6.9 million foreign tourists will visit India in 2022, four times more than in the last two years of the coronavirus pandemic, the Hindustan Times reported.
“Gangapuram Union Minister of Tourism and Culture Kishan Reddy said nearly 6.9 million foreign tourists visited India in 2022. After two years of decline due to the coronavirus pandemic, arrivals quadrupled. According to him, the increase in tourist arrivals means the industry is moving in the right direction to achieve sustainable tourism,” Reddy said.
Reddy said the Ministry of Tourism will emphasize inbound tourism this year and launch the “Visit India 2023” promotion. “We have 40 UNESCO heritage sites and we celebrate more than 1,000 festivals every year,” he specified.
He also noted that the country has built an extensive tourism infrastructure over the past eight years, and now the authorities want to rethink the approach to tourism in India.
“To ensure digitalization of the tourism sector, a ‘National Tourism Mission’ is being developed. In the first phase, the ministry has created a national integrated database of the hospitality industry, which should make it easier for businesses to operate,” the newspaper wrote.
Indian authorities also plan to develop adventure tourism, eco-tourism and other areas.
India has probably already surpassed China in terms of population, and experts expect the growth to continue at least until 2050.
According to the independent World Population Review (WPR), India’s population was 1.417 billion at the end of 2022. Another analytical platform, Macrotrends, estimates India’s population at 1.428 billion.
China’s population declined last year for the first time in more than 60 years – by 850,000 to 1.412 billion people, according to data released Tuesday by China’s State Statistics Office.
India, where half the population is under the age of 30, is expected to be the fastest-growing economy in years to come. To take advantage of rising demographics, the country’s government needs to create millions of jobs, Bloomberg notes.
“What’s needed now is a massive economic support program that would create jobs in a variety of sectors,” said Nomura Holdings Inc. economist Sonal Varma. – And we’re already seeing the foundations for that being laid.”
WPR expects India’s population to continue to grow at least through 2050.
According to the UN, more than half of global population growth between 2022 and 2050 will come from just eight countries: India, Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines and Tanzania.
Ports of “Big Odessa” on Wednesday shipped 149.3 thousand tons of agricultural products in the framework of the “Grain Initiative”.
“Today four ships left the ports of Big Odessa, which will deliver 149.3 thousand tons of agricultural products to the countries of Asia and Europe. In particular, the bulk carrier SUGAR with Ukrainian vegetable oil for India”, – noted in the message of the Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine.
In the ports involved in the “Grain Initiative” there are 20 vessels under handling. They load 613.2 thousand tons of Ukrainian agricultural products.
In addition, three more vessels are moving along the “Grain Corridor” for the loading of 162.4 thousand tons of agricultural products.
Since August 1, 529 ships left the ports of “Big Odessa”, which exported 13.2 million tons of Ukrainian food products to Asia, Europe and Africa.
Three bulkers loaded with wheat, corn and sunflower oil departed from Ukrainian ports on Tuesday, the Joint Coordination Centre (JCC) said.
“The Joint Coordination Centre (JCC) reports that three vessels left Ukrainian ports today [December 6] carrying a total of 91,050 metric tonnes of grain and other food products under the Black Sea Grain Initiative,” the JCC said.
MV Sugar will deliver 37,500 tonnes of sunflower oil to India, MV Alexandros III will transport 31,050 tonnes of corn to Spain, and MV Moayad Y loaded with 22,500 tonnes of wheat is destined for Turkey.
Six ships transited the maritime humanitarian corridor on December 6 on their way to Ukrainian ports.
“As of 6 December, the total tonnage of grain and other foodstuffs exported from the three Ukrainian ports is 13,136,453 metric tonnes. A total of 1,057 voyages (529 inbound and 528 outbound) have been enabled so far,” the JCC said.
Against the backdrop of the ongoing Russian military aggression in Ukraine, Indian Ambassador to Ukraine Harsh Kumar Jain handed over to the Ministry of Health of Ukraine the 12th cargo of humanitarian aid, which included medicines and medical equipment, including hemostatic bandages.
According to a press release from the Indian embassy given to the Interfax-Ukraine agency, India had already transferred 97.5 tons of humanitarian aid to Ukraine, which consisted of medical products, blankets, tents, medical products and medical equipment.
“India remains committed to expanding its humanitarian support to the people of Ukraine during this challenging time,” said Ambassador Jain.
In addition, several Indian pharmaceutical companies donated medicines, emergency supplies, food and financial assistance to Ukraine in the amount of more than $8 million.
India, the world’s largest importer of edible vegetable oils, expects to receive the first batches of sunflower oil from Ukraine from September after a five-month break caused by the Russian invasion and the blockade of Ukrainian seaports.
According to Bloomberg’s website, citing Indian agricultural trader Sandip Bajoria, India may receive 50-60 thousand tons of sunflower oil in September, as Ukraine is going to open some corridors of the Black Sea for the export of agricultural products from the ports of Odessa and Chernomorsk.
“We have begun to receive offers for August deliveries, but everything will depend on the availability of ships. Ukraine has sufficient reserves of oilseeds for processing,” the trader is quoted as saying.
Sunflower oil imports to India from Ukraine have been suspended since April as the Russian invasion disrupted the country’s trade, he said.
“The Indian government’s decision to allow duty-free imports of 2 million tons of sunflower oil annually this fiscal year and next will support demand. India purchased 1.89 million tons of crude sunflower oil in the year ending October, with Ukraine supplying almost 74%, and Argentina and Russia – about 12%,” the publication clarified in the message.
As reported with reference to the Deputy Minister of Economy – Trade Representative of Ukraine Taras Kachka, in the 2021/2022 marketing year (MY, July-June), the country exported 61.52 million tons of grain and oilseeds worth $22.2 billion.
During this period, foreign markets were supplied, including 4.3 million tons of sunflower oil worth $5.8 billion, 3.4 million tons of sunflower meal worth $960 million, 421 thousand tons of soybean meal worth $230 million, 1.1 million tons of soybeans for $641 million, 2.7 million tons of rapeseed for $1.7 billion and 1.09 million tons of sunflower for $616 million.
