Latest news with #CIP
Time of India
5 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Agra to emerge as global hub for tuber crop innovation
1 2 Lucknow: In an effort to position Uttar Pradesh as an international agricultural hub, the International Potato Centre (CIP), Peru, is set to establish its South Asia Regional Centre (CSARC) in Agra. The institute is proposed to conduct world-class research on tuber crops such as potato and sweet potato. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday met a delegation led by director general of CIP, Peru, Dr Simon Heck to review the progress of the project. The delegation comprised CIP country manager Neeraj Sharma, senior advisor (South Asia) Raman Abrol, and South Asia head of the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) Sudhanshu Singh. At the meeting, Yogi emphasised the need to begin farmer training using CIP technologies through Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) until the centre's construction at Singna village in Agra district is completed. He also called for prioritising research on other tuber crops in addition to potatoes. Yogi said the upcoming centre would be instrumental in enhancing farmers' incomes, strengthening the food processing sector, and positioning Uttar Pradesh as an international agricultural hub. He said that UP is India's top potato-producing state, accounting for 35% of the national output. In 2024–25, the state produced 244 lakh metric tonnes of potatoes over 6.96 lakh hectares, with Agra alone cultivating potatoes on 76,000 hectares. Despite such significant production, there remains a shortage of quality seeds and processing-grade varieties — a gap that CSARC aims to bridge. In June, the Union cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved Rs 111.50 crore for the establishment of this centre. CSARC is envisioned as a global model for seed innovation, apical-rooted cuttings, germplasm conservation, and value chain development. It will provide cutting-edge technology and training to farmers in collaboration with ICAR, state agricultural universities, and private sector partners. Established in 1971 in Peru, CIP operates in over 20 countries and has completed five decades of research in India, making significant strides in developing climate-resilient varieties, pest management solutions, and nutritionally enhanced crops. An MoA between Govt of India and CIP was signed on July 28. Simon Heck thanked the CM for his unwavering support, stating that CSARC will not only raise farmers' incomes but also establish UP as the potato innovation hub of South Asia.
The Hindu
04-08-2025
- Business
- The Hindu
The Hindu Morning Digest, August 4, 2025
Top Trump aide accuses India of financing Russia's war in Ukraine A top aide to U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday (August 3, 2025) accused India of effectively financing Russia's war in Ukraine by purchasing oil from Moscow, after the U.S. leader escalated pressure on New Delhi to stop buying Russian oil. 'What he (Trump) said very clearly is that it is not acceptable for India to continue financing this war by purchasing the oil from Russia,' said Stephen Miller, deputy chief of staff at the White House and one of Mr. Trump's most influential aides. SIR brings the INDIA bloc together for first physical meeting since June 2024 United in their opposition to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, the INDIA bloc partners will meet together outside Parliament for the first time in 14 months on Thursday (August 7, 2025) , when they are set to gather at the Delhi residence of Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha. NDA seeks legal action against Tejashwi Yadav for allegedly holding two Voter ID cards The ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) on Sunday (August 3, 2025) urged the Election Commission of India (ECI) to take cognisance of the two voter ID cards allegedly possessed by Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader and the Leader of the Opposition in the Bihar AssemblyTejashwi Yadav, and file a case against him. Bio-fortified potatoes to hit Indian market soon Bio-fortified potatoes, with added iron content, will soon be available in Indian markets, said Dr. Simon Heck, Director General of the Peru-based International Potato Center (CIP), in an interview to The Hindu. Bio-fortified sweet potatoes, additionally added Vitamin A using technology developed by the CIP, are already available in Karnataka, Assam, West Bengal and Odisha, and the CIP will take efforts to make available the seeds of bio-fortified sweet potato to more farmers, said Dr. Heck. He is in India as part of the establishment of the South Asia regional centre of the CIP in Agra. IND vs ENG fifth Test: Root, Brook take England closer to record chase As Joe Root and Jacob Bethell walked out for the final session, not many expected India to fight back. Until then, Root and Harry Brook made batting look easy as the hosts inched closer to chasing down a massive 374 and set a record at The Oval on the fourth day of the fifth Test. But 30 minutes into the post-tea session on Sunday, things changed dramatically as England lost two quick wickets and was struggling at 339 for six, still 35 runs away from the victory, before rain forced an early end. Philippines President Marcos Jr. to visit India as two sides deepen maritime cooperation In a move aimed at deepening maritime cooperation with the southeast Asian region, India will host Philippines President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr. from August 4 to 8. This will be the first visit by President Marcos Jr, son of the late President Ferdinand Marcos who visited India in 1976. New U.K. law to target gangs pushing illegal immigration with social media advertisements The U.K. on Sunday (August 3, 2025) unveiled plans for a new law that will crack down on criminal gangs behind social media advertisements promoting dangerous small boat crossings and other forms of illegal immigration into the country. Sixty-eight African migrants killed as boat capsises off Yemen A boat capsized on Sunday (August 3, 2025) in waters off Yemen's coast, leaving 68 African migrants dead and 74 others missing, the U.N.'s migration agency said. The tragedy was the latest in a series of shipwrecks off Yemen that have killed hundreds of African migrants fleeing conflict and poverty in hopes of reaching the wealthy Gulf Arab countries. Press Club of India seeks withdrawal of FIR against journalist in Himachal Pradesh The Press Club of India (PCI) on Sunday (August 3, 2025) urged Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu to intervene and withdraw a first information report (FIR) registered by the Shimla police against a journalist and a news portal. The Club criticised the police action against journalist Sanjeev Sharma and the news portal Samwad Bharat, terming it 'a clear attempt to intimidate and silence independent journalism'. Opposition rejects Odisha Police claim in minor girl's death in Puri Opposition parties intensified their criticism of the Mohan Majhi-led government, rejecting the Odisha Police's claim that no one was involved in the incident in which a 15-year-old girl from Puri district died of burn injuries allegedly inflicted by miscreants. Following the post-mortem conducted at AIIMS, New Delhi, the girl's body was brought to her native village under Balanga police station limits in Puri district for burial.
The Hindu
03-08-2025
- Business
- The Hindu
Bio-fortified potatoes to hit Indian market soon
Bio-fortified potatoes, with added iron content, will soon be available in Indian markets, said Dr. Simon Heck, Director General of the Peru-based International Potato Center (CIP), in an interview to The Hindu. Bio-fortified sweet potatoes, additionally added Vitamin A using technology developed by the CIP, are already available in Karnataka, Assam, West Bengal and Odisha, and the CIP will take efforts to make available the seeds of bio-fortified sweet potato to more farmers, said Dr. Heck. He is in India as part of the establishment of the South Asia regional centre of the CIP in Agra. Dr. Heck expressed the hope that the centre will help farmers to access better quality potato and sweet potato seeds and better access to the market. The CIP believes that the location outside Agra, in the heart of the potato belt of India, is ideal for the new centre, as the Indo-Gangetic plains are the largest potato-producing area in the world. Dr. Heck said the Government of Uttar Pradesh had made available the land and handed it over to the National Horticulture Board, which invited the CIP to establish a centre. This agreement between the CIP and the Union Agriculture Ministry was signed in the last week of July. It was set up at the demand from the Government of India in recognition of the potential for economic growth and the value generated from the growing potato sector. Dr. Heck said India had the strongest momentum for potato production. 'It may be noted that international companies, especially potato firms from Europe and North America, are increasingly investing in potato production in India,' he said. Part of market chain Dr. Heck said farmers wanted better varieties of potatoes that grew well with fewer agrochemical inputs, and they also wanted to be part of the market chain, including food processing. 'What they needed was access to potato seed of the right quality, of the right variety, and at the right time of the year. There are constraints. They don't have enough potato seeds, or they come too late for planting, or they are not of good quality. We need to build the capacity for companies to multiply potato seeds. That will be a major contribution of the CIP,' he said. The CIP was working with private companies and public research institutes to make sure that throughout the chain, right from the initial breeding of new varieties, through multiplication every year, in the right locations, farmers throughout India would have access to good quality planting material. He said the CIP would also ensure that the vulnerable parts of society had access to nutritious potatoes. There were a number of opportunities along that road, one of which was to work with the government, with public sector food procurement, for school feeding, such as mid-day meals, to link nutritious potatoes into those programmes, more specifically and consistently, to give children access to that. 'Another one was to breed a more nutritious potato,' Dr. Heck said. The focus was on iron fortification in potatoes. 'We have already shared the germ plasm with the Indian Council of Agricultural Research's [ICAR] Central Potato Institute in Shimla. The first variety has been released in Peru, because iron deficiency is even higher in Peru. Now it is under the evaluation of the ICAR, and it needs to be adapted to the Indian growing conditions,' he said. He said bio-fortified sweet potatoes with added Vitamin A were being grown by farmers in Odisha, West Bengal, Karnataka and Assam. 'It is already widely produced. They are bright orange inside,' he said. Coordination committee The CIP regional centre would be governed by a coordination committee that comprises the Secretaries of Agriculture of India, Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh. The CIP would also study the market in the region that failed to provide adequate prices for potatoes. 'The open market has the glut or sometimes the shortage. The government needs to step in there through market boards and see how they can anticipate supplies ahead of time. New varieties can also expand the window seasonality so that not everybody harvests on the same day or in the same week. That will help with stabilising the price and the supplies,' he said. On the growing consumption of sweet potatoes around the world, he said it was a tropical crop, unlike potatoes. 'The prospects are very strong for India to be a global supplier of sweet potato. You need to stabilise sweet potatoes through some kind of processing early on. It can be stored without refrigeration, without any chemical additives, for two years. So, for India, places in Africa, that is a very interesting product, from a commercial point of view. It is a final product. You can eat it like that in a school meal and is highly nutritious. It is for the food industry to further utilise it in baking and confectionaries,' Dr. Heck said.
Indian Express
29-07-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
Delhi Confidential: Suitable space
A WEEK after Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi conceded that the Congress 'fell short' of understanding the issues faced by OBCs, and that the party would work at 'double speed' for the community going forward, the OBC department of AICC has got an electric display board proclaiming the department and its headquarters. The design of the board has become a topic of discussion at the party office as it features symbols like the Ashoka Chakra and the Gandhian Charkha. The department is looking for a suitable space to install the board so it can grab maximum eyeballs. Taste Of Bengal TMC MPs are 'delighted' with a change of menu at the Parliament cafeterias. The reason: 'grilled Bhetki fish'. Sharing the 'good news', MPs of the West Bengal-based party said 'grilled Bhetki' was a welcome change at the Parliament cafeterias as so far only Basa fish was served, which most Bengali fish eaters found 'flavourless'. The rate of the Bhetki dish — `350 per plate — also meant TMC MPs could enjoy it at an 'affordable price'. Surprise Invite Uttar Pradesh Horticulture Minister (Independent Charge) Dinesh Pratap Singh has written to PM Narendra Modi, inviting him to lay the foundation stone of the International Potato Centre's (CIP) South Asia Regional Centre (CSARC) in Agra. The letter has taken several officials at the Centre by surprise. The Union Cabinet had only approved the proposal to establish CSARC on June 25, and Singh sent the letter to the PM the very day. The minister extended the invitation even before the formal MoU between the Union Ministry of Agriculture and CIP was signed, and without any formal proposal yet from the UP Chief Minister's Office for such a ceremony, it is learnt.
The Star
28-07-2025
- Business
- The Star
Portugal questions fairness of EU-U.S. tariff deal, warns of high costs, limited gains
LISBON, July 28 (Xinhua) -- Portugal has raised concerns over the recently concluded tariff agreement between the European Union (EU) and the United States, describing it as a limited improvement that falls short of true free trade and comes at a steep cost for both sides. The Ministry of Economy and Territorial Cohesion acknowledged in a statement that the deal -- fixing U.S. tariffs on European goods at 15 percent -- may bring a certain degree of predictability. However, it stressed that "nothing replaces the freedom of trade" and reaffirmed Portugal's commitment to actively push for the gradual elimination of tariffs and other trade barriers. The Confederation of Portuguese Business (CIP) expressed only "relative relief" at the deal, emphasizing that the price to pay is "high for both parties." "When a hurricane is expected, one feels happy with a mere storm," said CIP Director-General Rafael Alves Rocha. Still, he warned that the agreed tariff levels mark a significant increase from the current average of around 2.5 percent, representing a setback for exporters and highlighting the asymmetry in the EU's and U.S.' tariff structures. According to CIP, the outcome is unbalanced and disadvantages European producers compared to the average customs duties imposed by the EU on American imports. The Portuguese government has responded to potential negative consequences with financial support measures for domestic businesses. It pointed to the "Reforcar" program launched in April, aimed at cushioning companies from adverse trade impacts. So far, 14,000 applications have been submitted under the BPF INVEST EU credit line, totaling 3.2 billion euros (3.71 billion U.S. dollars), with 2.5 billion euros approved and 1.6 billion euros already disbursed. Additionally, a specific credit line -- BPF INVEST EXPORT PT -- was created to support export-oriented SMEs. It has received 2,600 applications worth 1.3 billion euros, of which 600 million euros have been approved. As part of the new PT2030 incentives framework, a non-refundable grant line has also been launched to promote internationalization, targeting joint projects and collaborative strategies in external markets. The ministry announced that the first public calls for collective internationalization initiatives will open on July 31. Despite these support measures, Lisbon's cautious tone and the business community's criticism reflect broader doubts within Portugal about the long-term benefits of the EU-U.S. trade arrangement -- raising questions about whether short-term stability has come at the expense of long-term economic balance. (1 euro = 1.16 U.S. dollar)
