Inaugural Address on the occasion of National Consumer Day Function on 23 December 2009 at New Delhi

It gives me great pleasure to be present on the occasion of the National Consumer Day.

Today we are amidst an era of high economic growth, with the changing paradigm of development, not all genre of consumers are equipped to manage such a change. The past two years have been extremely challenging for the entire global community. The impact of financial crisis and its effect on banking system in the developed economies last year impacted the entire world. Fortunately, India was in a position to check its repercussions due to strong regulatory regimen.

The important learning from this experience of the past two years of global turmoil is the need for emergence of a class of ‘responsible consumer’ who understands the nitty-gritty of financial management and is able to protect himself from the sudden ups and downs in the financial world. It is, therefore, very appropriate that Department has chosen the theme of ‘financial literacy’ for this year’s National Consumer Day. Financial literacy encompasses the whole gamut of personal banking, dealing with investment, insurance and the capital markets. New emerging fields of commodities and foreign exchange market all of which could be very new and un-chartered territory for a normal consumer also falls within its ambit. Department of Consumer Affairs has been undertaking joint publicity with other Departments and organizations. A joint publicity campaign with Reserve Bank of India was taken up recently. This was done to spread the information about fake notes and mobile banking among consumers. Such efforts will go long way in nurturing a class of well informed and financially literate consumers.

Here consumer awareness and education programmes have a very important role to play. These should specifically focus on area and category specific needs of consumers, to achieve this all of us; Government, Private Sector and NGOs, Civil Society have to contribute and this should be a collaborative effort. The consumers living in far-flung, remote rural areas are at a disadvantage, since the electronic and print channels have a limited reach in these areas. Nevertheless, we should use person to person contact modality for reaching out to such areas.

For reaching out to rural and remote areas Panchayati Raj institutions could be utilized. Awareness campaign could use simple techniques like street drama, musical drama, folk dances etc. in regional language through the Gram Sabha in every village so as to reach out to this segment. To address these concerns Consumer Protection Act has been amended three times, which has been primarily to address the dynamics of changing market, provide speedy justice and protect the rights of consumers.

The Consumer Protection Act’s impact is also perceptible in the operations of providers of goods and services. In the Government and Public Sector we now see several Regulators, Ombudsman and grievance Redressal mechanism in place, we can also discern the operation of consumer grievances redressal system in Private Sector. This to our view is due to the proactive approach adopted in the Consumer Protection Act, by bringing the consumer right in the forefront.

Government is of the view that financial inclusion by taking banking sector to the nook and corner of the county is the need of the hour. For such an initiative to succeed the awareness campaign of the Department to spread knowledge about banking sector, insurance and capital markets could go a long way in bringing a whole new set of consumers into the fold of organized banking. This will also ensure that consumers in rural and remote areas are able to avail off credit available through the banking sector.

While regulators in different fields such as telecom, banking, insurance, electricity etc. would play a pivotal role in addressing the concerns of the consumers in these areas, there is an equally strong need for having strong mechanism of alternative dispute Redressal system.

My Ministry has attempted to address these concerns by initiating Pilot Projects. We are supporting a ‘National Consumer Helpline’, which is being operated through the University of Delhi, which allows consumers anywhere in the country to get advice on what course of action to take with regard to their problem, as also general information on various issues concerning consumers On the pattern of National Consumer Helpline ‘State Consumer Helplines’ are being set up.

Today it is widely acknowledged that the level of consumer awareness and protection is a true indicator of development of the country and progressiveness of civil society. I am happy to note that the multi media publicity campaign of the Department ‘Jago Grahak Jago’ has today become a household name. Our preliminary assessment of the campaign has revealed that consumer issues have got more visibility and greater stress is being laid especially by the trade and industry to address the concerns of the consumers. Consumers are becoming aware of their rights and have now become more demanding for getting the right goods and services which in the long run augurs very well of the competitiveness of our economy. An aware consumer not only protects his own interests but he induces a level of efficiency and accountability in the entire manufacturing and services sector which will enable this nation to become globally competitive.

On this important day, let us rededicate ourselves to work for the welfare of the consumers. Let us all resolve to make them aware of their rights and responsibilities as consumers. Let us all ensure that the goods and services are available free from hazards and are safe. The effective functioning of consumer dispute redressal machinery for rendering quick justice is a critical component for Consumer Protection. The Consumer Dispute Redressal machinery has yielded good results so far which can be seen in the fact that around 30 lakh cases of 32 lakh registered cases filed in Consumer Forums since inception have been settled. I am confident that it will continue to deliver excellent service to the consumers in the future also.

JAI HIND.

Speech at the 81st Annual General Meeting of the ICAR Society on 23 December 2009 at New Delhi

Shri Sharad Pawar Ji, Union Minister of Agriculture, Consumer Affairs and Food & Public Distribution, Dr. Mangala Rai, Secretary, DARE and Director-General, ICAR, Shri Rajiv Mehrishi, Additional Secretary, DARE and Secretary, ICAR, esteemed members of the ICAR Society, special invitees, friends from media, ladies and gentlemen.

I wish to place the following thoughts with you in the 81st AGM of the ICAR Society.

In the past, the ICAR’s efforts stood between famine, civil unrest and instability in India. Guiding the Country’s agricultural research led production, later popularly called Green revolution, the ICAR, turned scarcity and external food support into a surplus system. In leading this effort, ICAR’s bold innovations and collaborations with scientists of the league of Borlaug was the main stay of Indian self-reliance in staples. I compliment the eminent scientists and technologists associated with this initial vital surge.

Having said that, I wish to outline some core areas which we will need to work with, if our efforts need to sustain into 2050 when we have to nourish the largest national population in the world. This has to be done without amplifying the negative fall outs, which are often attributed to the interventions in Green revolution and by remaining vigilant to emerging challenges in global agriculture.

As India enters the phase of a stabilized population by 2050, with a huge young and sizable moderately affluent population, the demand for protein foods is going to grow exponentially. Already production pressure and urban affluence is pushing prices up. If production of vegetables, pulses, milk, meat and staples do not catch up with the needs of a young and successful population, prices will hurt the poor and the low income groups. With increasing numbers of rural population leaving sustenance agriculture, more has to be provided with less. Therefore, high degree of economy has to be ushered in the input regime and higher yields have to be sourced from static or decreasing catchments.

While demand spurts for proteins from a selective young population the lesser economically endowed will face further pressure from higher prices and if the public distribution system fails to take the extra pressure, it is very possible that the access to grains would become an issue and therefore malnutrition would go up. Already the malnutrition rates in India are at unacceptable levels, essentially amongst the generation which has to lead us in the 2050’s.

It is clear that our efforts at increased and efficient yields has to cater to protein and carbohydrate nutrition security at the lowest possible costs.

Key challenges ICAR has to tackle while attempting to do so is to indigenize and evolve crop specific strategies by using GM technology, input optimizing technologies like micro irrigation and investing in agriculture higher education heavily.

Strengthening the research and dissemination network is key in achieving most goals a globalized research scenario offers. I reviewed the Indian higher education and research sector in Agriculture and found the ICAR’s laudable efforts requiring a substantial increase of investment in the next plan. I have shared the specifics of such thoughts with the Hon’ble AM also and requested the ICAR to come forth with serious plans at attaining at least a three fold increase in higher education and research support.

The ongoing efforts of ICAR in crop genetics with 131 successful varieties already released and two varities of potatoes, Kufri Nilima and Kufri Frysona which have been released for Tamil Nadu and Gangetic Plains, Swarna Sub-I for water logged areas of UP and Orissa and drought resistant Sahbhagi Dhan for Jharkhand and Orissa are recent achievements. This is apart from new developments in animal breeding. The dissemination networks with ICAR’s and SAU/ State Government department need a quantum jump in terms of programming and monitoring. The projects under various Human Resources Ministry initiatives like community colleges could be used for this.

Overall, ICAR’s mandate and potential is up for a tough challenge. I wish the ICAR all the very best in its endeavors and hope that it will take all efforts to deliver in the magnitude and speed we expect from it. I wish the AGM a good meeting and hope to learn from the discussions to take place later today.

I note that Dr. Mangala Rai is demitting office as Secretary to Government and Director General after a successful stint. I join the AGM in thanking him for his leadership in a crucial phase and hope that his services will be available in some capacity to Government in future also. I wish him all the very best.

Thank you.

JAI HIND

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Speech on presentation of Rajiv Gandhi National Quality Awards 2008 held on 17 December 2009 at New Delhi

Chairman, Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board, Shri L. Mansingh; Shri Rajiv Agarwal, Secretary, Department of Consumer Affairs; Shri Sharad Gupta, Director General, BIS; Distinguished awardees, guests, ladies & gentlemen.

I am indeed happy to be present here on this important occasion of the presentation ceremony of Rajiv Gandhi National Quality Awards for the year, 2008.

These prestigious Awards, instituted by the Bureau of Indian Standards in 1991, have already established themselves as the premier National Awards in the fields of standardization and quality and the recipients are recognized as the champions of quality movement in the country and I sincerely wish that the awards continue to motivate the industry for sustained efforts for improving quality.

Today, no business entity can exist or function in isolation. Operating in free market economy has meant that all business processes are interdependent competing across national boundaries and the only operating criterion is the quality of products and services at competitive price.

Thus, in such a scenario, where survival of any business entity hinges on sustenance of quality at competitive costs, one can ill afford to relax. Poor quality will not only mean loss of business, but cause serious dent to the national image in the international market, thereby, affecting future business prospects as well.

Quality does not come by chance. It also is not achieved in a day. It is a result of constant efforts which need to be maintained throughout and always. To achieve excellence in quality in any walks of life, you have to have the goal of being the best. You have to approach this step by step using short term goals. When one goal is met you set another goal which is achievable, of course by hard work. Each success leads to the next one. Each time you visualize where you want to be, what you want to be, you approach it with the end target in mind and you focus on getting there. As you reach those goals, as you achieve those targets, you gain confidence and you concentrate on the next step. It is all a game of mental attitude.

It is, therefore, imperative that the Indian industry focuses on continually improving quality by coming up with economical inputs, better designs, improved manufacturing skills, entering into technological collaborations and through capacity building in skilled human resource. Reliance on stricter conformity assessment procedures will continue to be the corner stone for ensuring consistency in quality. The outcome of these efforts will be a satisfied customer, which, to my mind, is the ultimate yardstick for quality. I would, therefore, call upon the Indian industry to rededicate its efforts in ensuring satisfaction of their customers, both internal as well as international. This is the only key to success.

On this important occasion, it would be appropriate to reiterate our commitment to Quality in all walks of life. India has made tremendous industrial progress during last few decades in wide ranging products including those in high-tech areas. In quantitative terms, we are now grouped amongst top few industrialized nations in the world. However, on quality front, we have to hasten our pace to gain from the benefits of globalization and provide better consumer protection.

It has now been realized that poor quality manifests as an additional cost in the form of avoidable rejections and re-work, which gets added in the cost of production, thereby affecting competitiveness and profitability. Further, today the work has shrunk considerably and is coming to terms with the concept of interdependence of nations, resulting in rapid growth in international trade. In this context the quality of products assumes added importance. Poor quality, besides resulting in loss of national image in the international market, acts as a serious impediment in the way of efforts for increasing exports. This starves the industry of its internal inputs required for modernization and growth. The handicaps created by the poor quality of products and services are now being increasingly felt and this has become a matter of serious concern to the industry and consumer at large. Fortunately, the scenario is changing and there is now a greater awareness about Quality.

Quality has a value, which can be expressed in the monetary terms. Inspection or audits can not build quality into products. Quality has to be designed and manufactured into the product at all stages right from initial identification to final satisfaction of customers’ requirements and expectations. The various stages which have bearing on quality, relate to marketing and market research, designing of the products, procurement of materials, process planning, production, inspection, packaging and storage, sales and distribution, installation, and after sales service. Each stage has to get some input from the previous one, carry out the process and give the output to the next process. Therefore, each stage is a customer as well as supplier. The supplier at each stage, therefore, should fully understand what is the expectation of his immediate customer, and try to fulfill it.

Further, Customer satisfaction is the ultimate measure of the quality of a product or service. Customer reaction may be immediate or delayed. Customers seldom volunteer their assessment of quality to the organization. Dissatisfied customers often cease to use or purchase products or services without giving notice that would permit corrective action to be taken.

The organizations should, therefore, institute an ongoing assessment and measurement of customer satisfaction. These assessments should seek positive as well as negative reactions and their likely effect on future business. These assessments can form vital tools for perceiving and improving the quality of the products.

I feel that one of the effective ways of inculcating quality culture and strengthening international competitiveness of various organizations, is the institution and operation of national quality awards. These Rajiv Gandhi National Quality Awards give special recognition to those manufacturing and service sector organizations that are considered to be the leaders of the quality movement in India.

I take this opportunity to laud the efforts of the Bureau of Indian Standards, the National Standards Body of India, for the role it has been playing in safeguarding the interests of the industry, the consumers and the society and remaining at the vanguard of quality movement, both within and outside the country.

On its part, BIS has diversified into many new areas in the past few years and its efforts have met with considerable success whether it is Management System Certification, Hallmarking of Gold and Silver Jewellery and Artefacts or Foreign Manufacturers’ Certification Scheme. Here, I will specially like to mention the efforts being put in by the Bureau in promoting awareness about Hallmarking in the country. BIS is also the National Enquiry Point for WTO-TBT inquiries for India and is disseminating information on standards, technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures from all over the world, to the Indian industry.

I assure the Bureau of Indian Standards that it will continue to receive all support and encouragement it deserves from the Government to further augment its efforts.

I take this opportunity to extend my heartiest congratulations to the award winners and recipients of commendation certificates for their efforts in demonstrating that quality can be achieved without compromising on profitability and yet contributing to the well being of their employees, society and environment. I am confident that the awardees will continue their pursuit for achieving excellence in quality and staying abreast with the latest technological advancements.

Finally, I also congratulate the Bureau for its untiring efforts in promoting quality consciousness in the country. I sincerely hope that it will redouble its efforts and impart renewed impetus to the cause of standardization and thereby, achieve excellence in all its operations.

JAI HIND
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Inaugural Speech of Agri Marketing Summit “Enhancing Competitiveness of Indian Agriculture” on 16th December, 2009 at New Delhi

Shri T. Nand Kumar, Secretary, Department of Agriculture & Cooperation, Shri Rakesh Bharti Mittal, Chairman, CII National Council on Agriculture, Shri Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, Confederation of Indian Industries, Shri Gokul Patnaik, Chairman, CII National Task force on Agri Marketing, leaders and representatives from Trade and Industries and officials from Government of India, State Governments and distinguished invitees ladies and gentlemen,

I am extremely happy to be here with all of you to inaugurate the Agri Marketing Summit on a subject that is of vital concern to all of us and is very timely. India has emerged as leading producers of rice, wheat and pulses. India has the largest livestock in the world while being the largest producer of milk, second largest producer of fruits and vegetables and third largest producer of food grains. We have several competitive advantages in agriculture comparable to those of any other country in the world. First, it has regions, which are climatically favorable for cultivation of variety of crops. Second, the country already possesses the largest acreage of irrigated land in the world with a sizable potential still to be tapped. Third, the country has an abundance of available skilled, educated, technical and scientific manpower. India has thus, the potential to become a global leader in agriculture.

Agriculture marketing is a State subject, therefore, the wholesale trading of agricultural commodity is regulated through State Agricultural Produce Marketing (Regulation) Acts in the respective States. In India, more than 620 billion tonnes of farm output is traded through a network of more than 27,357 wholesale and Primary Rural Markets and about 7139 Regulated Markets scattered across the States. However, many of the regulated markets lack proper infrastructure and facilities in tune with changing times and increased levels of production in the absence of competition. This has been further accentuated by weak backward linkages to the production centres. The supply chain remained fragmented for agri commodities perpetuating a high percentage of loss making it unprofitable and unviable.

My Ministry is committed to bring about major reforms in the agriculture sector in consultation with State Governments. The aim is to build on the successes of the modern technology in agriculture to create higher levels of surplus for processing and export and take our farmers higher up the value chain to increase their income and make them globally competitive. Towards this direction, several reforms have already been initiated in laws dealing with agriculture namely, the APMC Act., the Essential Commodities Act., and the Forward Contracts Act. Integrated Food law and law dealing with Negotiable warehousing receipt system have been amended keeping in view the changing needs of farmers, consumers, trade and industries. The focus of reforms in State APMC Act. includes provision for creation of an enabling environment to attract Private Sector investment to market infrastructure, for enabling direct marketing of produce by farmers and contract farming while protecting interests of farmers.

Development of agricultural marketing infrastructure in the country is necessary to provide higher value to farmers’ crops, quality raw material for agro-industries and food to consumers at reasonable price. The investment from private sector will play dominant role in different parts of food value chain. The government has taken a number of reform initiatives viz launching of NHM for development of need based infrastructure with end to end approach and enhancing horticultural production and productivity. A reform linked Central Sector Scheme of Development/Strengthening marketing infrastructure Grading and Standardization is being implemented in those States which have amended their APMC Acts. to provide for market reforms.

The Government have recently revised the guidelines for setting up state of the art Modern Terminal Markets Complex for perishable like fruits and vegetables in Public Private Partnership mode with subsidy provision under National Horticulture Mission. We have already provided in-principle approval for setting up of Terminal Market Complex at four places i.e. at Babangaon in Thane District near Mumbai in Maharashtra, at Perundurai in Erode District in Tamil Nadu, in Patna in Bihar and in Sambalpur in Orissa. Already bids are underway in Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Bihar.

This Summit has been organized to identify and discuss the issues affecting the efficiency of agri markets and competitiveness of Indian agriculture and the measures to be taken to enhance efficiency and productivity. I am looking forward to your specific suggestions in strengthening the agri market systems, identifying commodities that have the potential to compete in Global markets, the policy measures needed to support integration of domestic farm production with emerging global markets including food parks and agri export zone and the role of Public Private Partnership in the development of agri infrastructure to enable the farmers to improve their income.

Thank you.

Inaugural Speech on “Cold Chain Summit 2009” on 9th December, 2009 at Hotel Imperial, New Delhi

Shri Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, CII, Shri Rakesh Bharati Mittal, Chairman CII Agriculture Council, Shri Nanda Kumar, Secretary (Agriculture & Cooperation), Shri Daljit Mirchandani and Senior Representatives from Trade and Industry, distinguished invitees, ladies and gentlemen.

It gives me great pleasure to be here inaugurating at the Cold Chain Summit, 2009. In recent years, cold chain development has assumed considerable significance. A rapid and all-round growth of economy and increasing globalization has galvanized the demand for perishables including fruits and vegetables as well as processed food. This has necessitated establishment of efficient end-to-end standardized cold chain network that will ensure preservation of fresh produce from the post-harvest stage till the final retail in domestic as well as overseas market involving large number of stake-holders. The Task Force on Development of Cold Chain in India which was set up in 2007 has made several recommendations in its report in this regard which are path breaking and my Ministry is considering the same in consultation with stake holders. This Cold Chain summit is being organized jointly by CII, my Ministry and Ministry of Food processing Industries at a very appropriate time and I am sure it will help accelerate creation and strengthening of cold chain infrastructure.

India is stated to be one of the largest and lowest cost producers of high value agricultural commodities producing nearly 11% of all vegetables and 15% of all fruits in the world. With the objective of agricultural diversification to boost horticulture productivity and production, National Horticulture Mission has been launched. This will also ensure an end to end approach having backward and forward linkages covering research, production, post-harvest management processing and marketing, under one umbrella in an integrated manner.

Reform in agricultural marketing is another important area to which the Government is attaching a lot of significance. We have taken steps to persuade State Governments to amend Agriculture Produce Marketing Committees Acts to facilitate development of alternative marketing channel in the agricultural commodities. This would give a major boost to investment in Post-harvest marketing infrastructure, including grading, packaging, transportation and storage, needs to be created at a large scale. My Ministry has launched a reformed linked Scheme of Development/Strengthening of Agricultural Marketing Infrastructure, Grading and Standardization to attract public and private investment in agriculture. Complimenting this many of the private players have set up supply chain, distribution and retailing facilities linking producers to consumers effectively. The development of direct marketing will go a long way in providing better pricing to the farmers while ensuring better availability and quality of produce to the consumers.

Responding to the needs of the industry, we have recently revised the guidelines for setting up state of the art Modern Terminal Markets Complex for perishable like fruits and vegetables in Public Private Partnership mode with subsidy provision under National Horticulture Mission. We have already provided in-principle approval for setting up of Terminal Market Complex at four places I.e. at Babangaon in Thane District near Mumbai in Maharashtra, at Perundurai in Erode District in Tamil Nadu, in Patna, in Bihar, in Sambalpur in Orissa. Already bids are underway in Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Bihar. Similarly, expansion of warehousing services in rural areas and facilitating credit to farmers against their stored produce has been identified as other important areas to help farmer avoid distress sale. The necessary Rules to implement the Warehousing Development and Regulation Act are being finalized in consultation with all the stakeholders.

The Task force on development of Cold Chain in India in its report while recommending augmentation of infrastructure facilities has suggested setting up Special Purpose Vehicle of Cold Logistics as an institutional mechanism to foster the climate controlled transportation of perishable thus facilitating linkage of production centers to distant markets ensuring better price realization for farmers. Similarly it has recommended developing standards and protocols for cold chain infrastructure and services to ensure standardized services in this sector. It has also suggested setting up an autonomous organization in the form of National Centre of Cold Chain Development as a centre of excellence to foster fast-track growth of cold chain in India. We are already carrying out stake holder’s consultation towards implementation of these major recommendations. Similarly, tax incentive for investment in cold chain and warehouses have been provided in the Union Budget 2009, allowing benefit of deduction to the extent of 100% of investment made in these infrastructure facilities.

We are committed to reforms in agriculture, which will facilitate large-scale private investment in every stage of value chain. We believe that both the industry and the State have an important role to play in the agriculture sector. Bringing in the private sector – both as a competitor and as complementary to the public sector adds greater strength and value for money. Both must work complementarily to benefit both the farmers and the consumers. From our side, we have adopted a two-pronged strategy – pushing through the specific enabling reforms in agriculture, and working with State Governments to convince them to implement relevant reforms at the earliest. Several States have been convinced and are well on the path of doing so, while others too will soon follow suit.

I am confident that this summit would bring out recommendations on all relevant issues and further accelerate the process of cold chain development in the country. With these words, I have great pleasure in inaugurating this Cold Chain Summit 2009. I look forward to your positive and fruitful suggestions in forging ahead a stronger public private partnership to qualitatively improve the cold chain infrastructure in the country to mutually benefit the trade and industry as well as people of the country.

I hereby declare summit open and wish it all the success.

Thank you

SPEECH ON INAUGURATION OF THE EIMA AGRIMACH INDIA 2009 NEW DELHI AT IARI, PUSA, NEW DELHI ON 3 DCEMBER, 2009

Dignitaries on the Dias, Respected farmers, Agriculturists, Distinguished guests, Esteemed invitees, delegates and participants from India and abroad, member of the press and friends.

It is indeed a great pleasure for me to inaugurate the “EIMA AGRIMACH INDIA 2009” an International Exhibition and Conference on Agriculture Machinery, Equipments and Agro-processing Industries, being organized at IARI, Pusa, New Delhi from the 3rd to the 5th of December, 2009. The EIMA AGRIMACH INDIA 2009 is going to provide a platform to display the latest technology for Farm Machinery and Technology and Agro Processing Industries. I am confident that the farmers, service providers and industrialist who visit this exhibition and conference, will greatly benefit from this exposure.

Farm mechanization as we all know has a major role to play in the modernization of Indian agriculture. Productivity of the farm depends considerably on the availability of farm power coupled with efficient farm implements and their judicious utilization.

Though there has been considerable progress in the area of mechanization in agriculture, its spread across the length and breadth of our country has been uneven. In the year 2001-02, the availability of farm power in the country stood at 1.231 kW/ha (projected as 1.50 kW/ha in 2005-06). In comparison with developed Country averages of 5-8 kW/ha. India is far behind the developed countries in terms of farm power availability.

It is also pertinent to mention that farm productivity is directly proportional to the mechanization level in different States. The States with higher levels of farm power have higher productivity levels of food grain and vice-versa. Therefore, this calls for an increase in the farm power availability at a faster rate through promotion of appropriate agricultural mechanization to bring it at least 2 kW/ per ha for achieving the desired level of farm productivity in our country. Needless to say, the power use must be most efficiently and wasteless.

In order to promote agricultural mechanization in the country the Government of India is implementing various programmes and schemes. Subsidy and credit are provided to farmers for purchase of equipments, demonstration of technologies and training on various aspects of agricultural mechanization is carried out and there is also a scheme to popularize new equipments developed by ICAR Institution for on farm value addition. However, there is need to do much more for small farm mechanization through custom hire services of agricultural machines/implements. Various states that first hesitated to mechanize are also now moving this direction.

While we continue our efforts to improve the infrastructure in these institutes, the Department of Agriculture & Cooperation, Govt. of India has set up a Technical Committee to identify those Agricultural Universities and Engineering Colleges in the country which have the capability and minimum infrastructure to augment the facilities for assessment and testing agricultural machines and implement. This is being done to meet the increasing demand for testing facilities.

Central Government has also decided to upgrade the Central Farm Machinery Training and Testing Institute, at Budni in Madhya Pradesh to a State of the Art Centre with modern and sophisticated equipments so as to meet the requirements of the tractor industries’ for meeting International Testing Standards. Training is being given a big push with increased volume and financial support.

Finally, I am sure this event will help bring all the Stake holders on a single platform to share information on all important aspects of agriculture mechanization and to develop business tie-ups in a mutually beneficial manner.

My best wishes to organizers and participants for great success of this event.

THANK YOU
JAI HIND