L&T, Survey of India, SAIL, NTPC, IOCL, Smart cities, Intel, Amazon, Wipro, IISC, MIT Boston, NHAI for various projects, the company recently partnered with global giants such as Lockheed Martin, Cognizant and Elbit Systems. Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi Ji launched the drone yatra, where 100 drones were flagged off simultaneously across 100 villages in India. Garuda Aerospace is the first drone company to get DGCA approvals for Type Certification and Remote Pilot Training Organisation. Garuda is on a mission to impact 1 billion lives positively using affordable precision Drone Technology. Mahendra Singh Dhoni has invested in the company and is the Brand Ambassador.

  • 20K farmers to get AI training on their phones; Govt plans to boost skilling, AI literacy in agriculture

    GPAI Summit

    Global IndiaAI Summit, 3rd-4th July 2024Official India AI Website

    The two day ‘Global IndiaAI Summit’ concluded last week in New Delhi displaying “India’s commitment to advancing the responsible development, deployment, and adoption of AI.”

    As the Lead Chair of the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence (GPAI), India hosted GPAI member countries, and experts to advance GPAI’s commitment to safe, secure, and trustworthy AI.

    The Summit focussed on 7 key pillars of the AI ecosystem. Of these ‘Future Skilling’, especially directed at the informal sector was one track. Towards this focus, a new phone-based AI skilling application will be tested by 20,000 farmers in Maharashtra.

    Farmers AI GPAI

    Representative imageFuture of Work-Working Group session, Global IndiaAI Summit 2024

    AI skilling and awareness:

    During the ‘Future of Work'(FoW)- Working Group session at the Summit on ‘ AI Literacy & Intersectionality’, it was observed that SMEs and small-scale industries are not sufficiently prepared for the AI advancements that are taking place.

    “Billions of dollars are invested in AI Future Skills, but none apply to informal sector workers.” Dr B Shadrach, FoW Expert and Project Co-Lead (India) at the Summit noted. Further, “The cost of AI literacy among informal sector workers is unknown.”

    Focusing on the farm workers, factory workers, single account holder businesses, and informal sector workers who are the backbone of various economies, Dr. Shadrach suggested an AI literacy programme that can help orient millions of informal sector workers. Accordingly, the approach adopted is a generic learning program, which is an open educational resource with a Creative Commons license to help scale up and upskill workers.

     The Government of India already has schemes such as PM-DAKSH (Pradhan Mantri Dakshta Aur Kushalta Sampann Hitgrahi) Yojana which is a National Action Plan “for skilling of marginalized persons covering SCs, OBCs, EBCs, DNTs, Sanitation workers including waste pickers.”

    Features of the GPAI ‘Future Skilling’ testing for farmers:

    • A mobile phone-based curriculum in a story-telling format delivered in vernacular languages, relatable to the target population.

    • Designed by experts of the Global South, for conditions that are specific to the sub-continent.

    • It will be tested among 20,000 farmers in Maharashtra.

    • Dr.Shadrach also presented the growth of the product deployment.

    Under GPAI, this is the first and only project that deals with India, that is “all about people who are excluded from the mainstream.”

  • Bisk Farm expands its ‘Eat Fit’ range with the launch of nutritious ‘Eat Fit Digestive’ and ‘Eat Fit Atta Marie’ Biscuits

    Bisk Farm expands its 'Eat Fit' range with the launch of nutritious 'Eat Fit Digestive' and 'Eat Fit Atta Marie' BiscuitsThe ‘Eat Fit Digestive’ biscuits are distinguished by their excessive dietary fibre content material and are made fully from 100% Atta (whole-wheat flour), with no added sugar and zero trans-fat. These biscuits provide a satisfying and guilt-free deal with for patrons.

    The new ‘Eat Fit Atta Marie’ biscuits, additionally made with whole-wheat flour (Atta), are each crunchy and tasty. These biscuits provide a light-weight deal with that’s preferrred for tea-time or snack breaks for contemporary shoppers who prioritize more healthy decisions of their each day weight loss plan.

    Mr. Vijay Kumar Singh, Managing Director of Bisk Farm, commented on the launch, “At Bisk Farm, we’re dedicated to offering our shoppers with healthful and nutritious decisions that align with their well being and wellness aspirations. With the introduction of ‘Eat Fit Digestive Biscuits’ and ‘Eat Fit Atta Marie Biscuits’, we goal to handle the rising demand for more healthy snack choices whereas delivering the similar nice style and high quality that Bisk Farm is understood for.”

    The new ‘Eat Fit Atta Marie’ biscuits can be found in 300 gms packs, whereas the ‘Eat Fit Digestive’ biscuits can be found in 175 gms and 59 gms packs, These merchandise at the moment are out there in any respect main retail shops.


    Mansi Praharaj