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New Indian Express
6 hours ago
- Politics
- New Indian Express
Red rebel turns blue warrior
JHARKHAND : They say, true revolution stems from necessity, and a strong sense of justice. Om Prakash Sahu's decision to exit the Maoist organisation came out of the realisation that they were being exploited by the top leaders, which paved the way for a small revolution among fellow ex-Maoists, who joined together to form a fish farming community in Gumla, Jharkhand. 'It was danger at every step when I left the organisation. Several attempts were made to kill me, but I survived each of them and fought on, with a group of 18-20 people. About 8-10 of my supporters got killed by the Maoists, but I did not lose hope and moved on with my stone crusher business. The government later banned the stone crusher business in 2017, which left me unemployed' said Om Prakash Sahu. 'During this phase, my friend Jyoti Lakra, already a fish farmer, encouraged me to take up fish farming,' said Sahu. More than 200 families of the Basia Block of Gumla are indebted to Sahu for helping them with a livelihood. 'More than 150 ex-Maoists are directly or indirectly engaged with me in fish farming' said Sahu. Locals asserted that he wore his life on his sleeves and helped drag out Maoists from the region, which brought peace to the region. 'The training given by the fisheries department proved to be a turning point in my life,' said Sahu. Later, in 2024, he received assistance under Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) for six ponds with advanced Recirculatory Aquaculture System (RAS) technology Ishwar Gope, 42, an ex-Maoist and friend of Sahu, now harvests eight quintals of fish worth `2,50,000 annually from a government pond. Likewise, Lakhan Singh, 51, had been doing fish farming traditionally in his own pond, but after meeting Sahu, started doing it in an organised way in the five ponds he owns and is making a good profit. Singh returned home after several years as a daily wage labourer, due to Sahu's efforts- he had to leave more than 150 acres of ancestral land when Maoist menace hit peak.
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Business Standard
a day ago
- Business
- Business Standard
India misses Rs 1-trillion marine export target set under PMMSY by FY25
India's marine exports have fallen short of the ambitious target of exporting products worth Rs 1 trillion under the flagship Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) by FY25, owing to a global economic slowdown, compliance issues, infrastructure bottlenecks, policy gaps, and a lack of product diversification, experts said. Experts attribute inflation in major importing nations as one of the reasons for reduced demand for marine products. 'Export volumes were greatly hurt by inflationary pressures and decreased consumer spending, particularly in the United States, European Union, and Japan,' said S S Raju, Principal Scientist at the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI). Additionally, the stringent quality standards set by importers have hurt the sector. 'Consignment rejections and delays were caused by problems with antibiotic residue, traceability, and certification requirements,' said Raju. Launched in 2020, the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana aimed to double India's marine export earnings to Rs 1 trillion by FY25 from the 2018–19 baseline, as per the official website of PMMSY. The scheme 'envisages to enhance fisheries exports to Rs 1 lakh crores by 2024–25,' Fisheries Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh reiterated in a written reply in Parliament in August 2024. The original baseline export figure for 2018–19 was cited as Rs 46,589 crore, which was later revised to Rs 46,613.03 crore by the Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA). In the Union Budget for FY25, the government allocated Rs 2,352 crore towards PMMSY, which was 89.8 per cent of the total allocation (Rs 2,616.44 crore) made for the Department of Fisheries. The shortfall comes at a time when India's fisheries sector is staring at a fresh crisis. The United States (US) — the largest export destination for India's marine products — may impose retaliatory tariffs starting 9 July. India is currently engaged in bilateral trade talks with the US to avert the impending duty hike. If the tariffs come into effect, 'a billion-dollar sector could be upset by this approach since American consumers might cut back on imports or look for other suppliers,' said Raju. Rajamanohar Somasundaram, founder of Aquaconnect, explained the policy gaps in aquaculture. While the Kisan Credit Card (KCC) scheme addresses the working capital needs of traditional agriculture, its credit limits often fall short for aquaculture farmers, whose capital requirements are significantly higher, said Somasundaram. Besides these, infrastructure bottlenecks continue to cripple the sector. In many coastal states, harbours, processing facilities, and cold chain infrastructure are still operating below capacity, said Raju. Exporters also face issues such as high freight costs and a scarcity of containers. 'Shipment delays and higher transportation expenses made it harder to compete in global markets,' he added. Experts and market participants call for both product and export market diversification. Frozen shrimps account for 66 per cent of total marine export value, according to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. 'Because of this over-reliance, the industry is more vulnerable to changes in the market or disease outbreaks,' said Raju. Echoing a similar sentiment, Somasundaram believes in 'diversifying both our product portfolio and export markets, backed by a value-driven strategy such as promoting high-potential species and deepening our presence in underpenetrated regions like the Middle East and South Korea.' Despite these concerns, marine product exports saw a jump of 20.8 per cent in April 2025. The country exported these products worth Rs 4,981 crore in April 2025, compared to Rs 4,122 crore during the same period a year ago, government data showed. Emails and queries sent to the Ministry of Fisheries and MPEDA did not elicit a response till the time of going to press.
