Union Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan will launch the AgriSURE Fund and Krishi Nivesh Portal in New Delhi today. Mr Chouhan will also confer the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund – AIF Excellence Awards to the top-performing banks and states under various categories to recognize and appreciate their efforts. Ministers of State and representatives from various States and Banks will be present on the occasion.

The Ministry said, the Award Ceremony will inspire other Banks to enhance their performance and contribute to the overall success of the scheme. The AIF was launched in 2022 to create post-harvest management infrastructure and community farming assets.

To boost India's agricultural sector, the Union Cabinet approved seven major projects with a combined investment of Rs 13,966 crore on Monday. The announcement was made by Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw during a press briefing, where he outlined the government's commitment to advancing agricultural research, digital farming, and sustainable practices.

This announcement comes a week after Vaishnaw revealed the approval of 12 industrial smart cities across 10 states worth Rs 28,602 crore.

Crop Science for Food and Nutritional Security: Rs 3,979 crore

The government has earmarked Rs 3,979 crore for crop science for food and nutritional security. This project will focus on five areas:

• Research and education: Enhancing academic and research capabilities in agriculture.
• Plant genetic resource management: Conserving and utilising genetic resources for crop improvement.
• Genetic improvement for food and fodder crops: Focusing on pulses, oilseeds, and commercial crops.
• Research on insects, microbes, pollinators, etc.: Addressing issues that impact crop health and productivity.

The Indian Army launched the first phase of Project NAMAN, which is designed to provide dedicated support and services to Defence pensioners, veterans, and their families. Chief of the Army Staff, General Upendra Dwivedi, and the President of the Army Wives Welfare Association, Mrs. Sunita Dwivedi, were present at the launching event. Speaking on the occasion, Chief of the Army Staff General Upendra Dwivedi emphasized the importance of the project in ensuring that veterans and their families receive the care and support they deserve. In the first phase of Project NAMAN, 14 Common Services Centres have been established at key locations across India, including New Delhi, Jalandhar, Leh, Dehradun, Lucknow, Jodhpur, Bengdubi, Gorakhpur, Jhansi, Secunderabad, Saugor, Guntur, Ahmedabad, and Bangalore. The project is set to expand significantly and aims to establish approximately 200 centres nationwide over the next 2 to 3 years.

In its first-ever European deployment, the Indian Navy’s P-8I aircraft touched down in France to take part in the ‘Varuna’ bilateral exercise with the French Navy. This comes 63 years after the Alizé aircraft, operating from the erstwhile INS Vikrant, last flew at the Hyères airbase.

According to an official statement by the Indian Navy, the P-8I aircraft landed at the Airbase 125 Istres-Le Tubé in France, marking its first-ever deployment in Europe. The aircraft will be a part of ‘Exercise Varuna’ with the French Navy, it said.

The INS Tabar, which earlier arrived in Toulon, will also be taking part in the bilateral military exercise. The navy said the 2024 edition of the bilateral naval exercise ‘Varuna’ between the two countries is scheduled from September 2 to 4 in the Mediterranean Sea. It will include advanced tactical exercises underscoring the deepening synergy and interoperability between the two navies, it said.

India has recorded trade surplus with as many as 151 countries such as the US and Netherlands, while the country has a trade deficit with 75 nations including China and Russia during the first half of this year, according to think tank GTRI.

The Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) said that India does not need to worry about the trade deficit from importing crude oil and coal, however, it must focus on reducing the industrial goods imports, especially from countries like China, as these threaten India’s economic sovereignty.

“Between January and June 2024, India had a trade surplus with 151 countries, representing 55.8 percent of its exports and 16.5 percent of its imports, totalling $72.1 billion,” GTRI said in a report. The biggest surpluses were with the USA ($21 billion) and the Netherlands ($11.6 billion) during January-June this year.

“India had a trade deficit with 75 countries, which accounted for 44.2 percent of its exports and 83.5 percent of its imports, resulting in a $185.4 billion deficit, much larger than India's overall trade deficit,” it said, adding this situation highlights the need to reduce reliance on specific imports and strengthen domestic production.

The Centre on Monday approved the Rs 2,817-crore Digital Agriculture Mission for the creation of digital public infrastructure in the farm sector by building AgriStack to provide solutions like an Aadhaar-like unique ID for farmers, a crop sown registry and geo-referenced village maps, and implementing the Digital General Crop Estimation Survey (DGCES).

A proposal of this effect was approved by the Union cabinet, which met under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The mission will be launched as part of the agriculture ministry’s activities planned for the first 100 days of Modi 3.0.

A budgetary allocation of Rs 2,817 crore has been made for the mission, and Rs 1,940 crore of it will be provided by the Centre. The mission will be rolled out nationally over the next two years (till 2025-26). It was initially planned to be launched in the financial year 2021-22 but could not be rolled out because of the Covid outbreak, said a source. Later, the Government announced the building of digital public infrastructure for agriculture in the Union Budgets 2023-24 and 2024-25.

V Satish Kumar on Sunday took over as the chairman of the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), the nation's largest oil firm.

Kumar, who is director (marketing) at IOC, was given additional charge of chairman following delays in finding a full-time chairman.

"He will concurrently serve as chairman while continuing in his role as Director (Marketing), a position he has held since October 2021," the company said in a statement.

He also held the additional charge of Director (Finance) for one year from October 2022, a period characterised by geopolitical tensions due to the Ukraine-Russia conflict.

Indian para-athlete Yogesh Kathuniya bagged the eighth medal for team India in the ongoing Paris Paralympics 2024 as he won the silver medal in the Men's Discus Throw F56 final on Monday.

Kathuniya's best throw in the final of the event was 42.22 at the Stade de France. This was his second successive medal at the Paralympics after Tokyo 2020 with a best throw of 44.58 metres.

Before the ongoing mega event, the para-athlete clinched a silver medal in the F56 category at the World Para-Athletics Championship 2024. With an impressive throw of 41.80 meters, Kathuniya secured the second position, trailing behind the gold medallist, Brazilian athlete Claudiney Batista Dos Santos.

India's Kumar Nitesh clinched his maiden gold medal at the Paralympics after beating Great Britain's Daniel Bethell in a thrilling men's singles SL3 badminton final here on Monday. The 29-year-old from Haryana was rock solid in his defence and spot on with his shot selections as he beat Tokyo silver medallist Bethell 21-14 18-21 23-21 in an absorbing contest that lasted an hour and 20 minutes.

SL3 class players, like Nitesh, compete with more severe lower limb disabilities, requiring them to play on a half-width court.

Nitesh's victory on Monday ensured that India retained the SL3 gold after Pramod Bhagat clinched the title three years ago when para badminton made its debut in Tokyo.

The United Nations released $100 million on Friday for humanitarian emergencies in 10 countries in Africa, the Middle East, Asia and the Caribbean.

Acting UN humanitarian chief Joyce Msuya said a lack of funding in these countries is preventing aid agencies from providing life-saving assistance, and that is heart-wrenching.

More than one-third of the new funding from the Central Emergency Response Fund known as CERF will go to Yemen, where a civil war is now in its 10th year, and Ethiopia, where government forces are fighting several rebel groups in its regions as well as ethnic-related insurgencies. Yemen is getting $20 million and Ethiopia $15 million.