Gujarat based Surat District Co-operative Milk Producers’ Union (Sumul) is planning to sell vegetables through its outlets spread across Surat and Tapi districts of Gujarat. The plan was revealed by its Chairman Mansinhbhai Patel in a telephonic conversation with Indian Cooperative correspondent on the phone.
Sumul is one of the milk unions associated with Gujarat Milk Marketing Cooperative Federation (GCMMF) which sells its products under the brand name of Amul.
“We are making a plan to collect the raw vegetables directly from the farmers and will sell them through our selling centers spread across Surat and Tapi districts of Gujarat. It will not only give the farmers good returns but also help in fulfilling our Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s dream of doubling farmers’ income”, Patel said.
Both the United States and Japan consider India as an important strategic partner in their respective Indo-Pacific concepts. However, India still faces many domestic challenges as a developing country. India also has traditionally been reluctant when it comes to trade liberalization. U.S. bilateral trade negotiations with India, and Japan`s effort in promoting an East Asia regional trade agreement that includes India share objectives and interests and hence can be coordinated.
On November 15, 2020, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) was signed by 15 countries with the glaring exception of India. RCEP is a regional free trade agreement (FTA) whose negotiations were initiated by ASEAN and six partner countries, namely Japan, China, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand and India in 2012. The signing of RCEP finally came after eight years of negotiations, but India decided to pull out from the pact at the final stage of negotiations.