Recently, Manipurs most famous Hathei chilli and Tamenglong orange were awarded the Geographical Tag. And the latest addition to the list is Assams Judima rice wine.For the unversed, Geographical Tag also called GI Tag is given to products that have a specific place of origin and have a reputation because of their geographical origin.

Judima is a rice wine made from sticky rice, which is steamed and mixed with traditional herbs. The wine is a specialty of the Dimasa tribe of the state and has a distinct sweet taste and takes around one week to prepare and it can be stored for years.
As per reports, this is the second product from the hill districts of Karbi Anglong and Dima Hasao to get GI tag.

Odisha Tourism to launch 3 new festivals to bring back tourists

After a lull in tourism owing to the Covid-19 pandemic, the state tourism department has decided to launch three new festivals this year in its bid to bring back visitors to the state.
Plans of organising an online Music Festival,HirakudFestival in Sambalpur and another such event in Koraput district are on the anvil.

The department will be holding its maiden Odissi music festival through virtual platform this year. From the next year onwards, it will be held at prominent locations in the state. Plans are also afoot for a festival in Mayurbhanj district next year.
The State Government had in 2018 planned to launch the Hirakud Festival near the Hirakud reservoir in Sambalpur. But it could not be executed then.

Textile & apparel sector confident of doubling biz

Nearly three-fourths of the textile and apparel firms are confident about doubling their businesses in the next five years considering the positive trend prevailing in the export market in the post-Covid business Environment, revealed a survey conducted by the Indian Texpreneurs Federation (ITF).

As many as 257 companies across the state participated in the survey, which was conducted to understand the Growth aspirations of the textile and apparel sector. About 76% of the firms were confident of doubling the current business in three to five years with the new cycle. This shows a positive change in the business environment of Tamil Nadus textile and apparel sector.

Roughly 40 or 16% of the companies surveyed, showed keen interest to explore the IPO option. While the market capitalization of Indian Equity markets crossed Rs 240 lakh crore, the combined market cap of listed companies in the textile and apparel sector is only 2.2 lakh crore. The Capital Market is growing at a rapid pace and the textile sector is also getting a lot of interest and attention from investors with valuations rallying upwards.

Livestock board to collaborate with IISER

heKerala development board(KLDB) has joined hands with the Indian institute of science Education and research (IISER) to promote the cooperation for the advancement of livestock breeding, genomic selection, research and educational exchange between both the organizations.

The State Government is aiming to produce more disease-resistant cattle without compromising in the milk production in its efforts towards attaining self-sufficiency or even surplus milk production in the state.
For this, such collaborations will be useful because the cattle are now to be made more adaptable to resource poor situations and also to the predicted Climate-change”>Climate Change issues.

Karnataka forest ministers idea of acquiring farmland on forest fringes opposed by many

Forest minister Umesh Katti expressed the idea of acquiring Agriculture-notes-for-state-psc-exams”>Agriculture land near forest areas, claiming that farmers are unable to cultivate them due to regular raids by wild animals, in the assembly recently. The statement enraged farmers, who demanded that the government take measures to prevent wild animals from straying into farmland, instead of acquiring the land.

The farmers want the forest department to buy their land, and provide compensation, so that they can buy land in other places, he said during the assembly session.
Reacting to the issue, minister Katti said that he will discuss it with the deputy commissioner and forest officials, and take a decision to acquire the land from farmers, which are in the fringes of forests.

For the first time in the state, a survey is being conducted to learn about farmers paddy selling plans. Agriculture officials will communicate directly with farmers to determine the overall amount of produce they get, how much will they retain for their internal consumption and how much they intend to take to the market for sale.The survey began on Friday and will go on till September 27. Theharvestof paddy is expected around October 15 and it is set to reach the market by November.

According to officials, the government may purchase the produce locally and it will also ensure that local produce does not travel to other locations.

Paddy output, this rainy season is going to be an issue for government and farmers, with a 43 per cent rise in cultivation compared to previous year. WhileFCIhas announced only 60 lakh tonnes will be procured, a yield of 1.38 crore tonnes is projected.

Interestingly, paddy extent has decreased this season to 52 lakh acres compared to 53 lakh acres in 2020 monsoons. However, output will be larger at 1.38 crore tonnes when compared to 96 lakh tonnes last time.

Granite units in Andhra Pradesh hit as China stops imports

In a setback to the strugglinggraniteindustry inAndhra Pradesh, China has stopped the precious stoneimportsfrom India. RisingCovid-19cases and stock pile-up in the last one year reported to have prompted China to impose temporary ban on granite imports.
The decision has badly hit the in Prakasam district which is heavily dependent on exports to China.

According to industry sources, granite factories in Chimakurthy region of Prakasam district used to export nearly 40,000 to 45,000 cubic meters of stone per month. Local traders were shipping the stocks fromKrishnapatnamand Chennai Ports. Cancellation of import orders by Chinese clients has left the local industry shocked.
In fact, granite industry has been struggling since the outbreak of Covid-19 last year as units became unable to generate stocks in sufficient quantities after a large number of migrant workers left for their native places.

Logo to promote Kolhapurs tourism brand unveiled

Alogoof Kolhapur tourism wasunveiledon the occasion of WorldTourism Day.
The Kolhapur administration is observing Tourism Week, from Sunday. It started with holding events to celebrate the 300th anniversary of re-installation of the idol of Ambabai, famously known as goddess Mahalaxmi.

On the second day, the logo of Kolhapur tourism was unveiled by rural development minister Hasan Mushrif. The logo is handwritten with words of Rajarshi Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj, who governed the state of Kolhapur a century ago.

A detailed calendar with tourist places and time of the year was also unveiled. Patil launched a website showcasing Kolhapurs rich tourism culture. The information related to the tourist sites, mode of transport and the reviews by the tourists is part of the website. This will focus on development of audio-visual content, to showcase the destinations. A film on Radhanagari sanctuary is made.

Aditya Birla Group will invest Rs 1140 crore in Haryana for setting up a large paint manufacturing facility in the state with Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar handing over a regular letter of allotment to a team of Aditya Birla Group for setting up a large paint manufacturing facility in Panipat.

An allotment of 70 acres of land to Aditya Birla Group in Panipat has been made for setting up the paint manufacturing facility with an of Rs 1140 crore. The COO Ajit Kumar, Regional Head Piyush and Project Head Kalimuddin from Aditya Birla Group on Friday called upon Khattar for the project. They assured to start the project immediately and complete the same in the shortest possible time.

Crop residue management machinery available online on rent

The department of Agriculture-notes-for-state-psc-exams”>Agriculture has decided to provide crop residue management machinery online on rent to prevent incidents ofstubble burning.

The department had launched the I-Khet Punjab app to make the machinery easily accessible to all. Farmers can register themselves as custom hiring groups or on the mobile app and get or offer such machinery on rent.

Farmers, custom hiring centers and co-operative societies will also be able to make a profit by renting out the equipment. Raheja said the district has 38 Happy Seeders, 72 Super Seeders, 102 Zero Drills, 64 Super SMS, 35 Straw Choppers, 32 Mulchers, 55 Reversible Ploughs, 30 Rotavators, 4 Balers, 4 Racks and 1 Cutter-Cum-Spreader.