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<ul><li>Increasingly, consumers are gravitating towards brands that are working towards a greater good. More and more people are choosing brands that are helping people and communities in whichever way they can.</li><li><keyword id="11471394" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="two-brothers-organic-farm">Two Brothers Organic Farm</keyword>, an organic foods brand based out of a village in Maharashtra manufactures products like peanut butter, groundnut oil, traditional wheat flour, ghee jaggery, jowar among other things and has consumers spread over 45 countries. The business has also turned its employees into stakeholders by distributing stocks worth close to a million dollars to them, to make them 'owners' of the business.</li><li>We speak to <keyword id="11471393" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="satyajit-hange">Satyajit Hange</keyword>, Co-founder, TBOF, who talks to us about the brand’s story so far, the ethos on which they are building the brand and what made them, a new business, distribute stocks worth a million dollars to its employees.</li></ul>The pandemic has made us realize a few things about today’s consumers. Many of the younger consumers, millennials and GenZ’s today want to consume brands that stand up for causes and in general are doing their bit for the environment and the community. Consumers have also been gravitating towards organic, more natural brands, as we have seen from the launch of many such brands. While big corporations have been trying to do their bit to assist society in whichever way they can, it is heartening to see many made-in-India brands coming up today that are going above and beyond their call of duty, and trying to give back to the society, to their employees. Two Brothers Organic Farm (TBOF), since its launch in 2014, has been on a mission. It has been aiming at increasing rural livelihood and creating more jobs for women in villages, and to use the power of community to come up with solutions to public health and climate change problems. After working for corporates for almost a decade, Satyajit and Ajinkya Hange, two brothers, wanted to do something more fulfilling. They wanted to get back to their roots, their village, and create a meaningful business. That was the inception of the brand. Over the past 7 years, the brand has expanded its product portfolio to 24 products including peanut butter, groundnut oil, traditional wheat flour, ghee jaggery, jowar varieties, and nutritionally rich rice that are delivered to customers in around 45 countries. What makes the brand really different, however, is the fact that everybody involved in the chain starting from the cow herder to the driver is a stakeholder in the company. The Hange brothers have distributed stocks worth almost half a million dollars to their employees. In a recent chat with Satyajit Hange, Co-founder, TBOF, we tried to understand the brand’s story so far, the ethos on which they are building the brand and why they distributed stocks worth a million dollars to its employees. Excerpts: Q) Take us to the start, how did TBOF come about? Our story has its beginning in the soil; back in 2011 when the 'Two Brothers' returned home to their village to take up farming full-time. With small, purposeful steps in pursuit of soil-health, today the Two Brothers Organic Farms is a biodiverse, self-sustaining natural food system, certified by ECOCERT, located in the beautiful village of Bhodani in Maharashtra, India. Our work is inspired by the simplicity and stillness of the village life and guided by the principles of Regenerative Natural farming. While securing rural livelihoods and creating more jobs for women in our villages, we harness the power of Community to offer real solutions to Public Health and Climate Change problems. At TBOF, our brand's mission is to protect all that nature has to offer and to empower farmer folk and rural communities in our villages. Everything that we do upholds this sentiment. We launched with the help of Shopify which made it possible for to step into the world of ecommerce. Besides this, we have been able to garner support across social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, Whatsapp, Youtube and Twitter. Over the years, we have built strong communities across these channels and they do not just support but drive business by giving us access to new markets and communities across geographies. Our biggest USP is that our products are organically and locally made. For consumers who want to support local businesses making a positive impact on the environment, our brand is a perfect fit. Also, we work with over 1000 school students and three mainstream schools in Mumbai and Pune to develop community-led Organic farming training modules for them. Along with our success in organic farming, we want to spread the word, and have trained more than 9,000 farmers on practices in organic farming and will be working consciously towards betterment of people and farmers. Q) Today, your brand reaches customers in over 45 countries, through e-commerce which is a big feat for a brand only 7 years old. What kind of reception have you seen globally? More and more people are concerned about the impact these choices make on the planet and local ecological systems. They want to be informed of the source of ingredients, the packaging used, the people and processes involved in its making - how big is a product's ecological footprint and how sustainable is the entire lifecycle of the product – right from sourcing to designing to packaging and shipping. Our audience are consumers who understand the unmatched benefits of organic foods and are leaning towards organic farming as a natural shot to heal the planet. We have observed a change in lifestyle of people who are getting increasingly conscious about the food they eat, the source and nature of food and its health benefits. This rising consumer awareness and them wanting to make more informed choices that'll be good for not just them but also for the planet as well as make room for social good, the rapid advancements in technologies and it augmenting ecommerce and online social media platforms have made it possible for small businesses like us to access new markets and reach out to a global audience. Q) You distributed stocks worth half a million dollars to your employees, which is almost unheard of in a small business… One of the milestones we really wanted to tick off since we started TBOF was making our farm co-workers share holders of the company. Many of our farm co-workers are school dropouts, they have had to take to the life of hard work and toiling, working on the farm due to their circumstances, who never in their life thought beyond their monthly paycheck. But they are now 'owners' of TBOF. They were the ones who were ready to bet their life's hard work on us and they are the ones who have pulled the cart until this point. So we decided to make each one of those villagers, illiterate, economically poor but humanely rich people millionaires. So, we handed each one of them stocks worth a million Rupees, free of cost. We have just started our journey which is scaling up to help 1000's of other farmers across the country very soon. This is a milestone we have reached but a start for many other interesting things to come. Q) How have you been communicating about your products to your consumers? This rising consumer awareness and them wanting to make more informed choices that'll be good for not just them but also for the planet as well as make room for social good, the rapid advancements in technologies and it augmenting ecommerce and online social media platforms have made it possible for small businesses like us to access new markets and reach out to a global audience. Our journey began with us selling at Farmer markets, we invested a lot of our personal time to engage meaningfully with our early customers and made sure they got to know us well. Overtime, we opened up more and more channels to engage with each other. We have a team that works full time on our online presence and manages all our initiatives across social media platforms as well as our website, blogs, email newsletters. We also advertise online to reach out to new markets. Q) With the pandemic, there has been a shift wherein consumers now want more natural, safer food products. Have you witnessed visible increase in demand for your products post the pandemic? Yes, we definitely have witnessed an increase in demand for quality and authentic food. Like never before, we are seeing young consumers being conscious of their buying decisions. Shoppers all over the world have strong spending power and are willing to spend more to be involved with businesses that follow sustainable, environment friendly approaches. They are also always on the lookout for brands that connect with their beliefs and values. These trends have been only reinforced by the pandemic. Q) Looking ahead, what are a few things you will focus on, to grow the brand further? Firstly, technology - to tie gaps in the value chain and secondly, product range which will expand considerably in the coming months across all verticals - daily consumables, Health and fitness, wellness, gardening inputs for customer experience and community initiatives. Q) What is your vision for the brand? It was a surreal feeling to realize that we cater to more than 45+ countries as on date - and have shipped to 650+ cities across the world from our small village in a corner of Maharashtra. The vision is to be able to make a global impact - to be able to create a world-class business out of a farmer-led, made-in-India venture. We strongly believe that India is poised to become the Organic Food capital of the world, with the soil and biodiversity that is native to our land, the rivers that give generously and our indigenous cattle that provide for farmer livelihoods to this day. A UN report had stated how 70% of the food we eat comes from small farms, this is exactly what we have in this country, small land holdings and farmers who really are tired working with non cooperative machinery. We are farmers ourselves and we will always speak on their behalf - where should we begin? First things - reject the chemicals, rejuvenate the soil, bring back our biodiversity, conserve water. No, 2-5% of the consumer buck won't do, put back 50% of the consumer buck in the farmer's hand. Q) Once things open up and are relatively better, will you also focus on retail presence or is e-commerce where you will be present? We were always powered by e-commerce. Our online website runs on the Shopify platform and this remains our main revenue stream. Besides our online shop, we also sell on other online platforms like Amazon, Flipkart and a few other curated online ecommerce websites. We retail across Mumbai, Pune, Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Goa and a few other locations through retail partners like Swasthyam, U-TURN Organics, The Farmers Store, Saukhyam, Holistic Basket, Gauri Organics, Zama, Seawoods Organic Store, Foodhall etc. We also sell at Farmer Markets in Mumbai and Pune. When things open up further, we have been planning on getting an experiential store working in Delhi-NCR which we envision as a collaborative space for conscious brands, events and get-togethers that help strengthen community initiatives for our brand.

Meet the organic foods brand that distributed stocks worth half a million dollars to its employees

<keyword id="3658" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="india" source="Orion">India</keyword> has embraced technology in every field of activity. It is adopting smart farming methods through technology and innovation in the agriculture sector and this may prove to be a game changer in the days to come by substantially raising farmers income. How is this method beneficial? Smart farming involves the application of sensors and automated irrigation practices. It can help monitor agricultural land, temperature and soil moisture. This would enable farmers to monitor crops from anywhere. Moreover, smart farming can help integrate digital and physical infrastructures, which would benefit small farmers. Agri-based startups can reach out to the farmers and help them gain access to such viable and cost-effective solutions. Agri-based, tech-driven startups have been very innovative in assisting farmers and revolutionising farming techniques. They have also addressed one of the most powerful headwinds (climate change) through climate-smart farming. In a unique move, the Indian government is implementing a <keyword id="12166469" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Digital-Agriculture-Mission" source="Orion">Digital Agriculture Mission</keyword> (DAM), which includes India Digital Ecosystem of Agriculture (IDEA), Farmers' Database, Unified Farmers Service Interface (UFSI), funding to the states on the new technology (NeGPA), revamping <keyword id="3182679" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Mahalanobis-National-Crop-Forecast-Centre" source="Orion">Mahalanobis National Crop Forecast Centre</keyword> (MNCFC), Soil Health, Fertility and profile mapping. According to a report published by the National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) in 2019, there were more than 450 argi-based tech-driven startups in India as of 2019. This number has skyrocketed in the last two years as the sector witnessed a surge in investments and funding. Agri-based tech-driven startups have been very innovative in assisting farmers and revolutionising farming techniques. They have also addressed one of the most powerful headwinds (climate change) through climate-smart farming. Under the NeGPA programme funding is given to the governments in various Indian states for Digital Agriculture projects using emerging technologies like Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (AI/ML), Internet of Things (IOT), Block chain etc. Adoption of drone technologies is being done too. To promote smart farming, the government promotes startups in the agriculture sector and nurtures agri-entrepreneurs. The 'Per Drop More Crop' component of the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sichai Yojana (PMKSY-PDMC) aims to increase water use efficiency at the farm level through micro irrigation technologies like drip and sprinkler irrigation systems. PMKSY is a scheme initiated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The <keyword id="87560" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Indian-Council-of-Agricultural-Research" source="Orion">Indian Council of Agricultural Research</keyword> (ICAR) promotes innovation, extension and education in agriculture. A total of 1,575 field crop varieties were released for different agricultural crops during 2014-21. During 2014-21, 91.43 crore agri-advisories were provided to farmers through mobiles. ICAR developed 187 mobile apps on different farm and farmer related services during 2014-21. The agriculture sector plays a vital role in enriching India's economy. Agriculture accounted for almost 17.8 per cent of India's Gross Value Added (GVA) in 2019- 20. According to the World Bank's collection of development indicators, employment rate in the Indian agriculture sector stood at 41.5 per cent in 2020. From a socio-economic standpoint, agriculture is a vital sector which requires focus and awareness at all levels. According to India Brand Equity Foundation, the rising population and changing diets have created a huge pressure on land in India. Farmers are struggling to keep up as crop yields level off, soil degradation rises, water shortage increases, biodiversity declines, and natural calamities become more frequent. Furthermore, agriculture accounts for almost 14 per cent of India's total greenhouse gas emissions. In the meantime, the NITI Aayog (erstwhile Planning Commission of India) conducted a study entitled "Efficacy of Minimum Support Prices on farmers", in 2016, which found, among other things, that MSP declared by the government has encouraged 78 per cent of the farmers covered under the study for adopting improved methods of farming such as high yielding varieties of seeds, organic manure, chemical fertilizer, pesticides and improved methods of harvesting etc. Additionally, oilseeds, pulses and copra of Fair Average Quality (FAQ) are procured from registered farmers under Price Support Scheme of the umbrella scheme of Pradhan Mantri Annadata Aay SanraksHan Abhiyan (PM-AASHA), as per its prescribed guidelines. The Indian national Budget for 2018-19 had announced the pre-determined principle to keep Minimum Support Price or MSP at levels of one-and-half times of the cost of production. Accordingly, government has increased the MSPs for all mandated Kharif (including wheat), Rabi and other commercial crops with a return of at least 50 per cent over all India weighted average cost of production from the agricultural year 2018-19. Moreover, India's National Crop Insurance Portal (NCIP) is the only source of enrolment for Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY), on which farmer applications from various designated sources including banks/financial institutions are entered. Specific cut-off dates have been prescribed for enrolment of farmers, debit of premium, remittance of farmers' premium to concerned insurance company and uploading of data of farmers on NCIP. The <keyword id="603825" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ministry-of-Food-Processing-Industries" source="Orion">Ministry of Food Processing Industries</keyword> (MoFPI) has been incentivising setting of food processing industries through central sector umbrella scheme �Pradhan Mantri Kisan SAMPADA Yojana (PMKSY), Production Linked Incentive Scheme for Food Processing Industry (PLISFPI) and centrally sponsored scheme �PM Formalization of Micro Food Processing Enterprises (PMFME) scheme across all the country. Under scheme of creation of infrastructure for agro processing clusters, a component scheme of PMKSY, the scheme is aimed at development of modern infrastructure and common facilities to encourage entrepreneurs to set up food processing units based on cluster approach and also to create modern infrastructure for food processing closer to production areas and to provide integrated and complete preservation infrastructure facilitates from the farm gate to the consumer. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/finance/news/india-must-pitch-for-rupee-as-dollar-distancing-might-be-finally-happening-sbi-ecowrap/articleshow/93513940.cms">India must pitch for Rupee as dollar distancing might be finally happening: SBI Ecowrap</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/apps/news/snapchat-comes-to-india-with-exclusive-features-heres-how-much-it-costs-and-how-to-sign-up/articleshow/93513880.cms">Snapchat+ comes to India with exclusive features — here's how much it costs and how to sign up</a>

Smart farming can prove to be a game changer in the coming days

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The Indian economy has grown strongly under Narendra Modi, whose party is set to win another term.</li><li>India's success has caught the eye of figures including Elon Musk, Jamie Dimon, and Tim Cook.</li></ul>India's powerful economic growth and blossoming middle class under Narendra Modi have caught the eye of corporate titans like Elon Musk, Jamie Dimon, and Tim Cook.Modi is pretty much a shoo-in for a third term as prime minister after the national election now underway ends on June 1. But the work starts there, as he'll have to navigate thorny issues such as youth unemployment, income inequality, and reliance on sanctioned Russian oil.<h2>Fueling growth and shaking hands</h2>India's economy has more than doubled in size during Modi's decade in charge to more than $3.7 trillion last year.The International Monetary Fund (IMF) <a target="_blank" href="https://www.imf.org/en/Blogs/Articles/2024/04/29/asias-growth-and-inflation-outlook-improves-but-risks-remain">recently upgraded</a> its growth forecast for real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to a robust 7.8% this year, 6.8% in 2025, and 6.5% in 2026.India has already overtaken Britain to become the world's fifth-largest economy. It's on track to leapfrog Japan and Germany into third spot behind the US and China by 2027.The country's flagship stock index has also tripled in value since Modi took office in May 2014, thanks to wealth gains and growing investment appetites.Moreover, <a target="_blank" href="https://sbi.co.in/documents/13958/36530824/270224-HCES_Feb24.pdf">one estimate</a> puts the percentage of the Indian population living on less than $2.15 a day at below 5%, down from 12% in 2011. However, the <a target="_blank" href="https://pip.worldbank.org/country-profiles/IND">World Bank</a> pegged that figure at nearly 13% in 2021.India's middle class has also ballooned with 60 million people now earning the rupee equivalent of more $10,000 a year — about $37,200 once adjusted for <a target="_blank" href="https://www.imf.org/external/datamapper/profile/IND">purchasing power</a>. Goldman Sachs <a target="_blank" href="https://www.goldmansachs.com/intelligence/pages/indias-affluent-population-is-likely-to-hit-100-million-by-2027.html">expects</a> the ranks of the relatively affluent to swell to 100 million by 2027."Modi has done an unbelievable job in India," JPMorgan's Dimon <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/jpmorgan-jamie-dimon-economy-inflation-recession-stagflation-geopolitics-crypto-bitcoin-2024-4">told</a> the Economic Club of New York last month. "I know the liberal press here, they beat the hell out of him. He's taken 400 million people out of poverty."Musk has <a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1781541775183610310">posted</a> on X that he's looking forward to visiting India and meeting Modi this year. He delayed his trip last month, blaming "very heavy Tesla obligations." The pair are expected to discuss Tesla building a multibillion-dollar factory in the country.As for Apple's Cook, he hailed India on a November earnings call as an "incredibly exciting market" and a "<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-tim-cook-obsessed-india-consumers-iphone-2023-7">major focus of ours</a>" given the explosive growth in potential customers as locals get richer.<div type="image" title="Sundar Pichai, Tim Cook, Narendra Modi, Joe Biden" height="3907" width="5861" msid="109838230" hostid="261" sizebytes="846512"></div>Modi has also met with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, Microsoft boss Satya Nadella, and Alphabet's Sundar Pichai. He's likely to be seeking to attract foreign direct investment (FDI) in India — and to capitalize on bosses' <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/us-china-relations-reshoring-manufacturing-jobs-made-in-america-2023-10">desire to hedge their bets on China</a> given its strained relationship with the US, economic woes, and how disruptive its strict pandemic lockdowns were to global supply chains."India's population and economic growth numbers are causing a lot of global executives to revisit their India presence and consider scaling up," Richard Rossow, a senior advisor and chair in US-India Policy Studies at the Center for Strategic &amp; International Studies, told Business Insider."Paired with increased concerns about supply chain resilience and security concerns about China, it's a very good time for a hard push to win investments."The United Nations said that India and China both had a population of 1.426 billion in April last year, meaning India is probably now the most populous given its rising birth rate.<h2>Change for the better — mostly</h2>Modi has instigated a raft of major economic reforms since taking office, intended to make India more business-friendly, and boost government revenues by taxing more of the country's vast informal economy.He rolled out a tax on goods and services, simplified bankruptcy laws, lifted FDI restrictions, cut corporate income tax, and ended retrospective taxation.However, not all of Modi's moves spurred growth."Demonetisation was a key economic policy which had negative effects on the economy," Kunal Sen, a director of the United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics, told BI.Sen is the author of several books about India's economy and a professor of development economics at the University of Manchester.He was referring to Modi's sudden declaration in November 2016 that all 500 and 1,000-rupee bills — 86% of Indian currency in circulation — would <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/india-ending-500-and-1000-rupee-bills-to-fight-corruption-2016-11">no longer be accepted as legal tender</a>.The government's goals were to capture undeclared income, get rid of counterfeit currency, broaden the tax base, and bring more activities into the formal economy."The other key economic policy was JAM — the trinity of bank accounts for the poor, mobile numbers and a biometric card. This last economic policy has been revolutionary," Sen said.He was hailing a broader digitization drive under Modi that has <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/how-indias-digital-payments-ecosystem-has-evolved-in-the-last-one-year/slidelist/90595832.cms">transformed</a> how Indians bank, invest, pay their taxes, and conduct business.<h2>Prosperity for all</h2>Modi's efforts have helped to usher in a more prosperous era for some Indians, but many have been left behind.Young people are India's beating heart, with about half its population under 25 and almost two-thirds under 35. Matching those hundreds of millions of people with jobs has proven a challenge, with youth unemployment almost tripling from below 6% in 2000 to about 18% in 2019. It still stands at a hefty 10% in 2023, per the <a target="_blank" href="https://webapps.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---asia/---ro-bangkok/---sro-new_delhi/documents/publication/wcms_921154.pdf">International Labor Organization</a>.The report found that nearly 30% of India's graduates were unemployed in 2022, and only about 10% of the working-age population was formally employed.<div type="image" title="A farmer uses oxen to plow fields for lentils in Nimaj, Rajasthan, northern India." height="3464" width="5196" msid="109838232" hostid="261" sizebytes="690700"></div>"Unemployment is a big issue," Rossow said, emphasizing this isn't just a problem with recent graduates but a "much, much larger bubble: the underemployed farm laborers."Rising agricultural productivity is likely to help farm workers make a faster transition to city life in the years ahead, but they'll struggle to secure modern jobs in the services industry "without significant reskilling and education," Rossow said.As a result, lower-skilled manufacturing and assembly jobs and lower-end services jobs will be needed, he added.Another major challenge will be tackling a widening wealth divide. The richest 10% of the population hold more than 72% of the nation's wealth, per an Oxfam report <a target="_blank" href="https://d1ns4ht6ytuzzo.cloudfront.net/oxfamdata/oxfamdatapublic/2023-01/India%20Supplement%202023_digital.pdf?">published</a> last year.Business tycoons Mukesh Ambani and Gautam Adani both rank among the world's 15 richest people, per the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/billionaires/">Bloomberg Billionaires Index</a>. Luxury-goods sales are booming with <a target="_blank" href="https://www.carwale.com/news/mercedesbenz-lineups-waiting-period-reduced-in-india/">long waitlists</a> for flashy purchases like the Mercedes "G Wagon."<div type="image" title="The Ambani family onstage with Rihanna." height="854" width="1280" msid="109838233" hostid="261" sizebytes="99148"></div>The <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/anant-ambani-pre-wedding-festivities-lack-empathy-india-radhika-merchant-2024-3">lavish pre-wedding party</a> thrown by the Ambani family earlier this year was singled out by some as an affront to the huge number of Indians living in poverty.Almost 1.3 billion people live on less than $3,500 a year by one estimate, and India ranks 111th on the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.globalhungerindex.org/ranking.html">Global Hunger Index</a>, below even North Korea.Rising equality is partly explained by a "capital-intensive mode of economic growth along with increasing power of business conglomerates," Sen told BI, referring to how huge companies like the Adani Group secure huge government contracts to build ports, bridges, highways, and other infrastructure.A third challenge is regional inequality, as some states like Bihar and Uttar Pradesh haven't experienced the same growth and modernization of their economies as others, Rossow said.<h2>The Russia riddle</h2>One striking aspect of Modi's economic boom has been its reliance on Russia since it invaded Ukraine in early 2022.India went from getting 2% of its crude oil from Russia before the war, to 35% last year. During that period, the US and Europe slapped sanctions on Russian oil to defund Putin's military machine and punish Moscow for attacking a sovereign nation.Despite that, India purchased an estimated $37 billion of Moscow's oil in 2023 — 13 times the amount it bought annually prior to the conflict. Its buying helped Russia rake in a <a target="_blank" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/commodities/russia-economy-oil-sales-india-ukraine-war-moscow-western-sanctions-2024-2">record $320 billion</a> of federal revenue last year.Indian demand for Russian oil has <a target="_blank" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/commodities/russia-oil-trade-crude-india-discount-barrel-sanctions-price-cap-2024-2">cooled</a> in recent months as new sanctions have made it <a target="_blank" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/commodities/russia-economy-oil-energy-exports-india-imports-revenue-sanctions-discount-2024-3">more expensive</a>, but the buying remains controversial.Officials in India have <a target="_blank" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/commodities/crude-oil-prices-india-russia-trade-geopolitics-opec-supply-puri-2024-2">defended</a> the purchases, saying that if they'd bought Middle Eastern oil instead, global crude prices would have shot up.India is also one of the world's largest oil refiners and has helped Western nations to maintain access to refined petroleum products even as they're refraining from buying Russian crude directly.Yet the country imports 85% of its oil, so its overriding interest is securing the cheapest oil possible to support its development, said Neelima Jain, a senior fellow and chair in US India Policy Studies at CSIS."India will continue to buy Russian oil if the price remains favorable and allows for firm volume guarantees, as the country prioritizes energy affordability and accessibility during its rapid rural-to-urban transition, which has led to a 6% year-on-year growth in energy demand," she told BI."In an inflationary environment, economics [rather] than geopolitics will drive India's energy choices."<div type="image" title="Narendra Modi and Vladimir Putin" height="3196" width="4714" msid="109838234" hostid="261" sizebytes="426292"></div><h2>India the IT hub</h2>Under Modi, India has made big strides in modernizing its economy, combating bureaucracy, and appealing to foreign investors.Big Tech stalwarts like Microsoft have a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/microsoft-has-so-many-patents-its-outsourced-the-job-to-india-2013-5">long history</a> of outsourcing to India, but recent efforts to cut red tape and slash corporate taxes appear to have fueled fresh interest.Sweeping layoffs at Alphabet, Amazon, Meta, Salesforce and other US tech titans in the past few years could presage a large exodus of jobs to India.Sanjay Shetty of Randstad India <a target="_blank" href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/technology/outsourcing-hubs-like-india-to-bag-40-of-jobs-lost-to-layoffs/articleshow/101088673.cms?">told The Economic Times</a> last summer that he expected 30% to 40% of the tech jobs eliminated globally to move to India by 2025."India is going to be the biggest gainer in the medium to long term, as almost every company that we speak to is looking at expanding its India base," Shetty said.Even if that pans out, it won't be a panacea for a country facing not just unemployment and underemployment, but also stark income inequality, regional disparities, and the risk of alienating Western allies by continuing to buy Russian oil.Yet overall, India appears to be headed in the right direction."The growth is real, if focused on a few key states," Rossow said. "India's dynamic technology services sector is to IT services what China is to manufacturing. So there is much to cheer, even as the reform agenda seems to never end."

Tech titans love Modi's economic powerhouse India — despite mass unemployment and abject poverty 

The Indian Institute of Technology in Kanpur is now making its presence felt in the dessert business by giving a healthy twist to our quintessential sweet - laddoos. These organic laddoos are being prepared by 150 farmer families and are now sold in 22 cities - including Mumbai, Delhi, Pune, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Indore, and others. IIT-K is involved in the quality control, packaging, and distribution of these laddoos. Besides the sweet, the <keyword id="221522" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="premier-institute" source="Orion">premier institute</keyword> also helps the farmer families sell nutritious 'hareera' (a nourishing beverage) in different states under its "<keyword id="238889" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="unnati" source="Orion">Unnati</keyword>" project. <keyword id="525604" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="rita-singh" source="Orion">Rita Singh</keyword>, a convener of this project, said, "The delicacies first became popular among the students in the institute. As the demand grew, we started selling laddoos -- made from alsi (flax seeds), til (white and black sesame seeds), and gond (edible gum) -- in several cities. Now, we are seeking the help of our former students who have settled abroad to expand the business in overseas markets." The Unnati project was launched eight years ago in five villages of Kanpur's Bithoor region to encourage scientific agriculture and impart quality education to village children through smart classes. In the last year, some 150 farmer families from 10 nearby districts have joined the initiative. Scientists of the institute have also been promoting organic farming and creating awareness among the farmers. "Our idea was to teach the farmers about natural farming, small processors, buyers, and technology. Of course, we want to preserve our traditional recipes as well," said Rita. The institute has big plans for the organic produce business to provide the farmers with the maximum possible benefits. IIT-K is also leveraging blockchain technology to help the business flourish. "With the help of blockchain technology, buyers will get to see the field or house where the food product was prepared. We started with selling organic products through WhatsApp but are moving to the next level. The entire process is being streamlined. Our products will be available under the brand name Unnati. This will help the farmers immensely," Rita said. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/entertainment/news/without-hbo-and-ipl-15-million-subscribers-could-flee-disney-hotstar-in-2023/articleshow/98517377.cms">Without HBO and IPL, 15 million subscribers could flee Disney+ Hotstar in 2023</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/news/samsung-to-launch-galaxy-a34-a54-5g-smartphones-in-india-next-week/articleshow/98517232.cms">Samsung to launch Galaxy A34, A54 5G smartphones in India next week</a>

IIT Kanpur helps this organic laddoo business grow with blockchain technology

<ul><li>The UN ‘Oscar for the Best Policy’ was awarded to the northeastern Indian state of <keyword id="48118" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Sikkim">Sikkim</keyword>.</li><li>This makes Sikkim the 1st fully <keyword id="1194427" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="organic-state">organic state</keyword> in the world with its sustainable agricultural policies that are inclusive and comprehensive of all socioeconomic aspects. </li><li>Pawan Kumar Chamling, the state’s Chief Minister, propagated ‘building an organic world together’.</li></ul>It’s not news that the north-eastern state of Sikkim is a leader in sustainable policies. But, the state’s efforts were <a href="http://www.fao.org/agroecology/slideshow/news-article/en/c/1157015/">finally recognised</a> by the <keyword id="6355833" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="united-nations">United Nations</keyword> (UN) garnering the award for having the world’s best food policies or what’s called the ‘Oscar for the Best Policy’. The world has its first fully organic state - and it’s in India. In actuality, Sikkim was already fully organic when 2015 rolled in having started its journey to being sustainable back in 2003. According to Maria Helena Semedo, Food and Agriculture Organisation’s (FAO) Deputy Director, Sikkim’s policies have benefited over 66,000 family farmers. Rather than focusing on food security in isolation, the state’s food policies take socio-economic aspects like tourism, consumption, markets and development into its fold to form a comprehensive and inclusive approach toward agriculture. Sikkim’s organic world Unlike most regions that turn to sustainability and being organic as a solution once their natural capital in jeopardy, Sikkim’s organic policy came into being because of its treacherous terrain that makes normal farming methods obsolete. Going organic was an opportunity utilise land that was currently lying unused. Now Sikkim is home to bio-villages that employ effective microorganisms (EM) technology for compost and bio-pesticides. The agricultural fields use vermiculture hatcheries and compost-cum-urine pits for manure production. Even the seeds they use are organic, rather than the hybrids that are used in other parts of the country. With the ‘Seed Village Scheme’, Sikkim ensures that it has locally adapted high-quality seeds. And, in order to ensure that those seeds yield the maximum output, the state conducts regular soil health assessments. The transformation didn’t happen overnight. And the most important aspect of its success is probably the invention programme that was implemented to raise awareness about organic farming practices among farmers. That being said, it’s easier said than done. When Sikkim started on its journey to becoming an organic state in 2003, chemical lobbyists and opposition parties didn’t make it easy. Chamling asserted that it was through strong political commitment and hard work that Sikkim is where it is now. In fact, Sikkim’s story is a model example of sustainability that is currently being emulated in other northeastern states of the country and Kerala, who recently faced extensively floods as a result of unsustainable development amplified by climate change. Sikkim beat out 51 nominations from 25 countries from all over the world at the event organised by the FAO and the World Future Council (WFC). The state’s Chief Minister, Pawan Kumar Chamling, even stated, “Let us build an organic world together,” when accepting the award. (Image source: IANS)

The world has its first fully organic state - and it’s in India

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Mass gatherings such as the farmers' protests didn't become the superspreader events experts feared.</li><li>COVID cases have steadily fallen, raising hopes the country is close to achieving herd immunity.</li><li>One expert says misinformation may have been an "accidental game changer" at encouraging mingling.</li></ul>When Indian farmers began gathering to protest in November 2020, at the height of the <keyword id="1754604" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="coronavirus">coronavirus</keyword> pandemic, <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/superspreader-protest-as-experts-worry-about-covid-farmers-say-new-laws-bigger-threat-to-their-survival/articleshow/79492667.cms">experts predicted these would be superspreader events</a>.Three months later, tens of thousands are still gathered in tents on the outskirts of Delhi with more still arriving in tractors for speeches and impromptu marches. <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-54657433">Big election rallies took place in October</a> in the state of Bihar. Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims flocked to the annual religious gathering of Kumbh Mela in January, <a href="https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1692725">mostly without masks.</a>But not only have these not led to spikes in COVID cases, such cases have plummeted.This densely-populated country of nearly 1.4 billion people, whose median age is only 28, recorded just <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/coronavirus/country/india?country=~IND">11,583 cases on February 10, down from a high of nearly 100,000 a day in September</a>.<div type="image" title="India's daily cases" height="2400" width="3400" msid="80927635" hostid="261"></div><keyword id="3658" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="India">India</keyword> began a full lockdown in March when cases were relatively low, then <a href="https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1692725">gradually emerged in stages from June</a>. Cases began to fall long before the country embarked in January on a vaccination programme that has so far inoculated nearly 8 million people."None of the horrors, that were imagined, happened during these gatherings," Dr Rajib Dasgupta, chair of the Centre of Social Medicine &amp; Community Health at Jawaharlal Nehru University, tells Insider.As India's case numbers continue to decline, experts hope that the world's second biggest country is approaching herd immunity, the "indirect protection" from infections "when a population is immune either through vaccination or immunity developed through previous infection," according to the World Health Organization.<div type="image" title="GettyImages 1231155229" height="3608" width="5128" msid="80927638" hostid="261"></div>Dasgupta says mass gatherings may have accelerated this among a population that is less vulnerable to COVID, due to a relatively young population.Misinformation about the danger of COVID may have emboldened people to gather together, he adds, saying it "might well have been an accidental game changer."The myths, often circulated through WhatsApp and social media, included that <keyword id="8763838" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="covid-19">COVID-19</keyword> was no worse than seasonal flu and that traditional herbal concoctions or spices such as turmeric or gooseberries can safeguard against it.Boom, an independent website that fights misinformation, <a href="https://www.boomlive.in/fact-file/fake-news-in-the-time-of-coronavirus-a-boom-study-8008">published 178 fact checks of false claims circulating about COVID</a> in the first five months in 2020.Read more: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/majority-of-coronavirus-cases-asymptomatic-study-2021-2">As little as 13% of people who get the coronavirus develop symptoms, a new study suggests</a><div type="image" title="Bihar election rally India October 2020" height="1185" width="2100" msid="80927643" hostid="261"></div>Monish Sengupta, who divides his time between Calcutta and the UK, tells Insider, a doctor friend "recommended consuming some homeopathic medicine and camphor with hot milk."At a tea shop in Calcutta in mid-February, Insider encountered a group of young men sipping tea and loudly arguing whether herd immunity meant they might skip taking the <keyword id="24209" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="vaccine">vaccine</keyword>. "Where's the coronavirus? It's gone," one of them said. On February 5, a flight between New Delhi and Calcutta was packed. Both airports were crowded.But despite the warnings about mass gatherings, one volunteer reports seeing no one with COVID symptoms at a camp set up by doctors and volunteers at the site of the farming protests.Read more: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/fauci-worried-getting-coronavirus-trump-white-house-superspreader-2021-2">Fauci said he worried about getting COVID-19 while working in the 'superspreader' Trump White House</a>Indranil Mukhopadhyay, co-convener of the Delhi chapter of health movement Jan Swasthya Abhiyaan, says there is a noticeable lack of distancing and mask wearing at the protestors as well as a reluctance to getting tested for the virus.The professor, who teaches at New Delhi's Jindal School of Government and Public Policy, tells Insider the camp is "fertile ground" for the virus. But he adds the group's medical camp has so far not come across anyone displaying COVID symptoms, despite attending to more than 15,000 patients.A <a href="https://www.nber.org/papers/w27408">working paper</a> by the US National Bureau of Economic Research, that used data from last year's Black Lives Matter protests, provides a potential insight into why this was the case.It concluded that people who were least likely to contract the virus, were most likely to attend the protests in America, while those who were high-risk stayed away.<div type="image" title="Hindu devotees take a holy dip in the waters of the River Ganges" height="3000" width="4501" msid="80927646" hostid="261"></div>The BLM protests also prompted those who didn't participate in demonstrations to follow safety protocols more diligently because the protests raised the risk they perceived, the paper noted. The paper's lead author, economics Professor Dave Dhaval, tells Insider "some of the above factors may be in play" in the farmers' protest.Dr Satyabrata Routray, director of immunization at the India chapter of Path, a global nonprofit health organization, says misinformation played its part, but poverty was crucial in forcing people out of their homes.Read more: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/covid-19-vaccine-does-not-affect-fertility-doctors-reassure-public-2021-2">Doctors are speaking out to dispel the 'groundless' myth that the COVID-19 vaccine affects fertility in women or men</a>More than <a href="https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_emp/---ifp_skills/documents/publication/wcms_734503.pdf">90 percent of India's workforce</a> is in the informal sector - lacking social insurance and often earning a low daily wage. India also has around <a href="https://www.indiaspend.com/1-77mn-indians-are-homeless-40-of-them-are-getting-no-lockdown-relief/">1.77 million homeless people</a>, who have no homes to lock themselves into."People needed to get out of their homes and get on with the business of earning their daily bread. A large majority of the Indian population are poor and depend on daily wages," Routray tells Insider."Any intermixing of infected population with the rest of the population would hasten herd immunity. And looking at the numbers I would say we are very close to herd immunity."Dasgupta says people are asking "if the situation is real" - whether India genuinely is approaching herd immunity. "I would say it is reasonably real. <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/1-out-of-4-in-t-has-had-covid-reveals-nins-3rd-sero-survey/articleshow/80777381.cms">The sero surveys</a> have thrown up evidence of pretty high levels of exposure to infection," he adds, referring to blood testing to estimate the extent of exposure.The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)'s latest sero survey showed 21.5% of Indians have been <a href="https://twitter.com/COVIDNewsByMIB/status/1357284699702390786?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1357284699702390786%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bbc.com%2Fnews%2Fworld-asia-india-559453825382">exposed to the virus</a>. While a sero survey in Delhi - <a href="https://www.mygov.in/covid-19">which has so far recorded 636,000 cases and 10,886 deaths</a> - showed more than 56% of people there had <a href="https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/delhi-news/delhis-5th-sero-survey-over-56-people-have-antibodies-against-covid19-101612264534349.html">developed antibodies against the virus</a>. Calcutta -- which has more than 14 million in its wider metropolitan region - has so far recorded 571,000 cases and 10,220 deaths. Last June, much earlier in the pandemic, the ICMR had said <a href="https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/kolkata-people-covid19-antibodies-icmr-sero-survey-1694917-2020-06-28">14% </a>of people in Calcutta had developed antibodies, while a private laboratory in September put the figure at <a href="https://www.thestatesman.com/cities/kolkata/kolkata-one-four-people-covid-antibodies-1502922912.html">50%.</a>Read more: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/doctor-nhs-covid-safety-social-distancing-hospital-protocol-lockdown-2021-2">I'm a NHS doctor and I've seen firsthand how devastating COVID is. Everyone needs have give up some freedoms to make it through the final stretch of the pandemic.</a>Dasgupta adds the coronavirus is not a new virus in the region. India was hit by the 2002-3 outbreak of SARS, which is <a href="https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/sars-2002-03-india-coronavirus-outbreak-1683404-2020-05-29">a variant of the coronavirus</a>. The Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) hit in 2015. Studies have also detected the presence of <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12098-018-2840-8">Human Coronavirus 229E</a> and <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12098-018-2840-8">Human Coronavirus HKU1</a> among Indian children."COVID-19 is a new disease but the coronavirus is a very common virus in Asia and South Asia which means the pool of susceptible people was not as large as it was initially assumed," Dasgupta adds.Dasgupta agrees India is nearly at herd immunity, adding: "It's unlikely that there will be another huge wave." But he warns that there may yet be surges in rural areas, which so far have been less affected than cites."The game changer at this point would be to get more and more people vaccinated against the virus," he adds. "To convince and communicate to the people constantly that the threat is still alive."

Experts feared India's farming protests would be COVID superspreader events. Poverty, misinformation and a younger population may explain why cases plummeted instead.

You Searched For "organic farming india" and got 6 results

Meet the organic foods brand that distributed stocks worth half a million dollars to its employees

Samarpita Banerjee

Smart farming can prove to be a game changer in the coming days

IANS

Tech titans love Modi's economic powerhouse India — despite mass unemployment and abject poverty

Theron Mohamed

IIT Kanpur helps this organic laddoo business grow with blockchain technology

IANS

The world has its first fully organic state - and it’s in India

Prabhjote Gill

Experts feared India's farming protests would be COVID superspreader events. Poverty, misinformation and a younger population may explain why cases plummeted instead.

Nilanjana Bhowmick

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