Food Minister Piyush Goyal asks business community to allocate at least 5 % of budget for One District-One Product

New Delhi: Union Commerce and Food Minister Piyush Goyal urged the business community to be partners in making the country a developed nation by 2047 as part of Panch Praan, proposed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Emphasizing the collective duty in this direction, the minister asked them to nurture product marketing and support each other to ensure the Make in India program is a success.

Interacting with members of the Federation of Telangana Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FTCCI) in Hyderabad last evening, the Minister asked them to allocate at least 5 percent of their budget for One District- One Product (ODOP) to help people in remote areas to get transformational results towards self-reliant India.

The commerce minister emphasized the need to enhance quality to tap international opportunities and asked them to make standards in quality control a part of the work culture. Referring to quality controls for the jewelry sector which was formed about 20 years ago, the minister said however, they were not implemented.

Following the Government’s efforts during the past two years, he said now over 250 districts in the country have hallmarking centers, and 90 percent of jewelry is hallmarked now. Referring to exports, the minister said the exports this year are likely to touch 750 billion dollars as against 675 billion dollars last year.

Mr. Goyal asked the cotton industry stakeholders to discuss a strategy to ensure the traceability of cotton, get a better value for cotton products, and brand Indian cotton. He said blockchain technology for enhancing the traceability of cotton from Farm to Foreign is under consideration and it will be tried on a small scale initially and later expanded.

The Minister made it clear that there will not be any change in policy relating to the exports of rice for now. He said the government will have to keep national food security in view and the country needs over 100 million tonnes of foodgrains every year to support 80 crores, of poor people. The minister said under Prime Minister Garib Kalyan Yojana, every individual is being given 10 kg of rice or wheat per month.