PIB Summary- 23th May, 2023 | Current Affairs & Hindu Analysis: Daily, Weekly & Monthly - UPSC PDF Download

World Food India 2023

Why in News?
India’s Ministry of Food Processing Industries is organizing the second edition of ‘World Food India 2023’ as a tribute to the International Year of Millets. This event, scheduled for 3rd-5th November 2023 in New Delhi, aims to highlight India’s vibrant food culture and attract international investments in the diverse food processing sector.

About World Food India 2023

• World Food India 2023 serves as a platform to foster partnerships between Indian and foreign investors in the food sector.
• It brings together stakeholders from the global food ecosystem, including manufacturers, producers, food processors, policymakers, and organizations.
• The event showcases opportunities for collaboration in retail, processing, technology transfer, manufacturing, and cold chain logistics along the food value chain.
• It highlights investment prospects in areas such as backward linkages, processing equipment, research and development, cold chain storage, start-ups, logistics, and retail chains.

Focus Pillars

• Millets are ancient grains known for their nutritional value, gluten-free nature, climate resilience, and eco-friendliness.
• They contribute to food security, nutrition security, and sustainability, addressing challenges like climate change, population growth, and malnutrition.
• The United Nations has designated 2023 as the International Year of Millets (IYM 2023) to promote their production and consumption globally.

Exponential Food Processing: Positioning India as the Global Hub:

• India aims to become a global hub for food processing, enhancing its competitiveness in the international food market.
• Key enablers include financing agri-food value chains, particularly for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
• Providing affordable and adequate credit to the food processing sector is a priority.

Strategic Segments: Unlocking Potentials for Growth:

• India’s diverse food processing industry comprises sub-sectors like marine products, fruits and vegetables, meat and poultry, packaged foods, and dairy.
• These sub-sectors offer significant potential for growth in terms of production, consumption, exports, and value addition.
• India ranks among the top producers and consumers of various food products globally.

Efficient Ecosystem – Harnessing Opportunities with Inclusion:

• Establishing an efficient and inclusive ecosystem involves removing barriers and creating a coordinated framework.
• Value chain development and knowledge sharing are essential for generating inclusive opportunities.
• The Indian government encourages foreign investment by allowing 100% foreign direct investment and improving the ease of doing business.

Sustainable Development: Processing for Prosperity:

• Sustainable development plays a vital role in achieving processing for prosperity.
• Renewable energy sources and sustainable agricultural and food processing practices are crucial for a more sustainable future.
• World Food India 2023 aims to foster collaboration, showcase investment opportunities, promote sustainable practices, and position India as a global player in the food sector.

Open Network for Digital Commerce

Why in News?
Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and Textiles, Shri Piyush Goyal said that Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) was created to democratise the existing ecommerce ecosystem of the country during his virtual address at the “ONDC Elevate” program in Bengaluru. 

What is ONDC?

• It is a not-for-profit organisation that will offer a network to enable local digital commerce stores across industries to be discovered and engaged by any network-enabled applications.
• It is neither an aggregator application nor a hosting platform, and all existing digital commerce applications and platforms can voluntarily choose to adopt and be a part of the ONDC network.
• The ONDC model is trying to replicate the success of the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) in the field of digital payments.
• UPI allows people to send or receive money irrespective of the payment platforms they are registered on.
• The open network concept also extends beyond the retail sector, to any digital commerce domains including wholesale, mobility, food delivery, logistics, travel, urban services, etc.

The main aims of ONDC are to

• Promote open-source methodology, using open specifications and
• Promote open network protocols independent of any specific platform
• Digitise value chains,
• Promote inclusion of suppliers,
• Standardize operations,
• Derive efficiencies in logistics
• Enhance value for consumers.

Example

• Currently, a buyer needs to go to Amazon, for example, to buy a product from a seller on Amazon.
• Under ONDC, it is envisaged that a buyer registered on one participating e-commerce site (for example, Amazon) may purchase goods from a seller on another participating e-commerce site (for example, Flipkart).

What led to formation of ONDC?

• The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), under Ministry of Commerce and Industries, conducted an outreach during the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic to understand its impact on small sellers and hyperlocal supply chain functioning.
• Post which, it found that there is a huge disconnect between the scale of online demand and the ability of the local retail ecosystem to participate.
• Following this, consultations were held with multiple ministries and industry experts and “ONDC was envisioned to revolutionise digital commerce in India,” as per the strategy paper.

What are the likely benefits of ONDC?

• The ONDC will standardise operations like cataloguing, inventory management, order management and order fulfilment, hence making it simpler and easier for small businesses to be discoverable over network and conduct business.
• However, experts have pointed out some likely potential issues such as getting enough number of e-commerce platforms to sign up, along with issues related to customer service and payment integration.